Course Notes, 6/26/16

Elcona hosted a very successful Indiana State Amateur Championship, and we would like to congratulate Matt Christensen on his victory.  Well played!  I would also like to congratulate our staff for their efforts leading up to and during the championship.  I am very proud of them and the product they produced.  

#1 fairway bunker being pumped

17 Fairway bunker

Elcona staff moving sand back on 17

On Wednesday night, the course received 2.45" of rain, in the span of 40 minutes.  While all the playing surfaces were free of standing water when we arrived Thursday morning, all of the water had run off into the bunkers, creating washouts that were the worst I have ever seen out here. 30 out of the 50 bunkers we have on course needed to be pumped out, and all of them had silt contamination.  While we were able to repair them to get them playable for the final round, there is still work to do.  Over the next week, our staff will be removing additional contamination, checking sand depths, and sieving the rocks that washed to the surface during this rain event.  Also, we will be installing new sand on a couple of the bunkers on #3, and placing the old sand in select fairway bunkers.  

Rocks left behind on 17

Large rock in 17 fairway bunker

Many of you ask where all the rocks come from in the bunkers.  Quick hitting, large rain events like last week's is a major summertime reason.  The sand washes away, exposing the soil below.  The soil washes into the sand and mixes (contaminates) together, leaving rocks at the edges of the bunkers.  

17 fairway bunker after repairs

11 greenside bunker contamination

Chef Casey's garden

Seed to Feed garden

Finally, the Seed to Feed garden is doing well and starting to show blooms on the squash that is planted there.  Onions and zucchini are also planted there and doing great.  Chef Casey's garden was relocated to the west of the Seed to Feed garden and is thriving in its new location.  Here's hoping to a successful harvest that he can share with you in the clubhouse this summer.  

If you have any questions, please contact me at ryan@elconacc.com.  Thanks, and have a great week!

Ryan

2015 Audubon Review

October is the time of year where I start to take stock in all of our programs, review my notes from throughout the year, and begin forming plans for 2016.  One area that is always on my thoughts is Elcona's Audubon program.  This year our goal was to complete 4 main projects, two of them were centered around increasing pollinator populations.

Nesting evidence on #14 

This past winter, my assistant Kyle and I built 3 wood duck homes and placed them along ponds on #'s 3 and 14, as well as deep in the woods north of 13.  Both houses had evidence of bird activity this year, as the picture on the left shows, but this nest building was from other birds.  One observation from a member was that #3's house was located too close to golf traffic and made it unattractive for wood ducks, which I agree with.  We will be moving it farther south away from #4 tee.  My hope is that someday ducks will utilize these as safe havens to produce their offspring.

Seed to Feed Garden, June 15

Yellow squash

The Seed to Feed garden that I have mentioned multiple times over the past year was a dual achieving project.  One obvious achievement was that, thanks to all members who volunteered their time to maintain it, 6,129 pounds of cucumbers, yellow squash, zucchini, and Dickinson pumpkins were harvested and given to our local food pantries.  That is an awesome amount of produce for our first year.  Also, the garden also served to increase the area for pollinating insects.  One third of our world's food supply is dependent on the help of pollinating insects.  Their populations have decreased some 30% over the last few years, due to multiple biotic and abiotic stresses.  By planting many areas of flowering plants, Elcona can help sustain the local bee population and continue to be a good steward of our community's ecosystem.

Milkweed stand left right of 17

Monarch caterpillar on Milkweed

There were spots in our native areas that we left unmown all year that contained significant milkweed populations.  Milkweed is the main food source for Monarch butterfly caterpillars.  This provided some nice habitat areas for these butterflies to flourish and complete their transformation to butterflies.

Rain garden, July 25th

Bee on a Purple coneflower

We have also multiple areas of wildflower plantings that are in various stages of maturity.  The rain garden that was built in 2012 thrived again this year, with some plants (swamp milkweed) reaching 10 feet in height! There were days that over 100 bees and other pollinators could be seen flying flower to flower, a neat sight for sure.

Area for 2015 plug plantings

Butterfly weed plugs

Wildflower plugs, consisting of cone flower, butterfly weed, and foxglove beardstongue species, were planted west of 12 green.  These plus will, over time, spread via their seed and also provide some great color for that area of the golf course.

Designated OP area on #16

We also seeded additional wildflowers to the left of 16 in our designated "Operation Pollinator" area, as a test of establishment in this fashion.  While this area does not look like much is going on except for fox tail and thistle populations going wild, we are seeing 8 species of different wildflowers taking shape, as the pictures below indicate.  The areas that I planted plugs in last year produced some flowers this year, and began to spread in area, albeit very slowly.

Greg Stump pointing out Coreopsis plants

Black eyed Susan

Gallardia species 

Bachelor Button species

My plan of attack in this area for next year is to renovate the areas that have weeds and grasses in them, and reseed with a wildflower/bluestem seed mixture.  This will decrease the thick grassy weeds and thistle and hopefully provide a more uniform stand of grasses and flowers.  Also, we will be much more proactive in removing any weeds in this area that do germinate.  Finally, we will widen the area of play to create a little more space between the native area and the fairway for any wayward lay up shots, as currently there is only 12 yards between the two.

Our final project was to invite a local birding group for a nature walk along the club's nature trails.  In late May I hosted two individuals from the South Bend/Elkhart Audubon Society, and while they were impressed with Elcona's property and efforts, we were not able to get on their calendar for this year.  Tentatively, we are on their 2016 calendar for a group visit.

Speaking of 2016, Elcona's Audubon committee is meeting this month and will consider many ideas that I will share as the year draws closer to an end.  You can be sure that all will further emphasize Elcona's commitment to both its local ecosystem and the well being of our community. I appreciate your continued support and participation in Elcona's Audubon program, and for giving me the opportunity to learn and grow as a steward of this great property.  If you have any questions, please contact me at ryan@elconacc.com.

Ryan

August Course Notes and Happenings

It has been a while since I last posted, and much has gone on since my last post.  Another successful Walter O. Wells Invitational has come and gone, and the staff and I congratulate all of the flight winners.  Well played!

The summer has taken a dramatic turn in the weather.  Gone are the cool, wet days of June and early July, and more temperate dry weather has taken hold across the entire region, which is great for firmer conditions on the golf course.  The staff and I have had many days of syringing greens in the afternoon to keep them cool.  Some of the summer stresses have returned as well on four of these greens: 1,9,13, and 18.  Areas of these greens had anthractnose develop on the turf, which is a fungal disease that can cause damage if not held in check.  The anthractnose has affected just the Poa annua turf.

On Monday, we spiked these playing surfaces to further vent them, and topdressed with sand.  The purpose of this is to increase oxygen flow to the roots and dry the profile out to eliminate the environmental conditions needed for the disease to thrive.  We also have began using a dedicated mower for these greens, with a slight increase in height (.005") to better allow the turf to recover from the damage caused.  This is a temporary solution that should alleviate the current situation.  These steps are the best management practices to deal with anthracnose.  As soon as the disease is held in check, we will be repairing any damage that does not recover fully and return the green to normal maintenance practices, and my goal for that is next week.  If you have any questions, feel free to email me at ryan@elconacc.com.

The Elcona Seed to Feed Garden has continued to thrive over the past few weeks as well.  In the last two weeks, over 3600 pounds of produce has been harvested, which is tremendous.  The zucchini and yellow squash has looked great, and the pumpkins have begun to shoot from the blooms and take shape.  Volunteers are always welcome to help with the weekly harvest and care, everyone meets at 5:30 every Thursday night.  The garden is located north of the Short Game area, along the dirt road to the north of the barn.

Ryan

Course and Terrace Update, 5/9/15

With the spectacular color provided by the Kousa dogwoods and Crabapple trees and the increased presence of Mallards, white tail deer and turkey, the golf course truly has sprung to life over the last couple of weeks.  The rain and warmer than normal weather has jump started the rough, where we will begin our growth regulator applications within the next couple of days in an attempt to keep playability as consistent as possible.

Poa seedheads

Brush attachment on our mowers

As great as Poa annua is as a putting surface, one drawback is its annual seedhead production.  Poa annua is a winter annual, meaning it germinates in the fall, overwinters, and produces seeds in the spring for its next generation.  Think of Poa as a backwards annual flower you would plant in your landscape.

This time of year, we apply three applications of a growth regulator to suppress and "reduce" (not eliminate) the production of seedheads.  Our check plots out on the golf course have shown this year some suppression, but obviously not total.  To maximize the smoothness of the putting surfaces during this production, we have lowered our height of cut down to .120" (except 18, where we are at .135"), are brushing daily with the attachment shown above, rolling regularly, and adding additional topdressing to further smooth out the greens.  These seedheads should pass by the end of the month. If you have any questions, please contact me.

18 green continues to mature.  I appreciate the feedback I have received on the new surface.  As a friendly reminder, the height of cut will be slightly higher for the remainder of the month, and each week we are lowering the height by .005" until we reach .120" (our regular height).  This is so that we minimize scalping injury and allow the turf to fully mature at regular greens height.  We will continue to roll the green more frequently to better match the other surfaces until then.

Elcona's Seed to Feed Garden

Church Community Services came by this week to prep another new Elcona feature that I mentioned in the May Prattler, the Seed to Feed Garden.  The staff and I will be running an irrigation line to this area north of the Short Game area, and planting should take place within the next couple of weeks.

Finally, Phase 2 of the Terrace project is moving along nicely.  The compaction stone grade has been established, and I am happy to report we are ready to lay pavers down!  These pavers will arrive Wednesday and will be placed on a compacted 3/4" layer of limestone chips.  The firepit insert should arrive Wednesday as well.  The firepit will be a 6 foot diameter circle, with a 30" wide flame and realistic looking logs.  I hope to share some pictures later this week to give you a better visual on the newest Elcona feature.

Have a great week and I will see you out on the golf course!

Ryan