The Winter That Won't Go Away..

#4 green during ice removal

     Greetings from what seems to be the frozen tundra of Northern Indiana.  It has been quite the roller coaster of a welcome for me here at Elcona.  It is truly an honor to be a part of a club with its traditions and great members and staff.  I come to Elcona after spending the last 7 years as the Golf Course Superintendent at Plymouth CC, about 50 minutes southwest from Elcona.  In 2005 and 2006, I was an assistant here at Elcona, so it is nice to have some familiarity with the staff, members, and golf course.  I am a graduate of Purdue University with a degree in Turf Science.  My wife and I have two children aged 4 and 2, and we are excited to become part of the community. 

     

Plug samples at various stages of thaw (clockwise from top left):
small PG, holes 5 and 14, hole #2, and a close up of #14

      From Greg's last post, you know that we have been busy clearing the ice layer that had formed on our greens, in an effort to prevent suffocation of the turf and some possible winterkill.  We also took a few samples from select greens and brought them inside for observations.  To the right, you see samples at various days of thaw.  The bottom right is a sample from hole #2 pulled on 2/21/14.  The rest of the samples were pulled on 2/28/14, and they are already showing signs of progress.   While we are not out of the woods yet and may have some repairs to do, we are not seeing widespread damage from the ice cover or exposing the turf to the frigid nights we had last week.  Seeing good signs in these plugs helps justify our actions in the time consuming clearing the staff and I performed the last two weeks.

   
     Our focus will shift now to ensuring any snow that melts during spring thaws is removed from the green surface so that it does not re-freeze.  This would create crown hydration injury, where the plant rapidly takes up water during a thawing day, and when the temperature drops below freezing at night, freezes internally to the point that the crowns crush themselves, killing the plant.  We have a plan in place to battle this, and any other scenarios that may come up.  Overall, I am optimistic on the health of the golf course.  Greg and his staff prepared the turf nicely ensuring it be the healthiest possible going into the bear that was our winter this year. 

     At this point, we will continue to monitor conditions day by day.  I am pleased with what I see so far, but as you all know, we still have some winter to go.  Think Spring!

Ryan

An Icy Situation

To say that this blog update is a little overdue might be one of the biggest understatements of my career. A lot has happened since the last post. I have now officially transitioned into the position of the Director of Operations here at Elcona and we have hired Ryan Cummings as the new Golf Course Superintendent to fill the void that was left when I took my new position.  Ryan was a former Assistant Superintendent here at Elcona and was most recently the Golf Course Superintendent at Plymouth Country Club.  At this time, I won't provide all of the details regarding Ryan as I know he will be providing you with all of his information shortly via email and a blog update. Having said all of that, this will most likely be my final blog post as I turn the blog over the Ryan to provide you with updates that you have been accustomed to.

I trust that all of you that venture to warmer climates are keeping up to date with the winter that will never end here in Indiana.  I can assure you, you aren't missing much. The members that reside here year-round can attest to that.

This week the Grounds Department began clearing snow from all of the greens on the golf course in anticipation of a warm-up that is coming next week.  Historically we have not done this, but this year it is necessary because of a 1/2" layer of ice that has formed directly on top of the turf on the greens.  With our greens being primarily composed of Poa annua (Annual Bluegrass), we have a very small window of how long we can allow the ice to remain before we are at risk of losing turf.  Research has indicated that once we get beyond 45 days of cover, the turf can begin to suffocate and possibly die.  As of today, we are hovering around day 40 or so.  It's not a guarantee that the turf will die once day 45 comes, but we don't want to take that chance.  Several other factors come into play once the ice is removed, but given the time frame we are working with, removal of the snow/ice is our best and safest option. Click on the picture below for a larger view.

Small Putting Green

Small Putting Green Finished

I have included a link here for you to read if you would like some more information on ice covered greens.

#2 Green

#2 Green

Several sample plugs of turf have been removed from many of the greens and brought indoors to see how they react to warmer temperatures.  Based on how the plugs break dormancy will give us a good idea of what to expect when spring arrives. At this point, the greens look good and there is no reason for concern, but the weather conditions after the ice thaws will also play an important role in spring conditions.  We're certainly a long way from being in the clear, but all signs point to everything being healthy.

#15 Green

Going forward, you can expect updates from Ryan on how things are progressing and you can certainly continue to ask me as many questions as you would like.  The blog address will remain the same, but the profile information will be updated with Ryan's info since he is now the primary contact for all things occurring on the golf course.  Please reach out to him and welcome him when you have the chance.  We are fortunate to have him and I know he is excited to be here.  He can be reached at ryan@elconacc.com.

As for me, stop on in and say Hello whenever you have the chance.  Enjoy the remainder of your winter and lets hope that the end is near.