Course Update

Slow progress is still progress. At least that is what I am trying to convince myself right now.  This has been an unbelievably slow start to the season, especially when making comparisons to last year.  After looking back at our log book from last year, we continue to be every bit of 4-5 weeks behind.  Although last year was certainly an anomaly when it comes to early springs, it’s still frustrating knowing that the weather is not cooperating at a time when everyone is ready to get out and enjoy the golf course.

The weather is equally as frustrating for me as well. This is the time of year when we want to accomplish so many important agronomic tasks and we just can’t get to them right now. Spring fertilizer applications where they are needed, pre and post-emergent weed control and regular mowing schedules are all items we would like to get done, but we must show patience and wait for Mother Nature to tell us when the right time is.  If you maintain your own lawn, this applies to you as well. See me if you have any questions.

On the positive side, aerification of the greens, tees and fairways is complete and we have made our first of three applications to reduce seedheads on the greens. Notice I said “reduce”, not eliminate.  This application will not keep all seedheads from forming, but help to minimize the amount of them. Historically, we have had very good results and my hope is that this year is no different. As in year’s past, I have placed several 4’x4’ check plots (untreated areas) on some of the greens to help me better judge the results we obtain from this application.  If you would like more information on why we use check plots, look along the right side of this screen under “Popular Posts”.  The third one is titled “What Can You Learn from 16 sq. ft.” and will give you a greater insight.

Check Plot from a previous year

Several of you have asked me about the new, white labels on some of the trees on the golf course.  These labels serve the same purpose as the colored ribbons that were put out last fall. They are simply there to help me identify trees that have been diagnosed with varying degrees of damage from the herbicide Imprelis. These labels DO NOT necessarily mean that the tree is going to die or need to be removed; they just make it easier for me to obtain information without having to constantly look them up in spreadsheets.  To date, we have not finalized anything with DuPont as far as a settlement is concerned. As soon as we have the appropriate information, I will be sure to pass it along.

New Imprelis Tree Labels

With that being said, it’s spring so get out here and enjoy your club.  Even if it’s a little cold and rainy outside, there are plenty of activities going on inside the club for you to take advantage of. I look forward to seeing all of you and have a great month.

Green Speed: Please Consider the Following:

This is a longer than normal post, but I feel it is important that you please take the time to read it in it's entirety.

I have been wanting to address this for quite a while and this appears to be the appropriate time since I have been receiving numerous comments about the speed of the greens.

When I first started working here over 6 years ago, I was asked in the interview process if I was willing to post greenspeeds on a daily basis.  I said yes, but was always concerned about the consequences.  This was a new part of my daily routine and a new part of your daily golf game.  I can honestly say that a day didn't go by when the speed of the greens wasn't met with great criticism regardless of what "number" was placed on the Starter Hut.   No matter what the number was, it was immediately criticized for not being accurate. Some said the greens were faster than the posted number but a vast majority commented that it was extremely inaccurate and that the greens were significantly slower than the posted number. This routine had become the single most stressful part of my job and I was constantly amazed at how rounds of golf would be ruined before they even got started because of a simple number that wasn't to a players liking.  With strong encouragement from the USGA and approval from the Green Committee and Board of Directors, we stopped posting green speeds two years ago. Without question, I feel it has improved everyone's mentality before teeing off and it has certainly eliminated a lot of unnecessary stresses for myself and my staff.

 It has been and always will be a top priority for me to keep the greens as consistent as possible while maintaining a healthy playing surface. It is not uncommon for speeds to vary from day to day based on our rolling program and other external factors.  During a typical week of the peak season (see below) we will roll on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so please keep this in mind.  University research has shown that rolling more than 3-4 times/week in conjunction with a daily mowing schedule is the threshold before the turf can become overly stressed and show signs of decline .  This is especially true for Annual Bluegrass, the predominant turf on our greens, in the heat of the summer (remember last summer?).

Contrary to popular belief, I do not have complete control over the speed of the greens on a daily basis. I have compiled a list of factors that will hopefully help you become more educated on some of the things that impact the speed of your greens.

1. Staff: We are only at peak staffing levels for about 3 months (Memorial Day to Labor Day) which means that there may not be someone available to roll on the day you are playing, especially in the spring and fall.  We make every attempt to keep a consistent rolling schedule, but it doesn't always work as surprises can and do happen at any moment.
2. Moisture Levels: What can affect moisture levels? The two main culprits are rainfall/irrigation and humidity. It's no secret that firmer/drier greens tend to be faster and soft/wet greens lead to slower speeds.  We combat this as much as possible by hand watering the greens in the summer and using products to help move water down through the soil profile leading to a drier, firmer surface.
3. Weather: What happens to your yard after it rains? It grows and typically grows much faster than it did before it rained. Rainfall provides the turf with clean, usable water that helps to flush elements from the soil that tie-up nutrients, therefore making the nutrients readily available to the turf. Nutrients lead to healthy turf which can lead to additional growth.
4. Nutrition: The turf needs food to be healthy. Just as with humans, the healthier it is, the more active  it tends to be.  Healthy turf will grow more than unhealthy turf. 
5. Growth: Turf is a living, breathing entity.  It doesn't just grow at night when most of us are sleeping, it grows during the day as well.  This means that the greens will usually be slower in the afternoon than they are in the morning.  If they didn't grow, we wouldn't have to mow them every day.
6. Growth Regulators: Growth regulators work and work very well, but despite what you may think, they do not completely stop growth, they merely slow it down.  Over the years we have found a schedule that will provide very consistent results from day to day, minimizing surges in growth, but like everything else, the performance of the product is predicated upon several of the factors listed above.

The game of golf should not revolve around a number that was originally intended to measure consistency from green to green NOT the speed of the greens (this alone is a topic for another post).  Having said that, please understand that my staff and I try our hardest to give you some of the fastest (within reason), most consistent and enjoyable greens in the region on a daily basis, but sometimes outside influences lead to results that are temporarily out of our control. Please consider which factors may be at play if the greenspeed is not to you liking on a particular day. Lastly, I would encourage you to spend a few moments before each round on one of the practice greens.  They are maintained EXACTLY like the greens on the golf course and will give you a good reference as to what the greens on the course will be like.

Thank you for reading and please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Justification for a Tough Decision

Change is never easy, especially when it comes to impacting something that you have grown accustomed to and have developed an appreciation for.  With that being said, sometimes change can mean opportunity.  This was the case regarding the tree removal project behind #12 green and along side #13 tee this past winter.  We had a clear opportunity to improve the health of a very important green.

Unacceptable turf conditions due
to poor air movement

Unfortunately, this opportunity was born out of a couple of very stressful periods.  If you recall the previous two seasons we struggled to keep the turf on #12 green alive during the abnormally hot/humid conditions that we faced.  Truth be told, we came very close to losing the entire green on several occasions.  If the fan were not present, I feel very confident that the past conditions would have been far worse.  Last winter, with approval from the Green Committee and Board of Directors, it was decided to significantly reduce the tree population in this area.  This was a very difficult decision to make knowing how it could potentially impact the view of the 12th hole from the middle of the fairway.

#12 before tree removal

With careful consideration to the backdrop of #12 green, a plan was put in place to remove a majority of the trees in an attempt to take advantage of winds coming out of the west, northwest, north and northeast.  I had great confidence that we would achieve our desired results, but there was no way to tell...until the week of July 1st.  The first half of the week gave us three days with temps in the mid to upper 90's, while the second half brought 4 days with temps in the low 100's with humidity.  This unprecedented stretch of weather wasn't exactly conducive for maintaining turfgrass, especially our greens that are comprised of Poa annua.  However, it was ideal weather to test our decision of removing the trees.

#12 after tree removal

Looking back on that week of horrendous weather and surveying the turf conditions of #12 green the following week, the green survived the test and has unquestionably gone from what was easily our weakest green to arguably our best one.  The best news of all is that the fan was never used, although I did consider putting it out.

I will stop well short of claiming that we will never have another problem with this green, but at this point it seems pretty clear that the decision to protect our asset was the correct one.  I would hate to think of what the condition of the green would be like now if we hadn't made such a tough decision.

Please click on pictures for a more detailed view.

Elcona CC Field Guide to All Current Issues

Turf Quality

(Please click on photos for larger view)

When viewing these photos, please know that this has been and continues to be a very abnormal year and it is very rare that we face this many issues in a single season, let alone all at the same time.  Measures have been taken to address all of these issues.  With time and careful management, all of these symptoms will eventually be suppressed.



Physiological Decline (yellowing and thinning of turf) of Annual Bluegrass (Poa annua) in #18 fairway due to extreme heat and moisture.



Dormant Roughstalk Bluegrass (Poa trivialis). Turf still contains healthy stolons and if left in current state would recover, but not until next season.



Localized Dry Spots (LDS).  Notice the proximity and difference in moisture between the two samples.

Despite the fact that we have a fan, we still continue to have thin turf on sections of #12 green due to poor air circulation.



Current Disease Issues

The end result of Pythium in #18 fairway, as well some other smaller areas.  Turf dies in a matter of hours once infected.

Brown patch can be found on several tees.

Summer Patch (as well as a very poorly repaird ballmark) on #14 green.  This disease can also be found on several other greens.

Anthracnose on #16 green.  It can also bee seen on #2, 3, 12 and 15 greens.



Dollar spot from #6 tee.  This is very common and small areas can bee seen throughout the golf course from the tees to the rough.





Venting of the Greens



Immediately after venting and example of tine size


On Monday, 7/18, all of the greens on the golf course were vented.  Venting is a form of aerification, where numerous tiny channels (1/4" wide x 5" deep) are created within the soil profile (rootzone) of the putting surface. There are several benefits to performing this practice.  The channels help to ease the process of gas exchange within the soil allowing potentially harmfull Carbon Dioxide to be exchanged for Oxygen.  During periods of warm, humid and wet weather like we have had and are currently having, it is crucial for us to be able to let the turf "breathe" and allow excess water to drain more quickly. The end result is a healthier stand of turf that can better tolerate the harsh summer conditions.

Immediately after rolling

With the weather we have had so far this week and looking ahead to the weather that is being forcasted for the next five days or so, this practice will prove to be extremely beneficial.

More on the weather and how it affects the turf will be discussed in a blog post later this week.

Course Update: Time for Recovery

I hope that everyone was able to make it out to the club this week to enjoy watching some fantastic golf.  I couldn’t be happier with the condition of the golf course and I feel that it put up a pretty good fight for the best golfers in the state.  My staff has worked extremely hard, not just during the tournament, but, in the last day or so to get the rough mown, divots filled and debris picked up all before you get back on the course today (7/15).  I would like to thank each one of them for their long days and dedication to Elcona as well as their desire in wanting to showcase the club during a very important week. With that being said, the course is now ready for a break before we head into Invitational week. 

The winner, Brian Maurer, being interviewed

Looking ahead to the forecast for the weekend and into next week, it appears that we are headed for an extremely warm and humid stretch of weather. Last year, about this same time, we had a similar weather pattern that contributed to an outbreak of Anthracnose on the greens.  Because there is already some slight damage from Anthracnose on a few of the greens, we are going to be extremely cautious as we head into warmer and more humid weather.  Unlike last year, we are currently planning to mow at the same height, but our rolling frequency will be reduced.  We have also skipped an application of our growth regulator in order to promote some additional growth and speed the recovery process after a long week.

At this point, there is no reason to panic.  We are merely taking a proactive approach toward protecting the greens so that we can be ready to showcase the club for the 50th anniversary of the Walter O. Wells Invitational.

On Monday (7/18) the golf course will be closed so that a planned venting and topdressing of the greens can be done.  This has been done once already this year and has paid huge dividends with respect to the overall health and playability of the greens. 

More on venting in a future blog post.  Stay tuned!