Course and Project Update, 5/31/15

A soggy end to the month of May

What a way to end the month of May.  As I am writing this, we have received 3.25" of rain in the past 24 hours.  With exception of the bunkers, the course took this rain very well.  The sandy soil that Mr. Sims gave Elcona is some of the best draining in the region and I am fortunate to have it.

The green, tee, and bunker surrounds I wrote about here are slowly pushing new growth and coming back from their injury.  In select areas where growth is not at the rate that I was expecting, we will be aerifying small holes into the surface to break the preemergent herbicide barrier, and slit seeding to try and fill those areas better.  I appreciate everyone's patience with the recovery of these areas.

The terrace project is reaching its final days.  Work focused this past week on construction of the fire pit.  This required over 100 cuts into the stone to make the 6 foot diameter circle for the insert, as well as some custom cutting to make vents and the valves fit seamlessly into the stone.  When, finished, the fire feature will be 18" tall.  The fire insert itself is a 36" penta-style burner with a layer of lava rock topped with realistic-looking logs.  Stay tuned for pictures of the final look!

One of the neat sights around the property each May are the new additions to the wildlife families on course.  The new litters of turkeys have started to roam the course, and the above picture was taken by our head golf professional, Tom Thome.  We think this fawn was born the night before out near the halfway house.  This demonstrates another example of the sanctuary golf courses can be in providing safe, quality habitats for native wildlife.  

Finally, Niblock will be here on Monday to start resurfacing cart paths along 2 and 15 green, hole # 3 and 4 tee, hole #8, around 12 green, and from 14 green to 15 tee.  You may have noticed our staff removing sod along these paths over the last couple of days.  Over the years, turf growth has narrowed paths from their original 8 foot width.  Niblock will be overlaying these areas with an additional 2" of asphalt. This work is expected to leak into Tuesday and if there is a need to re-route traffic, we will communicate that to you.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.  Have a great week and I will see you out on the golf  course!

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

What is it?

A few of you have asked me why some of the rough looks yellowish and mottled around select bunkers and greens.  Each spring, we apply a pre-emergent herbicide to prevent crabgrass from germinating in those areas, along with a three way broadleaf herbicide.  The holes where this yellowing is happening is where this application took place before an unexpected freeze the following night, causing tip burn on the leaves of the plant.

This tip burn is superficial in nature and the plant should grow out of this injury.  We have applied fertilizer to help recovery along, and the warmer weather we are experiencing now should allow this injury to heal.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.  Thanks!

Ryan

Course and Project Update, 4/25/15

Gorgeous tulip bloom behind 18 green

Even through the freezing temperatures we experienced this week, the tulips and daffodils held their spectacular color, adding to an already beautiful backdrop along green and tee complexes.  With the drier start to spring that we have had, it has been nice to produce firm conditions without being aggressive in our daily maintenance.  With each week, I am gaining additional staff where we will begin to regularly walk mow greens and increase our frequencies maintaining areas as well.  I have been proud of my staff for their efforts and hard work in getting the golf course into season shape, while working hard on our numerous Spring projects.

Our preemergent applications for grassy weeds and early season broadleaf weeds will be completed this coming week.  The high winds that visited Elcona all of last week hampered any plans of applying those.  There is still some time to apply these preventative applications to your yard if you have not as well.

 

The terrace project continues to march along.  Last week, ConCreations was onsite to demo the existing concrete around the Club and Fireside Rooms, and pour a new slab of stamped concrete in those areas to match the existing colors and patterns of the walking path outside the Ballrooms and View.  It was quite the process, as the pictures abo show.  Seeing a boom over the building was quite the show!  The remaining sod in the new area was transplanted to some open stump holes on the course, and a gas line was run both to the location of the new firepit and a future grill hook up on the north side of the new terrace edge.  Irrigation was re-routed around the new paver area and any topsoil that was in the area was removed by hand to ensure wires and pipes were not disturbed.

 

The next steps in this project involve setting the final grade for the pave stones.  We will be adding or taking away subgrade to make a even base to add our aggregate base layer, which will be compaction gravel.  The gravel must be a compacted level of at least 4" in depth.  On top of that gravel will be a 1/2" layer of sand, which serves as the base for the actual pave stone.  Before all of these aggregates are added, we will be taking several readings with survey equipment to establish and marking these on wood stakes.

18 green also continues to be on schedule for its grand opening one week from today.  In the last two weeks, it have been aerified both with 1/2" cores and 3/4" solid deep tines to further smooth the playing surface and create new channels for air, water, and roots to go.  This aerification has also allowed the generous application of topdressing sand to further smooth the surface as well, as you may have noticed.  The height of cut currently is at .165", which is .04" above the other greens on the course.  I will have more information on the green later on in the week, so stay tuned!

Sod work continues to be completed as well.  Areas that are both newly laid sod and yet to be completed will be marked as "Ground Under Repair", so please continue to take relief if your ball lands in these areas.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.  I have enjoyed seeing many familiar faces return to Elcona, along with some new faces as well.  See you on the course!

Ryan