A Good Brisk Walk

 One of the more enjoyable aspects of my job is taking a brisk walk around the golf course just taking in all that I can observe.  Besides tricking my body into exercise, it allows me to better look at things closer than I can driving around in a utility vehicle.  Last week provided me with that first opportunity at Elcona.  I liked what I saw, considering the harsh winter Mother Nature dolled out across the region.  We have work to do, but I like our position compared to the other possibilities if we had not taken the measures we did.

Close up of open aerification holes

8 green enjoying some sunlight

The vast majority of the turf on greens is in great shape. Our snow and ice removal plans worked to eliminate toxic gases from suffocating the turf.  The plants also were still hardy enough to survive the cold temperatures that came after removal.  Finally, thanks to having such a wonderful, dedicated staff, we kept up in managing the melting water from re-freezing on the turf and creating crown hydration injury.  The picture above right shows another reason why we were able to eliminate as much standing water on the greens.  The late season aerification Greg and his staff performed left open holes in the soil profile for the water to drain into, once the ground thawed out a bit.  A couple of low areas suffered some crown hydration injury, but samples pulled from those areas showed growth and recovery after warming up in the shop for a couple of days.

5 green

The picture of 5 green shows that we did have some superficial damage from our removal last month.  In moving slush and water off of the green profile, there was a fair amount of sand mixed in with it.  That sand worked like sandpaper on a piece of wood, and caused some bruising of leaf tissue due to its abrasive nature.  All of the sample plugs I have pulled out of this area have recovered, after a couple of days of warmth.  It may look bad right now, but there is a fair amount of green leaf tissue underneath and the crowns are healthy still.

Front right of 9 green

Another example of winter injury I have observed is desiccation, and the picture on the left shows some on 9 green. This is a high point on the golf course and historically gets wind burnt and especially dry as the winter goes.  Once again, the sample I pulled from this area greened up and started growing within a day or two inside.  Once again, it looks bad but no real worries here!

Shovel marks on the front left of 10 green

Finally, I have included a picture of area damage that we did in an effort to remove the thick ice that had accumulated on a couple greens.  While it may look real bad, these will go away and fill in as the temperatures increase.  We will be rolling a bit more in the next week, and lightly topdressing these areas to further smooth out and repair them.  Some areas will need some plugs from our greens nursery to repair turf that was damaged by the snow removal equipment, and our staff will be acting on that quickly as well.



Over the next week, conditions will improve even more, and we will be able to begin our mowing and rolling routines on the golf course.  Golf is near, and I could not be more excited to get the 2014 season started.  I appreciate your patience and understanding while we get the golf course back into shape following the historic winter it experienced.  In my mind, we experienced unprecedented conditions and had to take aggressive steps to prevent a more catastrophic result from happening. 

Ryan

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.

Man's Best Friend

Not exactly the type of update that I was hoping to send out, but given the nature of the information, this is probably a justifiable forum to be used given that many of you have a very strong interest in the words and feelings that this post passes along.

On Monday, November 18th, Mulligan took his final lap around the golf course before he lost his battle to a tumor on his spleen. At the age of 15.5 years old, reality told us that this day would be coming, we just didn't know when.

Mulligan was always a part of my life on the golf course. For 15 years, every morning started the same. My alarm would go off and Mulligan would head down the stairs to wait by the door to make sure he wouldn't get left behind. For those of you that know me, how many times did he not make it to work with me? Not very many. Why? Truth be told, he would become completely incorrigible if he was not allowed to come to work. He would much rather sit in his basket within the confines of my office than stay at home with a house to himself. After all, if he was at home, he would miss out on a possible opportunity to take a ride around the golf course, chase squirrels, go swimming or con some unsuspecting member into sharing half of a turkey sandwich. Even in his final days, he was always willing to fight the pain to make it to work. Work was always filled with excitement, or at least the potential for excitement. Where else do people carry treats in their golf bags? Nowhere else but work, and he knew that with 100% certainty.

For those of you that allowed him to be a part of your lives, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I especially want to thank Dr. Jill Windy and the staff at Noah's Landing for taking such good care of him through all of his ailments. He far exceeded anyone's expectations, but to those of us that knew Mulligan, weren't surprised.

So, as I write this blog post, I want to say thank you to Mulligan who was the perfect example of "Man's Best Friend".

• Thank you for showing me what unconditional love is all about
• Thank you for teaching me the value of true friendship
• Thank you for sharing your enthusiasm for work because I didn't always have it
• Thank you for being a good listener whenever I thought the course was in bad shape
• Thank you for always being a footwarmer on cold nights
• Thank you for being a playground for our kids when they were toddlers
• Thank you for allowing me to use you as a napkin when I didn't have one

 So long my friend. Thank you for being you. Enjoy your next chapter in life, the perfect pond awaits you.