Pins removed from greens, minor flooding

Yesterday, the pins were removed from the greens, the official closing of the course for the season.  As usual, we placed a few pins in the approaches if you get the urge to walk a few holes on warm day over the winter. 

Evan is happy this is the last pin he has to move in 2015.

 

We placed pins on holes 1, 2 and 7.  In the past we've typically also placed pins on 10, 11 and 12 but we frequently see these winter pins on the ground due to the freezing/thawing and high winds.  Because I don't like the messy look of pins laying on the ground that are in view of all to see over the winter, I've opted to leave out a few pins.  If you decide to hit a few balls around over the winter, feel free to traverse some other areas of the course, we just ask that you stay off the greens.  Also, please keep in mind that over the winter the ground may freeze, please do not walk on any turf that is froze.

We are experiencing minor flooding from the rains over the last few days.  Portions of 8, 9 and 18 are underwater.  As soon as the water recedes we will begin our clean-up efforts.  Flooding during this time of year poses little to no risk of turf loss.

Bottom of 1 fairway looking towards 18

 

Course closing update

The course will remain open through the weekend, the course will then close for the season on Monday, December 28.  It looks as though the temperatures will then drop slightly and a wetter weather pattern will be on us.  With cold temps and rain, conditions will not be conducive for golf or towards maintaining a healthy stand of turf.

Carts will be allowed this Tuesday and Wednesday, effective Thursday - carts will no longer be allowed on the course.

Please note, the Golf shop will be closed over the Christmas weekend, if you wish to walk a few holes over the weekend, make sure you have your clubs out of the bag room before Thursday.

Merry Christmas!

Tree trimming

One of the perennial winter tasks we take on is tree trimming.  This week was the start of that month long project. 

 

This is one of those tasks I really enjoy doing.  After completing an area, I stand on the tee and admire the change and cleanliness that is now present.  There are many reasons why we try to keep trees trimmed, they include:

• Improved access by golf carts
• More space for that perfect swing if you happen to be under a tree
• Less damage to trees due to hitting branches with a rough mower roll-bar
• Improved turf growth around and under the tree
• Easier access by string trimmers
• More air circulation through the course which improves turf health
• And, a more professional/clean appearance to the grounds

 

Fence removal, creek cleaning

One of the prominent things I noticed on the FCC property when I toured the course before my interview in November of 2011, was the ugly mesh screens along the range and along 12 tee.  Nothing says 'bad design' like a well placed mesh shield in the middle of the course.  These fences took away from the beauty of the property - drawing your attention to their rusty, large and unnatural forms.  We removed the screen on the range in 2012, I am pleased to announce we have now removed the eyesore on 12 tee, and it looks great.  With the recent completion of the new 10th tee, the mesh screen will no longer be needed.

We tore down the screen, selling the posts for scrap metal, then dug up the concrete foundations. 

 

The view of the area improved dramatically.

 

Another project we are working on is the dredging of the creek bottom.  Over the years, large amounts of leaves find there way into the creek, decompose and raise the level of the creek bed.  Due to the dry conditions lately, we are able to get the heavy machinery out to the creek to dig it out

We are working on 18 today, tomorrow we will tackle 6 and 7.

 

October, I mean December projects

What a great stretch of weather, it was nice to see a few groups of golfers out on the course today soaking up the sun.  This weather has been a relief for us also, allowing us to get caught up on a few things that we were behind on due the recent project on #10.  We mowed greens today, for the second time during the month of December.  I doubt that has ever happened before.

The leaves on all the Pears are finally off, allowing us to clean-up a few spots on the course one last time, making sure we go into winter clean without leaf piles laying around.  Most of the equipment has been power washed and are now going through 'Wayne's World' of machine detailing - applying a generous coat of wax and Armor All.

The last three days, myself and few staff members spent time in Columbus for our regional conference.  I always enjoy these - catching up with Superintendents from around the region, hearing the latest and greatest news/research/ideas that are out there.  We listened to seminars with a plethora of topics - equipment repair, flower arrangements, ornamental care, algae blooms, renovations, USGA report, insect update, fungicide trials, poa annua control, growth regulators, seed research, and the list goes on.  Thank you for supporting continuing education and allowing us to grow, providing you with the best product in the area.

Next week we will be fixing a drain near 10 approach, removing the covers surrounding 10 tee to harden off the grass before winter, removing the fence along 12 tee, and begin tree trimming.  Speaking of the covers on 10, I'm glad we made the call to seed those areas this fall, we had a successful catch and will be looking great going into next season.

December is the typical month for our staff to use up any unused vacation time, therefore most of us have been in and out this month.  We will all be back in January and start the task of tree removals and more tree trimming.

One last note - we are out of firewood, if you regularly request firewood deliveries, please note that we will be unable to fulfill your order for the remainder of the winter.  If you need firewood for the winter, contact me and I will help you in your search. 

Course remains open

Notice – due to the unseasonably warm weather this upcoming week, the golf course will remain open.  We will continue to monitor the temperatures and notify the membership at a later date about the course closing.  Please note that tee times will be limited in the morning hours due to frost delays, we ask that you do not walk onto the course until the frost has burned off.  We hope to see you out enjoying another round or two.

Thanksgiving weekend

The course will remain open through the holiday, including Friday.  Please note: the Golf Shop will be closed on Thursday, if you wish to walk off your overindulgence, please make plans to acquire your clubs before Thursday.

 

Enjoy the holiday!

 

Productive day

Although the weather has turned cold, the grounds staff still has a lot on our plate to wrap up before the end of the season.  We had a productive day, here's what we spent our time on today:

• Mowed greens
• Mowed rough
• Mowed range banks
• Mowed intermediate around fairways
• Removed seasonal flowers and pumpkins from the front entrance
• Stored the tennis court benches for the season
• Picked up all the leaves around the tennis courts
• Fertilized all the fairways and range
• Picked up sticks
• Picked up bags of salt for the upcoming winter weather
• Oil changes on equipment
• Hung Christmas lights around the clubhouse

Thanks to the crew for a job well done!

Sod installed

On Monday we removed sod from the 10th fairway that will no longer be in use and placed it on the new tees.

Sod being removed from the front of the old 10 fairway.

Being shuttled and laid on the new tee.

 

Below is a look at some of the work we did for the new tees

Removed the trees from the area.

Added soil to create the desired height.

Sodded the surface and seeded the surrounds.

 

I'm happy to note that the grass has germinated on the tee surrounds.  We have placed covers around the tee to promote more growth before the winter.  I am optimistic that the juvenile turf will survive the winter and give us a great head start coming into next season. 

 

This will be the end of the work on #10 for 2015, we will open it back up in 2016 with some minor adjustments around the green to finish off the project.

End of the season

Today was the unofficial end to the 2015 season as we cleared the irrigation lines in preparation for the oncoming winter. 

Tree planting

Last week, 16 trees were planted on the property, bringing the total to 37 trees planted over the last 4 years.  Most of the trees planted this fall were around the tennis courts, breaking up the industrial look of the tennis court fencing.

Near the courts we planted - Black Gum, Crabapple and Spruce.  On the course we planted a Beech, Maple and Honey Locust. 

 

As areas open up through tree removals, we evaluate the spot to determine if a new tree needs to be planted.  Our goal is to maintain the look and feel of FCC and it's many mature trees into the next century.  Tree planting is the ultimate 'long term' strategy to beautify the course.  Someday, your grandkids will benefit from the trees that we are planting today.

Bunker sand installation

Yesterday we started the installation of sand in the bunkers on 10, we have one half of a bunker left.  The sand was installed at 6" in depth, by spring the sand will have had a chance to compact and will be around 4" in depth.

The guys left for the day quite tired and sore, having moved 40 tons of sand around by hand on Thursday.  We have another 15 tons left to install.

 

 

Below shows the progression of the 10th hole over the last few weeks.

Pre-project, October 14

After sand removal, October 16

Bunker shaping, October 21

Sod installation, October 23

Sand Installation, November 5

 

If we dry out later today, we may be able to finish the sand installation.  Next week we hope to tackle the task of sodding the tee surface, the sod for this will be coming off the 10th fairway that will no longer be needed due to the shortened hole. 

Seeding 10 tee surrounds

Due to the great weather this week, we decided to seed the surrounds of the new 10th tee box.  We are hopeful that we can get the seed to germinate this year yet, speeding up the recover process next spring.

The area was raked smooth, seeded, then covered with straw to keep the seed moist.

 

Tomorrow, another load of sod is coming in, we will be finishing the sod work around the bunkers.

10 Tee irrigation

Before any sod can be laid on the new 10th tee, a new irrigation line servicing the tee had to be installed. During the last few days, we tackled that piece of the renovation project. 

A water line was run from the existing fairway, communication wire was laid from the satellite box between 10/11 and two heads were installed to water the new tee. 

 

Course update

The rain last night and today has totaled 1.6" thus far, with most of it soaking right in.  Leading up to this point, we have been extremely dry with only 2" of rain in the last two months and .6" in the last 45 days.  The abnormal dry conditions have no doubt made for some challenging conditions on the greens, some commenting that the greens are too fast and others telling me that they have never been better at FCC.  An interesting fact is that we haven't rolled greens in over two weeks, the greens have just been plain fast without us trying. 

Aerification went great on Monday and Tuesday.  We poured the sand on then solid-tined them twice, once with a deep-tine machine going 10"deep, then once with our aerifier going 4" deep, each machine with 3/4" solid tines.  After the sand dried, the sand was drug into the aerification holes, creating drainage channels and areas for optimal root growth.  Over the next few days we will continue to work the sand in and start rolling the greens to smooth them out.

A load of trees (16 trees) arrived today, they will be planted around the property over the next coming weeks.  3 trees will be planted on the course with the remainder being planted along Country Club Drive in front of the tennis courts.  The coincides with our Landscape Master Plan and part of our front entrance project.

The 10th hole project is going well, most of the sod was laid last week, yesterday we beat the rain and finished the drainage in the four bunkers.  The goal this week is to install the sand in the bunkers, next week we will continue with sod if weather permits.

This is also the time of year were leaves are falling in droves.  We are trying our best to keep a somewhat clean course and will continue to blow and mulch until the last leaf is off.  The recent frosts have slowed the grass growth which is a tremendous help as we are now able to spend time on projects vs. mowing. 

In our spare time we will begin delivering wood for members that burn through the winter.  I have 7 loads on a waiting list that need to be delivered.  If you would like a wood delivery for this winter, please let me know, the wood pile will be disappearing fast. 

Project update

A lot has been accomplished since my post last week.  We started the week by stripping the remaining sod in the area of disturbance, today we layed fresh sod to cover the new features.  Our Shaper arrived Monday afternoon and went right to work, at the end of the day Wednesday, the four new bunkers were completed.  By the end of the day Friday, all the features will be shaped and ready for sod and sand. 

The Shaper started moving dirt every morning by 7:00 with the aid of lights.

Today, the bunkers were edged and trenched for drainage.

The Grounds staff has been very diligent and busy with this large project.  75% of our time has been spent on the 10th hole, trying to get things done so that we can move on.  Yesterday we were busy moving an irrigation line that was in the way of a new bunker.  Today we finished edging bunkers, and started laying sod.  Friday we will focus on drainage and sod.

 

Next week we will be tied up with aerifying greens on Monday and Tuesday.  In between course maintenance, we will continue to work on 10 towards the end of the week.

Renovation begins

The renovation work to the 10th hole has begun.  This week's activity was prep work for the bulk of the project to be done next week.  We have a Shaper coming in next week, starting Tuesday, to shape the new tees and bunkers.  The remainder of the work will be done in-house.

Soil was brought in to build a base for the new tee.  We placed it as it was coming in to gauge the amount of soil needed.  The Shaper may need to move it around and compact it, re-shaping it, next week.  After the base is built, topsoil will be added to make a finish grade.  The top of the tee will be sodded with bentgrass that will come off the current 10th fairway.

About 60 yards from the green, to the right, will be some mounding jutting out into the fairway.  Sod was stripped out yesterday, soil will be added and shaped, this area will be seeded. 

The strategic point of entry to the green will be from the right side, this mounding will make golfers think twice about using driver on this hole.

All the bunker sand was removed from the bunkers.  We saved as much sand as possible, which will be placed back into the new bunkers.  Looking at the pile of good sand that we took out, I estimate we saved $1,500 worth of bunker sand.

The sod around the bunkers will be ripped out, the Shaper will implode the current bunkers and build 4 new bunkers around the 10th green (2 will be rebuilt in the similar location, 2 will be new).

 

The next two weeks will be extremely busy for us as we focus on the project and greens aerification on October 26.  Course maintenance will be at a minimum to allow us personnel to complete the project.  We are currently down 3 men due to unexpected sickness/surgeries, we will do our best to keep the course playable and complete this project.

Change in mowing height

One of the topics of discussion this year with a few members was the rough around the fairways, more specifically the rough between the fairways and fairway bunkers.  Because the rough in these areas are irrigated and fertilized along with the fairways, they tend to be very thick; and these areas of very thick rough tend to jut out into the fairway in places that penalize the higher handicap players.

Therefore after a discussion with the Grounds Committee, we are giving some of these areas a trial run at a different height.  At select locations, we will be mowing these areas down to intermediate height, reducing the penalty of landing in one of these jungles that jut out into the fairways.

Holes that we are trying this on include - 3,7,10 and 15

10th hole renovation preperations

This Monday we started our prep work for the 10th hole renovation project.  Three trees were removed to make way for the placement of the new tees. 

 

The majority of the work will be done in late October after the Beall Invite.  The scope of the project includes - new tees, updated bunkering, and changing the fairway contours.  This project will be consistent with the Golf Course Master Plan that was constructed this past winter through the Grounds Committee and the architect firm Hills and Forrest.

Water Quality

With the recent Lake Erie algae blooms, a lot of people are pointing fingers every which way.  Some feel golf courses are to blame because of their fertilizer applications and the 'green' turf that just can't be good.  With FCC located on the Blanchard River and in the Lake Erie watershed, how we manage our property is very important, just as it is for any property owner in Hancock County and beyond.

Last season, I took two water samples - one from the Blanchard River and one from our drain tile that drains the course.  The water leaving the tile was cleaner and had less nitrogen and phosphorus than the water from the Blanchard.  Because we irrigate with water from the Blanchard, FCC turf is acting as a natural filter - filtering out sediment and nutrients and recycling clean water back into the river.

This year, we have done more testing, this time testing the creek that runs through the course.  We tested (by an independent lab) the creek as it enters the property by #14 and tested the creek as it leaves the property by #18.  What we found is we are reducing the nitrate levels and the phosphorus levels are too low to measure.  Again, FCC is acting as a filter for the water entering the Blanchard that it comes in contact with.

There are a couple ways we make the creek cleaner - 1. Water coming through our drain system has been filtered by the turf.  Turf is a great way to filter sediment and use up nutrients.  If fertilizer is not over-applied, turf will improve water quality, not harm it.  I contend that if all of Northwest Ohio was covered in properly managed turf, the Blanchard and Maumee rivers would run clear.  2. We have aquatic plants that live in our creek, they filter out sediment and use up nutrients.  They act as a wetland that takes contaminants out of the water.

Our soil consultant getting water samples from the Blanchard.

Sunrise

Beautiful sunrise this morning!

Front sign

The new front sign was completed this week, adding elegance to the front entrance.

The look and feel of our many stone bridges on the course was brought forward in this design.  The LED lighting is a huge improvement, adding a whiter light while not producing a glare to motorists.

A quick glance of what was.

 

Over the next few weeks we will continue renovating the landscaping on both sides of the front entrance. 

Upcoming Course Improvements

Those of you that have been keeping up to date with our Newsletter articles and Board minutes have noted that the Grounds Committee undertook the task of completing a Master Plan for the golf course this past winter.  The Committee sought the help of the architect firm Hills and Forrest to accomplish this, their recent work included renovations at Inverness and Oakland Hills.  Through several meetings and course tours, the Architects have supplied FCC with a comprehensive plan that will guide us through any improvement projects for many years to come.

An important goal of this Master Plan was to give us a blueprint that would help us as needs become apparent - such as moving bunkers, adding tees or tree planting and removal; but the main goal we gave the architect was to ‘Modernize the course, making it more playable for the high handicap golfer while making it more challenging for the low handicap golfers; place an emphasis on being a family friendly course’.

I am excited to state that we will be implementing a small portion of this Master Plan this fall.  This October, we will be renovating the current 10^th hole.  Items to be completed include – new tees, new bunkers and changes in the fairway perimeter.  The most notable change will be the location of the new tees, moving them from their current location to slightly behind the 12^th tee box.  This will no doubt make this par 4 much shorter, but with proper bunkering, it will remain a challenging yet enjoyable hole.

            The upcoming project is the first priority for the Grounds Committee, with safety being a large concern.  We feel this addresses our safety threats while also providing a great layout.  As it is part of our overall plan for improvements on the golf course, this project will integrate well with other future projects.  Upon completion of this 10^th hole renovation, the green fences along the 12^th tee and along the parking lot will be removed, adding more beauty to area.

            A copy of the 10^th hole renovation plan as you see here shows the improvements that we will be making this fall. If you would like more information on the changes or would like to view the complete Master Plan, please feel free to contact me.  The Grounds Committee and I look forward towards the continuous improvement of Findlay Country Club and continuing the tradition as an outstanding golf destination.

New front entrance sign

This Monday we started on a much needed improvement for FCC - an updated front sign.  The old sign served us well for many years, but as it aged and started to rot, the need to replace it became apparent. 

This sign was refurbished once already, its age was starting to show as the wood continued to rot.

We brought the sign back to our shop; we are currently brainstorming ideas on how to reuse this piece of history.

Monday morning, as soon as the sign was pulled, the hole for the new sign was dug.

After a quick inspection on our footer location, concrete was poured Monday afternoon.

Tuesday - the new stone wall construction began and landscaping was installed.

 

The new sign will feature a stone wall with aluminum plaques of our logo and 'Findlay Country Club'.  Along with updated landscaping at the front entrance, the sign will bring an enhanced appeal welcoming everyone in.

Seeding

Last week we seeded any thin areas in the fairways and the rough on 8 and 18.  Today we are planting seed in any small areas of rough that thinned out due to water sitting.

I am starting to notice germination in the rough areas seeded, the fairways have not popped yet - this is due to the lack of moisture in those areas.  If we can't get the seed to germinate during the warm / dry spell, we will re-seed again when the weather changes.

Losing a valued team member

I feel I need to announce this on the blog, as many of you know Adam personally - Adam Bateson, after 15 years of service at FCC, is moving on to pursue another career path.  His last day will be August 14, if you get the chance to thank him and wish him well, please do.

We will miss his strong work ethic and ability to get things done.

Adam was in the role of Assistant Superintendent for many of his 15 years here.

Rain totals

No pictures in this post - you've seen them all already, still squeegeeing and spiking greens.

 

In the last 11 days the course has seen 6.4" of rain.

In the last 50 days the course has seen 17".

The current wet trend started on May 29 and we've had very few breaks since then.  Tomorrow, more rain will add to our totals.

 

With this heat and humidity, disease pressure is really high.  We sprayed all the playing surfaces on Thursday with a preventive application, finishing up at 10:00pm.  I feel confident that we will fair well.  With that said, we will still see some turf loss in low lying areas that hold water.  In those areas the pressure is just too high and the turf will not be able to withstand the added water and heat.

 

We continue to spike greens as needed to bring oxygen into the soil.  We also raised mowing heights to reduce scalping, and decreased rolling to alleviate added pressure.  When the wet trend snaps, we will be back to normal.

 

The latest storm on Friday night made a mess of our bunkers, we will be repairing them on Monday.  There was a scheduled outing on Monday which has been moved to August 10.



You know what this post is about....

As it continues to rain, our focus moves from keeping the course 'playable' to keeping the course 'alive'.  We were supposed to hold the U of F golf outing today, but rescheduled it due to saturated course conditions and a bad weather outlook.  Our main concern are greens 10 and 18, these two greens in particular hold water more than the others.  Currently, they are saturated pools of mush; allowing that amount of foot traffic on them for an outing might be the end of them.

To combat the saturated soils and lack of oxygen, we have been aerifying the greens, especially 10 and 18, on a regular basis.  We have also limited mowing and rolling to reduce stress as much as possible.

A few areas in the fairways have also been aerified.

Squeegeeing the fairways is becoming a daily routine - attempting to clear the water off as soon as possible.  We have been lucky in the sense that we have not had a lot of sun and high temperatures.  If we had these rains followed be heat and sun, we would have seen a lot more turf loss.

We are stuck between a rock and a hard place on mowing - if we don't mow today, the next driest day will most likely be Thursday by then the grass will be horrendously long, it already is.  If we mow today we are going to pull up mud and the course is going to look like trash.  So, some areas we mowed, some we didn't.  The rule is: if it's just a mud track, go ahead and mow it; but if you're leaving ruts, don't mow it.  Tracks are temporary, ruts are hard to get out.

 

2.2" of rain

Over the last 36 hours we've seen 2.2" of rain, leaving the course saturated this morning.

View of the range tee first thing this morning.

Bunkers were full.

1 fairway

The rain didn't keep us from doing routine maintenance and some house cleaning.

It gave us a great opportunity to clean out the barn...

and give all the equipment a good scrubbing.