Tree work

This brief cold spell gave us an opportunity to remove a few trees this past week.  We create a list of potential removals in the fall and if the ground firms up enough over the winter, we go ahead with the removals.  While we did not get everything down that was on our list, we did get some of the less desirable / failing trees off the course, the remainder of the list will be saved for next winter. 

One tree that received approval recently was a Spruce to the right of the 2nd green.  This tree was not only encroaching into the green complex (covering up a portion of the right bunker), it was also causing damage to the cart path beneath it.  We will be re-paving this path in the spring, it therefore made sense for us to remove the tree at this time.

After a few tree removals earlier this week, we brought in a stump grinder yesterday while the ground was still firm.  This morning before the snow hit, we filled all our stump holes with soil.  Because of the tree work this week, stick clean-up went slower than anticipated.  While we had a few bodies on it all week, we still have some ground to cover.

One of our major projects of the winter is near completion - equipment maintenance.  We have a few more regular maintenance items to scratch off, then we can spend some time on fabricating items that will make our equipment safer and more efficient. 

Reinforcements arrive

We have the help of a few of our seasonal staff members that are on Spring Break this week.  Extra hands go a long way to get large projects, such as stick clean-up, done in a timely manner.  We sent everyone outside today to get some of our worst areas done before the snow hits.

 We completed the clean-up on 4 holes, using a total of 58.5 man hours today alone just on stick clean-up.  I am hoping the snowfall is light tonight allowing us to continue cleaning up the course.

 

My timeline laid out on Saturday may change depending on the snowfall tonight and upcoming temperatures.  We may not be able to aerify next week as I hoped as the forecast seems to be cooler now.  Again, I will keep you posted.

 

High winds cause damage

Just when we thought we were ahead of the game this year, almost having the course cleaned up and ready for the next project, we get hit with high winds.  We saw multiple trees down and debris all over.  Stick clean-up will have to start over from the beginning.   It seems there was a stretch through Findlay that received high winds and part of the club fell right on that path.  All our damage was on the north side of the course, with nothing being harmed south of 5. 

Crab Apple near the bridge on 8.

 The sun came out for a little bit today as we cleaned this one up.

 An Ash fell onto the fence and road behind 9 tee.

 Half a Pear tree on 11.

Spruce between 5 and 13.

Ash on 18

 A large Spruce uprooted behind 10 green.

We got the Spruce off the cable lines and off the neighbors yard, the remainder of it will be cleaned up Friday morning - we are hoping for firmer ground to get our loader up there and finish the job. 





Wayne was back on the job today after a few months hiatus and spent the day inside - coating all the tee markers with a layer of epoxy, making them look new again.  

The cost of trees

Trees are what makes Findlay Country Club a great course, but they don't come free.  About 40% of our labor between now and the end of March will go towards trees: leaf clean-up, picking up sticks, trimming trees over the winter, tree removal, tree planting and splitting firewood.  We can also look at what trees cost us over the summer: string trimming around every tree at least once a month, stick clean-up every time there is a storm, blowing off tree debris daily on the playing surfaces, the inefficiency of rough mowers having to dodge trees and the damage that roots cause to mowers over time.  The amount of our resources spent on trees is staggering.  I am not advocating for a tree free FCC, just passing on information worth noting. 

Today we spent 16 man hours on stick clean-up alone due to the high winds last night.  This had to be done to allow us to clean-up more tree debris - leaves.  We hope to get through the property one more time with a thorough leaf clean-up, but that job can't get done with thousands of damaging sticks in the way. 

On to leaves tomorrow, course should be looking really clean by the end of the week.  The great thing about turf that keeps growing and a course full of trees - job security! 

 

Tree tour

Yesterday I had Cathy Smith, Findlay's own 'Tree Lady', visit FCC to look at our tree population.  We toured the course looking at a few specific problems with some of our trees; but the main purpose was for another eye to view our trees and point out issues that we may be missing.

There are a few trees on the property that are failing and I wanted to get Cathy's opinion on the cause of decline.  A small Spruce along 4 has a bacterial disease that is unavoidable (this may spread to other Blue Spruces on the course), and two trees on 8 and 9 are dying due to stress.

This Sweet Gum along 9 died this spring after leafing out.  There are no evident signs of cause, it most likely died due to stress - flooding and extremely cold winters.  It finally just gave up.  I suppose we could say the cause of decline was 'the wrong tree for that location'. 

This Norway Spruce on 8 is declining due to stresses that it just couldn't handle anymore.

 

Cathy also gave us great reminders on proper planting, watering, mulching and tree care techniques that can keep our younger trees healthy.  While we are a golf course, our trees are very important to us.  We take a long range approach to our trees, the trees we plant today will be the trees that will show their true potential 50-100 years from now. 

Winter tree projects

The balmy winter has given us a great opportunity to focus on tree trimming while also allowing us to remove a few trees.  Over the past few months we have been busy going through the course in a systematic way, trimming every tree.  The past few weeks we have been able to get larger equipment on the course which was needed for tree removal.

Tree trimming is an important task on the course.  As trees age, the limbs reach lower and lower.  The low hanging limbs don't offer easy access to the area by golfers or by maintenance equipment while also robbing the turf below from needed sunlight.  With the removal of these limbs, access is improved and turf benefits due to increased sunlight.  Another great benefit is the improved aesthetics, the look of a well manicured tree or grove of trees really adds to the overall detail of the golf course.

The tree removals this year are significantly less intense as in the recent past.  We have done a great job of removing trees that were affecting turf health and playability in the main areas of the golf course (greens, tees, fairways).  As the need for removals around these areas decreases, we can focus more on the failing trees and trees that don't have a positive effect on the beauty of the course.  Above is a Spruce that is being removed from 16, left of the start of the fairway, near the river.  As you see in the picture, the canopy of this Spruce was almost devoid of needles. 

Yesterday was one of the few days this winter that we could allow large equipment on the course.  This was needed to remove a few larger trees that we could not take down in-house.  We sought help removing a Walnut, Ash and a Cottonwood off of 14 - all of which were in major decline and threatening to fall on neighboring property. 

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

 

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.

View from the tee

There are only a handful of golfers at FCC that play from the back tees, not too many people notice the view or obstructions from back there.  I make it a point during the season to assess the view and openings from the tee boxes, this has led to certain tree removals and recently some tree pruning.

The opening between the two Maples on 11 tee was narrowing.  From the back tee, the window was becoming unplayable.

After 15 minutes of trimming, we now have 2 decent trees that frame the hole.  I get a kick out of pruning - making good trees into great trees.

 

Another view from the tee that wasn't improving on its own was on 12.  From the tee boxes, the two Spruce on the right blocked the entire path to the back bunker and was also impeding the view of the magnificent Oak.

 

We've removed the two Spruce, your ball can now travel on a path and land in a place intended and designed for that tee shot and green - a bunker or the green bank vs. knocked down by a tree a few yards from a bunker.

Ash tree removal along #2

On Tuesday we brought in our tree service experts, A & E Sowers, to help us remove some very large trees.  We complete the majority of our tree removals in-house, but when we can't take the tree down safely, the help of a company with all the right equipment is needed.

The first removal was the large Ash just to the left of #2 green.  This Ash has been in decline for the last few years and was on the list to be removed last winter, but due to weather conditions, we could not get to it. 

 

This tree was 120 years old, most likely one of the 5 oldest trees on the property.  I hate to see large trees go down just as much as the next person, but when a tree like this only has half the tree leaf out during the growing season, you know it has met the end and quickly becomes a safety hazard.

Before picture looking at the tree line left of #2 green.

After

 

There were 6 trees along the creek, left of #2 that were removed, all were in serious decline.  4 were Ash, 1 hollow Maple and 1 busted Buckeye from a storm last Fall.  We also removed the extremely large Maple between #1 green and #18 tee based on the recommendation of our Arborist and feedback from the Grounds Committee.

 

Removing one of those large trees is a good days work by most standards.  By setting up an efficient system and with FCC providing extra hands, we removed 7 trees in 8 hours, 5 of those being of significant size.  On Wednesday we spent the day grinding away the stumps of those trees.  The grindings from the Maple alone filled 2 1/2 dump trucks.

Tree removals

Last winter was not conducive for removing trees, this winter has been more comfortable and has allowed us to catch up on needed removals.  We've had multiple Ash trees decline over the last few years and will continue to see the slow decline.  With that in mind, it is inevitable that most of our Ash will be removed over time.

This Ash was on the right side of 13 approach.

One of the more noticeable removals will be this Ash.  This was the large tree on the inside corner of the fairway on 10, left side.

 

Other notable Ash removals this year included 4 trees along the right side of 3 fairway, the large Ash between 3 approach - 4 tee, also 3 Ash on the inside corner of 11 fairway near the bunker.

 

Winter, enjoy it before is leaves us!

 

Tree trimming

This morning was a little "cool" so we kept busy inside, after lunch we decided to get some fresh air and complete a small project around the clubhouse.

The trees on the West side of the building were overgrown and shading out the light coming into the River rooms.  We removed a good portion of the small trees and trimmed up the remaining stand.

The view from the River rooms has improved and sunlight can now penetrate the canopy to enter the building.

Tree planting

This week we were able to plant all the trees that were delivered late last week.  It's a great time of year to plant trees, the roots will still grow while the need for water and the overall environmental stress is down. 

We planted 14 trees in all.  Some of the locations may seem odd at first, but take into effect a long range view and which trees may not last much longer, it will eventually become clear.

Three 'Princeton' Elms were planted.  This variety has a moderate resistance to Dutch Elm Disease.  This Elm was planted between 10 app and 11 tee.  The Ash trees nearby won't last much longer.

 

This Elm is to the far right of 14 tee near the service road.

 

The last Elm is between 2 and 17.

 

This is what a mature Elm will look like - this is next to 17 tee.

 

This 'Autumn Fantasy' Maple is to the left of 13 fairway.

A larger Maple will look similar to these Maples along 11 fairway.

 

Three 'Shademaster' Honey Locust were planted, this one near the bridge on 1.

This Locust is right of 13 tee, the Pears nearby are failing and will be removed.

 

This Locust was planted to the right of 15 fairway about 200yds out.  A Maple next to it is being removed.

A large Locust will look like this one on 3.  I really enjoy Locust, they give you an open air canopy and filtered sunlight - great for golf courses.

This is a 'Green Mountain' Sugar Maple planted left of 13 fairway near the service road.  A few more trees along this stretch are failing, we wanted to plant a few nice trees in this area to break up the view of the range.

 

This Maple was planted near the bridge on 3.

A mature Sugar Maple will look like this one on 4

Two Bur Oaks were planted, this one right of 1 fairway, 150yds out.

 

This Oak is near 17 tee, the two Ash along 3 fairway behind it are being removed.

 

A large Bur Oak will look like this Oak on 16

 

We also planted a Scarlet Oak to the left of 17 fairway.

Two American Beech trees were planted, this one left of 11.  The trees nearby won't be around for long.

This Beech is right of 14 back tees.  A few trees nearby will be removed this winter.

One of the largest Beech trees I have ever seen is on FCC's property.  A golfer won't ever see it unless they search for their ball deep in the woods along the left of 18.

I hope someday the trees we planted will grace the proprty like this giant.