Greens aerification completed

Yesterday we aerified all the greens, the unofficial end to another great season.  When we aerify we use ample sand to fill in all the holes, this sand will be present for quite some time - until the grass grows through the sand.  Some years this may be 10 days, other years the sand is there until next spring.

Monday, we started the day off early be applying a heavy coat of sand to the greens while it was still dark.  At first light, we double aerified the greens - once with a 'deep tine' machine making holes 3/4" round by 10" deep, and once with our machine, going 4" deep.

After the sand is dry, we drag the greens, apply more sand and continued to drag the sand around, filling in the holes.

We are now starting to smooth the greens by rolling. 

 

Overall, this aerification went great, the greens will be in good shape heading into winter and we are looking forward to another great season in 2017. 

As we inch closer to winter we are starting to make preparations for the end of the season.  All the annual flowers have been pulled, next on our list is chopping down all the perennials.  Today we removed all the tee markers from the course allowing us to be more efficient with our limited labor this time of year.  Feel free to use any part of the tee as you play for the remainder of the year. 

A little rain delay

We saw 1.5" of rain over the last 48 hours.  The rain this morning didn't allow us to get out on the course to perform maintenance, we tackled other projects around the shop before being able to get back out. 

Rob and Dan B. power washed all the equipment.

Evan and Jim are basically rebuilding the back end of the rough mower.

Wayne and Eric completed a thorough cleaning of our chemical storage.

I love it when I come across a shelf looking like this, thanks Eric!

It doesn't get better than this

Why would you not take time out of your busy schedule to enjoy your club?  It doesn't get better than this:

 

 

The view from the patio is amazing.  After your round of golf with friends, relax on the back patio. 

 

The colors are starting to pop on the trees.

 

Grab your spouse, father, kids or friends and enjoy a round out on the course, show off the beauty that you are privileged to enjoy at any time. 

The mums at the front entrance welcome everyone as they enter.

 

 

Don't let this fall pass you by, enjoy the club today!

 

Tee aerification

We picked off another project on our to-do list, aerifying tees today.

After plugs were pulled from the tees, we drug the soil back into the tee and picked up all the remaining thatch. 

 

Aerifying reduces compaction, removes thatch, increases air flow, aids in drainage and promotes root growth - all essential for a healthy tee. 

Sod project on 10

One of the last projects we need to complete on 10 is the expansion of the green in the corners.  The architect laid out new perimeter edges on three of the four corners, expanding them slightly, which will allow for more pin locations. 

We are pulling up the rough sod and installing bentgrass sod from our nursery.  Our goal is to get all three corners completed over the next few weeks.  After the sod is laid, it will be topdressed, rolled and eventually brought down to greens height. 

 

Once the sod is grown in, we will open up these corners to pin placements, making the green more challenging and bringing the bunkers into play to a higher degree. 

Rough mowers down

A new rough mower showed up on the property today, our Toro dealer was gracious enough to lend us the mower as our two rough units are currently down. 

The shiny new loaner (set at 2.5") will help us get by until our units are repaired.

The 'newer' of our two units is having electrical problems - where the machine won't turn on and the PTO won't engage.  This will have to go through diagnostics in Toledo. 

The older of our two units has a motor down.  Evan will be rebuilding the diesel motor in house, saving us thousands by not outsourcing the repair.

In case you missed it - great sunrise this morning!

September update

While growing in the rough around #10 this year, we had carts follow our rope to the fairway.  This allowed the rough to grow in but created a small dirt path due to all the traffic.  This shows just how much damage can be done to a course because of carts, and also shows how important rope and stake can be to the health of the course.  It also tells us that installing the path around the new tees was the right decision.  I can't imagine the muddy mess we would have had if the path wasn't installed this past spring. 

This week, before the rain hit, we aerified the dirt path, seeded and fertilized it.  Before long, this area will be back to normal. 

 

It's not very often you see a walk mower on our greens anymore, we got it out this week to fine tune our edges.

Over the course of the summer a few of our edges have crept out.  We went around every green and painted dots on where the green's edge should be.  If needed, we scalped the edge back with the walk mower.  This areas should recover within a few weeks. 

Monday update

Thank you for allowing us to accomplish more on Mondays by holding off tee times until 1:00, here is what we accomplished today:

• Mowed range tees
• Mowed range banks
• Mowed range rough
• Filled range divots
• Blew debris off of all playing surfaces
• Moved all tee markers, emptied trash, filled ball washers
• Mowed greens
• Mowed rough around all fairways
• Mowed intermediate around fairways (short rough)
• Blew out, repaired and raked all bunkers
• Hauled out firewood
• Cleaned up downed tree on 16
• Repaired asphalt patch by 1/2 way house
• Fertilized all greens with two products
• Sprayed for ant control on the practice green
• Sprayed all tees with wetting agent
• Sodded out thin spots on 8, 10 and 16 fairways
• Edged all tee plaques
• Raked out landscape beds that were damaged by storms
• Removed plant debris and annuals from landscaped beds
• String trimmed the ditch on 3,5,14
• Mowed fairways on the south side of the course

 

Get out and enjoy the course

This picture was sent to me by a member, what a great view. 

 

Some of the more picturesque views on the course come in the early morning or late evening as the sun is low in the sky.  Take time to enjoy the course with friends and family before the season runs out.

 

Another dry spell?

Take a look at this long-range forecast:

 

I typically consider detailed long-range forecasts to be inaccurate, but if this pans out, it looks like September will be a great month for golf.  Time will tell if we truly go 4 weeks with no rain.

Its green!

The course has really come back to life over the last week due to the rain we received, and by that I mean lots of growth.

 

We could mow this course every two days right now and it wouldn't be enough.  Eventually the surge will subside. 

Seeding the old 10 tee

Today we seeded the old 10th tee with a bluegrass / ryegrass blend.  We had to seed this area as the bentgrass that the old tee was covered with was not suitable for higher mowing heights. 

 

This area will make a great spot for small tents during outings and events. 

 

Careful what you wish for

While we needed rain, we now have more water than we can handle.  With the slow soaking rain from yesterday and another batch of storms moving through over the night, the ground is now saturated in areas that are typically irrigated.  We are currently sitting at 3.05" over the last 5 days and more rain moving through today.

Puddles are prevalent on the fairways.  We were not able to mow the greens today as we were pushing water with every pass. 

With little opportunity to get mowing done, we focused on a few projects.  Here we trimmed back the river bank in front of 9 green. 

The landscaping around the old 10th tee was also removed.  This area will be seeded into rough and make a great location for small tents during events and outings. 

BVC award

Last month I attended the Blanchard Valley Center board meeting to accept the Community STAR award for our collaboration with the BVI Greenhouse. 

 

Thank you BVC, we look forward to our continued partnership. 

 

The Grounds Staff will be hosting a lunch on August 17 for all the clients that have helped us this year.  It sounds like we are going to have a great turnout. 

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.