Drainage, bridges and wetting agents

Last week we added a drain to the low area in the intermediate along 18 approach.  This spot always collects water when it rains and grass is unable to survive the saturated soils.  The constant dirt patch will now remain turf.

 

 

 

 

We also lifted the sod around the walk bridges.  Over the years the turf at the entrance and exit of the bridge has settled, this made quite a bump for the walkers as they used the bridge.  We lifted the sod and added rocks and more soil underneath.

 

Today, wetting agents were sprayed on the fairways.  This makes the water more effective to the turf by breaking the tension between water and the soil.  This will allow us to water slightly less - keeping the fairways firmer while still maintaining a good appearance. 

 

 

Changes

This past week we implemented a few changes around FCC.

Toward the back end of the driving range we added 4 new flags.  From the front of the back range tee, these flags are at 40, 60, 80 and 100 yds.  This will give you chance to practice your short irons.

We tore out some landscaping near the Clubhouse and added new bushes.

The old bushes were dying and overgrown.

 

Last week we started mowing fairways only in the afternoons and evenings.  We have one individual that comes in at 12:00 and works until 8:00 pm. to mow fairways.  This allows us to mow them when they are dry, therefore getting a much better cut.  This also saves us time and gas by not having to send out blowers behind the mowers.

 

We mowed down 5 spots to test out a new "Gold" course.

 

Our current Gold course is only 80yds longer than the Red - essential we don't have a Gold course.  Chad and I have set up 5 new teeing areas for the Gold tees.  We mowed down temporary tees on 1,4,15,16 and 18.  The Gold course is now playing at 5,700yds.  If all goes well, we may build tees in the future, near these areas.  This will give us a Red course at 5,300yds, Gold at 5,700, White at 6,400 and Blue at 6,850.  We will then eliminate the White/Gold course.

Soil testing

Every year we have a soil consultant come out and take soil samples - we then test them for levels of nutrients that the turf needs.  We also test the tissue of the grass to determines what nutrients are in the plant, this gives me an idea of what the plant has and what is available to the plant.  Last week we took samples to get this testing done.  We also took samples of our water to determine salt levels and other contaminates. 

 

We found 4" roots on our poa greens, that is good for this time of year.

Every other year we will perform a physical analysis of the soil to determine how the greens drain and if the rootzone of the soil is adequate.  This will give us the information we base our aerifications on.

Patio open!

The last of the details were finished up today on the patio.  After the contractor was done sealing the patio, we were able to put landscaping around the bottom portion.  Tomorrow we will begin seeding the lawn below the patio and fixing the landscaping near the parking area below the hill.

The Clubhouse staff has put the furniture out and is ready for use.  Make your reservation now to enjoy this new addition of our service to our members.

 

 

Early April

 

Mid April

 

Mid May

 

June 5

 

 

Projects

This week we have been able to work on a few projects.  The first being the bunkers.  This week we edged the bunkers, pulled weeds, picked out any large stones and also started adding sand to any bunker that might need it.

We measure the sand in the bunker and add sand were needed, making sure there is at least 4".

 

We also sodded a few of the thin areas in the fairways.  We have a couple areas that sit low and collect water.  When we get heavy rains in the summer, these areas stay wet for a few days and with a little heat, the grass dies.  We stripped these areas bare, added soil to fill in the low area, then sodded the entire spot.

Roots

This morning while we were cutting cups, we noticed something we don't see very often with these heavy clay push-up greens; deep roots.

You can see at the bottom of this 8 inch plug are white root hairs coming out.  Normally the roots don't go beyond 4-5" even during this time of year. 

 

These roots are a direct result from the deep tine aerification that we did last fall.  In October of last year, we aerified the greens with a 10" long solid spike.  This made a deep channel for the roots to follow and it helped with compaction and drainage.  The deeper roots we have, the healthier the turf will be. With deeper roots we will be able to dry the surface of the greens down and still maintain healthy turf.  We will continue to deep tine the greens every fall to promote healthier greens.

Memorial weekend

We hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend.  We would like to thank all of those who have served our Country to make this recreational weekend possible.

 

 

 

 

Today's activities

Besides the normal mowing, we worked on a few other things today:

There was a dead Ash tree next to #10 ladies tee that was removed this morning.

We trimmed the sprinkler heads on over half of the golf course.

We sprayed some of our Ash trees with an insecticide to prevent injury from the Emeral Ash Borer.

Family tees

Chad and his staff came up with a great idea of adding family tee markers to the golf course.  We installed these markers last week.  Playing from these markers is a great way to get your family involved in the game of golf.  Most of the markers are located in the fairways - on the left hand side.  A few markers are located in the intermediate cut leading up to the fairways.

 

The back nine will be Level 1 with a total yardage of 1531

The front nine is Level 2 with a total yardage of 2042

A scorecard from these markers is available at the Proshop.  With the yardage from the card, you will be able to locate the markers.  Next time you have a free night, take the kids or grandkids out for a night of fun at FCC.

Support the Ohio Turgrass Foundation

 

REMINDER!!! THE BUCKS FOR TURF AUCTION BEGINS SUNDAY, MAY 26th.    CLICK HERE TO VIEW A CURRENT LIST OF ITEMS

 

Patio pictures

The back patio is coming along great.  The goal completion date is May 31st and we may be able to be completed with the construction 1 week sooner if all goes well.  Plants have been ordered for the bottom portion of the patio along with all the furniture.

 

 

 

 

Flowers and red lines

Today we started planting our annual flowers for the year.  Annuals will die if hit with a frost, therefore we wait until the frost threat is over.  The rule of thumb (for this area) is the threat of frost is done after Mothers Day - this year we had frost the day after. 

This is one of our many pots.

 

This morning I went around to all our tees and painted lines where the tee box should be located.  Over time, through mowing, the tee boxes shrink or enlarge in certain areas.  About once a year the tee boxes need to be redefined.

Today's projects

Earlier this week we finished laying the mulch on all our landscape beds.  We have a few beds around the patio area that need to be cleaned up, but will do that when we landscape the new patio.  Yesterday we started filling the tree stump holes around the course.  Some of the holes that are closer to the greens were sodded.

Hole behind 17 green

 

Finished product

18 green had a broken irrigation wire that had to be replaced.  The wire ran across 18 app.  Today we dug up the old wire and installed the new one.

Replacing the soil

5 hours later it looks like we were never there.  18 green irrigation is now working again.

Broken down equipment

A few years ago the Club made a large purchase of mowers for the Grounds Department.  All of those newer machines are running great.  Recently the Club organized a capital funding plan that will help replace equipment in the coming years.  We have a good plan, it will just take time to replace some of the items that are really needed. 

The problem I am currently having is all the equipment that wasn't replaced with the large package a few years back is really showing their age.

Our roller broke down on Sunday, the greens did not get rolled for the Old Pals event.  If it were reliable, the conditions would have been even better for the event.

 

 

Two of our large utility cart are down leaving us just the brand new utility cart that came in last week.  Jobs such as mulching and filling stumps are done less efficiently when we can't haul materials.

 

The sand pro that rakes our bunkers broke down last week.  We had no problem hand raking the bunkers, but it just took us longer to do the job and with more bodies.

 

This is the other utility cart that is down, it has a bad transmission.

 

 

As funds are allocated to us for capital we will spend wisely and replace the most needed item at that time.  We can usually work around a repair, it's just less efficient and sometimes doesn't produce a quality product that might otherwise be accomplished with the right equipment.

Bucks for Turf

Bucks for Turf benefits the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation (OTF), a non-profit organization whose purpose is to further the turfgrass industry through continuing education for current professionals, supporting further study of and research in turfgrass science and providing opportunities for tomorrow's leaders through student scholarships.  Since its inception in 1961, OTF has contributed nearly $5 million to the turfgrass industry. More than 300 students have been recipients of OTF scholarships and countless professionals have benefitted from OTF education through the years, resulting in beautiful, safe and enjoyable green spaces for everyone.  The OTF works directly with Ohio State University, creating opportunities for leading educators and researchers within our state. 

On May 26, there wiil be an auction, raising "bucks for turf".  On the slate for auction will be rounds of golf from all over the state.  The FCC Board has donated a round of golf for a foursome that will be auctioned off.  I encourage you to join your Board in support of the OTF and check out the list of auction items.  Go to http://www.ohioturfgrass.org/?page=BucksforTurf for more details.

FCC is an indirect recipient of the funds that are raised.  OSU has helped out FCC many times and with the support and funding of the OTF, that relationship will continue.