From Blogspot to Twitter

Due to lack of upgrades from the blogspot app, I am converting the blog over to twitter.  The new handle is @Fcoturf.  By switching over to twitter, I will be able to post more frequently with real time updates regarding the course.  Below is a screenshot of what the new page looks like.  Please make the switch over to follow us as we move forward.  I will be getting flyers made to post in the pro shop and cry room as well.  Please contact me if you have any questions or difficulty finding the new page!

October Snow?!

Not really a picture I thought that I'd be posting in the middle of October, but here you go!  We were hit with a 3" snow yesterday and it's looking like the majority of it should be melted in the next 24 hours.  We have some limbs to pick up as the snow along with the weight of the leaves still on the trees caused some damage.  Should be back to normal in no time.

Gray Leaf Spot

The last 10 days have been extremely challenging on a disease pressure standpoint.  As you have seen, our fairways have been hit (some harder than others) with a fungal disease called 'Gray Leaf Spot'.  This disease is a seasonal disease (primarily August/September) and it only attacks Perennial Rye, which is the turf species we have on our tees and fairways.  With the amount of rain/humidity that the middle of August brought us (10+"), it was a perfect brewing pot for the disease to take hold.  This disease requires extended periods of leaf blade wetness which is what we're currently dealing with.  If left untreated, it can wipe out a fairway in a matter of days. 

What is being done?  On Thursday (8-30), we made our second fungicide application to the tees and fairways to shut down any active disease.  I have sent samples in for testing to confirm the diagnosis and just received conformation that it is indeed GLS that we're dealing with.  With the rainy/humid forecast that is expected, fungicide applications will be made every 7-10 days to ensure that turf plant is clean of any disease.  The areas affected have already been seeded and we should see germination in the coming days.  I have been in contact with several university professors to make sure we have the correct course of action to ensure no further damage is had and the proper fungicides are being utilized.  With their help, we have put together a plan of attack for the coming weeks/month.

We should now begin to see slow recovery, but this isn't a overnight recovery process.  We will continue to monitor the situation and take the necessary course of action to make sure we don't lose ground on the disease.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Overflowing Rain Gauge....7.4" Total!

On Sunday morning the rain started and it didn't wrap up until Monday at 4 pm!  At the course we got a total of 7.4" of rain throughout that time.  Overall, the course took it well, but obviously we have some wet pockets throughout the property.  With the cooler temps for the remainder of the week, the grass is going to explode which should help any summer scars heal as we head into fall.  Mother Nature strikes again!                                                                        

                  

Tail End of Summer/Losing Staff

We are officially at the tail end of the summer months.  Days are noticeably getting shorter and nights should start cooling down in the coming weeks.  My staff has done an awesome job keeping the course in great shape but unfortunately we lose every single one of them in the next week.  All but the core guys (Andy, Austen & Bill) will be heading back to school which leaves us trying to replace the entire maintenance staff for the remainder of the season.  It'll be all hands on deck for the next month as we train the new guys over the coming weeks.  Tip of the cap to the crew we had this season...awesome work!   

Maintenance Monday

With no Monday outing and the course closed, we took the opportunity to vent and topdress greens.  After the week of rain, they were in need of some oxygen and sand.  Everything turned out great and will be firm and true after we mow and roll them.  Our goal is to vent greens 1x/month and topdress bi-weekly.  The weather dictates ultimately what we can get done, but that is our rule of thumb. 

In the last picture you see us checking bunker depths.  We try to keep a consistent depth of sand (3") throughout the entire bunker.  We try and touch up depths 1x/month, but sometimes it doesn't get accomplished as much as we like.  If you ever hit the liner/staple let us know and we'll address it immediately!  

Venting Greens

Topdressing Greens

Checking Bunker Depths

Minor Tweaks: Summer Stress & Mow Patterns

We are always making minor (sometimes major) changes to the way we maintain the golf course.  Sometimes we are our own worst enemy and it can catch up with you very quickly.  With the record breaking heat we've had and the lack of rain, collars and green edges are a constant struggle for us.  To help reduce the stress levels, we will start walk mowing collars and the cleanup edge on greens.  This will keep the heavier machines off these areas and reduce the stress on these playable areas.  

Over the next week or two, you'll see white dots and flags down the center of the fairways.  We are marking the center line of fairways to bring the half/half mow pattern back for summer.  This saves us a lot of time as opposed to mowing the angles every time.  If done right, this gives the course a nice contrast with the stripes in the rough.

Adios 'Big Country'!

Due to some serious safety concerns, 'Big Country' was removed last week.  As you can see from the pictures below, the majority of the tree was hollow and what was left of the tree was deemed a safety hazard.  Drefs Tree Service came in and removed the tree for us and we're in the process of getting the stump graded out so we can get some sod &/or seed on the area.  As of today, the plan is to see how the hole will play with this monster of a tree gone.  If necessary, we will plant a new tree or add a fairway bunker in the area.   

Nice for Spring to Finally Show Up!

With the abnormally cold weather, things have been extremely slow to green up and grow.  In the last few days, things have really taken off and started to take shape.  Irrigation system is charged, spring time applications (insecticide, fertilizer, herbicides, pre-emergent) are being made and the crew is taking shape.  The course is in great shape as we head into late April, so come on out and enjoy your club!

What a difference 6 years can make!

The weather this spring has been wild!  Not only has it been bad for golf, it's been very challenging for us as we're trying to get applications down for the season.  We've taken advantage of the cold weather and knocked out all the landscape beds (mulch & edge) and cleaned up the clubhouse beds as well.  We're staying busy, but some warm weather would sure be nice!  

Compare what we looked like in 2012 vs what we look like in 2018....wild stuff!

April 6, 2012

April 6, 2018

April 6, 2018

Tee Box Re-Alignment

The majority of our tee complexes are squared off, but we had five holes (#5,#12,#13,#17,#18) that were rounded off and #5 was aligned with the OB fence rather than the fairway.  We marked off the new edges on the tees and will now use those white lines for the new mowing pattern.  This process will take a month or so (weather pending) to grow in and take shape.  This will help give us consistency throughout the course that we're looking to achieve.    

#5 Tee: Looking from back of tee to fairway

#5 Tee: Looking from front to back

Course Open!

March is always a hectic time of the year for us as we're usually starting to see temperatures that allow us to get the covers pulled and get the course open.  This year we have a total of 47 stumps to grind and clean up.  In the coming month, we'll get the stumps filled with soil and sodded. 

Covers have been pulled and the greens are now ready to go for the season.  Everything seems to be coming out of dormancy nicely as I am not seeing any ill effects from the winter months.  

We look forward to a great 2018 season!

Andy plucking away at 1 of the 47 stumps that need done

#14 Green after pulling the cover

First mowing of the season

Removing Ice & Standing Water

With the warmer weather finally here the melting snow and ice is thawing out causing standing water on pockets of the golf course (#3 & #8).  If left as is, we are increasing our chances for winter kill in these areas.  After breaking the top layer of ice, we are able to get a pump in the water and eliminate the ponding from these areas.  By taking the proactive approach, we're more than likely saving the turf left of #3 green as you see in the picture above.  

Another round of chipping....

With the rain & ice keeping us off the course today, we're spending the day cleaning up the massive pile of branches we've accumulated at the maintenance shop.  The fact that we're so land locked forces us to keep branches/logs/mulch in an extremely small area.  It's a constant struggle for us to keep this area clean and regulates how much pruning we can accomplish over the winter months.  Since we do not own a chipper at FCO, we rent a chipper several times throughout the winter to clean up our mess and start the whole process over again.  Free fresh mulch anyone?!

New Tee Markers

 One of our 'to do's' this winter was to create new tee markers that tied together with the overall theme of the course amenities and ones that would hold up through the course of the season.  In looking at many different options, we came up with the tree branch look.  This continues the natural theme throughout the course and should hold up well as it sits in the elements all season long.  To purchase similar style markers through a catalog would have cost over $1,700!  We have about $150 in supplies wrapped up in the project and we'll be able to make more markers quickly if need be. 

Winter Tree Work

Over the last three weeks, we've been working (along side Drefs Tree Service) on completing our tree pruning/removal plan.  Below are some pictures of the areas that we've been working on.  There have been some removals, but we're trying to give the large Oaks some attention by getting a heavy prune on them.  We started at the top of the hill on #7 north and worked all the way down to the green and  cleaned up the left side of the fairway.  It will make a huge impact on the hole as if you're on the left side of the fairway now you'll actually have a shot at hitting the green.  We have a long list of work yet to complete, but we're off to a good start! *click on picture to enlarge*

#17: Looking from Tee to Green: Completed

Looking down left #7 (North): Before

Working on Large Oaks

Left #7 (North): Heavy Prune on Maples

Dry December

On Tuesday of this week we decided to re-charge our irrigation system. Over the past couple of weeks we have been using water tanks (our sprayers) to hand water small areas of turf, but with fairways and tees now starting to dry, we were unable to keep up without the help of the irrigation system. Although it is relatively rare to have to run the system in December; the mild temperatures, extreme wind and lack of any significant precipitation over the past 45 days left us with little choice. This is especially true when you combine the fact that our Poa annua greens and Ryegrass fairways/tees are much more susceptible to desiccation then other cool season turfgrass species. At this time of the year the turf requires much less moisture to stay alive and healthy, but it is still very important for the crown of the plant to stay hydrated. So why it make look bizarre to see the sprinklers going off this late in the season, the turf will benefit greatly from the little bit we give it this week. We are planning on running another cycle or two before we are forced to blow out the system again early next week. It's safe to say that everyone on the Agronomy staff is hoping Santa brings some moisture this year!

Late Season Watering

Due to the lack of moisture we've had over the past 6 weeks, we had to get creative in our effort to get water to the greens.  Since the irrigation system is already winterized we rigged up our sprayer in order to hand water greens.  This time of year the turf plant does not require much moisture, but we were starting to see some areas show some wilt.  The whole course is dry and very firm, so hopefully we can get out of this dry cycle and get some precipitation sooner than later.

Late Fall Tasks

November 20th, we winterized the irrigation system and shut down all the irrigation satellites for the season.  This is a full day worth or work, but very important as we head into the winter months.  The process went off without a hitch and we should be in good shape with the irrigation system as we head in the the spring of 2018.  

We spent several days working on the bunker depths throughout the course.  All bunkers were getting pretty low on sand, so we got the depths back in the 3-4" range.  Due to the amount of sand that was needed to get the where we want them, the bunkers will be very soft but should compact and firm up as winter goes on.  To help speed up the process, we rented a plate compactor and compacted them ourselves.  This really helped firm them up, but until we get some good moisture the sand will play really soft.

#2 & #11 Landscape Bed Renovation

Below are images of what was recently planted in the landscape bed between #2 & #11 tee boxes.  We tore out the hostas and wild strawberry's (mainly weeds) and put down a weed liner, panted new materials and used rock to finish it off.  Come spring, it will start to take off and give us nice color all year long.  This will be be a huge improvement in such a highly visible area. 

Astilbe Rheinland

Veronica Eveline

Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass

Hydrangea Pinky Winky