Golf Course News

August is quickly coming to an end. However, September and October are two of the best months to play golf in the Chicagoland area. The grounds staff has some maintenance that must be performed in the coming weeks to prepare our turf for whatever nature has in store and to ensure you the best playing conditions for the rest of the season.

This year we have seen drastic weather ranging from extreme heat to record rain fall. Because of the time & effort we have previously expended to conduct valuable cultural practices our course has been able to withstand these weather extremes better than most.

Drainage

Drainage is one of the most important components to healthy turf. A perfect example is the contrast in turf quality from last year to this year where drainage was installed on holes 1, 3, 14 and 17. The 2011 season has turned out to be hotter and wetter than the 2010 season. Because of better drainage the impact of the extreme weather on our turf has been lessened. Continual maintenance and upgrades to drainage is a high priority for us.

Thin turf in the poorly drained areas is past the point of recovery. Before we repair the turf we will complete the drainage work. It is not the best time of year for this, but it makes no sense repairing the area only to tear it up in a few weeks to install new drainage. Our staff will do as much as time allows with as little disruption to play as possible.

In that spirit we will be installing drainage over the next few months in low areas that have lost turf due to saturated soil conditions. We are fortunate to have large mainlines running throughout the course for us to connect smaller lines to. We first trench a 4" wide by 3' deep trench in the area that holds water. The bottom of the trench is lined with pea gravel before a 4" diameter drain pipe with slits for the water to enter the pipe is placed inside the trench. The pipe is covered with pea gravel within 8 to 10 inches of the surface. The remainder of the trench is filled with sand. If the sod is still usable it is placed back over the trench. For the areas where the sod is not usable we put down an inch of compost mixed with seed. It is important to leave an easy path for the water to find its way down to the drain tile. That is why we choose not to bring in sod from an outside source to cover the trench. It would look better at first but the sod layer would impede drainage in the future.

Aerification

Aerification is one of the cultural practices that is very important to the health of the turf plant. The removal of small plugs from the ground reduces compaction, improves rooting, allows water and nutrients to move into the soil system and dilutes thatch. Fall aerification is a building block for strong turf next year. On Tuesday, September 6^th the course will be closed for aerification of the greens. We will use tines that are just under a half inch in diameter. It will take 10 to 12 days for the greens to heal. We understand that the greens are in great shape right now and it seems silly to mess them up. We do not like the aerification process any more than you, but the long-term benefits outweigh the short-term inconvenience.

Tee aerification will take place immediately after the greens. Fairways, approaches and roughs will begin the week of September 19^th.

Sand Topdressing

Sand topdressing helps to reduce thatch and smooth our playing surfaces. During the entire growing season greens and tees are topdressed regularly. Fairways are topdressed in the spring and fall. Fairway topdressing will start on September 6th. We will make 4 to 5 applications total. When you are out playing you will see small amounts of sand on the surface. As a result of sand topdressing fairways have a much better growing environment than what the native soils could provide. Our fairways have been topdressed for 12 years running, building up approximately 3.5 to 4 inches of sand.

How Can Golfers Improve Playing Conditions?

It is no secret that playing golf causes damage to turf. That is how the course is meant to be utilized. How the damage is treated immediately following its occurrence is what impacts recovery the most.

A ball mark that is repaired when it is made will heal in a matter of days. One that is left unattended for just an hour in the hot sun will take several weeks to heal. The grounds staff repairs ball marks every morning before we mow greens. This is much too late. Only the golfer who makes the mark can save the turf and create a better surface for the players behind them and for themselves during their next round.

Divots should be replaced immediately as well. If you take a divot in the fairway, tee or the rough, simply replace as much turf as possible. The grounds staff is continually filling divots with seed/compost mix. This will help improve playing conditions.

Cart traffic in concentrated areas around greens and tees causes soil compaction and thin turf that is hard to play from. Please follow all cart signs and stakes. The white stakes with the green caps are there to remind you that you are too close to the green. When you approach the green, please proceed to the cart path, not getting any closer to the green than the stakes indicate. Keep your cart on the path until you leave the next tee. Carts should not be taken off the cart paths on all par 3 holes. Our members who have legitimate physical limitations are permitted to maneuver their cart closer to the green or tee.

It is our goal to provide you and your guests the best conditions possible. As always, we will do our best to achieve this goal with minimal disruption to play.

 

 

 

CDGA Scouting Report

August 12, 2011 Scouting Report August Continues to Cool: Rootless Turf is Weak, Summer Patch Hurts, Hot Temperature Diseases Halt, Dollar Spot Returns, and Tim is Stressed? Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle - DSettle@cdga.org/Weather Blog It happened. It seems we have survived another difficult summer. Can I really say that? I think I can. We are now almost looking mid-August square in the face and the extended forecast is without 90s for highs and now we can reflect. From the very beginning this growing season was trouble. A very wet spring interfered with our attempts to 'green-up' turfgrass. Then it got really hot during June's first week and that lasted (on and off) until August 2nd. Severe thunderstorms with high winds repeatedly dropped huge trees and we would lose power again. July was intense and it turned out the average dewpoint hadn't been at a higher level since 1980. I visited more golf courses this week than I would have expected - mainly documentation of July's after-effects. It turns out we experienced the Kitchen Sink - in a matter of words. We again saw what midsummer environmental extremes do to plant health and summer 2011 took our ability to manage plant health to the very edge. "...Another week of consistently warm days in the 90s and things would have gotten interesting." In the end we made it through and that's a good thing. We can write another volume or two in Encyclopedia of a Difficult Growing Season. Mine begins, "It began innocently enough after the snow melt when blades of grass..." Click here to view the August 12, 2011 Scouting Report. Have a good weekend and continue to enjoy the terrific weather! Derek Settle, PhD Director of Turfgrass Program 630-685-2307 dsettle@cdga.org Weather Blog Timothy A. Sibicky, MS Manager of Turfgrass Research 630-685-2310 tsibicky@cdga.org Research Blog

CDGA Turf Scouting Report

Every week the outstanding turf professionals of the CDGA send out a Scouting Report of current turf growing conditions and ongoing research. Derek Settle, PhD and Tim Sibicky, MS do a terrific job monitoring weather, turf pests and turf diseases to assist Chicagoland golf courses in producing the best turf possible. They conduct research on new turf verities, disease and pest control, plant nutrition and much more. I will post the cover page from time to time on my blog along with a link to entire report. If you would like to access the report on your own go to CDGA.org and navigate to the turf section. Below is this weeks report.

August 5, 2011 Scouting Report August Cools: We Catch Our Breath, Flood Injury, Pythium blight, Physiological Decline, Fairy Ring Develops, Tim's IS-AP18, and Peter says Microclimate Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle - DSettle@cdga.org/Weather Blog It's now August and this summer now seems a little less ominious? Not a bad thing if you are a superintendent responsible for acres and acres of green. This week began hot as ever, but that all changed Tuesday night when cooler air moved temperatures 10 degrees in the right direction - that would be down. As the calendar page turned the statisticians went to work. Comparisons of each season help us understand where we are with regard to "average" or "normal". Nationwide this summer has already been written in the books as a hot one. It has broken records that were decades old - wettest July ever!?! With regard to high temperatures, Chicago has basically achieved its average number of hottest days but remember August hasn't given us her total yet. The good news (for now) is the heat has broken and we can now summerize, better understand, and assess the damage from a hot, record wet July which had our attention from the beginning. In the wake of July we learned that the air was very wet. In regions of our area, the average dew point value had not been higher in July since 1980. That can help us understand and explain why turf loss on golf courses has been widespread for the second summer season in a row. In nearly every case the situation is the same - areas that flood midsummer are unable to survive. Oh one more thing, the break also allows us to recover. May you rest well, nights are once again 60s. Click here to view the August 5, 2011 Scouting Report. Boy I'm glad it's August! Derek Settle, PhD Director of Turfgrass Program 630-685-2307 dsettle@cdga.org Weather Blog Timothy A. Sibicky, MS Manager of Turfgrass Research 630-685-2310 tsibicky@cdga.org Research Blog

The Value of Drainage

Drainage is one of the most important components to healthy turf.  A perfect example is the contrast in turf quality from last year to this year where drainage was installed.  This season has turned out to be hotter and wetter than last year.  The pictures below show the damaged turf from last year, compared to the well drained healthy turf this year.

Hole #17  7-26-10

Hole #17  8-01-11

Hole # 1  7-26-10

Hole # 1  8-01-11

Continual maintenance and upgrades to drainage is a high priority for us.  In that spirit we will be installing drainage over the next few weeks in low areas that have lost turf due to saturated conditions.  The turf in these areas is past the point of recovery so before we repair the turf we will complete the drainage work. 

It is not the best time of year for this, but it makes no sense repairing the area only to tear it up in a few months to put in drainage.  Our staff will do as much as time allows with little disruption to play.

Here are a few pictures of work on hole # 4 that is currently in progress.  Work will be done on holes # 1, 4, 7, 8, 9, an 15 to start with.

The remainder of the thin areas will be aerified and seeded in the nest few weeks.

CDGA

Below is this weeks Turf Scouting Report from the CDGA.  These guys do a nice job on turf research and communication.  I thought some of you would be interested in what they have to say.

July 29, 2011 Scouting Report Record Wet July: Brown Patch Peaks, Pythium Blight, Physiological Decline of Bentgrass and Poa, Type 1 Fairy Ring Begins, Tim recaps Wisconsin's Turfgrass Field Day, and Peter sees and says Agrostis ipsilon Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle - DSettle@cdga.org/Weather Blog A week of plant health fallout. It was not entirely unexpected because as of last week we had just experienced our hottest air and soil temperatures. But one more thing happened that tipped the balance and on Friday, July 22 it began to rain. When the deluge was over, July 2011 had become Chicago's wettest since 1889. It was almost unbelievable since nearly all precipitation had occurred in just 6 days (9.75 inches at O'Hare). Not surprisingly strange things began to happen in the landscape and certain fungal diseases went wild. For example, brown patch development in fairways went beyond what seasoned superintendents had ever experienced. Then there's why overly wet rootzones are our worst enemy. Midsummer is never a good time for cool-season turfgrass because any additional downward spiral of turfgrass health can be difficult to reverse until cooler weather returns. Root biomass/length are at their lowest levels and what's left root-wise has impaired function because of high soil temperature. Turf plants in physiological decline display abnormal photosynthesis and respiration, yet concentrated wear continues on a daily basis (the life of a golf green). Often the only recourse is a well-timed cultural method such as needle-tine aeration. If it sounds as if I'm exaggerating or blaming the weather too much, guess again. Though today I did learn it could be worse. My colleague Dr. Megan Kennelly relayed Kansas had just experienced 11 of 14 days with highs of 100° or greater. I then checked and saw Wichita, Kansas hit a record high of 107° - even my mom is hot! Click here to view the July 29, 2011 Scouting Report. Hang in there as good news is on the horizon. The extended forecast is showing a slight cool-down (highs in mid-80s) is to begin next Tuesday. Derek Settle, PhD Director of Turfgrass Program 630-685-2307 dsettle@cdga.org Weather Blog Timothy A. Sibicky, MS Manager of Turfgrass Research 630-685-2310 tsibicky@cdga.org Research Blog

Course Update

Wet, soggy, saturated and water logged are all good descriptions of the golf course.  During this July we have received 8.24 inches of rain.  From July 20th through this morning we have gotten 7.89 inches of that rain. 

When you go out to play over this weekend you will find shaggy fairways, long rough and slow greens.  It is much too soft to mow fairways or rough.  The fairway and rough mowers would cause large amounts of damage under these ground conditions.  Double cutting greens and rolling them is out of the question for a few days as well.  The turf is much too tender to handle all that traffic.  I anticipate being back out on the course and in our normal maintenance pattern by Tuesday.

As the standing water retreats I expect to encounter areas of thin or dead turf.  These small birdbaths that hold water in the fairways have be saturated for more than a week.  Like most things that sit in water for a week, they are rotting away.  I know if I stood in a puddle for more than a week my feet would not be in good shape.  Same goes for the turf roots.  I do not see it greatly affecting play.  It will just look a little unsightly for a while.  Greens and tees are not experiencing any issues with standing water.

Course Update

More rain is falling today with temperatures expected to hit the low 90's.  This is a combination that can cause turf to rapidly decline and turf disease to take hold.

The most important task in this situation is to remove all standing water from the turf as quickly as possible.  Because of the constant maintenance and improvement of our drainage infrastructure we were able to move over five inches of rain off the course in under four hours.  Below is a shot of number 17 approach just after the rain stoped.  The new drainage moves the water from the left side to the retention area on the right.  This approach was water free and  still alive just a short time later.

Water removal is our first objective.  Once that is accomplished we begin work on bunker repair and debris clean up.  The course should be back in form by Tuesday.

We are constantly scouting the course for any signs of disease that could drastically reduce turf health.  When and only when necessary we apply plant protectents for control.

The last picture is of an irrigation break on the back of 11 tee.  It is not uncommon for a pipe fitting, located on a slope to move when the soil becomes saturated.  It looks much worse than it is.  Water flowing through a 2.5" pvc pipe at 120 psi erodes a sand tee in a hurry.  Monday we will repair the pipe and rebuild the tee.