The Neverending Winter

From the picture above it is hard to believe it is March 20th! I was hoping this post would be describing how much work was getting done! The course had finally started to appear from the winter snow cover and we were able to open 10 holes this week, only to be covered up again today. 

13 on Tuesday - by Wednesday morning this was clear

The course weathered the winter months well and looked in pretty decent shape when it appeared out from under it's white blanket. The bunkers were inevitably washed out, there are some small debris (mainly leaves and twigs) around and some snow mold in the roughs but that is it. The snow mold in the roughs will grow out once they start to grow so is not an issue and the bentgrass surfaces look great. The crew start to return on Monday, so provided the snow is gone we can address the bunkers and start spring clean up. Once that is done we can get back onto finishing the tree work that was started before the snow arrived.

The joys of winter. The greens are still frozen so the thawed water has nowhere to go. It fills ups the cup and pushed the pin out. All that can be done is wait for it to thaw!

As the spring (allegedly!) approaches the inevitable questions on why we have to aerate right away will arise so it is a good time to revisit the subject of aeration timing. 

The simple answer to why core aeration is done around the middle of April is that it is the best compromise between healing time and having the course playable for the bulk of the summer. 

The full explanation goes back to when I first started aerating at LedgeRock I liked getting the coring out of the way as early as I could in the spring. March in some of those years was somewhat mild so the greens were completed before the end of the month. The problem was that the soil temperatures were not warm enough for the plant to be actively growing so healing took forever - in some cases 6-to 7 weeks - into the beginning of May - when the soil ultimately warmed up. Needless to say this wasn't ideal playing conditions so aeration was moved later into the spring so it would occur when the soil temperatures were at, or near, the point to support a quick recovery and minimize the time they were not perfect. In some years (like last year) there is a late spring and it can make that recovery take longer than normal; but overall mid April is the best compromise time between the start of optimum growth and the minimum recovery time. The ideal situation is that the April weather is average, to above average, and the greens are healed by May 1st. Aerating any later than mid April pushes the recovery time well into May and into the point of the season where the greens should be perfect.

A teaser from early May last year - we're only weeks away from this!

There is also a secondary issue in having the holes open and that is there is more potential for poa annua encroachment. This is more of an issue in the fall but poa can germinate in the spring also, so minimizing the time the greens are open helps keep it out.

As to the question to why we can't skip an aeration: Based on the greens physical soils tests, overall they are performing exceptionable well for 10 year old greens; this is due to the aggressive aerations that have been done over the years. Reading the summary shows that they recommend a minimum of 20% surface displacement per year. With our current aeration practices we are only just reaching that number. The displacement chart below can give you an idea of what is required. Currently 1/2" hollow tines on appox 1.5x1.5 centers are used which gives 8.73% per aeration or 17.46% per year. The in-season needle tine aerations and the Planet-air (a practice added last year) help make up the remaining of the 20%. The needle tines are 1/8" tines and don't count for much displacement as they are more of a tool to get air to the roots without surface disruption. It is difficult to measure the disturbance the Planet-air due to it's mode of action but it probably adds 3-4% from the two times it's done helping get us to around 21% total. They are recommending adding another 1/4" hollow tine aeration to ensure we hit our numbers...... 

Here are some USGA links that discuss the timing of aeration.

Easing the Pain of Aeration: The number one thing is timing! http://www.usga.org/NewsSF.aspx?id=21474851472

The Principle of Calculated Risk: Issues from going early http://www.usga.org/RegionalUpdateArticle.aspx?id=21474877214

Green Section Q&A: question 2: http://www.usga.org/Content.aspx?id=21474877610

Core Cultivation, Timing is Everything: A very nice article discussing why timing is key. http://gsr.lib.msu.edu/2010s/2010/100332.pdf

It has also been discussed a few times in the blog, although most of it covers the issues with the colder weather delaying healing.

Cold temps and healing from last spring: http://ledgerockgcmaintenance.blogspot.com/2014/04/4-25-14.html

So why do we aerate and why now: I probably should just take the second part of this and separate it out into it's own post: http://ledgerockgcmaintenance.blogspot.com/2013/09/so-why-do-we-aerate-and-why-now.html

I understand the frustration of the timing of this years aeration with the GAP matches but if we delay it until later, it will have a knock on effect to the May schedule. If the weather cooperates (i.e. the snow goes and the ground thaws) and we go early, the soils will not be warm enough and we will have cored greens for a longer period. I think that most, if not all, the other courses playing in the GAP matches will be in the same boat. 

Lastly to continue the theme of where LedgeRock was 10 years ago.

The first bridge (13) was completed

The Driving Range was taking shape

The main parking lots were being built

The Learning Center was taking shape

As always if you have any questions please email me: alan@ledgerockgolf.com

Happy New Year!

Another New Year arrives at LedgeRock as the club comes off it's most successful year to date. It is hard to believe that ten years ago the Learning Center was under construction! We have come a long way in a short time. At that time I couldn't envision the day when I would look back at these pictures and the construction would be a distant memory!

At this point in 2005, the course itself was still a long way from being finished. The construction had started in June 2004 and there were a lot of weather issues that delayed the construction. Luckily the winter was relatively mild so the bulk earthwork was completed, ensuring the golf contractor did not have to wait to shape the course. Phase 1 and 2 (holes 1-8, 14-18) were well under way at this point, while there was little work done on phase 3 (9-13). As the pictures below show, there was not a large amount of major earth moving required on phase 3 so it was left until last.

The last picture from February 2005 is a shot from the top of 15 tee looking back at 6 tee and 7 green.

So back to 2015. 

Frost and ice damage were previously discussed in this 2013 post but figured it would be worth revisiting. It can be frustrating on a nice winter day to want to play only to find the course closed. I think most people know the damage that walking on frost does but that is only one scenario. 

Ice on the practice green. The sand rootzone is frozen so the water cannot drain through it. This highlights how the surface can thaw but the soil can remain frozen solid.

Once there is a deep freeze, the turf/soil freezes as a whole. If the frost on the leaves thaws, but the soil stays frozen, there is no problem. The problem occurs when the surface thaws with the soil staying frozen. This can happen on warmer days, especially toward the end of winter or after a rain event. When the surface thaws and the soil stays frozen, traffic can sheer the roots at the interface between the two. This undoes the positive root growth from the fall and has the plants starting off on the back foot when they wake up in the spring. For example, the plant now has to start growing roots from an inch rather than three or more inches deep. The issues are compounded when you get to summer and the roots are that much more behind and therefore the plants are more susceptible to stress. The USGA Green Section just published this article that explains this in more detail. 

Even with a greatly reduced crew, while not near the in-season standards, we make sure the course is as playable as possible at all times so it can be played on the days it is safe for the turf. 

Last winter was particularly harsh on turf on courses all over the northeast. In most cases it was on courses that are predominately poa. There were two main reasons the damage occurred: the temperatures substantially dropped immediately after a warm period and the plants were not prepared. Poa also does not survive under ice after 30 days, whereas bentgrass can survive under ice for over 90 days. This is a nice article from Penn State going into winter kill in more detail.

So while it seems like the winter is a turf managers down time, there are still decisions that need to be made to ensure that the course is ready to be pushed during the following season.

As always please email me with any questions or topics you would like to see discussed. alan@ledgerockgolf.com

It's Been a While!

I didn't realize until this week that my last update was during the Rock at the end of September. It's been a busy few months for me both on and off the course so posting to the blog had been neglected. My goal is over the next few months to get back to updating regularly to catch up on what we've been up to and what is planned for 2015. 

The first snow of 2014

The course has been put to bed for the winter. The irrigation system was blown out before Thanksgiving and we are currently working on the snow mold applications to protect the fine turf over the winter. Over the last few weeks we have been working on bringing in the course furniture, mowing brush and fescues and most importantly decorating for the holiday season. Over the next few months we have a number of trees marked to be taken down when the weather permits and along with that we will be working on inside projects around the shop getting the behind the scenes items taken care of. 

For this post I figured I would touch on some of the stuff beyond the maintenance of the course that we've been up to since the Rock. The first big fall event outside course maintenance was preparing for the Haute Hoedown and we were asked to turn the cart barn into a barn! It took a bit of planning and a lot of cooperation with the golf staff but we were able to turn our nice modern shed into something that resembled a western setting fit for the event. 

A panoramic shot of the Haute Ho Down

Seemingly the jail cell saw a lot of action!

And I also now know the price on my head when I topdress!

The next event is one that we look forward to every year and one where all the staff throughout the club help out to make it happen. The Monday after Thanksgiving is holiday decoration day and the maintenance staff are called in to help create the decoration theme for the year. 

This year the tree is the centerpiece and the vision was to create 'lighted curtains' to enhance it and draw your eye in. This took quite a bit of work as we had to construct a box to contain the lights so they could fall from the ceiling. Thankfully the project went well and without any hiccups! Thank you to Mrs. Beth Carson for inspiring our vision this year.  

The scaffolding is up to get started

The dining room from above - we also the opportunity to change the light bulbs

Building the lighting structure

The first test - thankfully it worked!

Painting the trim

The lights before being tied back

It turned out great!

  

 We also resurrected our old Poinsettia tree for the lobby

So that is a little glimpse of what the staff do to decorate for the holidays. Once maintenance had our part done, the clubhouse staff along with Deb the club's horticulturist/florist/decorator did a fantastic job with decorating the buildings. 

So for now I'll leave with a picture of the course from the fall to remind us all what awaits come the spring!  Enjoy the holiday season!  

The Rock 2014

It is hard to believe it is already time for the Rock - LedgeRock's big member guest tournament. The weather this year is just about perfect, with cool mornings and high skys and temperatures in the the low to mid 70s all week. I can't argue with the weather but it has been extremely dry for most of the last month; thankfully the temperatures are not crazy so the turf is holding up well.

I've been slow in updating the blog since aeration as we have been busy making sure the course is ready for The Rock. Mother Nature really taken care of the course this year with a nicely timed rain after aeration so the course healed quickly - even considering the amount of work that was done to it. Within two weeks of starting, the holes were fully healed and the height of cut was being lowered back to normal. Within three weeks they were fully back to normal. Which brought us to last week. Although the greens looked perfect, they needed another light topdressing so the height of cut could be lowered further; therefore making sure that they would be perfect for the Rock and the remainder of the season. This had to be squeezed in around some damp days and a number of outings. This delayed us a week in getting them up to speed, but it is worth it as the greens now are perfect!

Light topdressing on 8

The topdressing was gone almost immediately; the sand smoothed all the remaining imperfections and the greens were rolling smoother and faster with  a day

You may have noticed that the fairways have been striped since aeration, rather than 'block' or 'half and half' cut. This was to make the most of the verticutting after aeration and to help comb some of the grain out of the fairways and tees. Since it takes about a third longer to mow fairways we will be switching back to the half and half look soon. I'll cover the reasons for this in another post.

No mater how well you prepare, there are times when something happens that frustrates. The picture below is a prime example. One of the greens mowers picked up a twig and scraped across 1 green. Thankfully the operator noticed it after one pass but the damage was done. We repaired what we could with a ball mark repair tool and the rest was spread out using a cup cutter which makes the damage smaller so it heals quicker. It will fill in over time and although it looks bad, thankfully it doesn't effect ball roll.

Cody repairing the scratch on 1 green

Other than that, the maintenance team have been busy with regular maintenance and ensuring the course is ready for the rest of the season. Most of the outing and tournaments during the year have late morning/early afternoon shotguns but the Rock is an early morning shotgun. This means that the crew have to perform their tasks in the dark which can be a challenge, but nothing out of the ordinary for events from early tee times to Tour championships. To give you an idea of what is involved, the following is a timeline of a Superintendents tournament morning.

2:45am Alarm goes off

2:50 Wife yells that alarm is going off! 

2:50:09 Out of bed

3:16 ready to hit the road

3:22 Dunkin Donuts to pick up 'crew fuel' - You would be amazed at how busy a DD is at 3:30am

3:32 Arrive at work

3:35 The barn is open and the equipment is started to be set up for when the crew arrive

3:40 leave the barn to bring out spot lights

3:41 Return to barn - forgot generator......

3:59 The first spotlights are on 

4:19 The second set are on, along with the Clubhouse, Parking Lot and Locker Room lights to provide as much light as possible in that area.

4:15 The greens mowers are loaded and ready to go

4:26 The rest of the equipment is ready to go

4:33 The third spot light is on 3 green

4:47 The crew start to arrive

4:51 The light tower is placed and turned on behind 1 green and it conveniently lights up 2 green also

4:52 The Gator dies as the battery is drained from using all it's spot lights at once.....

4:56 The Gator is running again

5:00 The crew head out to the course

5:17 Number 16 approach has been cut, the bunkers are being raked and the green is being cut

5:22 Over half of 1 green is cut

5:51 The first sign of the dawn

5:55 The guys are well into their second greens and dawn is arriving quickly

6:13 The lights are off and it is bright enough to see, from here on it is easy!

6:25 It is officially daytime!

6:36 The roller operator is really happy the sun is up by the time he gets to 2 as he can see a lot easier.

7:29 The mist has burned off and it is the beginning of a beautiful day

8:26 The crew are finishing up on 15 and only have #17 and 18 fairway to finish

8:52 The crew finish up the bunkers on 18 and head back to the barn

9:00 The tournament starts

9:02 Breakfast!

9:45 Staff safety meeting

10:30 The maintenance staff have gone for the day. 

Luckily everything is completed in the morning so there is no need for the crew to return in the afternoon. 

So that is a glimpse of what happens behind the scenes of a tournament.

Lastly a big thank you the maintenance team. Thanks to their dedication everything went to plan and ran smoothly so we were done on time. Their hard work makes this job look easy!

As always email me with any questions or comments: alan@ledgerockgolf.com