Another memorable holiday weekend - Highland Meadows style.

In true HMGC tradition, another memorable holiday weekend ..... for the wrong reasons.  Repeated storms during the evening dumped another half-inch of rain on our already soaked golf course.  Unfortunately, the heavy rains were combined with high winds.  Localized gusts of up to 70 mph were reported around Northwest Ohio/Southeast Michigan.  As a result, there is a great deal of debris and tree damage on the golf course.  Combined with being a week behind on regular mowing maintenance, this is a headache we definitely didn't need.

While we are playing catch-up, the golf course will continue to be messy for awhile.  Trying to get the fairways and rough back down to their normal cutting height will leave a great deal of clippings.  Bear with us while we try to get your club cleaned back up again.

Check out some pics from Monday:

With the high heat coming Monday and Tuesday, it was imperative that we get as much standing water off the course as possible.  Multiple days with high heat and standing water will cook the grass.

A nice young maple tree between 4 and 15 snapped right off.

Our pumps ran all weekend to keep up with all the rain.

The mess behind #3 green.  Our famous "leaner" tree (that we all aim at) didn't break, but was uprooted with the soft ground.

A nearby linden, with about a 20" trunk just snapped right off.  Lindens have a very soft wood that is prone to breaking making them a rather undesirable tree.

The uprooted "leaner" tree.



The "leaner" tree is currently lodged in the crotch of another nearby linden.  For the sake of safety, we will have a company come in to get these trees on the ground.



As a great upside to the loss of the trees, there is already more morning sun shining on #3 green, which is a good thing!

The linden that snapped off was actually rotten inside.  Lindens are notorious for being perfectly healthy and unbelievably soft inside. 

A lot of general debris all over the place.  In this case another unfortunate hit to the elm trees, which took a beating in the Presiden't Day Ice storm as well.

Standing water at the bottom of #11

Many members asked me why I wasn't pumping the water in front of #11 to prevent the grass from dying.  The drains that keep the area dry actually dump into the creek.  The light-brown colored water in the middle of this picture is the result of the creek 'backing up' into the area in front of 11.  The water will not go down until the creek does, making pumping futile.

Day 2 of the 2011 Spring Rains

I am beginning to think that Mother Nature has an issue with our summer holidays.  2011 Memorial Day flooding, 2008 4th of July, 2011 President's Day Ice storm, etc... It seems we can't catch a break! 

After the 2 inches of rain the 25th - 26th, we received another half inch overnight.  As expected, the course is extremely wet for what seems like the 10,000th time this spring.  The crew is out battling with pumps, weedeaters, and shovels to do what they can to clean the course  up for the first decent weekend of the year.  Summer is here and it's time to play golf.

Unfortunately with all the rain, we are behind on our mowing.  Fairways and rough will be a little long for awhile.  We will be here this weekend when conditions are dry to try and play catch-up.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend to all of you.  Let's hope this is the start to a great summer season!

  Below are a few pictures of today's activities.

The creek did get out of its banks eventually, but not at destructive levels.

#10 a little flooded.

Crew was out dodging puddles and getting sand back up on washed out faces.

Pumps were out in bunkers and fairways trying to clean up the standing water.

Wet wet wet....again.

It must really stink to be a meteorologist.  We curse them when they are wrong, and right now I want to curse them for being right!  After about 2 inches of rain overnight, the course is obviously a tad moist.  The good news is that so far, the creek is well within her banks.  The bad news is that the course is unplayably wet.  Every inch of the golf course could qualify for casual water at this point.  The course will be closed for at least the morning if not the entire day to allow it to drain, and we can only hope that the forecast for up to an inch more rain today and tonight is incorrect.

 This morning I have taken some pictures of the course as well as some reference pictures to follow the rise and fall of the creek over the next couple of days.  I will post more pictures if there are dramatic increases in creek levels.


#9 Fairway first thing this morning.



#8 Fairway.  I have never seen a lake like this here before.

It's a little fuzzy, but the creek isn't too high yet.  It is rising quickly however.

So far the bridges are above water.

#2 still passable for now.

More rain in the forecast. A little band-aid for 17 bunker.

Well, it seems mother nature has decided to rain on our parade again this week.  We were planning a full renovation of #17 bunkers for this week, but with storms forecast throughout the week, it would be unwise to open ground.  If we were to start digging and received heavy rain, the soil would be too wet to sculpt properly.  Also, with 17 being so low and sitting on bedrock, it stays quite wet during severe weather episodes.  All this considered, we played it safe and decided not to dig.

However, I couldn't possibly look at #17 for one more day in the condition it was in.  Sand falling down the hillside and grass nonexistent was driving me nuts.  With a couple of guys, a couple of hours, and some shovels, we dug the trap down, rebuilt the edge and layed some leftover sod from the fairway switch.  THIS IS ONLY A QUICK FIX - NOT THE FINAL RESTORATION.  We will do a proper, full rebuilding of this bunker when weather allows.  If we get too far into the golf season and are still unable to dig, we will wait until fall to break ground.

A little leftover sod and a re-shaped edge will hopefully keep balls from resting on the lip when they enter the trap.

Now I won't have to scream every time I see the bunker.  At least there's grass now.

USGA Green Section Record

This weeks USGA Green section record has some interesting comments on our wet weather in the region and how it affects grass health. Also, there's an intersting article from the 20's about bunker conditioning that proves that bunkers have been a member controversy for decades. An interesting read for players and maintenance afficionados alike.

Click below to read this update:
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/USGA-Green-Section-Record--May-20--2011.html?soid=1103157499740&aid=ufdMSrdDetA

Sod work done and more spring repairs taking place

After a few days of sod work, the crew is tired and a lot of sore backs persist.  However, it seems worth it with the result we got on #1 and #6.  We used some excess bentgrass on #1 to add almost 30 yards to #6 fairway.  I think both holes improved aesthetically, and the playability of #6 will be forever improved for shorter hitters.  The sod should be knitted in and playable in a few more days.

I actually heard some grumbling from members about "all the money we were spending" to do that sod work.  When all was said and done, we had nothing but our own labor and about $600 worth of purchased materials that went into the project.  Relatively little for an impact project that has been talked about far beyond my 6 years here.  These type of inexpensive projects provide great benefit to many members without breaking the bank.  Just the type of projects to do when the play is slow and membership is down.  Scroll down to see before and after pics.

Now that the sod is finished and the rain has finally slowed down, we are getting to deal with some more standard spring maintenance projects, namely drainage and irrigation.  You have likely seen all the leaky sprinkler heads here and there, and we are now starting to pick them off one by one.  Also, with all the rain, we have been able to detect drainage tile in need of repair. 

Before

It's a little tough to see in this photo, but there are almost 30 more yards added.  Aesthetically from the upper tees, the fairway is much more visible.

IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE:

The older our sprinkler system gets, the more leaks we seem to have each spring.

Fortunately, most of the leaks are simple, rubber O-rings that allow these 'swing joints' to move.  Hopefully we can avoid any serious 'main line' issues like the valve on #9 this past winter.

It was evident that the drain next to #17 green was no longer working.  Aaron is tracing and excavating the line to root out any clogs or breaks in the line. 

Stuck carts and bunker rakes

  We were greeted by a stuck cart to start the week.  Haven't had one in awhile, but with the soggy spring, it was only a matter of time.  It is a great reminder of the hazards that exist on the course and how important it is to be aware when driving a cart.  This cart traveled through about 20 yards of standing water before it went to its final resting place.  Now we didn't have this area roped off, but it was on the far right of #6 down by the creek, and there was standing water everywhere.  When water is visible, we generally assume that the members know not to drive through it, but alas, I stand corrected.

Difficult to see in this picture, but there was visible standing water through the entire area before it got stuck.  Had they realized they were in a tight spot and just backed out, they would have been fine.

Good and stuck.

Need I say anything?

Bunker Rakes - As I mentioned in the Highlander this month, I thought I would post a couple of pictures of what proper bunker rake placement looks like.  The fundamentals are simple.  Replace them in the flat areas of the trap along the edge in a fashion that will minimize the chance that a ball may come to rest against it.

Here's #16 green.  The rake is on the edge opposite the green.

Rakes evenly spread on the edge away from #7 green.

As a nice touch, you can leave the handle just on the grass edge to make it easier to pick up.

Hope this clears some things up.  I will repost these photos at different times and with some improper member placements as the season continues. 

Tis the season for Poa seedheads....ughh.

Every spring, the mixed stand of bentgrass and Poa annua (annual bluegrass) that covers our greens, tees, and fairways gets a 'white hue' in the form of seedheads.  While aesthetically unappealing, these seedheads also can make the greens a little bumpy and 'wiggly'.

In order to reduce the effect of seedheads, superintendents spray a cocktail of growth regulators at calculated times during the spring.  Unfortunately, the temperature models and observational techniques used to properly time these applications are inconsistent in providing results.  The last two years, we have had 60-80% control, while this year I would guess closer to 35-45 depending on the green.  My best guess would be that the unusually cold and wet spring had something to do with it.

One common misconception is that we can just 'get rid' of the Poa (or 'Po' as many golfers like to mispronounce).  If you take time to look at the patches of seedheads, you will soon realize that our greens, tees and fairways are between 50 and 85% Poa annua.  If we were to 'get rid' of it, we would be playing on mostly dirt.   Short of completely re-seeding the entire golf course, the Poa is here to stay.  While it is not as desirable a species as pure bentgrass in terms of disease resistance, putting quality, and root length, it can provide great conditions when properly maintained. 

We will always do our best to control the seedheads with the technology available to us.  With the limited performance of the chemicals this spring, we will have to do a little extra grooming and rolling to try and keep the greens putting as true as possible.  Seedheads should mostly be gone in 3-4 weeks depending on the weather.

Below is a link to a USGA article about seedhead control (a lot of turf nerd stuff mostly, but interesting nonetheless). 

http://www.usga.org/turf/green_section_record/2008/jul_aug/managing_poa_seedheads.pdf

Little white Poa seedheads covering about 40-50% of this photo. 

The golf ball is sitting on a patch of bentgrass.  As you can see, the lime green Poa annua surrounds it entirely.  Fortunately, it appears we did get some seedhead control, since not all of the Poa has the little white seedheads.

The darker green turf that the ball sits on is bentgrass.  One of our larger patches on 12 green.

A little closer look at seedheads from the fairway perspective. 

A break in the weather and more project work

We finally have a little break in the rain.  Golfers are out on the course again, and we are trying to get the last of our spring projects completed.  With a nice, sunny Monday with the course closed, we decided to tackle the expansion of #6 fairway.  For years, committees have contemplated extending the sixth fairway to better accomodate shorter hitters.  Finally, with a little help from designers and member opinions, we decided to bite the bullet and get it done. 

The big question was where to get the grass.  Because we have bentgrass/poa annua in our fairways, bluegrass in our rough, and ryegrass in our step-cut, we could not simply 'mow it down'.  With the helpl of designers and golfers, we looked around and decided to use some of the excess bentgrass that exists on #1 fairway.  The fairway grass that goes almost all the way to the front of the tee is unnecessary, and we decided to pinch the fairway on the right side a bit to better direct the golfer to the left dogleg.  This afforded enough sod to extend the 6th by about 25 yards or so.

We had hoped to have things buttoned up mostly by Tuesday morning.  Unfortunately, the amount of tedious labor it takes to transplant three different types of sod back and forth across the golf course means this project will likely take until later in the week.  Also, the lightening and thunder on Tuesday cost us about an hour and a half.  We will try to work in and out of play to get the job done and out of your way.

Start by cutting the fairway edge away from the step cut.

Workers then make a horizontal cut across the sod to make for manageable pieces.

Rolling up the sod on #6

After the sod was removed, there was a fair amount of re-grading that needed to be finished.  Low areas were filled in and the area was smoothed for the finer fairway turf.

By late afternoon, we were laying the new fairway.  Still have quite a bit of work moving the step-cut and finishing up number 1 fairway. 

Finally getting some spring projects moving along

The crew is still dodging raindrops to get the course cleaned up.  Just yesterday, we were still mowing areas that haven't been mowed in 2011!  Speaking with other superintendents, golf courses all around our region are struggling just to get cleaned up.  A slight break in the rain over the weekend afforded drier conditions and we were finally able to set off some spring projects that we have been meaning to get to.

So wet I don't even let the employees use a cart!

Ruts and mud are the norm these days.

The most obvious thing going on would be the renovation of #10 bridge.  We addressed the concrete approaches earlier this spring, and now we are tackling the replacement of the wooden bridge deck and restoration of the steel I-beams. The project is not just replacement, but an upgrade in materials.  Existing bridges were built with nails and 2" timbers while we are using treated deck screws and 3" timbers, which offer considerably more strength.  The beams are being scraped and treated with rust inhibiting primer and quality outdoor paint.  In an effort to shore-up course infrastructure, we are trying to do at least one bridge per year over the next several years to replace them in-house in a cost effective manner that doesn't require a large one-time expenditure.

We were hoping to have the bridge finished before the 18-holers opening scramble, but the rain decided to cancel the ladies and our last coat of paint.  We look to finish the bridge tomorrow to minimize golfer inconvenience.  Thank you for your patience.

A view of the rust on the beams of #10 bridge. 

The weak nature of these 2" boards is evident in the fact that they are all becoming detached from the rail after years of cart traffic.  Using the beefier timbers to replace should produce a bridge that will last for decades.

Another shot of the rust.

Cutting off the old 'curbs' being careful not to drop them in the creek.

A close-up of the boards shows nails that have almost completely rusted away.

Removing one board at a time by hand.

Sanding the rust off of the old beams.

 

The first coat of primer goes on. 

After we got the timbers removed, we added rock underneath to protect the bridge approach and the bank that had washed away underneath the bridge.

  We also made efforts to aerate the clubhouse grounds.  Most of the lawn around the clubhouse lacks proper irrigation, and we suffered some turf loss.  These areas were aerified, overseeded, and fertilized. 

Jonesy being careful not to mess up the concrete.