Fence

The contractor is installing the cedar fence behind the 4th green this week. There are a few items that I will finish as the weather permits such as the cart path modification and some plantings to soften the end of the fence and cart turnaround. The project has turned out great.

New Neighbor

One of the homes on our second fairway was torn down today, looks like we will have some new neighbors soon.

USGA Update

Frost, Temporary Greens, Budgets, and Balance

By Adam Moeller, agronomist, Northeast Region
December 13, 2011

Golf in the northeast has slowed significantly over the past week as frost delays are getting longer and darkness hits earlier each day. It’s tough on anyone hoping to get in a few more rounds before the New Year.  Traffic on frost-covered turf can be very damaging; although the delays may be frustrating, they are necessary to preserve the long-term health of the grass.  Turf has gone dormant (i.e. stopped growing) at most courses in the region, so it’s a great time to close the greens and direct play onto temporary surfaces.  Traffic and subsequent thinning on dormant greens will not recover until growth resumes in the spring, which can ultimately impact spring and summer conditions.  Playing conditions on the greens at this point are sure to be bumpy and inconsistent and often don’t play much better than quality temporary greens anyway.  Although the decision may be unpopular, directing play to temporary surfaces will lead to better putting green turf next year. 

Daily maintenance programs have scaled back significantly, and, in many cases, replaced by course improvement projects, equipment repair, and/or tree pruning/removal.  Courses that take advantage of the offseason to install drainage, remove trees that block sunlight and air movement, and many other course improvement projects increase their ability to produce good golf conditions and healthy turf for the upcoming season, so take advantage of the dry weather and frozen soils.          

Many golf course superintendents have recently finalized their operating budgets for next season.  The economy has affected every course differently, but it’s safe to say that only a small proportion of courses have seen increases in operating budgets over the past few seasons.  Golfers should be aware that the overall budget, particularly resources allocated towards labor, is the most influential factor in producing a well-conditioned golf course.  If golf conditions have not fallen short of your expectations, realize that changes in the operating budget may be a major underlying factor. 

Finally, enjoy some down time away from the golf course with friends and family.  Superintendents should use the offseason to reflect back on the tough year and try to re-energize for next season.  The work/life balance is usually challenging for everyone, and the holiday season provides a great opportunity to regain some stability and take a breath.   

Everyone in the Northeast Region hopes you have a happy and safe holiday season!            

Greens Covers

The greens have been treated to protect them from pink and gray snow mold during the winter months. A heavy layer of sand has been applied to the greens to help insulate the crowns of the plants during the cold months ahead. An extra layer of protection was installed today in the form of Evergreen turf covers. The 5th, 8th, and nursery greens were covered to allow for more winter protection and earlier spring green up. Some advantages from using these covers are stronger root development, eliminating winter foot traffic from golfers and animals, as well as keeping the geese droppings off the green surface. These covers were left over from the construction project 8 years ago so there was no new cost involved in their use.

Carts

The golf course received 2.3 inches of rain yesterday so carts are finished for the year. In happier news the members can look forward to new golf carts from Club Car next season.
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Update

The weather is less then favorable but the crew got 7 bunker and the front bunker on 2 finished today before the rain shut them down. The ground is very soft so there will be some repairs needed in the rough through aeration and seed in the areas where equipment was needed.

Construction Update

The project is moving along on holes 2,4 and 7. All of the drainage and bunker shaping is finished. The liner and sand has been installed on #7 while the crew is working on the second hole today. The new irrigation has been installed on 2 and 4 greens with all new heads to water the greens and new heads to water the rough and bunkers. This is a much more efficient and accurate way to irrigate. The same irrigation set-up was installed on the putting green and #7 a few years ago with great success. We will be laying the sod this week and the fence behind 4 green will be installed early next week. Once the construction is finished I will still have some work to do in-house with the cart path at the 3rd tee and there will be some areas in the rough that will need to be aerified and seeded in the spring.

#7 bunker with sand and liner waiting for sod

Installing the Sand Mat 200 liner

Rolling the irrigation lines after installation

McNeil

Our architect Robert McNeil was on-site today to check on the work.

Not a bad First Day

Construction is going well with the nice weather. Tomorrow will be a different ballgame.

Construction

Construction has started on 2 and 4 greens. Please obey all signs and temporary greens. Thanks

Carts

We will not have carts today after receiving 2.25 inches of rain. That is a large amount  of rain for summer months but with the cool weather and short days of fall the course is simply too wet and will not dry. Please call the pro shop for updates on carts for Thanksgiving Day.

Holes 2 and 4

The tree work behind the 4th green and the tree work on the right side and behind the 2nd green have been completed. The greens will be open along with the 3rd tee for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Beginning on Monday November 28th the construction crew will begin their work so temporary greens and tees will be in play. Please respect these designated areas as safety is most important for the workers. We have held off on this bunker and irrigation project until late in the season to reduce the amount of impact it will have on the golf course. Thank you for your patience and enjoy your holiday.

Construction

The trees behind 4 green are being removed to allow for more sunlight and air movement on the green surface. A wooden fence will replace the trees in combination with the bunker and irrigation project starting next week.

Winter Preperation

By Jim Skorulski, senior agronomist, Northeast Region
November 16, 2011

Late fall offers an excellent opportunity to plant deciduous trees that are or near dormant. A large sugar maple tree is being carefully transplanted to a more favorable site at The Country Club last week.

It is hard to believe it is mid November with the Thanksgiving holiday right around the corner.  This year provided heavy snow, spring flooding, 100 plus degree temperatures, a tornado, an earthquake, a tropical storm and hurricane, and a freak winter storm has many of us wondering: what’s next?
To say the extreme weather has taken its toll on the Northeast states is an understatement. The physical, emotional and financial strains have been difficult. The landscape in many areas has changed forever, and repairs and clean-up will continue for a long time. But life goes on and so too the preparations for the inevitable winter weather that is ahead.
Late fall is a time when the grass is supposed to gradually acclimate to cold temperature. During this time we hope the plants are exposed more consistently to temperatures at or just below freezing temperatures during the day. Turf growth rates will continue to decline in the next few weeks, and there should be a gradual transition towards the purpling and khaki colors associated with winter dormancy. Maximum cold temperature acclimation is achieved in early winter when the plants are exposed to colder (below freezing) temperatures. Some areas have experienced colder temperatures already, but temperatures have not been consistently cold enough yet to make managers comfortable that the turf is ready for what lies ahead.

Winter Covers
Those who utilize cover systems to protect annual bluegrass from cold temperature injury are being challenged by the warmer-than-usual temperatures. Installing the covers too early will prevent the plants from fully acclimating to the cold; waiting too long risks headaches associated with a significant frost layer or a flash snow storm. Managers utilizing covering systems are encouraged to wait until a colder and more consistent weather pattern sets up in the region. That may not be until December in central and southern parts of the region, but courses further north are probably closing in on the time when covers need to be installed. Waiting an extra week in my opinion is worth the risk.

Temporary Greens
Now is the time to develop temporary greens that will be used for winter play. Temporary greens are never popular with most golfers, but are the best means to protect the primary greens after the turf is dormant and there is frost in the ground. Take advantage of the warmer weather to topdress and roll the temporary greens, the winter golfers will appreciate it!
Most, if not all, aeration practices have been completed by this time. Late fall topdressing also has gained popularity as a means to apply more sand to playing surfaces without disrupting play or damaging mowing equipment. The late season topdressings may also protect the plants from wind desiccation and warm the surface more quickly in spring. You are fooling yourself, however, if you try to use the late fall application to compensate for limited or no topdressing in season. Sporadic topdressing with heavier rates of sand creates distinct layers in the root zone and does not produce the homogonous soil mix provided with more frequent and light topdressings. Avoid dragging or aggressive brushing once the turf is dormant. Finally, consider dimple seeding the greens prior to the final dressing. The extra step will not require much additional labor or cost, and can provide new bentgrass seedlings in spring.         

Tree Evaluations
Late fall also is a good time to evaluate your tree plantings. The October snow storm probably culled most of your weak trees or severely damaged those with susceptible branching. Use this time to evaluate the condition of the trees and look for poor branch structure and external signs of internal decay. Trees shading playing areas or encroaching into sight lines or play corridors should also be noted so that action to remove or prune the trees can be taken in the next few weeks or over winter.
The Green Section Northeast Region thanks you for your interaction and support this season, and we hope that we have been helpful to you in this year of extremes. We wish you all a relaxing Thanksgiving holiday and let us hope that the winter ahead is a little more kind and gentle.

Irrigation

Today we blew out the irrigation system in preparation for the winter season. Storr Tractor will be tomorrow to winterize the pump stations.

Frost

930 AM and the back of the 8th green is still frozen. The Cypress trees affect the green at all times of the year.

Update Concerning Holes 5 and 6 from the Greens Committee

The storm of last week caused significant damage to many trees on the golf course. Pat Quinlan and his crew began cleaning up fallen limbs immediately after the storm and did a fantastic job of having the course playable in short order. The limbs stacked at the end of the maintenance driveway and at other locations will provide a perspective on the amount of work done.

Unfortunately a number of limbs have either broken off but remained lodged in the trees or have partially snapped. In either case they present a hazard to golfers. This condition is at its worst among the trees between holes 5 and 6. Due to the factors of equipment availability, ground conditions, the cost of emergency response, and the approaching end of the golf season, removal of these limbs will be delayed until the winter months when most of our other tree work is scheduled.

Meanwhile, we have shortened these two holes to par 3’s with the tee to be placed at the top of each hole beyond the area of trees between the holes. That area will be roped off and will be deemed unplayable.

Tree Work

Greenwood is here today removing the fallen oak on the 5th hole. There are still many other hazardous tree on 5 and 6 that will force us to play them as par 3.

USGA Update

The Frost Is On The Pumpkin

By David A. Oatis, director, Northeast Region
November 3, 2011


I am tempted to suggest that the recent freak snowstorm in the Northeast Region is “the icing on the cake” as far as weather extremes are concerned in this region, but with two more months to go, and heaven knows how many more records could be set, I am reluctant to do so.  Is it possible to set another record for the greatest number of weather-related records being set in a single year?
For now, I will not complain too much about the tree damage and the widespread power outages.  However, a mere three days without power in our neighborhood has taught me a number of valuable lessons:

• I love hot showers!
• I love hot showers in my own home best of all!
• Electricity is a wonderful thing!
• Candlelight may be romantic, but it’s darn hard to read by!
• A 7-year-old, dust-covered and never-used generator that takes up too much room in the garage is a wonderful thing!
• My wife will never complain about the generator taking up too much space again!

On a more serious note, the recent heavy, wet snow that blanketed many areas of the Northeast Region obviously wreaked havoc with trees and utilities.  This is the same phenomena that occurred in Buffalo, New York a few years ago, and the effects suffered by the trees are still being felt there.  I doubt there will be any impact on the turfgrass in the Northeast Region, but weaker, soft-wooded tree species with poor structure (see the Bradford pear trees from my neighborhood) have been severely affected.  Unfortunately, even healthy, good quality trees can suffer damage as a result of the weight of the snow on top of leaf-filled canopies.  The event obviously will generate tremendous costs for some courses as a result of cleanup, but there will likely be longer-term costs for some courses.  Trees that are severely damaged and not removed will eventually sucker out.  The suckers never form a strong point of attachment, so these trees will generate more debris and require more trimming in the future.  Damaged areas of trees can also be colonized by wood-rotting fungi, which further weaken the tree and its structure.  Undoubtedly, some courses will choose to keep damaged trees in the short term, but severely damaged trees may never fully recover. 

Source:  Northeast Region Green Section- Dave Oatis, Director doatis@usga.org; Adam Moeller, Agronomist amoeller@usga.org Jim Skorulski, Senior Agronomist jskorulski@usga.org. 

Course Update

Due to the hazardous conditions of the trees on hole 5 and 6 they will be closed until further notice. The holes on the clubhouse side of course will be open unless the greens are snow covered. The 8th hole will be temporary until the snow melts.
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Trees cont.

Oak on the right of 5 fairway. Greenwood will remove this tree.
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Tree Work

The oaks between 2 and 3 fairways.
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Snow

The snow has hit many of the trees at MGC very hard. Mostly branches that we can manage ourselves but a few will require the professionals. Once the snow melts we get the course cleaned up as quick as possible.
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Is it really October

Putting Green at 11am in October
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Great Video

A really great video showing what goes into a day of maintenance on a golf course.

http://vimeo.com/27697294

ISTRC Testing

We have received the results from the ISTRC testing that we completed on the 6th green back in September before we aerated the greens. This test is a benchmark that shows us what is going on in the soil including infiltration rate, air porosity, bulk density, organic content amongst others that shows us how the greens need to be cultivated in the future as well as showing the progress that we are making with the health of the greens. The following is part of the report that show how the 6th green compares to a properly functioning USGA green. We are very far from where we need to be but this report will help determine the agronomic path that will create healthy greens.

Grooming

Now that the greens have healed for the most part from aeration the turf needs a good grooming to stand up the longer grass blades and cut them all to uniform height. This practice helps sunlight penetrate the canopy of the turf increasing density of the turf. The groomers are located in front of the cutting reel on the walking greens mower units. The following pictures show how this achieved.

Position of Groomer in front of Reel

Interesting shot of the putting surface and mower blade

Moisture

TDR 300

In the past week I have purchased a TDR 300 which is a soil moisture meter. This is a newer piece of technology that allows us to check how much water content is in the soil at any particular time without having to take a soil sample or cut a hole location.

Throughout the growing season the most important decision that I make is how much water should be applied to the golf course in particular the green surfaces. The goal is to have enough moisture for the plant to survive but not excessive moisture leading to soft conditions that are not conducive to playability, disease management, or health of the root zone. The TDR 300 allows me to set a particular number that determines timing and quantity of water applied to the greens. This number requires a learning process to determine what number provides enough moisture to support the plant without wilting. Each green will be different especially #3,#6, and #9 which are USGA greens. Our number also will vary from other courses so comparisons are not helpful.

The following graph shows two dates on which the greens were sampled. The sampling process is an average of 9 random locations sampled on each green. The first sample date of 10/13/11 was following just under a half inch rain event, giving me a number representing the greens under wet conditions. It is important to note that this was a rain event and not an irrigation event thus giving us an even distribution of water taking out the inefficiency of our irrigation system. The second sampling was taken 5 days later after sunny and windy conditions.

The graph shows in numerical fashion my concerns about the greens remaining very wet after rain events. What has surprised me the most is that our USGA greens 3,6, and 9 are some of the worst at moving water away from the surface. #8 is no surprise at this time of year that the water content has almost not changed at all over 5 days. This information will continue to be developed and interpreted to determine our irrigation, topdressing, tree removal, and aeration practices for the future. I hope I have not bored you to death with moisture information but this is very important to the success of MGC's playing surfaces.

Tree Removal

The Borough of Madison is removing a large Oak behind the 9th tee this morning. This tree has been in poor health for a long time, a safety concern and sustained damage from the recent storms. This is one tree that needed to go and it didn't cost MGC a dime.
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Madison Eagle Article

MADISON - Over the past few weeks members at the Madison Golf Club participated in the Club Championship, and the final matches were concluded Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 24 and 25. The weather behaved far better than was predicted, and on Sunday the finals took place in sunlight and warm temperatures.

For the men, there were four separate flights, including the Championship Flight, the “A” Flight, the “B” Flight, and a Seniors Flight. For the women’s division, there were flights for 18-hole golfers and 9-hole golfers. All in all, a total of 29 golfers participated in the Club Championship.
The Championship Flight played the first 18 holes of the 36-hole final match Sept. 24, with Jack Egan competing against Fred Wynne for top honors. This year the tournament was managed as one event, and all the final matches were held Sept. 25. Competing in the “A” Flight finals were James Kennedy against George Hayman, a past club champion, and in the “B” Flight Michael Galant played against Rex Parkinson. The Senior Flight found Joseph Verbaro challenging Sandy Batten in the finals.
In the women’s 18-hole division, Nancy Stepanian and Karen Parkinson played one another in the final competition. In the 9-hole division, it was Amy Ball playing against Mary Zingone.
Many members were present to cheer on the contestants for both the men’s and women’s championships. Afterward, there was a catered reception and an awards ceremony inside the main room of the new clubhouse, where Tournament Chairman Robert Leamer and Woman’s Division President Alice Schedlbauer presided.

Playing An Extra Hole:
Three of the men’s final matches went to the 19th hole, and the women’s 9-hole final also went to an extra hole. There was some excellent golf played and the course was in fabulous condition, even minus the ancient silver oak tree on the 9th hole that was badly damaged during Hurricane Irene and had to be removed. During one of his club championship matches on Sept. 17, John Gallagher, a past club champion, made a hole-in-one on the 145 yard hole No. 8 with a 9-iron. At the time, he was playing with Jack Egan, Jack Megargel and Matt Kunish.

In the final results for the men, in the Championship Flight, Jack Egan was the finalist and Fred Wynne won the Club Championship on the 19th hole. In the “A” Flight George Hayman was the finalist and James Kennedy took the title, 1-up after 19. In the “B” Flight, Michael Galant was the finalist and Rex Parkinson the champion, 2 and 1. In the Seniors Flight, the finalist was Sandy Batten as Joseph Verbaro Jr. took the championship, 1-up after 19 holes.

In the Women’s Division, for 18-hole golfers, Karen Parkinson was the finalist and Nancy Stepanian took the championship, 1-up. For the 9-hole golfers, Mary Zingone was the finalist as the championship went to Amy Ball, 1-up after 10 holes.

Junior Golfers
On Sept. 11, the Madison Golf Club’s junior golfers played their club championship, with four 18-hole players competing. Alex Chin, whose family are new members this year, emerged as the junior club champion after defeating runner-up Sean Casey. Finishing third was Christopher Manning, followed by Brendan Dore in fourth. The junior players carried their own bags and walked the course during the competition. Several parents, members and golf shop staff were spectators and officiated.
Each of the club champions will have a name plate added to the Club Championship plaques that hang on the winners’ wall near the locker rooms in the new clubhouse.

October Update

Please don't be scared the large orange thing in the sky is the sun which most of us have forgotten about since the middle of September. The next 5 or 6 days look like great weather, almost summer like by the weekend, which will help the course to dry out and really get the turf growing which will help fill in the aeration holes. The greens, tees, collars, and approaches are finished being aerated as well as Fairways 1,2,3,4 and 9. The fairways take a long time due to the fact that we are using our greens aerator to aerate the fairways. This is not the ideal situation but MGC does not own a fairway aerator and the budget didn't allow for contract work this year on the fairways. The long stretch of wet weather has produced more worm casts (mud) on the fairways then I have ever seen at MGC. These worm casts while a real problem for the golfer also cause problems for the grounds staff namely dull mowers. The dry weather should help the worm cast situation although it will remain noticable for the next few weeks as the turf grows through the casts. We are also mowing down the tall grass between #8 and #9. This is a yearly process that allows us to keep these areas under control and give us the ability to spray an herbicide that will remove all the weeds from these areas.

Mowing Tall Grass on #9

Aeration Update

We finished the aeration and topdressing process on the remaining greens yesterday morning. We then started tee and approach aeration completing 9 and 1 tee and 1 approach when I had to divert the crew to mowing due to the surge of growth from the recent rains and warm weather. The rain has shut down aeration for today, Wednesday, so we will concentrate on mowing rough, tees, and approaches before the heavy rains this afternoon shut us down completely. We will continue aeration on the tees and approaches when the weather changes but considering the year we have had who knows when that will be.

More Aeration Pictures

Here are some more aeration pictures

Heavy Topdressing of Sand

Finished Product

Greens Aeration

The crew is working hard on the greens aeration and looks like we will only have #7 and #8 to finish in the morning. The process this year was to deep tine with a 3/4 inch solid tine to a 9 inch dept at a 4inch by 4inch spacing followed by our Toro 648 with 5/8 hollow tine at a 2inch by 2inch spacing. The cores are then shoveled into the carts and hauled to the dump. We then apply our dry sand topdressing and work it into the holes using our brush and tow behind blower. Here are some pictures:

Deep Tine Machine from the Fredco Group

Crew Clearing the cores

#3 green before clean-up

I will post some of the finish pictures tomorrow I have to get back out on the course.

Course Update - September 23

We are trying to get the entire golf course mowed this morning before the rains begin. The golf course is still very wet and the forecast is calling for another 1 to 2 inches. This time of year with the cooler temperatures, shorter days, and lower sun angle the course stay wet much longer then in the summer months.

We will be aerating the greens on Monday using both a contractor to deep tine the greens and our own equipment for traditional core aeration. We will not be able to finish all the greens on Monday so there will be a few holes closed on Tuesday as we finish the clean-up and topdressing. I know how much golfers hate aeration but it is a very important process especially after the year we have had losing so much turf. Once we complete the aeration and topdressing of greens they will receive an application of fertilizer as well as be over seeded with bentgrass.

We will continue aerating other areas of the golf course, tees, approaches, and fairways, once the greens have been completed.

Course Update

The 8th green is fully open now with no ground under repair on the green now that the sod has rooted and we have brought the height of cut down to be equal with the rest of our greens. I will be keeping the pin locations out of the sodded areas for another few weeks until the ball rolls a little better in this area. I have fertilized the greens, tees and fairways this week with a blended fertilizer that is part synthetic and part organic. The product does carry an odor but now that it has all been watered in no odor is present. These fall applications are very important for the turf as we are trying to drive root growth before winter, increase carbohydrate reserves that were depleted during the summer, and aid in the recovery of aerification which will take place the week of September 26th. This aerification will also give us another great opportunity to seed all of the greens that still have bare spots. The annual flowers have been removed from the clubhouse landscape beds and replaced with mums for the fall.

The recent cooler weather signals that fall is around the bend and that means frost. Frost can develop anywhere under 40 degrees at MGC so even if your car or the bank thermometer says its above 32 there still might be frost. Please obey the frost delay signs that will be posted and do not walk on any turf until the ok is given by myself or the pro shop staff. The leaves will also begin to fall in the next few weeks and we will do our best to keep the golf course as clean as possible. The noise ordinance prevents us from using blowers on weekend mornings so by Sunday afternoon the course might be a little messy but we will continue to work as fast as possible cleaning up the leaves.

End of an Era

Greenwood tree removed the Silver Maple from the center of #9 today. The Long Range Committee and myself are working with our architect to develop a plan that will be acceptable to all the members at MGC.

Remember those that are Gone

Going to be a difficult day for many in our area that lost a loved one ten years ago. We will be enjoying the first round of the club championship today but we will never forget what happened ten years ago. In honor of those that died we have put out the American Flags on all the flagsticks today. God Bless America

Course Update - September 8

The rain is still coming down at MGC this morning which is really keeping us from getting the golf course mowed and keeping the bunkers playable. Here are some totals for the past 40 days:

August - 19.95 inches of rain
September 6 - .65 inches of rain
September 7 - 3.25 inches of rain
September 8 - 1.5 inches of rain and still raining



Thursday Morning Radar


The rain has not only put a stop to our mowing but has also delayed Greenwood Trees ability to access the golf course to remove the Silver Maple on #9 as well as the large portion of the oak on #5. It looks as though it will still be to wet on Friday to remove the trees so they should be here on Monday. The crew worked around the clubhouse yesterday weeding the beds and removing the summer annuals in preparation for the Mums next week. We will try and get all the bunker banks mowed today along with the washouts repaired but the weather might dictate otherwise. Thanks for your patience.

Re-post of Email

The following is a re-post of an e-mail that some members never received:

Dear MGC Members,
Below is a message from Jim Schessler and the Board of Governors , regarding news of the damage to the tree on hole #9 from Hurricane Irene.  Enjoy this holiday weekend and all the golf it will bring you.

Hurricane Irene resulted in the loss of approximately one third of the tree in the center of hole # 9. This is in addition to the loss of a major section a few years ago. A thorough inspection of the tree indicates that the remaining portion is essentially hollow and is a safety hazard. Accordingly the remainder of the tree must be removed. We expect that this will be done late next week. Meanwhile we have roped off the area to the right of the tree as a danger area which will be designated as ground under repair.

 In our long range planning we had anticipated this eventuality. We have preliminary plans for the redesign of this hole in the absence of the tree. We will review these plans and the timing of their implementation with an ad hoc expanded Greens Committee representing a cross section of the membership.

Meanwhile, the same committee is finalizing measures required to improve the conditions of the greens and sand bunkers.

Regards,

Madison Golf Club
155 Green Avenue
Madison, NJ  07940

Another tree

We lost a large portion of the Oak tree on the rights side of the 5th hole yesterday. We will have Greenwood tree remove this section of the tree Wednesday while they are here for the Silver Maple on the 9th hole.

Newspaper Article about Irene/Golf Courses

Here is an article from the Star Ledger this morning about how some of the courses in our area were impacted by Irene.

http://www.nj.com/golf/index.ssf/2011/09/golf_courses_across_jersey_nur.html

USGA Update

By Jim Skorulski, Dave Oatis, Adam Moeller, agronomists, Northeast Region
August 31, 2011

A trail of debris is not all that is left as saltwater begins to recede from a coastal Connecticut golf course. The likelihood of damage from the saltwater makes it necessary to plan a leaching and renovation strategy for the flooded areas.

It is hard to believe that recently Hurricane Irene was driving up the Atlantic seaboard and bringing with it hurricane and tropical storm force winds and flooding rains. Add Irene to the list of 2011 maladies that include winter damage, tornadoes, giant hail, and an earthquake tremor. Enough is enough already. I guess most of us should be thankful that Irene lost some of her strength before making landfall and spared us from even worse wind and storm surge damage. However, the large and powerful storm will be remembered most for the catastrophic flooding and damage it has caused throughout the region.
Maintenance staffs have been busy cleaning up downed trees, branches and debris left from the wind and massive flooding, along with washed out bunkers and cart paths, severe erosion and flooded turf areas. Saltwater flooding and, to a lesser extent, salt spray are the major concern for lower lying coastal golf courses. Saltwater flooding is never good, but poses an even greater risk in the summer when the turf is actively growing. The extent of damage is hard to predict and will depend on the weather, turf species and cultivar, duration of the flooding and ability to remove the accumulated salts. Toxic levels of sodium and chloride ions will damage most cool season grasses and especially annual bluegrass. Consider the following points as you plan a clean-up and recovery strategy following the storm’s aftermath.

• Record rainfall totals generated from this storm have caused more extensive flooding and erosion on inland golf courses. The duration of the flooding and temperature will impact the turf survival. Turf under water for several days will probably be ok if the temperatures do not climb too high. Removing silt and other debris left from the flood will be the challenge. Use snow shovels or power broom the silt and debris from greens and use hoses to wash-off as much of remaining soil as possible. Plan on extra cultivation in the flooded areas this fall to remove layers of silt and other fines from the surface.  
• Golf courses that experienced saltwater flooding must anticipate the worst in regards to turf damage. Any rain that occurred after the saltwater receded will be helpful. Begin irrigating the areas as soon as possible. Check the salinity of any irrigation pond that may have been breached. Water with an ECw of 2-3 dS/m (1280ppm-1920ppm total dissolved salt), although not ideal, can still be used to flush salt-affected sites. Water with higher salt concentrations should not be used.
• How much water will it take to remove salts from the upper root zone?   Mike Huck, Irrigation and Turfgrass Services in Dana Point, CA relayed to me that 4 inches of infiltrated water will remove 90 percent if the salt from 4 inches of soil, regardless of the soil texture.  Gypsum can be applied at 10 lbs per 1,000 sq ft while leaching the salt-affected areas. Reapply gypsum at 10 lbs per 1,000 sq ft when the areas can be cultivated.
• Use a salinity meter (see links below) or have a saturated soil test completed to determine if the salinity has been lowered sufficiently for seeding. ECe (electrical conductivity of soil) should be < 4dS/m and preferably < 2 dS/m and an SAR < 6 and preferably < 3 for successful seeding.  Bentgrass cultivars such as Seaside II, Cobra, SR 1020 and Mariner have higher salt tolerances and may be a consideration for flood prone greens and other areas. The perennial ryegrass cultivars Brightstar SLT, Citation II, Citation Fore and Paragon offer higher salt tolerance, Alkaligrass grass can tolerate higher levels of salt and may also be a suitable choice for areas that are more prone to saltwater flooding.   
• The warm blast of tropical air generated from this storm may also carry with it the threat of gray leaf spot disease. I have not yet heard reports of the pathogen in the Northeast, but stay alert for reports of disease activity and for symptoms on perennial ryegrass.

This hurricane will not be remembered so much for its wind, as it will for the widespread flood damage. The clean-up, repair work and regrassing efforts at many Northeast golf courses will be significant. More details regarding the damage and clean-up efforts will be forthcoming as we better understand the extent of damage. Do not hesitate to contact us if we can answer any questions or be of help during the recovery efforts. 

Tree

We lost the left side of the tree in the center of 9 fairway during the storm. We received 6 plus inches of rain as my rain gage only goes to 6 and it was full. I will have another update tommorrow after we begin cleaning up.
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Course Closing

To all the members

Golf course will be closed from 3pm Saturday until 730 Tuesday morning.
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Irene

We will be preparing for Irene today and Saturday on the golf course. We have already had both of our fuel tanks filled and have filled all the equipment with fuel. The chainsaws are ready and the blowers have been checked. I will pressure down the irrigation system and turn off the pumps over the weekend. The reason for this is in the event a tree falls it could damage an irrigation pipe in the process thus causing large amounts of water to leak onto the golf course. The flagsticks will be brought in on Saturday night to prevent them from flying away if we do receive high winds. Hopefully this is all for not but we will be prepared and will begin the clean-up as soon as Irene leaves the area.

The 8th green will partially be reopened on Saturday. The sod that is roped off should not be walked on for any reason. There will be two drop areas, one in the front and one in the rear of the green, that you are to use to avoid the sod. It will be a few weeks until we can play on the new sod so please be patient and respect the ropes so we can have a great putting surface for the fall season..

Course Update

The rain has stopped for the next few days and ushered in cool nights and mild days which is a great benefit to the course helping recovery on our problem greens and with the vandalism from Saturday night. The Fredco Group is soding the 8th green today repairing the damage from the vandalism. The 8th green will closed entirely on Tuesday with a temporary green in play for Wednesday thru Friday. We will re-evaluate the green for the weekend. Fredco will also be finishing the new nursery today so we should have some germination in the next two weeks. I have been continuing to aerate and seed the problem areas on the greens and collars trying to establish as much bentgrass as possible with the favorable weather. As we look for better practices to preserve our small collars we began using plastic lattice when we mow the greens. The lattice gives us an area to turn the mowers on without injuring the collars. The greens were topdressed yesterday to help fill in voids as well as routinely dilute our thatch layer in the greens.

Lattice being used to protect the collars

Damage

Last night we had vandals do damage to two greens, #3 and #8. #8 will be closed while repairs can be made.
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USGA August Update

By David A. Oatis, director, Northeast Region
August 18, 2011

Bentgrass thriving in a sea of dying Poa annua.

Depending on your location, your golf course may have experienced winter injury, torrential spring rains, a few weeks of mild weather, and then record-breaking July heat interspersed with a few more heavy rain events. Even August hasn’t been easy.  And let’s not forget the two to three generations of annual bluegrass weevils that have chewed their way through annual bluegrass populations and a little bentgrass at many courses this year.  Not surprisingly, plenty of golf courses have experienced problems as a result of the extreme weather conditions. 

Diagnostic laboratories have been overrun with disease samples, and outbreaks of summer patch and anthracnose both have been very common.  ‘Abiotic stress’ has been a common diagnosis, and in plenty of cases, annual bluegrass has just run out of gas.  As is usually the case this time of year, annual bluegrass is the species that is failing most often.  This is a good year to have more bentgrass!

Despite all of this, there are plenty of success stories.  Courses that installed drainage clearly are seeing the benefits this year.  The same goes for courses that improved their grass growing environments by tree removal and the installation of electric fans.  Some courses that have had good results with fans now are looking to install more or larger fans because of their obvious benefit.  Courses that implemented aggressive cultivation and soil modification programs on their greens also have benefited. 

With the renovation window upon us, a word of caution is appropriate.  Now is a terrific time to aerate and get seed into the ground in damaged areas, but do so with at least one eye on the weather.  Aerators can kick off more disease activity, and we are at great risk for damage from those high-sky, low-humidity days where turfgrass plants lose water through their leaves far faster than they can extract it from the soil with their weakened root systems.  We have already had a couple of those days, and we have the potential for more.  Just because it rained yesterday or last night does not mean that turf cannot wilt this afternoon.  Keep scouting for weevils, and beware of late August summer patch infections that might catch you unaware. 

As always, do not hesitate to give our office a call if we can help in any way.  Our visiting schedule still is busy, but we can always fit you in if there is a problem.

Rain

We recieved another 1.25 inches of rain last night.



Practice Green during Storm



Course Update

After recieving over 6 inches of rain this week we are finally getting caught up on all of our mowing. Greens, tees, collars, and approaches are all being mowed this morning with fairways, intermediate cut, and rough this afternoon. On Wednesday we were able to aerify the 5th green, and 1,2,3,4,6,9 collars with 1/4 inch tines on a 2x2 inch spacing. These areas were then seeded with bentgrass. It has been two weeks since we last aerfied and seeded the collars with some improvement resulting I will continue this process every two weeks into the fall. The rain gave me the opportunity to shut the irrigation system down completly so we could some leaks that were unable to be repaired while the system was pressurized. It also gave the Fredco Group the opportunity to install the new irrigation at the nursery. Fredco has removed the old material from the nursery and has set the grade for the new surface. 23 tons of a 70% sand, 20% peat moss, and 10% soil mix has been added to the nursery with another 20 tons still to go. Fredco will be finished on Monday with this project. The nursery will be seeded so it will take about four weeks before we will be able to make the first mowing weather permitting.

Removing the old material

Nursery

The Fredco Group is at MGC today to start construction on the new turf nursery behind 7 men's blue tee.

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Here is a video from Larry Stowell at PACE turf explaining how wind effects canopy temperatures of the turf. This is an important video to watch as we consider opeing up areas on the golf course around greens.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWt6C3eoKiY&feature=player_detailpage

Rain

As of this morning we received over two inches of rain from last night. For the second time this week the bunkers took most of the damage. Here is a video repairing the front bunker on #2.

PGA Championship

If you were watching golf channel like I was last night you saw that there was mower damage done on the 17th green last night. Here is an update for the interested from Goldom:

The PGA just announced that there was damage to two greens. Previously it was mentioned that No. 17 had sustained damage, but only now has it become public that No. 14 green was also damaged.

I happened to be at No. 14 green when the damage happened, and I took these two photos. I was there when Ken Mangum arrived on the scene to survey the damage -- the expression on his face said it all. But he didn't scream and shout... he went into business mode, and looked to find a solution to the problem.

Now that the damage has been fixed, I hope the crew at Atlanta Athletic Club appreciates that I share these photos only so you can see what a good job they did when the broadcast starts tomorrow.