Opening Day

We are ready for opening day and it actually not raining. The crew and I wish all the members of MGC a great 2011 season.
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8 Green Winter Damage

Those of you that have played this spring have noticed the damage on the front left corner of the 8th green. This damage was caused by ice formation thus suffocating the turf. The reasons behind the damage only happening on this particular green are based on the location of the green itself, a low shady spot that has a colder micro-climate than any of our other greens. I did not aerate this green along with the others as I was afraid of causing more damage to the turf during a period when the turf was not actively growing. The last few warm days have really got the turf growing so now was the time to begin aerating the 8th green. I used a different type of tine called a Bayonet Tine, which is a wonderful resource to benignly sever roots releasing growth hormones and thus creating a fuller and deeper root system. This process would not have been possible if we did not purchase the new aerator last fall. I will continue to aerate the 8th green until we have complete recovery although I will tell you that it will be a slow process. I will also be using these tine on all the greens various times during the year to "vent" them. More on that later.

Winter Damage on 8th Green

Topdressing Greens

Today was the first time since aeration that I have topdressed the greens. I will be topdressing on a regular basis to keep the greens smooth and true. The agronomic reasons for topdressing is to dilute the thatch and increase our water infiltration rate.
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Sod Work

The rear portion of the 4th green suffered last summer due to the extreme heat and also its location growing basically under a Leeland Cypress Hedge. This was one of the areas that we had Robert McNeil look at when he was touring the course this past winter and he had suggested that we move the green away from the hedge slightly. This is exactly what we have done by removing the damaged turf, creating a new collar of bentgrass and adding new tall fescue rough.

Rear of the 4th Green



One of the other areas that Robert McNeil wanted to address was that of rebuilding bunkers and what type of turf we should have on our bunkers. We are looking at adding areas of fine fescue around the outside edges of the bunkers not on the edges alongside the greens. We chose to sod the rear bunker on #2 as a trial to see if the members like the look and playability of this type of turf.

Rear Bunker on #2 Fine Fescue

As we look into further restoration of our bunkers we will be discussing adding liners and new sand, re-shaping of certain bunkers, increased irrigation efficency, and the re-sodding of the bunkers.

Roots

Since I have been at MGC we have deep tine aerated the greens a total of four times. This process is disruptive to the greens as well as costs the club significant money as we can not perform this process in-house. Today I was changing cups on the 2nd green and I found all these roots coming from a deep tine hole. This picture is proof of why we continue to deep tine our greens and that what we do now will impact the greens in the future. These roots are longer then 8 inches and the low temperatures this spring have not been that conducive to root growth. I can't wait until the weather warms up, can you imagine how long these roots will be then.

Tee Aeration

Today we are aerating all the tees. Thank you for your patience with this disruptive process. Please clean your spikes before entering clubhouse as there will be lots of topdressing on the tees today.
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Irrigation

The list of spring tasks around the golf course continued today with the charging of the irrigation system. Don Tardif from Storr Tractor Company was at MGC to bring both pump stations online and pressurize the lines. The system had no leaks and both pumps started up without any problems. This is the time when we find out if I blew the system out properly before winter and if Don did his job in the fall winterizing the pumps. Below is a picture of Don in the Garfield Ave pumphouse.

Please Do Not Practice on the Golf Course

On Friday April 8th three golfers signed in all day at the pro shop but this morning I found these divots on the 9th hole and matching unrepaired ball marks on the 9th green. Please respect the golf course and keep all practice limited to the putting green and range nets. Following these rules will make the course better for all members to enjoy.
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Work in the Maintenance Building

Over the past few days we have had contractors working in the maintenance building adding new lighting, insulation in the ceiling and sheet rocking the ceiling. Since I have been at MGC the maintenance building has never had insulation in the ceiling or sheet rock of any kind and it had become very costly to heat the building. The sheet rock and insulation will pay us back from lower energy costs in a few years and the addition of the new lighting will make the shop a safer environment for the crew and easier for our mechanic to work on the equipment.

Insulation and temp lighting

Finished product. We will paint on the next rainy day.