Pace of Play Episode 4: Be Prepared

The above video is the 4th episode from the USGA videos on Pace of Play. Please check the pace of play policy on the 1st hole and then check your time on the clock as you approach the 5th green to see how your group is keeping up with the pace.




Since Memorial day we have been mowing rough around the clock to help get caught up which is about the normal procedure this time of year. We also completed some projects including a new set of stairs for the forward tee on the 7th hole. These new stairs will give access to a new teeing ground for the gold markers on the 7th hole. We also planted 10 Shadblow Serviceberry trees along the front entrance as I mentioned in the previous blog. Our next focus will be verticutting and fertilizing the tees as they seem to be lagging behind the rest of the course.




During the Memorial Day weekend the pro shop held a raffle to support the New Jersey Golf Foundation.  I am happy to report Craig will be donating $500 to the foundation as a result of the raffle/ Thank you to all who contributed to this great foundation. http://www.njgolffoundation.com/

Course Update

The crew was busy this week keeping up with the growth of the turf. We continued our verticutting and dry mowing of the greens for the third week and the greens are improving each week with little disruption to the members. The weak areas on 3 and 6 green were spiked and seeded again this week.  The ropes and signs have been removed from all the sod areas with only a few seeded areas remaining with ropes. The yellow markers have been placed on the fairway expansion for the 2nd hole. Please feel free to play from these yellow markers if you struggle to hit over the 9th green, helping the pace of play. The black junior markers will be placed out this weekend and remain until Labor Day. 

We replaced the stairs going to the 5th men's tee this week in the same fashion as the stairs for the 8th tees. We will also be building a new set of stairs next week to access additional teeing grounds for the 7th forward tees.  The flowers around the clubhouse have been changed over for the summer months. Unfortunately the Crape Myrtle trees along the driveway did not survive the winter. These trees will survive in our climate during most years but this past winter was just too much. We will be planting Serviceberry trees along the driveway as a replacement. While Serviceberry do not flower during the summer rather in the spring they have a great growth habit that will fit along the driveway beautifully. 

In rememberance of our military forces and soldiers the American Flags will be on the flagsticks Monday. Please use the stands for the flagsticks as so the flag does not touch the ground. Remember that while we celebrate the unofficial start of summer many have lost loved ones that sacrificed for our country and freedom. 

Enjoy the weather and I will see you on the course. 

Course Update and Pace of Play Episode 3: Around the Green

The above video is the third from the USGA in the Pace of Play video segment. Many of you have noticed that the rough has really started to grow so we have been running two machines daily to keep up with the growth but with heavy rain storms on the way for Friday expect the rough to be thick over the weekend. The storms for Friday have also postponed the men's member/guest tournament postponing it until June 6th. We continued to verticut the greens this week and mow a 2nd time in the afternoons on greens creating a nice playing surface that is consistent and getting much denser. Density on greens has always been an issue in years past but with the regular verticutting we are making progress. The greens and fairway expansions will be topdressed before the heavy rain on Friday enabling us to apply sand with little disruption to the members. The new water fountain on the 7th tee has arrived and will be installed this week.



Our birdhouses have attracted some residents with two families of tree swallows on the 8th hole and one family behind the 5th tee. I have included some pictures below.

Course Update

We are back to our routine mowing schedule now that all of the turf has started to grow on a more consistent level although Wednesday's morning temperature was 38 degrees. Last week we started to dry mow the greens as a second mowing in the afternoons with good results. Wednesday morning we lightly verticut the greens before mowing to help stand up the turf and reduce the amount of long runners in the turf canopy. The verticutting process will also increase our turf density on greens providing a healthier and more consistent playing surface. Verticutting aides in preventing the scalping and puffy turf issue we had during last season as well provide small channels for the sand topdressing to settle into the canopy. The forecast is calling for frequent showers over the next few days with a break on mother's day followed by more rain middle of next week prompting us to treat the playing surface with a wetting agent which helps maintain consistent moisture levels throughout the greens, tees, and fairways while at the same time moving water through the soil profile providing firmer and healthier soil conditions.

Although we have had cooler temperatures especially at night the roots are growing, the picture below shows a soil profile. The sand channels that we create during aerification are noticeable but the amount of native soil and organic matter still remaining in the soil profile show our need to continue our aggressive core aerification process.

Verticut unit on Triplex

4 Green after verticut before Mow

Soil Profile Practice Green

USGA Update - Winter Damage

We have been lucky this spring as we have had very little damage from the long winter as compared to other courses in our area. Our areas of damage include a small portion on 7 green, areas on 5 fairway, and an area on 6 fairway. The following USGA article talks of the difficulties of wide spread winter injury and the slow recovery from the cool spring.

The Silver Lining

By Adam Moeller, agronomist, Northeast Region
April 29, 2014

A piece of Penn A-4 creeping bentgrass sod was added to this putting green prior to winter. The dead annual bluegrass turf surrounding the healthy creeping bentgrass strip of sod is a clear indication of differences in winter tolerance between these species.

The number of golf facilities reporting winter injury on putting greens is overwhelming. Damage ranges from a few putting greens having dead turf areas the size of a pool table to courses where all 18 putting greens are greater than 75 percent dead. Winter injury is a highly complex subject. Many variables are involved which explains why some courses were more affected than others. This being said, there has been one constant attributed to the winter injury observed this year: annual bluegrass (i.e., Poa annua). Annual bluegrass is much more susceptible to winter injury than creeping bentgrass, and the severity of damage experienced this year has many facilities contemplating long-term conversion strategies to reduce the risk of a reoccurrence of severe winter injury. A few facilities are using the opportunity to make long-term and significant improvements in the performance and reliability of their putting greens through complete reconstruction or regrassing.

For most golf facilities, overseeding creeping bentgrass into damaged areas is the only realistic option. This will reduce the risk and/or severity of winter injury in the future, assuming a high percentage of creeping bentgrass becomes established in the damaged areas. Many courses are also evaluating the growing environments surrounding putting greens and removing trees that are having detrimental impacts via shade, tree root competition, reduced air movement or any combination thereof. After all, shaded putting greens are more susceptible to winter injury than putting greens with full sun. Winter injury is frustrating, but there is always a silver lining that can be discovered amongst the damage.

To date, recovery at many golf courses has been moderate at best. Inconsistent air temperatures have resulted in soil temperatures below 50°F in many locations. Seedling germination is not likely unless soil temperatures are consistently above 50°F and preferably closer to 60°F. The use of covers or dark topdressing sand can aid in soil warming, but their effects have not overpowered the cool weather Mother Nature has dealt so far.
T
he month of May will be a turning point for recovery at most facilities. Golfer patience is key! Restricting play will yield the most positive results in recovery. Temporary greens should not be abandoned until the putting greens are fully healed. Playing on temporary greens now is a much better situation than playing on unhealed and damaged putting greens in July. Watch the USGA Green Section webcast Assessing Winter Injury and Promoting Turf Recovery in the Northeast Region for information regarding the best management practices for promoting a rapid and sustainable recovery from winter injury on putting greens. The Green Section Record article Winter Damage is an excellent reference for information on why putting greens experience injury and how to best limit future problems.

Source: Adam Moeller (amoeller@usga.org)

Course Update and Pace of Play Episode 2: Course Setup

The course took 4.2 inches of rain during the week with very minimal damage to the course. The crew took advantage of the wet conditions filling all the fairway and tee divots this week. Please do your part to fill all your divots and fix all your ball marks. The rain kept us from finishing our rough sod work in certain areas so that will be completed next week. We were able to topdress the greens before the rain which is perfect as it impacts very few members. The new fairway sod expansions were aerated and topdressed with sand on Friday as well to help the knitting process. We are getting closer to our final heights of cut on the new sod as well. The picture below shows the XGD drainage from 5 green doing its job, as water is still exiting the pipe 6 hours after it finished raining. We started to double cut the greens using an afternoon dry mow with the Triflex mower so the speeds should begin to increase and become more consistent.

XGD Drainage 5 Green



In keeping with our Pace of Play direction a new clock has been added by the 5th green/6 forward tee that will show your starting tee time if your on pace. The following video is the second in the USGA educational videos.