Course Update

The winter season is starting much different then last year with temperatures more like September and no snow on the ground or in the forecast. We have delayed many of the closing procedures as long as possible and some like putting the covers on the 7th and 8th greens simply has to wait until the temperatures drop to normal levels. All of the course accessories have been brought in with the exception of the flags which will remain on the greens until we get snowy weather.

 Late this fall we had an issue with the water line for the cart building which is supplied from the maintenance building. The line completely failed so we decided to replace the entire line last week as the age of the original pipe was unknown. The water is used daily to wash the carts after each time they are used.

Our equipment manager, Mike, has started his winter work of services, rebuilding rollers, and grinding of all the cutting reels. Mike's first project was a total rebuild of the engine heads including replacing the valve train on our Pro Force blower. We are very fortunate to have Mike on our staff.

 In preparation for the winter I have vented the greens with Bayonet tines allowing for gas exchange while the weather remains warm but most important these holes will allow water to drain off the surface preventing buildup of ice. These Bayonet tines have a large surface area but being long in shape are less disruptive then a round hole. Topdressing applications of sand will continue to be made leading up to snow cover. These applications are much heavier then we use during the season but the end results are insulation of the turf during winter and firmer playing surfaces next season.

The soil senors located in certain greens were removed for the fall to allow for easier aeration and maintenance practices but have been re-installed to monitor soil moisture and temperature. We have sensors in greens that will be covered and not covered this winter allowing us to track the difference in soil temperatures aiding in our decision whether or not to remove snow on the greens as we approach spring.

Our golf professional Craig captured this sunset during an afternoon round taking advantage of last weeks warm weather. Some good preparation for his tournaments in Florida next month.

Gearing Down

Two of the most important days for the maintenance staff is irrigation start-up in the spring and irrigation blow-out in the fall. Thankfully both went well this season as the irrigation system was used very frequently with the dry conditions that prevailed for the majority of the summer and fall months. The board of governors has approved the replacement of the well shaft at the pumping station on Garfield Ave which will take place in early December. Please follow the blog for updates on that project. I track the rainfall amounts from April 1 to Nov 1 yearly and this season we are 8-10 inches below the previous 6 seasons. I am very surprised the talk of drought has quieted as we are still very dry and the reservoirs continue to be below normal. The crew will finish up next week and be laid off until the spring. The greens will continue to be prepared for winter through topdressing, venting, and snow mold protection. Course accessories are being brought in for storage as night time temperatures will be at near or below freezing temperatures. The grounds staff would like to wish all the members a Happy Thanksgiving.

Irrigation Blowout with Red Maple in her fall glory

Drought Map for Northeast

Frost a Possibility for the Weekend

The night time temperatures will be dipping below 40 degrees this weekend so the presence of frost will be a concern over the weekend and for the remainder of the season. The following is from the USGA and explains why frost is an issue on the golf course:

Frost is essentially frozen dew. Ice crystals visible on the outside of the plant can also form on the inside of grass blades. The grass plant, normally resilient to footsteps or cart traffic, becomes brittle and fragile when ice crystals form. Under the pressure of traffic, ice crystals puncture living plant tissues and rupture plant cells. Damage will not appear right away, but it will show up in footsteps and tire tracks the following days as the plant is unable to repair itself and begins to die. Frost damage can occur on any turfgrass mowed at any height but it is amplified when the plant is mowed low, as on a putting green. In a best-case scenario, damage will be limited to leaf blades only, which will eventually disappear once active turf growth resumes. However, if the plant crown, or growing point of the plant, is compromised, damage will be more severe and recovery could take months.

Please check with the golf shop before traveling to the club during the morning hours. The practice green and the rough around the practice green are included in frost delays. Please do not walk on any turf if frost signs are posted without checking with the golf shop.

USGA Update

                                                The Original Solar Panels
                                                                 By
                     Jim Skorulski, agronomist, Northeast Region September 29, 2015

Plant leaves are the original solar panels with the amazing ability to absorb the sun’s energy and convert it into simple carbon molecules – i.e., sugars – that are used for growth and other functions. Like the solar panels we use to produce electricity, plant leaves require maximum light absorption for optimal photosynthesis.No person investing in solar panels would have them placed in an area that does not receive full sun exposure. Yet, it is easy to take for granted the impacts of shade on a plant’s ability to synthesize the energy it requires for normal growth. Full sun exposure is especially critical for close-cut, dense putting green turf. The fall season is a great time to review shade patterns across your playing surfaces and take action to provide at least eight to 10 hours of full sun exposure daily to all greens through the entirety of the season.

The arrival of fall has brought with it cooler seasonal temperatures which are much welcomed by weak-rooted turf and surfaces that are recovering from late season damage. Cooler nighttime temperatures and shorter day length also trigger turfgrass to begin producing new roots and storing sugars that will help it survive flash freezes, hydration events and ice cover that have caused severe turf loss at many courses over the past two seasons. Tough weather can be expected in the winter months ahead,so now is time to focus on maintenance practices that favor carbohydrate storage and avoid those that force plants to spend energy reserves. Here are some important practices to help that process:
          • Maximize sun exposure
          • Begin raising mowing heights in increments of 0.05-0.1 inch. Higher mowing heights will increase the size of the solar panel – i.e., leaf blade. Bigger leaf blades are better for accumulating carbohydrates. Mowing heights can be increased in increments through the remainder of fall. Keep in mind that raising the mowing height in late fall, after the turf has gone dormant,will provide little benefit for carbohydrate storage.
          • Provide potassium where soils are deficient. This can be accomplished through granular applications or spoon-feeding programs.
          • Avoid high rates of granular nitrogen in more northern areas of the Northeast Region. Fertility priorities on golf courses located in southern parts of the Northeast Region, or those who will be aerating greens in the coming weeks,will be different. Keep granular nitrogen applications at 0.5 pounds per 1,000 square feet on greens or spoon feed with lighter rates of soluble fertilizers to meet the growth needs of your turf.

The fall season can provide some of the best playing conditions of the season. It also is the time to get turfgrass “solar panels” in good working condition to prepare for the long winter ahead.

Let there be Light

As the club continues to offer more social and golf events that last past sunset we became concerned with the lack of lighting on the cart path behind the clubhouse as members return to their vehicles. Yesterday the crew installed some LED path lighting that will create a much safer walk.

A reminder the golf course is closed this Monday through Wednesday, September 21-23, for golf course aeration.

Please join us this weekend for Championship Sunday, one of the most exciting days at the club.

New Lighting

A closer look

Well I heard a rumor that it might rain this week, but I will wait and see if I believe that one following yesterday's high temperature of 97 degrees. The course is holding its own and the greens were rolling nice for Labor Day weekend with speeds around 12 on the stimp and fairly firm especially in the afternoon. Areas where we are lacking irrigation have essentially gone dormant but I hope to address some of these areas this fall with some in-house irrigation additions similar to those we undertook last fall.

We will be closed for 3 days September 21, 22, and 23 for aeration of all playing surfaces. I want to show what all this aeration is doing for the greens and the picture below tells a great story. The roots on the greens are traditionally at their shortest this point in the season and our roots are at 2.5 inches where in years past at the end of August we had no more then 1/2 inch of roots. The majority of the aeration practices along with verticutting and topdressing focus on the upper portion of soil profile where the majority of the roots live. The picture also shows deeper roots at the 3 inch mark and even a tiny root at the 5 inch mark which are results of deep tine aeration. The end result is always the quality of the putting surfaces but I thought some members would like to see what's happening under the playing surface.

Soil Profile from Practice Green September 9th 

Finally some Rain

The course got some much needed rain with 3/4 of an inch falling in the afternoon hours yesterday. The humidity is still very high and the chance for more showers are forecasted each afternoon for the next few days. Drought stress will be eased but disease pressure will increase until the humidity breaks. I have written earlier this year about the tissue and water testing that we are doing on a frequent basis this season and how our irrigation water is high in sodium. We have sensors in the greens that monitor temperature, moisture, and sodium. These sensors yesterday captured the rain flushing the sodium left from weeks of irrigation  away from the greens surface through the soil profile. Notice how the sodium levels increase in direct relation to the rain event.

Rainfall is the graph on top and Sodium the graph on bottom

Course Update - Early August

July was an extremely dry month where we saw moderately hot temperatures on a consistent basis, while the irrigation system was being heavily relied on the new VFD drive paid off in huge ways during this seasons dry spells. The small irrigation projects that we completed last fall have also been a huge success this summer. Thankfully August has brought some rain and even better that it followed our dry-ject sand injection of the greens Monday night. For the 4th consecutive August we have dry-ject the greens creating sand filled channels allowing the soil to breath for the remainder of the summer until we implement our aggressive aerification process following the club championship at the end of September. The greens were brushed and rolled followed by over seeding of Crystal Blue bentgrass seed at a rate of 1 pound per 1000 sq ft. I know your saying so what, interestingly there are 8 million bentgrass seeds per pound so on average each green has 40 million new seeds with a chance to develop. We are mowing on our regular schedule with afternoon rolls and dry-mows to maintain smoothness and speeds.

2 days after dry-ject

Sunscreen/Bug Spray and Turf don't Mix

Sunscreen/Bug Spray and Turf don't Mix

Please do not apply sunscreen or bug spray while standing on the turf. This photo above is from the 2nd green and the green footprint can clearly be seen in the picture. Please apply these products in the locker room or on the cart paths.

Course Update - The International

The International team tournament is this weekend so the crew spent two days edging bunkers and re-distributing sand to even the sand depth of the bunkers and they look great. The greens have been rolling stead between 10 and 11 now they we have been able to control the moisture the last few days and the humidity had dropped. It looks as though traditional summer weather will return Sunday night into next week with temperatures in the 90's and high humidity. Daytime temperatures are important to the turf but more important are night time temperatures. Temperatures under 70 degrees at night allow the turf to recover from the stress of the day while nighttime temperatures above 70 inhibit the turfs ability to recover.

The Bacterial Wilt on the greens has been kept in check following the change in our fungicide and growth regulator programs although recovery is going to be slow. The second generation annual bluegrass weevil larvae have been found in the fairways in certain spots and have been treated again. Areas of Poa trivialis in fairways are also showing signs of decline as is traditional during the summer months but our previous years of overseeding are really showing how much bentgrass we have established in these areas. We will be again over-seeding these areas this fall to continue establishing bentgrass and eradicating the Poa trivialis.

Bunker Edging of  #2

Bunker Edging of #9

USGA - Regional Update

Warm And Wet

JULY 17, 2015

By Jim Skorulski, agronomist, Northeast Region

June and July have brought wet weather to the Northeast Region. Some parts of the region have been deluged with persistent rain and violent thunderstorms that caused flooding, saturated soil conditions and damage to trees. Needless to say, mowing has been a challenge. Some courses in western Pennsylvania have resorted to hand mowing rough in saturated areas. The wet conditions, increased humidity, and warm temperatures increase stress and disease pressure on cool-season grasses. Increased weed activity also can be expected, especially where spring herbicide programs were impacted by winter-recovery efforts. Weed growth and luxuriant growth are likely to be issues in naturalized roughs in the coming weeks.

However, wet weather and warm nights have had a positive effect on some golf courses where cold, dry weather hindered winter-recovery programs. Observations and reports from the field indicate that most damaged areas on greens have recovered, achieving reasonably good turf density. Decent root quality also has been observed at courses in central New England. Fairway damage that has been slower to recover also is filling with help from persistent seeding, sodding or plugging efforts.

Wet weather and summer heat still present challenges, especially for courses with cool-season turf and areas recovering from winter damage. The following are some thoughts as we proceed through mid-summer:

• Turfgrass plants subjected to wet weather and high humidity are more succulent and therefore more vulnerable to mechanical injury from mowers and traffic, especially where establishment or recovery programs have been in place. Raise mowing heights, utilize solid rollers, avoid mowing clean-up areas or skip mowing altogether when surfaces are soft and saturated.   
• Areas that have been reestablished are composed of juvenile plants that often are leggy. The natural tendency is to lower mowing heights and groom leggy turf to produce more upright, uniform surfaces.  While practices like low mowing heights and grooming are important for restoring surface quality, they should only be initiated when the weather is conducive. Do not jeopardize the hard work reestablishing damaged areas by being too aggressive. Take a conservative approach with adjusting mowing heights, grooming, brushing and topdressing.
• Turfgrass on newly constructed or regrassed playing surfaces also is more vulnerable to wear injury, resulting in thin or permanently damaged turf in high-traffic areas during wet weather. Golfers should be aware of the potential damage caused by the way they walk and the shoes they wear. Restricting play and even temporarily closing new greens following heavy or prolonged rain events can preserve the quality of new putting surfaces.    
• Make sure employees fully understand how to properly operate equipment during periods of wet, warm weather. Reemphasize the importance of mower and roller operation around green perimeters and collar/apron areas. Utilize turning boards to protect turf from wear damage.  
• Summer patch, anthracnose, dollar spot, brown patch and Pythium disease pressure will remain high with humid conditions and warm temperatures at night. Utilize a well-planned rotation of fungicides to control diseases when disease pressure is high. This may not be the time to experiment with new products or untested spray mixtures. Also, it may be necessary to shorten spray intervals when disease pressure is high. Keep it simple.
• Maintain plant growth regulator programs using trinexapac-ethyl on annual bluegrass surfaces through wet weather conditions. Application intervals also will need to be shortened to maintain desired growth regulation. The growing degree day model established at the University of Wisconsin is a helpful tool to schedule plant growth regulator applications.
• Now is not the time to sod slow-recovering fairway areas. Establishing commercial sod during summer is challenging, and warm soil temperatures negatively impact root establishment. Furthermore, shallow-rooted and often thatchy sod requires frequent irrigation and is easily damaged by mowing. A better strategy at this point is to continue spike seeding, leaving sod work for late summer when growing conditions are more favorable.

Finally, parts of the region are experiencing outbreaks of gypsy moth caterpillars that are defoliating many species of deciduous and coniferous trees.  Usually deciduous trees can tolerate a single defoliation and should put out another set of leaves. However, defoliation has a greater impact on coniferous trees. Many facilities have had to treat the unusually high population of gypsy moths.  Recently, gypsy moth populations have been held in check by a virus. Hopefully warmer temperatures and wet conditions will be more conducive to the spread of the virus. Caterpillars infected by the virus can be seen hanging on the trees while their body melts away, leaving some to call it the zombie virus.       

USGA Update - July 2015

Wet Conditions, Fungicides Recalled, And Bermudagrass Growth Trends By Adam Moeller, agronomist, Northeast Region June 30, 2015 

Much of the Northeast has been experiencing rainy, soggy conditions over the past few weeks. Several agronomic and playability challenges have been observed as a result of the wet weather including:

1. Mechanical damage from mowing wet putting greens, teeing grounds, fairways, and rough.
2. Soft and slow putting greens. 
3. Pitting ball marks and scuffing/indentations from aggressive golf shoes. 
4. Golf cart damage from use on wet fairways and rough 
5. Thick, penal rough 
6. Grass clipping clumps in fairways and rough 
7. Bunker washouts and puddling in poorly draining bunkers 

Lost revenue has been common at many facilities, especially those forced to close due to the weather. At many courses, saturated soils have highlighted areas where additional drainage is needed. Although drainage may not be an exciting project, it is a crucial part of golf course infrastructure and should take precedence over many other projects.

Damage from ArmorTechAlt 70 and Viceroy® 70DF fungicides contaminated with a herbicide has been severe. NovaSource announced a recall of ArmorTech Alt 70 and Viceroy 70DF fungicides due to herbicide contamination issues which resulted in moderate/severe decline on Poa annua and creeping bentgrass putting greens, collars, and putting green surrounds. The damage severity is not completely understood but many courses are either overseeding or sodding areas that experienced severe decline. Superintendents had no way of knowing these materials were contaminated before using them.

 Finally, bermudagrass is now rapidly growing in the southern portion of the region. Bermudagrass has been slow to break dormancy this season, which has resulted in tight lies in fairways and thin rough. These conditions should quickly improve as growth rates steadily increase.

Source: Adam Moeller (amoeller@usga.org)

Course Update

The rain has continued for the month of June, 6.2 inches, with more on the way later this afternoon. As I continue to work with David York on our nutrient program we saw a flush of growth this week especially from the bentgrass even though we haven't applied much nitrogen recently. The recent flush is really the first we have had all season and I am contributing it to the warm rainfall we received over the weekend releasing nutrients that are already in the soil from years past. We will be tissue testing again this week to see if the nitrogen levels have risen. We have been able to mow and roll enough to get the speeds back up for the weekend, until the rain comes.

One of the biggest problems we face on the golf course here at MGC is the annual bluegrass weevil. This insect has multiple generations per year and we battle it in two stages as an adult and as larvae. The adults pierce the annual bluegrass plant to lay their eggs which then feed inside the plant until it matures and eat itself outside of the plant killing it. The mature larvae then continues to feed on the annual bluegrass plants by eating the through the stems killing them as well. This season has been the toughest so far as local entomologists from Rutgers and UMASS believe that the long lasting snow cover insulated the over-wintering adults shielding them from any direct low temperature kill. Our damage has been localized although heavy along fairway edges near wood lines. The positive is that the bentgrass should take over in these areas.

Larvae no bigger then a grain of rice can cause major damage 

All about Water

June's weather has been a complete 180 from May with temperatures touching the 90 degree point already half way through the month and bringing 5.5 inches of rain. The course has taken all of the rain very nicely considering how dry we were but the recent rain forced us to cancel the deep needle tine aeration of the putting greens. Due to club events and July rapidly approaching we will not be rescheduling this process.

Staying with the theme of water we received our water test results for the irrigation water conducted by our agronomic consultant, David York, who also has been doing our soil and tissues testing this season. I spoke with Dave on the phone about our water results and his first comment to me was "this is the worst water I have seen on the east coast, and the highest amount of sulfates I have ever seen in 22 years." So after I picked the phone off the floor we began to discuss the best way to manage our water issues especially during the heavy use periods. First let me say that because we are in a region where it rains frequently many of our water issues are flushed naturally from the soil during the shoulder seasons. Our nutrient programs are going to be altered to stay away from any additional sources of sulfate, add frequent amounts of calcium carbonate, and continue to manage our potassium,manganese, and magnesium.

This weekend is father's day, my third one already, and that means its the US Open being contended this year at Chamber's Bay in Washington. To say that Chambers is a unique course is an understatement, all of the playing surfaces are fescue including the greens. I urge you to watch at least part of the Open over the next few days but don't adjust your tv you won't be seeing much green.

Mowing fairways at Chambers Bay - they use 20 mowers 

Rounds for Research

The Golf Course Superintendents Association is in its second year of a program called Rounds for Research where you can bid on foursomes for various clubs in our area and around the country. All of the proceeds go towards turf research. Take a look at what courses are available http://www.rounds4research.com

About Rounds 4 Research

The Rounds 4 Research program was designed to address a critical shortage in turfgrass research funding by auctioning donated rounds of golf online.

The program is administered by the Environmental Institute for Golf, the philanthropic organization of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.

Rounds 4 Research allows GCSAA chapters and turfgrass foundations to participate as fundraising partners with the vast majority of proceeds going back to those organizations. In this way, these organizations can direct the proceeds to specific projects that will have the most significant impact in their local areas.

The EIFG’s Rounds 4 Research is an expansion of the innovative program that was introduced by the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association. After the Carolinas GCSA realized the program’s scope had grown beyond what it could administer, it offered the program to GCSAA. As GCSAA’s philanthropic organization, the EIFG was the natural choice to oversee this exciting fundraising effort.

With your support, you can help us keep the future of our game green.

Vandalism

Saturday night we had some party-goers vandalize the second green by taking divots from the putting surface, leaving beer cans, and numerous golf balls were all found early Sunday morning. Due to the turf nursery being under reconstruction grow-in the damage plugs have been placed along the rightside of the green as close to "out of play" as possible. I am sorry for this inconvenience but we have not other choice at this time. Hopefully the plugs will recover in 6-7 weeks and won't be noticeable.

Divot vandalism 2 green

Memorial Day Weekend Update

The course is in good shape heading in to the unofficial start of the summer season, Memorial Day weekend. The cool and dry temperatures have the course playing firm so expect the ball to run out a bit in the fairways. We had Helena Chemical at MGC this week with their Rx360 Veris machine that sampled the nutrients in all the fairways using GPS and Veris technology. Helena will now provide us with a GPS map of all the different nutrients found in the fairways. The goal here is to combine this technology with our traditional soil testing and only apply nutrients where they are needed. Our mechanic was also busy this week grinding all the reels on our mowing equipment to be ready for the busy weekend. The mowers are checked and adjusted on a daily basis and are ground when small adjustments no longer provide a sharp cut.

The American flags will be on the flag sticks for Monday along with stands to hold the flags next to the greens. Please do not put the flag stick on the ground while the American flags are on them. Our club will be celebrating the weekend with golf and a BBQ but lets not forget what this weekend is all about, those that fight for our freedom so lets show them some respect and keep the flags off the turf. The Junior Tee Markers are now out on the golf course, so bring the kids and play a round.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and can get out to MGC for some part of it, hopefully with the family.

Helena Chemical Rx360 Veris machine

Reels being ground

3 Green ready for the weekend

Well Project Update

In fitting fashion the new Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) project installation and testing was completed on Tuesday just as the warm weather broke. The dry weather continues though as we approach 25 days without measurable rainfall but we are now back to our full capacity of irrigation water. The VFD project was a very important step in safe-guarding our irrigation infrastructure. We now have  the ability to run each well separate from each other without causing any damage to the system. In normal nightly watering scenarios both wells will still provide water as before but the wells can operate separately from each other allowing for continuous watering if one well should develop an issue. All that's left to do is re-build the wooden structure around the new VFD.

Flowtronex technician calibrating new VFD

Sunrise on #6

Course Update

The weather plays a significant role in everything we do in turf maintenance, snow, ice, rain, heat, humidity, evapotranspiration, etc. We have been in a a very dry spell currently going 18 days without measurable rainfall with above normal temperatures. The month of April 2014 saw 5.78 inches of rain at MGC versus 1.38 inches in 2015. The warm weather has helped with turf growth while some wilt is present on knobs and in areas of the fairways and rough with weak irrigation. We use wetting agents on all the short grass to help retain water in a uniform profile and use wetting agent pellets in a hose applicator for spot watering the rough. The seed we planted in the fairway ice damage spots has germinated but will take some time to establish and fill in those areas.

We are using a lab to conduct tissue testing of the greens on bi-weekly basis this season. So what right? It's actually pretty interesting. Any of you that garden or manage your home lawn have most likely had a soil test analyzed as we do on the course routinely. Tissues testing analyzes what nutrients are in the clippings from the greens, thus tell us what nutrients the turf is actually using or deficient in. We then base our foliar fertilizer applications on those results instead of a standard program only providing needed nutrients in exact quantities. I continue to update you on this new program at MGC as the season progresses.

Lastly I want to wish all the mom's at MGC a Happy Mother's Day from grounds staff.

Spring finally arriving on the 2nd hole

Course Update

Following a frosty opening day on Saturday with morning temperatures at 33 degrees its looks like spring has arrived with temperatures predicted in the upper 70's for the next 5 days. Now that the soil temperatures will consistently be over 55 degrees the turf will really start to grow and we will be in full maintenance mode. I get asked many times what types of turf we have on the greens and the answer is annual bluegrass (Poa) and bentgrass. Due to last weekends frost the bentgrass has a purple color so take notice this weekend especially on greens 2,3,6, and 9 and you will see the difference very clearly between Poa and bentgrass. The bentgrass will quickly green up with these warmer temperatures.

After waiting over three weeks for our bunker sand to be delivered we were able to add sand to certain bunkers this week that were low. These bunkers will be a little softer until the sand settles. The rough sod around greens 3,6, and 8 has all rooted. We mowed these areas and have removed the ropes. The fairway sod work on the 5th hole needs another week before we can remove the ropes. The areas in the fairways that were aerifed and seeded will be germinating now that we are irrigating and the temperatures have warmed.

I hope you can enjoy the weekend on the course and hope to see you out there.

Earth Day

Course Update - April 17th

We had a good week weather-wise with spring like temperatures and the course has greened-up especially the short turf. We have been mowing on a more regular basis and I am happy to report that we had more grass then sand in the buckets when we mowed this morning. The crew will begin working weekends this week so the greens will be prepped, bunkers raked, and the course set-up both Saturday and Sunday. The divot buckets are out on the tees and bottles are available for fairway divots so please fill your divots. DO NOT USE DIVOT MIX IN THE ROUGH Our rough is a mix of Poa,Ryegrass, and Tall Fescue while the divot mix contains bentgrass seed and we do not want bentgrass in the rough. We have also placed broken tee caddys on the 1st, 3rd, and 8th tees for your broken tees.

We sodded some areas between greens and bunkers this week as these areas build-up with splashed out sand and the turf burns out when the weather turns hot. These areas are roped off and signage is in place marking them Ground Under Repair so please keep off these areas.

Replacing Rough around Greens

Course Update

Aeration week started with great weather on Monday but the rest of the week was cool and wet making aeration more challenging. We have completed aeration of all the playing surfaces along with topdressing of greens, approaches, and tees. The sand is more difficult to work in and mowing has to wait as long as the sand is wet but this afternoon we are hoping to roll the greens for a third time since aeration and mow for the first time. The healing time for the greens depends on the weather more specific the temperature of the soil. The soil needs to be 50 degrees for root growth and 55 degrees for shoot growth that being said the good news is next week looks to be a more typical spring week with temperatures in the 60's.

We completed some sod work on the practice green approach replacing dead turf from ice damage with new sod from our nursery. Please keep off the sod until the signs and ropes are removed. We will be growing-in a new nursery this spring to continuing to have 3,000 sq ft of greens height sod in-case we should need it. A new irrigation head was added on the 2nd tee to help provide better covered especially along the cart path. Greenwood Tree was on property doing a safety pruning to the Silver Maple at the 1st tee. Unfortunately this maple is declining and large pieces of deadwood were removed this week. The tree was lightened up and all the sucker growth was removed.

If your around the club this weekend pay some attention to the Star Magnolia bush located in the rear of the clubhouse near the push carts as it will be in bloom. The Star Magnolia is the first spring flowering shrub we have at MGC.

Green Aeration

Irrigation @ 2 tee

Silver Maple Safety Pruning

The Masters

The Masters begins this week and if watching it doesn't get you excited for golf I am not sure anything will. I saw this article written by an intern working on the maintenance staff at Augusta National:

Inside the Ropes: The Life of an Augusta greenkeeper

Headingly greenkeeper Andy Stanger told his careers advisor that he loved cutting grass. Twelve years later he earned himself a six-month

internship at the most famous corner in golf in the run-up to the 2009 Masters.

“I got the internship after a three- hour phone interview with three different people. There were 14 of us interviewing for one job. I began in late October 2008 and was appointed to work on holes 8 and 9. Then Amen Corner came up so I spent 15 hours a day working on 11 and 12. It was a dream spot, where else would you want to be as a greenkeeper?

“They have 45 full-time staff on turf, 35 on horticulture and eight to 10 interns on hole care. There are also four full-time mechanics. The greenkeepers’ prefab is immaculate. They will sand down all the paint on all the walls and paint it all again brand new every year.

“The site is huge. To get from Amen Corner from the maintenance facility would take about eight minutes to drive to. The trees go on for quite a way before you get to the edge of the site, it’s like a fortress.

“I have always fancied caddying there. The caddies say the 11th is the hardest hole, if you go left from the tee you’re dead, and it’s the most difficult to putt on. In the morning, with the dew on it, you can see really subtle breaks and the nap goes down towards the pond. Pros will drop 50 balls to find a way to run one down to the pin.

“The 12th can be deceptive, there is a hole in the trees where the creek runs and that can act like a funnel for the wind. The green is tiny. If you go long there is no up and down from the bunkers.

“They have a bunker technician there every single day; depth checking, cleaning, topping up, edging. I can guarantee and the depth of sand will be exactly the same in every bunker. When the course shuts they get a black liner and peg it all in so any bunker can’t be contaminated or get blown away. Then they clean them out and freshen them up.

“The course opens again in October and they have all new grass every year. The Bermuda grass in the summer basically holds the soil together and looks terrible and that’s why it’s shut. In October they scalp all the Bermuda grass down to the soil and plant new Ryegrass everywhere. And then the clock starts ticking and the countdown goes up on the wall. There is no ‘we’ve got til April’, the intensity is then ramped up from that point.

“You will get weak spots, bits that are in the shade we will be working on. We were throwing seeds two weeks before the tournament – anything that can be picked up on a camera will be painted green.

They get the green speeds to around 14. No club golfer will ever understand that. And that is on firm and undulating greens

“Members aren’t expected to be out there playing every day. A busy day might be four rounds; most days there would be nobody. Two to three weeks before the tournament the players start arriving. Two weeks before that is the members’ tournament – The Jamboree – and that is the big deal and where you can get your name on the boards.

“Jack Nicklaus said if you put a 10-handicapper in the middle of every green he still wouldn’t break 90 and he is spot on, they are like putting on my desk. It is the sheer firmness. How they stop their balls on 15 is beyond me.

"They have chalk points on the greens that are 10 feet apart and they roll between them. They get the speeds to around 14. No club golfer will ever understand that. And that is on firm and undulating greens.

“Three weeks before you start mowing morning and night. They will say to cut the 10th three times, the 14th four times and the 12th just once and that will keep changing. Every green will be exactly the same speed.

"It is different to the US Open where the greens are purple by the Sunday, it is 80 ̊ in April and they haven’t been trampled all year and are not stressing it as a plant plus everything is monitored.

“On tournament days we would meet in the shop at 3.30am for a briefing. The chairman would come down at 4.30 to gee everybody up and you would be given a number of a mower with instructions.

“I had 12 which I would only cut once. There was no grass coming off, just dust, so I would help on 13. There is as much food and drinks as you want and then you are free to watch golf or get some sleep.

“A lot of us sat in the shop and watched it on the big screens. It is the best networking time and where you would get your next job. By 2.30pm I was in a buggy by the 5th in case anything went wrong.

"Then after the golfers have come through you start mowing the course again.”

• Andy is now the head greenkeeper at another Alister MacKenzie-designed course – Headingley, near Leeds 

Golf Course Opens on Saturday

The grounds staff members arrived this week and have been busy with course clean-up so we are happy to open the golf course on Saturday for walkers only. Electric carts are still on hold until the course dries out some more. The 7th and 8th greens will remain covered until next week as the temperatures are still very low at night. A sample from the center of the 6th green where the ice formed over the winter has been brought indoors to incubate for closer examination of the damage. The damage is localized to a small area and hopefully is only the tips of the plant and not the crown. Once we see how the sample responds we can form our plan including aeration, seeding, and traffic restrictions. The greens have not been mowed yet as the temperatures are just too low but the forecast looks like the first mowing will take place sometime next week.

The NJ Audubon society recommended that we clean out our bird houses early in the spring. We have completed the cleanings learning in the process that 5 of our 6 houses were occupied last year. I expect to see some new activity around the houses in the next few weeks as temperatures continue to warm.

A reminder that the golf course is closed for all play on April 6,7, and 8 for aeration of all playing surfaces.

The winter that will not end

Its always amazing to me how fast a little warm air and bright sun can melt snow, a week ago the only turf visible was under the White Pines and now the course is 95% clear of snow , at least until tomorrow. We welcomed back two employees this week to begin refinishing the course accessories and course clean-up. We shoveled the snow off a few greens on Monday to help with the melting process and we are removing any free water off the green surfaces to prevent refreezing. We also spent a great deal of time removing ice from the 6th green that was over 4 inches thick. The ice forms in the middle swale of 6 green due to its poor design which doesn't allow for surface draining only internal draining that is not possible with frozen soil. The forecast is calling for 1-3 inches of snow Friday so the course will remain closed for the weekend.

The Board of Governors had approved new hitting mats for the nets in the fall and I am happy to report that they have been installed. These mats were thoroughly researched by one of our members and are of extremely high quality but they require the use of wooden tees so remember to bring some tees with you to warm-up. I hope to set the golf course up for the first time next week at which time the new tees that were constructed on the 2nd and 6th holes will be open with gold tee markers. The club has modified the rule currently on the scorecard for gold markers to include the requirement that any player with a handicap of 25 or higher play from the gold markers.

Ice on 6 Green Center Swale

Golf Industry Show

The current condition of the golf course remains the same as it has for the past 5 weeks, covered in snow. Yesterday I dug through the snow on the greens and I am happy to report a very minimal slushy ice layer on some greens and zero ice layer on other greens. This weeks weather is going to complicate things with warm weather and rain switching back to cold and snow all in 48 hours. I will continue to monitor the snow pack for ice at the greens surface.

I had the opportunity to attend the Golf Industry Show last week in San Antonio, Texas. The show consists of two parts, educational seminars and the largest turf related trade show in the world. This years conference was attended by close to 13,000 individuals and exhibitors. I focused my seminars for this years conference on bunkers, turf fertility, and technology. My seminar on bunkers was very important considering many of our capital improvements are related to bunker renovations. I was able to learn about many different construction and liner methods along with maintenance practices. Turf fertility is a focus of mine for 2015 to reduce spending while increasing the health of the turf and provide great surfaces. As a result of this seminar we will be sending samples of our clippings from greens on a bi-weekly basis to a lab for analysis. I will only provide nutrients based on what is lacking in the turf plant itself, very exciting technology. Continuing on the technology front I took a seminar focusing on using Google drive and tablets in the field to help compile data ranging from stimpmeter readings, fuel consumption, and labor tracking. The trade show was over 120,000 sq ft filled with every item revolving around the turf industry. I meet with vendors and manufactures to discuss and view upcoming capital equipment purchases as well as new trends in the industry especially with irrigation.

Here is a clip from morning drive on the golf channel about the golf industry show http://www.golfchannel.com/media/sights-and-sounds-golf-industry-show/

Winter Update - February 2015

14 days, that's how long the turf has been covered by snow so far this season which is a far cry from the over 35 days of snow cover we had at this time last year. The snow is good in that it protects the turf plants from larger temperature swings especially the nights that have been in the single digits. We have three greens with sensors located in the soil monitoring temperature, moisture, and salinity. These sensors are relied upon much more during the growing season but its interesting to check them during the winter months, over the past 10 days the soil temperature has only fluctuated 2 degrees between day and night. The downside of snow cover, as many courses in our area experienced last year, is damage from ice. At the 40 day mark of snow cover I will begin to clear low areas of greens and take a sample of the turf to monitor its health. If we have snow melt earlier it will be important to move any thawed water off the greens before they can re-freeze. Please read this USGA update for more info: http://www.usga.org/course_care/New_regional_updates/northeast/Déjà-vu-All-Over-Again----January-2015/

Every two years Golf Course Industry magazine surveys all the golf courses in the country and compiles a very good breakdown of concerns in the industry. The following link is an electronic copy of that issue: http://www.golfcourseindustry.com/digital/201501/index.html  I urge you to read the State of Industry report that details how clubs in our region and other region are dealing with membership, projects, budgets, etc