Sandy Photo Update

Here are some pictures of the course after Sandy:

4 Tee

2 Fairway

5 Tee

5/6 Fairway

6 Green

Update

The clubhouse has power but no internet or tv. Heat and hot showers are available as well as outlets to charge phones if needed. The grounds crew did a great job and we are open for play, even mowing greens. The large trees are still on the ground so use caution. Our tree company will be here Saturday morning to start their work, please use common sense when playing near them.
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Sandy Cont

6 won't be the same.
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Sandy

The golf course still has no power and we have lost 7 large trees that will not be able to be removed immediately. We are here working cleaning up the debris that our equipment can handle. I will update the blog as I have more information.
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Collars

Today we are aerating the collars with 1/4 inch tines removing some thatch and giving us another opportunity to overseed the collars.
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Course Update

The course has been wet for a few days now as we received 2 inches of rain Friday and there were showers yesterday with more predicted today. The main focus of the crew has been on cleaning up leaves and pine needles as well as cutting down the ornamental grasses and fescue areas. Normal years the ornamental grasses are not removed until November but with budget reductions I will be losing half of the crew next week so these jobs had to be performed earlier then in years past.  The ornamental grasses behind 8 green will remain until the spring to help provide some privacy during the fall months from Garfield Ave. The cutting down of the fesuce areas gives me an opportunity to spray for weeds in these areas as well as prepare them for the winter months. We have been mowing on a much reduced basis but the greens are being rolled on a daily basis. I will be aerating and seeding the collars and select approaches with small tines next week unless the Tropical Storm Sandy throws us a curve ball. It will be a year to the day almost of last years snowstorm that destroyed many trees on the golf course. I really hope Sandy blows out to sea.

USGA October Update

A Rough Time Of It

By Jim Skorulski, senior agronomist Northeast Region
October 17, 2012

Many New England golf facilities find themselves having to seed and renovate larger areas of rough damaged by disease, drought stress, insect damage or traffic.

Most of New England experienced its first killing frost/freeze of the season last weekend. For most, this marks the true beginning of the end of the 2012 growing season. The season’s drought and record heat created many challenges and pushed maintenance crews hard from the beginning of spring. The lack of natural precipitation in summer was, in hindsight, a good thing for golf courses considering the high temperatures. Humidity seemed unusually high through August and early September ramping up disease pressure, namely dollar spot and gray leaf spot, at golf courses. The majority of golf courses fared well despite the weather challenges and primary playing areas are in good condition as winter approaches. The one exception has been rough areas where the cumulative effects of drought, insect damage, disease (gray leaf spot) and increased weed pressure still remain noticeable and have caught the attention of golfers.

The demise of rough areas is not new. Let’s face it, there are only so many resources available and those are used first on primary play areas as they should be. However, the appearance and playability of the rough areas is on the radar, especially following a summer like this when traditional low maintenance programs were not effective. I anticipate that turf managers will continue to feel more pressure to improve the appearance and uniformity of rough areas going forward so be prepared with ideas on how to accomplish that or defend the practices currently in place.

The inputs required to upgrade the quality of the roughs are no secret to any experienced turf manager. The challenge is finding the resources and equipment needed to extend management programs to these large acreage areas. That may involve initiating some major regrassing programs to replace unwanted annual bluegrass and creeping bentgrass, extending irrigation coverage, implementing more aggressive shatter tine and core cultivation practices, managing cart traffic, removing trees, root pruning, and extending fertility and pest management programs. The programs required are comprehensive and will come at cost. Some memberships may not be able or willing to support those added programs and higher costs and that is fine so long as they too are willing to accept playing conditions and appearance that are less than perfect. Some would say it is a good thing when the biggest complaints we hear involve the roughs, because this is usually an indicator that the higher priority areas of the golf course are in quality condition and not a concern.

On another note, annual bluegrass weevils remain active in the region. I observed feeding damage on greens and collars on a Connecticut golf course earlier this week. The good news is the larvae have little chance of surviving the winter but the superintendent is not going to take any chances! The cooler temperatures, rain events and extended periods of dew have brought earthworms back to the surface in a big way. Their castings are making a mess. Those that have implemented topdressing programs are experiencing less surface activity. Applications of the Early Bird product, when timed with a soaking rain, continues to work fairly well. Mowing heights should be increased by this point if they have not yet been, to improve the plant’s ability to accumulate carbohydrates that will be required to survive the winter ahead. Finally, monitor the fall shade patterns closely and use that information to plan the next round of tree removal work.