No Wake...

It is always appreciated when players observe posted signage on the golf course.  For September, we gave up on using "No Carts" signs, and switched to something a bit more appropriate:

Yes, the Philadelphia region reached its average rainfall amount for the entire year a week ago.  Since that mark was hit, we had six straight days with measurable precipitation, totaling an additional 4.3 inches of rain for the week.  And with three months left in 2018, it's hard to know what the year's total will ultimately end up being.

It's been tough keeping up with the rough.

It may be something of an understatement to say the golf course is saturated--if you picture a sponge that can hold no more water, that's right where we are at the moment.  Given the warm temperatures and high humidity throughout the month, the grass keeps growing aggressively, and we have had difficulty finding a window when it's dry enough to mow the turf without causing damage.

Mechanical damage on a slippery slope.

There is an old saying among grass-growers:  The best defense against weed encroachment is a dense stand of turf.  Unfortunately, keeping thick, healthy grass this year has been impossible in many areas.  Both golf carts and maintenance equipment have led to turf thinning, particularly around high traffic pinch points.  Additionally, the region has been clobbered by Gray Leaf Spot, a disease which can quickly damage the Ryegrass in our rough.

Excessive rain and heat led to the breakdown of pre-emergent herbicides earlier in the year, and most courses in the area have dealt with large quantities of Crabgrass and Goosegrass.   Combining the abundance of these plants in the summer of 2018, with the thin turf areas we see now, it seems likely that these opportunistic weeds will be even more troublesome in 2019.

We often say that weather trends tend to even out over the long run.  However, it's now clear that the long run may need to be looked at as a decade or longer, and not a single year.  When we close the books on 2018, by itself, it will certainly not be average in many ways.

Quadrant I

Those familiar with Stephen Covey's, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, will recognize these four quadrants from his time management matrix:

Ideally, with proper planning, we are able to spend most of our time working in Quadrant II, and try to avoid the "putting out fires" of Quadrant I. 

Unfortunately, even with the best planning, there are some events that are difficult to predict.  For example, when we have irrigation issues involving the main line, everything else gets placed on the back burner.  While there hasn't been much need to irrigate lately, having an entire golf hole with no water, is not ideal.

This past Wednesday afternoon, we suddenly had water flowing across the cart path at #5 green.  After doing some exploratory surgery (aka digging), we discovered that the source of this leak was a steel main line fitting on the 6" pipe.

Once the fitting was cut out, it was pretty easy to see what had happened.  These fittings are epoxy-coated during their manufacturing process, however any scratch or scrape of the paint can allow corrosion to develop.  Once a pinhole is formed, the jet of water at 120 psi will quickly cause it to expand.  You can often judge the scale of the irrigation issue by the hole required to make the repair--and this one definitely required the backhoe. 

With four of us spending the better part of the day working on this problem, we were able to get the repair taken care of from start to finish.  (Of course, it may not really be a good thing that we're becoming quite proficient in dealing with main line fitting failures.)  The lesson here is that Quadrant I is not a great place to be spending your time, but if you find yourself there, some Quadrant II pre-planning can be very helpful in extinguishing the fire.

And now for something completely different...

As tempting as it is to discuss the bizarre-o weather we experienced last week--and it is quite tempting--instead, let's take a look at something a little different.  How about: shaving cream on the golf course.

Yes, you read that correctly.  This year, we started using shaving cream to help in weed management on the course.  You see, when targeting a pest, we typically won't make a "wall to wall" application.  For both environmental, and economic reasons, it is often better to "spot spray" only the areas that need to be treated.  This is where the shaving cream comes in.

Kyllinga on #18 fairway is marked with shaving cream.

When you are operating a sprayer, there is a whole lot to keep track of, and driving all around looking for a particular weed may not be the best option.  Instead, we can have someone go out ahead of the sprayer on a golf cart, and quickly leave a dab of shaving cream near any areas requiring treatment.  The sprayer can follow behind, and target only the marked spots.  One of the benefits of using shaving cream is that it lasts for several hours, so there is no concern about it disappearing before the sprayer gets to it.

As is often the case, the idea of using shaving cream was one we picked up from another golf course superintendent.  Sharing useful tips and tricks is one of the great things about this business!

No middle ground

This year has felt like one of weather extremes.  With all of the rain in early and mid-August, we were hoping for a change in the weather--and we got it.  Unfortunately, this may fall into the category of "be careful what you wish for."

We traded the wet weather we experienced during aerification for a long dry spell.  As of last Friday, we had gone 2 1/2 weeks without rain.  Getting aerification recovery, especially in the fairways, is extremely challenging when relying solely on the irrigation system.

As you can see below, we often end up with one area being too wet, and another spot close by, being too dry.  With fairway sprinklers spaced 80' apart, both mounds and swales fall within the coverage of one head.

Achieving uniform moisture with no rain is difficult.

To compound things, somebody forgot to tell Mother Nature that meteorological summer is supposed to have ended when we move from August to September.  We finished August a significant 2.25 degrees above average for the daily temperature, including a heat wave in the final week.  The first six days of September was no better, with another heat wave, record temperatures, and daily temperatures running nine degrees above average.

Labor Day typically means that it's time to bring the fans in--not this year.

At this point in the year it should probably come as no surprise that we are now seeing the weather pendulum swinging back one more time.  Rain started Friday evening, lasted through Saturday morning, and is coming down again on Sunday.  There's even concern that Florence could make land fall close by later this week.

As we often say, when viewed as a whole, 2018 may look like just an average year, but it's definitely been a wild ride from winter through summer.  Maybe fall will treat us better.  Maybe...

#12 Master Plan Work

With all of the other fun and games (like aerification) going on in August, we didn't have much time to discuss the Master Plan work on #12.

The old fairway bunker.

As with the other holes worked on in 2016, Golf Course Architect,  Andrew Green's, design calls for reducing the overall square footage of sand, while placing the new bunkers in a way which emphasizes strategy.

On #12, for those who are just able to clear the wetlands crossing, they will now find a generous area of primary rough, with the beginning of the fairway also being extended.  However, for players choosing a more aggressive line off the tee, the challenge will be to clear the three new bunkers.

At the green, there is now a single bunker placed on the back right.  The high sand line on this bunker will definitely stand out, and add definition as you hit into the green.

The contractor for this work, Mottin Golf Course Renovations, has endured some of the same challenges we did in maintaining the course in August--lots of rain, then lots of heat.  When it came time to install the Matrix liner, the temperature was 95 degrees!  As always, their attention to detail has been outstanding.

The old fairway bunker facing the tee.

The new fairway bunkers are coming together.

It's no secret that for years, the bunkers on this hole have more closely resembled a rock quarry than an area that belongs on a golf course.  From both an aesthetic and playability perspective, these changes will be a tremendous improvement to this challenging golf hole.