The team that gets it done

With the pace of the world today, too often we do not take the time to give thanks for all of the good that surrounds us.  Many times, it's only in hindsight that we appreciate those that have made our lives better.

A photo from years ago reminds us of how fortunate we have been to work with such a fine group of individuals.

This picture could be from any time during the past 30 years.  The faces might be different, but the goal of providing outstanding playing conditions remains unchanged.

Onward

While the pace of maintenance activities slows a bit this time of year, the team is still busy preparing for 2020.  On the greens, Snow Mold protection has been applied, along with a plant growth regulator to reduce the Poa seeds next spring.

Most areas of the golf course are receiving their Crabgrass pre-emergent herbicide application.  Taking care of this now, will allow us to focus on other tasks during the busy upcoming spring.

One of the other jobs we tackle when it's cold is sodding the damaged cart path ends.  While there will be little foliar growth during the winter, the sod is able to root without any stress.

As always, we have to work with what Mother Nature gives us.  But regardless of the weather or season, there is plenty of work to be done.

Back to the "low maintenance" areas...

As we have the past few years, we are renovating some high profile Fescue areas.  This fall, we are addressing the right side of #8, as well as the walk-up area to #15 green.

If you're thinking that this isn't the first time we have worked on the Fescue on #8, you are correct.  A few years ago, we amended the heavy topsoil in this area with sand, in order to provide a growing medium which would help produce the thin, wispy stand of grass we were looking for.  We followed this up with seeding the area at a very low rate.

The results might best be described as, "be careful what you wish for" since the limited number of Fescue seedlings had trouble competing with the weed population.  Because of this, we have switched to using sod when renovating these areas.  As we've seen on #7, 13 and 16 the last couple of years, the sod's thatch layer helps to act as something of a barrier for weeds to establish.

The seeding versus sodding of Fescue, points to the challenging balancing act of trying to find that Goldilocks zone of not too thin and not too thick a stand of turf.  There is an old saying that a dense, healthy stand of grass is the best protection from weed encroachment.  Of course, too thick in the native areas results in lost balls, slow pace of play, and often some sore wrists from trying to hack out of the tall grass.

When it comes to a project like this, even many hands doesn't exactly make "light work" but the team did a great job getting these areas prepped for sod this week!

Information on Frost Delays

Since you may rarely see it in your own backyard, golfers often underestimate the damage that can occur by walking or driving on frost covered turf.   In this brief video, the USGA explains the "how" and "why" of frost damage:  Frost Delay--It's Worth The Wait

Despite our best efforts to keep carts corralled during periods of frost, as you can see below, occasionally somebody doesn't get the message.

If you're unsure if there will be a frost delay or not, please check the "Course Conditions" section of the Club's app.  We update this each morning to provide you with timely information.