Fighting Phrag

Changes which occur over several years are often difficult for us to notice.  Such was the case with the phragmites taking over the pond on #3, where suddenly it seemed the view from the tee was quite obstructed--and nobody enjoys a blind par 3.

While the Grounds Department has some pretty neat tools to clear brush, there are limits to what we can get to.  Without any frozen ice to work from in the the past few years, accessing much of the phragmites was not something we could handle.  The solution was to bring in a contractor and their amphibious machine.

With a cutting bar attachment on the front, tracks and pontoons, this just looks like it would be a blast to operate.  As you can see above, the operator is tackling a 20' wide wall of vegetation around the entire perimeter of the pond.

While some debris remains, the view  has improved, particularly from the left tee on the hole  Just like bamboo, phragmites is very difficult to eliminate, and a single cutting will definitely not get the job done.  The plan is to treat the phrag with a herbicide as it starts to regrow later this summer.

Fresh Fish

The population of grass-eating carp in #5 green pond has been dwindling over the past several years.  In order to avoid them outcompeting native fish for resources, these carp must be sterile, and thus are unable to reproduce.  Having been placed in the pond close to 20 years ago, the few remaining carp have lived a good, long life.

One of the original grass-eating carp as a youngster in 2005.

Seeing their numbers decline (and having the unenviable job of removing some of these 50 pound giants after they passed away), we prepared to re-stock the pond in 2022.  At the risk of being accused of carping, it does seem worth noting that it took well over a year from the time we applied for the new state fish stocking permit, until the time we received approval in 2023. 

Like most things these days, a good bit of patience was definitely required before we were able to provide the permit to the fish hatchery and have the young carp delivered.  Hopefully the process will be more streamlined when we need to purchase new fish in 2043...  

A look back at May

Without question, the weather can often have the greatest impact on a golf course's condition, and this May's weather was no exception.  Unless you've been living in a cave for the past month, you know that the lack of rain has been dramatic, with unirrigated lawns looking like straw in early June.  

For the month of May, we received only 30% of the average rainfall.  The good news was that the high temperatures were not bad, and we actually ended the month exactly at average for daytime highs.  The other good (and bad) thing was that there was low humidity and breezy conditions most of the month, meaning little disease pressure to be concerned about on the turf.  However, while the low humidity felt comfortable, it also led to some extremely high moisture loss during this dry spell.

Severe mounding is challenging to maintain during periods of high moisture loss. 

While the daytime highs were average for the month, the nighttime low temperatures were not.  In May, we were four degrees below average at night--that is four degrees every night for an entire month.  Again, this is good for limiting any disease worries, but not great for recovering from aerification.  With the ability to quickly reflect temperature changes, the sand-based greens were especially impacted by these cool nights.

One night in the 30s and 19 nights in the 40s is quite unusual for May.

As dry as some areas of the course have been, it will take more than a few showers or thunderstorms to re-wet the soils.  The 2023 season is already off to an interesting start!

Bunker Time

 When you tell people that we spend more labor on bunker maintenance than on greens, there is often a raised eyebrow and look of skepticism.  However, as usual, a picture may tell the tale:

If you look closely, you'll see seven team members working on the bunkers, and one individual cutting the green.  That's a lot of energy going into a hazard...