Crabgrass

As the topic has come up recently it's time to discuss crabgrass on the course this year, specifically on tees.

For starters, it's my 9th season here and in that time I have made a pre-emergent application for crabgrass on tees only in the years for 2013-2015. In 2008-2012 we weren't able to do this for various reasons but we added this as we tried to change our tee management practices. In those years ('08-'12) I had seen zero to minimal crabgrass breakthrough. In creating a plan and budget for 2016, I made a decision to forego the application with the thought that it wouldn't be any worse than '08-'12 and use those resources elsewhere. Hindsight is always 20/20 and now I know. The application was probably a waste of resources in most mild years but this is no mild year. More on that below...

It had been a near-historic year for crabgrass in Chicagoland with the perfect storm of favorable weather. An early spring warmup, followed by hot and dry temps that gave the existing turf a stressful start to summer. Next came the rains and the crabgrass took off. The soil temperatures have hovered around 80 degrees for a couple months and to put that in perspective the 2015 season never exceeded 75 degrees and that was short lived. Those are prime conditions for crabgrass, as well as bare soil like you have in par 3 tees or holes that irons are used frequently. I have seen/heard a number of conversations about the disease and weed pressure this year and the theme is that 2016 is a year to remember (or forget). I ran a poll on Twitter reaching out to colleagues in Chicagoland and the Midwest to gauge crabgrass pressure this year. Most agree that it's been a difficult year for crabgrass, even for those that applied a pre-emergent. As of the time of this post, nearly 85% of those who responded said they had moderate to heavy crabgrass infestations and some have personally told me that they have breakthrough despite applying a pre-emergent in the spring.  

https://twitter.com/bvgcturf/status/767534291131719681

At this point it's best to talk about where we go from here and not dwell on the past. Crabgrass is tough and gets stronger as it ages. It's also difficult and tricky to get rid of where there is bentgrass seed/seedlings involved. We are looking at options for curative applications but at this point in the year it might be best for us to wait for first frost. Crabgrass will die at the first frost and we can begin doing some aggressive seeding and plan for a pre-emergent application for spring of 2017.

Course Opening Update:

Course Opening Update:

Spring has sprung early this year and the Turf Care Department are beginning the process of course clean-up and preparing the course for play.  Most of the greens fared well over the winter but there are signs of stressed Poa annua.  This is mainly due to low temperature injury, despite the fact it was generally a warmer fall/winter.  The extended fall and warm start to the winter prevented the turf from truly hardening off and preparing for the coming cold.  The ridges and mounds on the sunniest greens became exposed during one of the melt events and the turf that was not prepared for winter was subjected to sub-zero temps.  Most of this is superficial and will recover once warmer weather becomes more consistent but we have taken steps to speed the recovery process.  Affected greens have been aerified, verticut, seeded and the four worst greens were covered with tarps. 

 

All this means that greens will be unavailable for the immediate future.  We are asking members to avoid the greens for a short time. It is a small sacrifice to ensure they are in the best condition possible for the bulk of our season.  I anticipate greens to be open by April 1st, but it may be sooner than that.  For now temporary greens are in play.  Cart availability is evaluated on a daily basis.  The course was drying out fine but we have received nearly 1.5" of rain between March 13th - 16th and that will set us back from allowing carts out on the course. 

There are still lots of spring clean-up items to be checked off the list.  We will begin the process of removing sticks and debris, rebuilding bunkers and putting out accessories (rakes, tee markers etc.).  The goal would be to have all of these done before April 1, but if we open before keep in mind its a work in progress and we will continue to chip away at it daily.  
Thanks,

Winter Prep/Temp Greens

As we inch closer to the end of the 2013 season, we are putting the final touches on winter preparation for the course.  The irrigation system has been winterized and all plant protectants have been applied to playing surfaces.  Still, there are a few jobs remaining such as blowing and mulching the last of the leaves, bringing in the last of the amenities (rakes, tee markers, garbage cans etc.) and finally a winter blanket of sand topdressing for the greens.

Winter topdressing is a common practice at many northern courses but it has been done sparingly at BVGC in the past. Adding a heavy layer of sand to the greens just prior to snowfall or ground-freeze helps protect the crowns of the plant (growing points) for winter winds and can aid in thatch management and spring green-up.  Greens with shade and Poa annua (the two go hand-in-hand) are generally more susceptible to winter damage.  The use of protective tarp-style permeable turf covers can also accomplish this and more but: 1)are very expensive and labor intensive and 2)encourages Poa growth.  We will still be putting out the new turf covers we purchased this spring on holes 5 and 13 because they have a much higher population of Poa (70%) than the other greens and at this point, we need to ensure the plants survival even if it is encouraging the weaker grass species.

The downside to all of this is that all greens surfaces will be closed starting tomorrow, 11/21/13.  We will be placing temporary pins in approaches and near greens with the exception of all the par-3 holes.  There is limited room on all the par-3's due to water features or sand traps to place a temporary pin location.  All surfaces will be sanded and 5&13 will be tarped starting tomorrow.  At that time, we kindly ask that you do not hit to or walk on the putting surfaces for the remainder of the winter. We understand that the decision to put limits on where, when and how you use the golf course can be a sensitive one, especially since this is such a "new" process at BVGC but the benefits of turf health and better playing conditions outweigh the drawbacks of winter play on the greens.

Thank you for understanding.  As always if you have any questions please contact the golf shop or myself directly.  See you in 2014!

Crown Hydration and Winterkill

Let's talk about the current state of some of the greens here at BVGC. Some of the greens here experienced various areas of winterkill (more specifically crown hydration injury) over the late winter. Crown hydration is a situation where an extremely wet and snowy winter (especially late) combined with frequent warm-ups and re-freezing causes turf injury. The grass plants begin to take up water as the winter ends and the snow melts, but if cold temps and refreezing occurs the water will form ice crystals inside the plant and rupture it (i.e. blow it up from the inside). Annual Bluegrass (Poa annua) is especially susceptible to crown hydration injury.  Making things worse is the fact that shade enhances the problem: 1)more shade generally means more Poa and therefore a more susceptible grass species 2)more shade means slower snow melt and therefore more likely to have crown hydration injury due to refreezing.  

On to the factors that are specific to the greens and the crown hydration injury here at BVGC...First, we need to revisit the weather that was specific to Woodstock, not Ohare and not some lakeside Northshore club.  Reports of winterkill are numerous in central and southern Wisconsin.  The winter came late but came with a fury.  We received nearly 2" of rain on the last two days of January, followed by a rapid freeze.  This caused a layer of 6-8" of ice to accumulate on the green surfaces.  Prolonged ice cover can itself damage the turf, but it slows the melt process and enhances crown hydration injury.  From February 1 through late March we had several large snowfall events until things started to thaw towards the end of March.  I knew the prolonged ice and snow cover was going to be a concern and the staff on hand attempted to remove snow from several greens in mid-March to try to speed up the melt process.  It may have helped but ultimately damage has occurred on many greens here.  

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— bvgcturf (@bvgcturf) February 19, 2013

Miller

It is with heavy heart that I write this, but my beloved companion Miller known and loved by all here at BVGC passed away on January 4th.  He lived a great and enviable life, one where he was the star of the show at three golf courses and my companion for all but the first 8 weeks of his life.  He was the smartest, calmest and most well behaved dog I could ever ask for.  Miller was nearly 12 yrs old and was really in good spirits through the summer, but was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer in November and went downhill fast after that point. I knew he could not live forever and I did not want to see him suffer, so he was peacefully put down knowing that the last thing he saw was his good friend of all those years...You will never be forgotten. 

Enjoy the great goose chase in the sky!  

Tree Trimming

We had Davey Tree out for three days to help prune, trim and thin most of the oak trees on the course.  When done by tree experts removing dead wood and thinning out will help extend the life of the trees and make them safer for members and staff to play and work around.  We had originally planned for this to be done in March, but with the way the spring on came so early we missed our window as oaks should only be pruned before they leaf out or after they drop leaves.  

A good pruning should last 5-7 years for most of our tree species.  We plan to make yearly pruning and thinning a priority and we hope to cover 15-20% of our trees in one season.  Such a schedule will allow us to go through our entire tree inventory in that 5-7 year time frame, after which it will be time to start the cycle over again. We started with the oaks (and a few Hickory trees) as they are the most important specimens we have in terms of size, age, their visual impact on the hole and the way they affect how the hole is played.