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. 

Late Fall Work

Some of the projects we wanted to get into this fall centered around restoring the native prairie areas of the course that have become overgrown with brush.  A month of frosty mornings has allowed us to clear out one of the largest and most infested areas of the course: the area between #7 green, #8 and #9 tee.

Here are some before shots...

Irrigation Winterization

Today we begin the process of blowing out all the water from the irrigation lines using compressed air.  It's one of the major tasks we HAVE to complete before the snow flies and is one of the last few mile-markers we pass signifying the end of the 2012 golf season.  

We actually began the process over the preceding 3 days by shutting off the pumps and opening select valves to drain down the excess water as much as possible before the compressor arrived.  We move the compressor to various zones on the course and blow air section by section as we lack a large connection or inlet in or around the pump station that most courses possess. We hope to complete this task by Monday.

Preparing for Winter

As winter approaches, we are beginning the process of winterization.  Today marks the end of on-course restrooms as they are being cleaned and winterized for the coming months.  Next week, we are blowing out the lines for the irrigation system and we will begin to bring in items for storage such as ball washers, tee markers, bunker rakes, sand and seed boxes etc.  

Greens Nursery II

Even with the cooler temps we have gotten some nice germination thanks to the use of the greens cover.  This helps to trap the heat in and speed up germination and establishment.  We will keep the cover on all winter and be mowing in the spring.  Hopefully, we can use this for plugs and greens repairs by late summer or early fall 2013. 

Rules are rules...

Cart restrictions are sometimes put into place to protect the unsuspecting player from entering wet or water-logged turf and causing damage.  It's no fun to call the golf shop and tell them there are cart restrictions for the day but believe me, they are put in place for a reason. 

These are pictures from today (10/25/12) on hole #4.  This time of year on #4 fairway, the angle of the sun has dropped so much that the tree line shades out the left side for nearly the entire day.  This makes small rain events last a long time in certain spots on the course.  I let carts off the paths the last two days with the exception of a few holes (#4 included) and placed ropes and signage in the saturated spots because I felt that this could be the last good golfing weather of the season.  Please understand and respect the cart rules for the day, as they are put in place for a reason.

BVGC in all its fall glory

October at Bull Valley...

#7 Bunker Face

We were able to complete the re-sodding of the bunker face and green bank on #7 just before the rains hit on Wednesday.  This area has been thin for the past couple of seasons due to the lack of green surround irrigation, the location of the 100+ year old Oak tree, the high concentration of Poa and bentgrass contamination and the amount of sand splashed out of the bunker during play.  Over time, bunker edges shift and generally creep despite regular edging.  The harsh summer basically pushed this area over the edge and we wanted to correct this to provide a better playing surface and restore the edge to its original position. 

Greens Nursery

Back in August we began a project to create a greens nursery from which we could pull plugs from in the event of damage to a green: vandalism, hydraulic leaks, the persistent squirrel etc.  Currently, we lack such an area and have to rely on using the back corner of the practice green for sod.  We chose to excavate the small tee area from the backside of the practice bunker.  Originally, I believe this area was intended to serve as the chipping area for the practice facility, but with the creation of the short-game chipping and pitching area this teeing ground became nothing more than an unused area.  

Cart Traffic

Cart restrictions were invented out of necessity following the introduction of the motorized golf cart.  Ideally, we would allow carts to go as they please but there are certain times when it is necessary to protect the sensitive areas of the course from the wear and tear of repetitive cart traffic.  As a friendly reminder, the staff asks that you: 

Obey any restrictions such as "Path Only" days
Stay on the paths around all tees and greens
Keep carts on paths on all par 3's
Refrain from pulling off the path edges when parked near greens and tees (after years of driving it is a force of habit to pull off the side of the road but this concentrates wear)
Obey all signage, ropes and stakes

We have purchased several cart directional signs recently and hopefully you have seen them out on the course.  These are designed to help flow cart traffic away from greens and certain "bottleneck" areas on the course as well as to spread out the cart traffic to avoid concentrated wear areas.

Thank you

Our New Topdresser

Here is a look at our newest toy, a state-of-the-art topdresser. This unit will allow us to spread sand more evenly, more frequently and give us the flexibility to dial in the desired amount as opposed to the all-or-nothing unit that is being replaced.  This will lead to firmer and faster greens over time as well as a reduction in ball marks and will help to keep the moss at suppressed.

Moss Control

We are going to begin testing a few new products to help alleviate the Silvery-thread moss that has encroached on to the practice green as well as a handful of other greens.  Silvery-thread moss (Byrun argentum Hedw.) is a problematic weed to putting greens that has become more prevalent in recent years for a variety of reasons; increased demands for faster greens, decreased topdressing and cultural practices do to financial reasons, limitation or removal of registered heavy-metal pesticides with known effects on moss etc.  At this point, we are going to begin evaluating some of the new control products that will help us (along with increased topdressing and a re-vamped cultural plan) combat the moss and slowly eradicate it.  Currently, there is no magic bullet, no product capable of killing the moss without injuring the creeping bentgrass.  The products we will evaluate will help tip the balance in favor of the grass by injuring or stunting the moss while doing as little damage to the existing turf, but in some cases, there may be tip-burn or slight discoloration of the turf, but this is all visual.  It is this trial and error that will help us create a long-term management plan for the greatest moss control with the most minimal disruption to the playing surface.


Click here for USGA Green Section article on moss

More Storms...

More storms came through on the morning of 7/24, knocking out power to the maintenance shop as well as downing branches and washing out sand traps.  Over the past two weeks, the course has received 2.10" of much needed rain and much of the rough has rebounded. 

Power pole for the maintenance shop...48 hours with no electricity!

Lightning only happens when it rains...

A much welcomed 1.25" of rain fell overnight on 7/18-7/19, but with it came a bit of storm damage.  We were able to get the course cleaned up and prepared for the Invitational practice round with minimal disruption to play and with only having Cart Path Only restrictions in the morning. Thank you for your patience.

The following picture is of a lightning strike on the two small trees near the beginning left of #1 fairway.  We will see how they survive, but more than likely, we will be removing them in the coming weeks.

Scouting Report 7/20/12

~The following is the weekly CDGA turf scouting report complied by Derek Settle, PhD.~

Click here to view the July 20, 2012 Scouting Report

Driving Range/Divots

~ With this year's extreme heat, drought and all-around summer stress, the driving range tee as well as some of the par three tees have seen better days.  With the weather the way it has been, it is near-impossible to sustain seed germination and survival as well as lateral growth and therefore divot recovery is at a minimum.  I'm sure most members know the size and distance limitations of the range tee and this only compounds the issue.  Below is an interesting article from the USGA Green Section Record dated June 8, 2012 in which it proposes that most players use the range tee in a way that is least conducive to divot recovery and offers some alternative practice techniques to better both your game and the long term playability of the range tee.  


http://gsr.lib.msu.edu/article/mcclellan-practice-6-8-12.pdf

As a reminder, considering the limitations of the range tee, I would ask that members refrain from hitting outside the area designated by the dividers.  I know the far right is the only shade on the range teeing ground; it is near-impossible to maintain a range tee with the weather challenges we have been facing but proper rotation can help us have a decent teeing space all year and this area is already thin and while some of this of this comes from lessons, a good majority is from members hitting outside the daily set-up. ~

Summer Stress

~ I could spend hours rehashing the record drought and heat we have experienced this summer, but at this point, it looks like it is here to stay and we need to move forward and deal with it as best we can.  The extreme weather causes us to alter our daily and weekly management practices to ensure turf health and one of these ways if to vent (aerify) certain areas of the course to ensure that water and air are getting to the roots as easily as possible.  This is even a larger problem in any areas that have high concentrations of Annual Bluegrass (Poa).  Much of the golf course is a mix of Creeping Bentgrass and Annual Bluegrass but the concentrations vary depending on the hole and the area in question.  Poa suffers from heat and drought stress much more readily than Creeping Bentgrass and we have to intensively manage it during this high-stress periods.  Even with irrigation, intensive hand-watering and other cultural practices, high air and soil temperatures can cause Poa to go into a physiological decline.

Poa stress is not always a bad thing, as it does help the Creeping Bentgrass ever so slowly take over. Many of these areas will be overseeded with newer varieties of Bentgrass in the coming weeks and hopefully this will mean less and less stress damage in the future.  However, when the Poa under stress is the 13th green (which is 70% Poa), it is an altogether different story. ~

Scouting Report 7/13/12

~The following is the weekly C.D.G.A turf scouting report complied by Derek Settle, PhD.~

CDGA Scouting Report 7/13/12

Welcome

~Welcome to the all new Bull Valley Golf Club Maintenance blog!~

The BVGC Turf Maintenance Department would like to welcome you to the start of our new blog, designed to keep you, the member, more informed as to the day-to-day course conditions as well as ongoing projects and future plans.

As with all new forms of communication, there is a learning curve, but in time we hope this provides some insight into the daily lives of your Turf Maintenance team, give you more up-to-date information regarding course conditions, and allow us to communicate to the membership more effectively so we can work together to make BVGC exceptional.

Best Wishes,

Eric, Jason, Mario and the entire Turf Maintenance Department.