Snow...Snow...Snow

Winter is officially here! It's a great time to get a lesson inside with
 Jeremy or AJ to prepare for the 2013 golf season~!

Selective Tree Pruning and Removal

Lightning Damage

Generally, any needed tree work on a golf course whether it’s pruning, thinning, or removal is completed during the winter when possible.  With less member and guest use during the winter, it’s much safer to be doing tree work on the course.  In addition, the use of heavy equipment is much easier on the turf while the ground is frozen.

Turfgrass vs. Trees.
Trees will always win the battle for sun and water...

This week we begin selectively removing dead and severely decaying/damaged trees along with alleviating shade issues in high importance areas on the course.   This approved tree work will encourage much healthier turfgrass, improved safety and aesthetics, and reduced in-season maintenance costs from storm damage clean-up. 

The work is being done almost entirely in-house with current staff and resources.

We hope you and your families have a safe and enjoyable holiday and look forward to seeing you next year!

This tree is heavily decayed
and located just feet from a
commonly used cart path on 7 West.

The top of this tree was removed in the past.
Only a few sparse limbs remain.

Covering Greens for Winter

#8 South Green Covered for Winter

Today we're covering select greens with permeable tarps to protect them from winter injury.  The question of "why do we need to cover greens?"and "what do the tarps actually do?" often come up.  A few things are taken into consideration when deciding to cover greens.  Hopefully this will help explain the reasoning behind it.

1.  Greens that are in the shade due to the close proximity of surrounding trees normally suffer from lack of sunlight during the growing season and are the last greens to come out of winter dormancy in the spring.  These same greens tend to hold sheets of ice in the spring during snow melt due to shade and/or poor drainage.  In this situation, the winter covers help warm the surface and reduce some of the ice damage on the plant.  Sheets of ice trap harmful gasses released by the plant as well as causing injury to the plants crown resulting in possible death of the turfgrass. The covers help warm the surface in the spring and allow gasses to pass through which can lead to less ice injury and a quicker green up.

2.  The second reason greens may to need covers is because of the possibility of wind desiccation.  Greens that are elevated can often have issues with this.  The tarps offer nice protection from the cold wind and help hold in some moisture during the tough winter months.

3.  Tarps often provide earlier spring green up to areas that are covered and get the plant off to a healthy start for the season.

The greens that we have selected to cover this year are as follows: 8 South, 9 South, 1 West, 8 West, 9 West, 5 North, 8 North, 9 North

Maintenance Facility Improvements

Lunch/Meeting Room Before

Lunch/Meeting Room Now

Over the last two weeks the grounds staff completed some excellent maintenance facility upgrades that will improve organization and cleanliness while also setting a strong precedent for future on course maintenance activities.  The work was all done in-house with our current staff for little cost.  These positive changes will also aid in recruiting strong student interns in years to come by having a nice working environment.

The meeting room floor and shop floor were diamond-ground and thoroughly cleaned followed by the installation of a commercial grade epoxy floor.  The walls were repaired where damaged and new drywall was hung. Painting both rooms helped put the finishing touch on the project!

Maintenance Shop Before

Maintenance Shop Now

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