December 5, 2014 Scouting Report

December 5, 2014 Scouting Report It's here - hot off the presses and the final installment of another year of intrepid detail and willful misinformation! As I write this I realize that we certainly seem to have gotten off lightly so far this winter. Looking at a lot of brown grass this week has allayed my mild concern regarding whether or not turf had hardened off appropriately to the cold temperatures. That however has changed and many of the courses are now looking appropriately brown. Unfortunately some damage has occurred during the cold snap which will be seen all the way into late April of next year. Conference season is in full swing as well as a spat of annual meetings for the various association - further to that, the CDGA Club Leadership Conference is upcoming and our session for prospective greens chairmen and superintendents has some very interesting topics in regards to the role of a greens chairman, water issues facing golf courses and course changes in relation to re-grassing, redesigns are all on the slate for discussion on February 21st at Medinah CC. Guest speakers will be in place from the USGA, GCSAA as well as presenters who have had recent experience on some of the mentioned topics. As it is the last scouting report of the season, it would be poor of me not to remind you of the education opportunities coming up - OTF next week, Wisconsin Turfgrass Research Day, Jan 6th , ITF January 13-14th, MTF, and of course GIS in San Antonio February 21-26. These are all great opportunities - avail of them. Online opportunities at the Great Lakes Turf School are also available here. One last note is to thank you for your support this year and as always Happy Holidays - whichever way you celebrate it! Click here to view the December 5, 2014 Scouting Report As always if you have a question or query please do not hesitate to ask and you can call or email. Ed Nangle PhD Director of Turfgrass Programs Chicago District Golf Association Office: (630) 685-2307 Cell: (630) 423-1925 www.cdgaturf.org Follow us on Twitter @TurfResearch

Current State of Affairs and What to Expect in 2015

We are finished with the Phase III bunker renovation work for 2014.  There is work that needs to be completed going into the spring and we will do our best to finish the work as quickly as possible. 

Following is a project update:

•         Front 9 renovation is complete
•         All bentgrass has been sodded per the architect’s design
•        All bunkers on the back 9 have been rough shaped
•         Final shape work and drainage is required on holes 10 and 18
•         Drainage to the traps has been completed on all back 9 holes to help remove water when the spring thaw begins
•        Liner is installed on hole #14; Holes 10, 15, 16, and 18 require liner installation
•        Bluegrass needs to be sodded on holes 10, 15, 16,and 18
•         Seeding (dormant seeding) is completed to give it a jump start to growth when soil temperatures warm up

What Can Golfers Expect When the Season Officially Opens?

Our first priority will be to get the bunkers sodded, lined, and filled with sand.  We have approximately 2 weeks of work left to finish the remaining bunkers.  Our goal is to have all bunkers open for play when the golf course opens in the spring.  Golfers will be able to play from the new bunkers even with the “bare” seeded areas.  These areas will be roped off and should be open for play sometime in June.

Below are pictures of the bunker renovation project:

Crew working on installing liner on #14

Bunker complex on the left side of #7

New greenside bunkers on #7

View of #9 on the tee; new tees will be added to the right

View of #1 on the tee

Bunker Construction Update

The weather has been an issue due to the amount of rain we have received.  All of the bunkers and lake excavation on #7 are completed besides the finishing aspects (i.e. bunker liner, sand, and sod) on the fairway bunkers.  Dave Carter (our lead shaper) will be finishing #1 today then moving to #9 and by the end of tomorrow should be on #10.

#7 Greensides "Before"

#7 Greensides "After"

With the lake excavation we have moved approximately 400 tons of material, This was all moved by tractor trailer and dump truck.  This material was used to add a berm on the left side of #7.  This was seeded to our fescue blend similar to #14 and #15.  

Ball Marks

The ballmarks on the greens have gotten noticeably worse recently.  How bad are they?  Below is a picture of the #3 green with 500 flags, each representing unrepaired/incorrectly-repaired ballmarks.  The reason the entire green is not covered is because we ran out of flags! Approximately 1500 flags would be needed to designate all of the ballmarks on this green..  I am asking each member to assist us repairing ballmarks by repairing two ballmarks on each green – yours and another.  I appreciate your help. 

  

Crew Appreciation and Grubs!

Below are the men of the entire grounds maintenance team!  During the summer, we start at 5 AM to provide the playing conditions that our members enjoy.  They take tremendous pride in the work they complete on the golf course.  We work through the rain or shine and through the cold months!  Next time you see any member of our crew, please tell them “Thanks!”

Pictured from Left to Right:

Mike Paciga, Huver Vargas, Magorito Espinoza, Javier Hernandez, Ever Figueroa, Balta Vasquez, Reynaldo Ocampo, Omar Vargas, Eliodoro Hernandez, Jon Savoie, Ricardo Vargas, Bartolo Solano, and Alvino Antunez

Not Pictured:  Cal Moyer, Peter Solkaski, Octavio Rios, Javier Hernandez, and David Field

We've been battling some grubs this year, particularly #10 fairway as shown below.  We treat the entire golf course preventatively back at the end of June, however, we never really know how effective it is until the fall.  We did have some breakthrough this year, which may be attributed to the amount of rain we received this year.  We have been treating the grubs post emergent in these areas.  The damage has begun to subside and recovery is now evident.

Green Issues and #7

There is a disease called Bipolaris leaf spot that is evident on a couple of the greens.  This disease may be the result of one of the wettest summers on record.  The greens have been treated and the CDGA has taken samples to confirm the diagnosis.  We have been proactive in the healing process and have already seeded/ plugged the infected areas.

How come the lake levels are so low? 

We’ve been lowering the lake level to prepare for the dredging of the waste bunker on #7.  We will be excavating the bunker and water will flow to the greenside.  This will make for a much more difficult approach shot!

Aerification Schedule

September is the perfect time of year for aerification.  Aeration is critical to grow healthy grass and provide superior playing conditions during the stressful months of July and August.  In September the day lengths are shorter and nighttime temperatures are cool (50’s).  This environment allows a quick recovery (about 10 days) since the grass is still actively growing. 

Below is the schedule for our greens, tees, and fairways:

September 3^rd- Holes 13-18 (Tees/Fairways)

September 9^th- Holes 4-9 (Tees/Fairways)

September 11^th- Holes 1-3, 10-12 (Tees/Fairways)

October 27^th- Greens (1-18)

Why do we aerify?

Aerification provides the following primary benefits:

-Thatch reduction

-Air/water movement

-Compaction reduction

We will try to complete this work as quickly as possible.  If everything goes well, we may be able to complete the entire tee/fairway aeration in 2 days. 

Below is a link to a video that the USGA prepared on greens aeration and its benefits:

Project Updates

This past week we finished leveling and seeding the #7 and #16 Championship tees.  The sprinklers will be turning on automatically at 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM for the next couple of weeks to ensure proper germination. 

Questions have arisen about the areas next to #14 tee and behind #15 green.  We are in the first stage of a project to reseed this area to fescue.  These areas have been designated as “low maintenance” and we are seeding a mix called “Bandon Dunes.”  Weather permitting, seeding of these areas will begin next week.  The best time for any seeding is August 15^th - September 15^th.  This time is ideal because soil temperatures are high and nighttime air temperatures are low.

Couple weeks in review!

As the length of daylight shortens, the maintenance crew begins their day later in the morning.  We currently start at 5 AM so that we don’t interrupt golf play on any of the holes.  Starting Monday, however, we will start at 5:30 AM due to morning darkness.  If you tee off before 7 AM you may meet up with our greens mower or set up person.

In the past couple of weeks we’ve been able to get more detail work done throughout the course.  We’ve begun the process of limbing up the pines on #13, 14, and 15.  The next trim area is the area to the right of #5. 

#14 Before

#14 After

You may have noticed the edging of sprinklers on the course.  

Click on the video below to see the head edger in action!

Finally, you may have seen one of our staff poking little holes on the greens with a device that looks like a pogo stick.  This is actually a new piece of equipment we purchased to measure soil moisture in the greens.  It provides information that allows us to water more efficiently, save water, and “dry” the greens out without worrying about wilt.

Reynaldo Ocampo (our foreman) checking the greens for soil moisture.

The output screen of our meter.  VMC% means volumetric water content percent.  The reading of 18.4 indicates that the soil moisture is adequate.  If the reading registers below 10, watering would be initiated, as wilt would set in during the afternoon hours.

July 11, 2014 Scouting Report

July 11, 2014 Scouting Report A week of perfection almost was how we could describe this week. For those of you who had healthy turf starting the week - the end of the week should have been a great finish despite some rain. Blue skies and excellent temperatures really made for the best growing week we have had so far this year. Courses that were suffering from some of the heat and stress of the previous week began to clear up and return to excellent conditions in the Chicagoland area. Further south there were some stressful conditions early in the week but people are looking forward to next weeks summer version of the polar vortex as the early part of the week temperatures are predicted to drop back to highs in the 60's in Chicago while highs in Carbondale the highs are predicted to top out in the mid to upper 70's - glorious! The British Open is next up for many of us to look at and the talk of brown is better will continue, however it is always easier to do this on sand based soils in weather conditions that are not humid and in temperatures that don't reach the 90 degree mark... EVER. For us particularly in the northern part of the state it is something to always keep in mind when thinking about new grass surfaces and long term sustainability of them. One summer doesn't make a lifetime of putting surfaces unfortunately. Further to that, there is a course rotation for the British Open and so these courses can take ten years off before the next Open which is why they can push their greens to extremes unlike daily play courses - it's not like we can open for one week of the year! Enjoy the viewing but remember links golf only makes up 5% of the golf courses across the pond! Disease pressure has dissipated somewhat this week, though insect damage did start to show up as courses began to dry out. It seems that bluegrass billbug has made an appearance as a couple of locations failed the tug test. Further to that, adult Japanese beetles have shown up all over and the seedcorn beetle was also found towards the end of the week. Finally field day season has reached us, for the very latest in research results they are a great tool to help you make decisions for that early order program that is surely going to sitting on your desk soon. Click here to view the July 11, 2014 Scouting Report As always if you have a question or query please do not hesitate to ask and you can call or email. Ed Nangle PhD Director of Turfgrass Programs Chicago District Golf Association Office: (630) 685-2307 Cell: (630) 423-1925 www.cdgaturf.org Follow us on Twitter @TurfResearch

What is that stuff?

The black areas that golfers are noticing on the greens are Silvery Thread Moss, Bryum argeneum.  Moss is generally attributed to low N fertility and over watering.  This moss growth began to emerge as a problem last year.  We are utilizing several different strategies to eradicate the moss.  Once the moss becomes established, it can be very difficult to control.  The products used to control moss can be tough on turf (especially greens).  Therefore, we must apply these chemicals at lower rates that result in a longer period to control the moss.   We should begin to see results in approximately a month.  The black color is actually good  (the areas were previously green).  The color change demonstrates that the strategies we have employed are beginning to kill the moss.  A combination of chemicals and cultural practices should eradicate this problem. 

July 4th, 2014 Scouting Report

July 4, 2014 Scouting Report There is nothing like a weekend of hot humid weather to finish off a frustrating month and trigger some diverse pest activity on the golf courses. This week we have seen anthracnose activity on bentgrass, some mild pythium damage, further dollar spot activity and some etiolation showing up on turfgrasses. To say it has been frustrating is probably an understatement, further to that however was the gully washer coming through on Monday night which brought relief and subsidence in problems arising. The first test of how surfaces may look for the rest of the summer if it gets hot and sticky was a little uncomfortable - lets hope the NOAA prediction of a cooler than normal summer is true! Following the intense storms on Monday night there was substantial flooding and soil profiles are of course extremely wet. The sooner we can get some drying out the better we will be as roots definitely did not like how hot it was last weekend. Green speeds suffered a little bit with the moisture which was unfortunate but surface conditions really have begun to round into shape with many courses starting to shine in the summer sun. It is the Fourth of July and I think many people will be happy to see that temperatures are forecast in the 70's and low 80's for the weekend ahead. The appearance of the etiolation on the turf has been frustrating and there has been a lot of conversation ongoing over the last few years. The management strategy will discuss some of the most recent output and whether or not our research project at Ridgemoor CC has shown any results as of yet. Finally the storm left its mark in many ways this week; luckily the winds did not flatten too many trees and so clean up of limbs and bunkers was the main focus. Let's hope July dries out and the average high is 80 degrees! Happy holiday weekend to everyone. Click here to view the July 4, 2014 Scouting Report As always if you have a question or query please do not hesitate to ask and you can call or email. Ed Nangle PhD Director of Turfgrass Programs Chicago District Golf Association Office: (630) 685-2307 Cell: (630) 423-1925 www.cdgaturf.org Follow us on Twitter @TurfResearch

June 27, 2014 Scouting Report

June 27, 2014 Scouting Report A week of contrasts is the best way to describe this most recent week. Storms early in the week brought much flooding and damage to many courses, while towards the end of the week, conditions cooled off and turned rather comfortable. The lake has been creating its own problems as cold water in the center has led to a clash of temperatures and fronts around the city and mornings were extremely foggy and putting it nicely, cool. Further to that turfgrass canopies were staying very wet for extended periods which really was not what was needed. The excess moisture and some of the extremely high humidity that we saw this week lead to further diversity on the disease front. I do not envy anyone trying to grow grass in tropical situations - there must be insane disease pressure - early this week we did get a taste of it, but summer is here so it's to be expected. Many courses are on the precipice of final recovery from what has been a long winter. I will say however spare a thought for managers in Minnesota who experienced something similar last year and dealt with the remnants into the early part of August - so be grateful for little mercies! Our forecast is for the first three day spell in the 90's back to back to back, so depending on humidity, timing of control applications and how hot it actually will get, it could be a tough start to the week. Fortunately conditions look like cooling off so some relief is on the way. More importantly we can hope to see some bright skies which will help places which have been in fog and heavy cloud all week doing bentgrass no favors. Click here to view the June 27, 2014 Scouting Report As always if you have a question or query please do not hesitate to ask and you can call or email. Ed Nangle PhD Director of Turfgrass Programs Chicago District Golf Association Office: (630) 685-2307 Cell: (630) 423-1925 www.cdgaturf.org Follow us on Twitter @TurfResearch

Week in Review!

What a week!  We've received over 4.25" of rain this past week, and we are finally beginning to dry out.  Below are some pictures of the storm damage from last week.

Also, as a reminder please be sure to always spray "off" on a cart path or hard surface!  Looks like the culprit is about a size 11!

One of those "aha" moments!

This is one of those “aha!” moments!  Today we are needle tining the greens to allow for gas exchange, better water infiltration, and reduce compaction.  This practice prevents the accumulation of toxic gases that can lead to a decline in turf quality during peak summer months.   We are able to complete this practice in one day with minimal disruption to golfers. 

Alvino needle tining #7 green

Results after aerifying

Eliodoro then rolls the green to smooth out the surface.

The results after the green is aerified and rolled.  There is minimal disruption to the turf.  

Course Projects!

Last week the crew at Kemper Lakes constructed the retaining wall behind the clubhouse.  We were able to complete this project in house.

 

First, a 6-8” deep limestone base is constructed.  The limestone is then compacted and laser leveled. 

 

Once the base was completed, we began construction of the wall.

After construction, drainage and pea gravel are added to prevent water from sitting behind the wall.  This process also minimizes the risk of potential frost heaves during the winter months that can push the wall out of the place.

And…the finished product!