December Ice Storm

On Wednesday, December 14, we encountered large amounts of ice throughout the golf course.  Not only was the entire course covered, but many of the trees collected large amounts of ice.  Due to the weight of the accumulated ice, we have incurred a massive amount of tree damage.

Hundreds of branches were broken, as well as entire trees falling over.  Many trees lost large amounts of limbs and central leaders, resulting in the entire tree needing to be removed.  The cleanup process will be lengthy, as we are currently clearing all cart paths.  We will then begin to clear debris adjacent to fairways and focus on the areas that are in play.  Here are a few photos of some of the damage...

Bunker Work

With the arrival of wet, cold weather we are able to complete some projects throughout the golf course.  One of the projects we are beginning to work on is creating a new edge on many of the bunkers.  Over time, the bunker edges deteriorate and become very ragged and inconsistent. Sand also builds up along the edges and needs redistributed. There are numerous bunkers that need improvement, therefore this will require 2-3 weeks to complete.

The photos below demonstrate a before and after of a bunker edge that was recently improved.

Turf Disease Control

This time of year in the Willamette Valley, most days consist of cloudy, wet weather.  These conditions are conducive for our most common turf disease, fusarium patch or microdochium nivale.

The past two weeks we have treated all greens, tees, approaches and fairways with a plant protectant to control this disease.  You may have noticed the blue appearance of the turf in these areas.  The blue color is simply a dye that is added to the water in the spray tank, acting as a spray indicator.  This allows the applicator to make a precise application, avoiding any overlaps or missed areas.

Tree Care

With the nice weather in early November, tree work continued using the high lift.  The lift allows us to raise the tree canopy much higher than we could from the ground.  Dead material throughout the interior of the tree is also removed utilizing the lift.  We concentrated our efforts on holes number 10, 13 and 14.

Due to the weather and wet conditions, this is the last of the pruning with the lift for 2016.  We will continue next year!

Pond Treatments

Pond maintenance can often be a time consuming, costly task.  In particular, ponds that are used for irrigation water require certain treatment at various times of the year.

Many aquatic herbicides cannot be used in irrigation ponds if the water is being used to irrigate turf, as the herbicide may cause damage to the grass.  This is the case for our 3 acre irrigation pond that lies between hole #12 and hole # 17.  Now that we are finished irrigating due to the wet weather, we are treating this pond with an aquatic herbicide to eliminate the aquatic weeds present.  This will help to clear the pond from algae and weed growth accumulated throughout the summer and start the season next year with a much cleaner pond.

This winter the golf course maintenance team will also be working to manually remove grasses growing into the water from the shoreline of many pond edges.  As well as cattail removal in the pond on hole #4.

Fall Aerification

It's that time of year to aerify and sand the golf course again.  The fairways have already been aerified and sanded.  The maintenance team is currently completing the greens, followed by the tees and approaches over the next couple of days.

The fairways are aerified with a 3/4" tine, while the remaining areas receive a 5/8" tine.  Cores are pulled and removed on all areas and then the holes are filled with sand.

Here are a few photos of the aerification and sanding process...

Tree Care

The trees on the golf course have been neglected over the years.  Many of them have large amounts of dead material in the canopy, as well as hang very low to the ground.

Our goal is to visually make the trees and the golf course more appealing, while improving the playability of the course.

The entire month of September we are working on tree care with a rented high lift. We will not finish the entire course in this time, but plan to continue this process annually.

 

Sand and Seed Party

I wanted to thank all the members who came out to help fill divots on Friday evening.  We had a great turnout, with about 40 individuals helping fill tee and fairway divots.

In total, we used almost 2,000 lbs of sand!  Thanks again for helping maintain our great golf course.

Soil Moisture

In our efforts to maintain consistency from green to green, we often use a soil moisture meter.  This tool consists of two 3" probes that are inserted into the soil and provide a digital reading of the soil moisture.

The goal is to have the soil moisture consistent throughout each green, with all the greens being as close as possible.  This will result in similar firmness and green speed throughout the course.

The moisture meter also aides in our watering practices.  The level of soil moisture is a good indicator of which greens need more or less water and specifically which areas of the greens.  This helps pinpoint areas to hand water, before the turf appears stressed.

Below is a photo of the soil moisture meter.

Putting Green Maintenance

There are obviously many practices applied to putting greens to create a good putting surface.  One very important maintenance practice that we we implement every 3 weeks, is verticutting and light sand topdressing of the greens.

Verticutting is a process where a mower equipped with vertical blades, rather than cutting reels, goes over the entire green.  The vertical blades are set at a depth of 1/16" below the mowing height.  These blades help remove thatch and old leaf blades in the turf canopy.  They also assist in standing up the grass blades, allowing a good cut on the green.

Immediately following verticutting, a light topdress of sand is applied to the entire green.  The sand is then drug into the turf canopy.  The sand assists in keeping the greens smooth, uniform and maintaining a firm surface.  A consistent program including these two important practices ultimately results in a much smoother, truer putting surface.

Below you will see a green that has been verticut.  Notice all the material on the surface that has been removed through this practice.  The second photo shows the green lightly sanded, following verticutting.

Summer is here!

The golf season is in full swing and summer is here, now that the fourth of July has passed.  One criticism that I often heard from members upon my arrival here at Shadow Hills, was the summer playing conditions.  Many members expressed that the fairways were over watered and very soft.

I believe that the golf course should play fast and firm in the summer time.  To achieve those playing conditions, there will be areas that are dry and brown.  Our antiquated irrigation system does not afford us the capability to have efficient coverage and consistency.  In other words, if everything was perfectly green, conditions would be soft and we would have numerous wet spots.  At least half of the year Mother Nature keeps the golf course too wet and green for us, forcing winter rules.

We are currently replacing nozzles in fairway sprinkler heads to improve coverage and working to eliminate problem areas where the turf is drier then desired.  Hand watering will also be implemented where necessary. 

Enjoy the bounce and roll out there!

Billbugs

Billbugs are weevils (commonly called snout beetles) that belong to the family Curculionidae that commonly infest high-cut turfgrass species. The bluegrass billbug, Sphenophorus parvulus Gyllenhal, is the most frequently encountered billbug.   Damage to turf is caused by the larval stage of this pest, as they burrow down through the grass stem toward the crown and roots. Destruction of turf roots, especially during periods of drought, will kill the entire grass plant. Billbug damage usually first appears in mid- to late June.  

Below is a photo of a Bluegrass Billbug in the larvae form and the second picture is the damage to turf that the billbugs can cause.   We are currently treating for billbugs in various areas throughout the golf course.

Audubon Certification Achieved

The Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for golf courses is an award winning education and certification program that helps courses protect the environment and preserve the natural heritage of the game of golf.  By enhancing the valuable natural areas and wildlife habitats that golf courses provide, improve efficiency, and minimize potentially harmful impacts of golf course operations, the program serves an important environmental role worldwide.

To achieve certification with the ACSP, implementing and demonstrating environmental practices in the following areas are required;

*Environmental Planning
*Wildlife and Habitat Management
*Chemical Use Reduction and Safety
*Water Conservation
*Water Quality Management
*Outreach and Education


The certification effort was led by Assistant Superintendent, Jake Witherspoon.  His time and efforts are appreciated and the golf course maintenance staff looks forward to continually maintaining the golf course in an environmentally friendly manner.

Bunkers...

Bunkers are always a talked about area of the golf course. Over time, due to washouts from heavy rains and the moving of sand from the machine rake, thin areas appear.

Currently, we are beginning to check sand depths in the greens side bunkers.  Not only are we adding new sand to the thin areas, but moving sand from areas with an abundance of sand to the areas that are in need of additional sand.  Once green side bunkers are completed we will target the fairway bunkers.

The goal is to have a consistent depth of sand in all of the bunkers, with 4 inches in the flat areas and 2 inches on the sides.  This process will take time to complete with 65 bunkers throughout the golf course, but is much needed!


 

Mowing Patterns

Many of you may have noticed some new mow patterns throughout the golf course.  Numerous fairway bunkers are located 20-30 feet from the fairway out in the rough.  In an effort to bring some of the fairway bunkers into play a little more, we have extended the fairway all the way to the edge of the bunker.  This change in mowing has occurred on #10, #11 and #15.

In addition, we have enlarged a few approach areas.  A majority of the approaches bottle neck in very narrow to the green complex.  We have extended approach mowing on #6, #12 and #16.  This change now places the small pot bunkers in the middle of the approach, rather than in the rough off to the side of the approach.

All of these areas were aerified, overseeded and sanded to promote dense, healthy turf prior to the lowering of the mowing heights.  Below are photos of the new approach area on #16 and the fairway on #11.

Spring is here!

The month of April kicks off the season for maintenance practices on the golf course.  All greens, tees, approaches and fairways have been aerified and sanded.  This cultural practice is very important in promoting turf health.  A few benefits from aerification include, thatch removal, reduction in compaction, improving drainage and allowing oxygen to the root zone.