Framingham Country Club Grounds

Cold Acclimation and Deacclimation of Annual Bluegrass and Your Golf Course

2012-02-14T08:43:00.000-05:00

What???

As everyone who has been up North knows the winter temperature swings, above average temperatures, and lack of snowfall has made 2012 a winter to remember. What you might not know is that this can cause issues for grass, specifically annual bluegrass, which is found in high percentages in the club's greens, tees, fairways, and rough. That is where the title of this blog post comes in.

Cold acclimation happens in the fall, before winter starts, where plants go thru metabolic changes that increase freezing tolerance throughout the winter. These changes include accumulating sugars, carbohydrates, and antifreeze proteins.

The deacclimation process occurs naturally as temperatures rise and plants resume growth. This results in the loss of the plant's ability to tolerate freezing temperatures. Problems occur when there are transient warm spells in the winter and early spring, tricking the plant into believing that spring is here and starting the metabolic processes that use the sugars, carbohydrates, and antifreeze proteins that were stored during the prior year's cold acclimation. When that happens, the plant is predisposed to freezing injury if temperatures drop below freezing again. Please view this presentation by Lindsey Hoffman from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst on her research with Dr. Michelle DaCosta on the Determination of Deacclimation Temperature and Duration for Creeping Bentgrass and Annual Bluegrass for a more detailed explanation.

So where does our annual bluegrass come in? Annual bluegrass is know to exhibit increased susceptibility to winter injury. We have seen that numerous times the last few years, with the greatest turf loss occurring in the winter of 2000-2001 with heavy snow and ice accumulation on the greens, tees, and fairways. As you can see on the chart below (I only included data from January 2012 to yesterday) the temperature swings this winter have been significant.

So what does all this mean and how will it effect us this spring? I'm not really sure. Research continues at the University of Massachusetts ( Dr. Michelle DaCosta and Dr. Scott Ebdon) which has shown that annual bluegrass has is very sensitive to freezing injury after mid winter thaws. Keep in mind though that their data was taken inside a greenhouse and not in the "field" and there hasn't been any research completed on the effect of greens covers on the deacclimation process.

From what we have seen when we have looked under the covers, the grass still looks dormant and the areas of concern from years past (where we have seen damage when water accumulated from rain and snow) look fine. This does not mean we don't have damage, just that it looks normal for this time of year. I am concerned about what's going on out there and posted this to keep you up-to-date on what is going on. There isn't a time frame for finding out if we have damage but typically I'll hear that there is damage appearing in the Met New York area and Connecticut before we start seeing anything. Once I hear I will let you know.

One final point on this information. We are VERY fortunate to have some of the finest researchers in the country in the Northeast and specifically at the University of Massachusetts. I am hopeful that with their continued hard work we might get more answers to the winter injury issue.

Grounds Update-Feb 10

2012-02-10T10:58:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, the winter is a time for my department to catch up on our continuing education. We all need to accumulate credits for our Mass Pesticide Licenses (all our applicators are required to pass the Mass pesticide exam and renew annually to spray at the club) and I need to take courses to maintain my Certified Golf Course Superintendent status. This past week we travelled to Providence for the 15th NE Regional Turfgrass Conference and Show. The show is the second largest regional conference in the country and the proceeds are applied to turfgrass education and research studies in New England.

On Monday I took two seminars. Advanced Nitrogen Fertilization discussed the fate of nitrogen in the turfgrass environment and potential environmental issues. Dr. Elizabeth Guertal from Auburn also reviewed organic products and the fertilizer selection process. At the second course I attended Dr. Norm Hummel discussed surface sealing of putting greens, with special emphasis placed upon organic matter accumulation, soil compaction, and sand topdressing. He stressed having a strong preventative management program in place (both aerification and light, frequent applications of sand topdressing) to correct and maintain the performance of putting greens.

Tuesday's USGA Sessions dealt mostly with issues Superintendents dealt with during the summer of 2011. Wednesday's talks were highlighted by Dr. Frank Rossi from Cornell discussion on reducing the risk of golf course management (The Bethpage Project) and what has been learned over the last 10 years and Dr. Michelle DeCosta's presentation on the factors associated with cold deacclimation of Annual Bluegrass and Creeping Bentgrass. Overall it was again one of the best run events in our area and we were all able to take something "home" to FCC to help improve both our maintenance program and ability to efficiently manage the Grounds Department.

We are looking at 2-4" of snow tomorrow. If you are out and about over the weekend drive carefully.

Course Update-February 2

2012-02-02T13:33:00.000-05:00

In case you haven't heard Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning at 7:25 a.m. and with it another 6 weeks of winter. Considering the winter we've seen so far he might not be that far off. I guess we'll see.

Now that I got that over with what's happening on the course? After yesterday's warm weather (58 degrees) I decided to take a peak under a few covers to see how they look. For the most part they look good for this time of year. The soil temps (taken at 3") under covers is 40 degrees and on uncovered greens it's 35 degrees. There isn't any visible signs of crown hydration or winter injury but we still have a long way to go so we'll keep removing any standing water when either snow melts or we receive rain. I've attached some pictures to show you what we observed.

The "old" putting green

The second green

The 12th green

The 16th green

This next shot will show you how much a cover can warm up the grass.

That's it for now. We'll continue to monitor the greens and let you know how they are making out. I'm attaching a photo taken by Golf Course Management Magazine at the Phoenix Open. The 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale is like a small city and seats more than 20,000 fans.

More Before and Afters...

2012-01-30T09:07:00.001-05:00

Continuing what I posted last week here are some photos of the course. I've tried to find the clearest photos from Google Earth that showed some of our work these last few years.

Hole 2

In 2001 you will notice the cart paths from the tee and to the left of the green. You will also see the path to the right of the 7th fairway which was removed.

2010 and the cart path is now shared by holes 2 and 7. There also is a collection area behind the green.

Hole 3

This picture is from 2008.

In 2010 you will note that we brought the approach up to the greenside bunkers to the right and left.

Hole 6

This photo from 2006

This photo from 2010 shows that the green was enlarged to the fill pad and collection area added to the back of the green. It also shows the approach bring brought up to the greenside bunkers and the cutting lines of the fairways straightened out. Trees have been added to both the right and left rough and a landscape bed was added under the power lines to hide the neighbor's back yard.

Hole 7

Image from 2007

The collection to the back of the green, started in 2001, is complete and the green enlarged. The rough leading to the left greenside bunker was brought to the hazard and the mowing lines on the fairway have been cleaned up. You will also note how much the trees have grown in along the left rough, with some now overhanging the fairway.

Hole 9

From 2005

This hole required little adjustment when reviewed by Bruce Hepner. You will note that we again brought the approach to the greenside bunkers and cleaned up some of the fairway lines.

I'll try to post some photos from the back nine later in the week.

Grounds Update January 26

2012-01-26T09:19:00.004-05:00

The weather continues to swing in every direction. Last weekend it was cold and we received snow. Most of the snow is gone, except the dusting from last night, and we are expecting a wintery mix tonight before turning to all rain tomorrow. We will be under the gun tomorrow to remove any standing water around the course before it freezes Friday night. A front will move thru Friday night with wind gusts as high a 30 mph before we move back into daytime highs in the mid 40's.

The guys continue to work inside the shop preparing for next year. I've included some pictures below.

Scratch working on hazard stakes. He is down to 3 days each week during the winter and can't wait to get back on his rough mower. He leads our effort to control costs by trying to use the same latex gloves all winter long!

Brian is working on the new break room ceiling. We tore out the old drop down ceiling and installed improved lighting so that the room doesn't feel like a dungeon. We are hoping that the room will be complete by the end of the week.

Sam and Ryan continue to work on golf carts. Only 20 left before they begin to work on the Grounds light duty utility fleet.

Pete has completed his work on all of the hand mowers. He's now working on the triplex (3 reels) mowers before beginning work on the fairway (5 reels) mowers, rough mowers, tractors, aerifiers, heavy duty utility fleet, sprayers...Needless to say Pete has his work cut out for himself!

I continue to work on our Maintenance Program for 2012. I have also been attending continuing education seminars. I was at a great one this week put on by Hart Seed dealing with soil and tissue testing and it's impact on disease occurrence and prevention. I am attending New England Grows next week for a day to take some seminars, look at new design ideas for our landscape beds, and touch base with vendors regarding the club's needs for the upcoming season.

I thought it would be interesting to show you before and after shots from some of the work we've done at the club. Google Earth now can show older views of the property and we'll start with the first hole.

Image from 2005

Image from 2010 shows the new collection area and green expansion work on the green. You'll also note the "new" tees on the 9th hole located in the natural area and the tree removals from between the 8th and 9th tees.

Golf Course Update-January 20

2012-01-20T10:21:00.001-05:00

We finally received some snow last night. The 3" that fell has been cleaned off the lots and walkways and we are prepping for more tomorrow. It will be gorgeous on Sunday before warmer temps come back on Monday. Work continues indoors for my staff with golf carts being repaired, course supplies being prepped for the summer, and reels being sharpened.

The following is the latest USGA update from Northeast agronomist Adam Moeller. It discusses the possible impact of the snow free winter we have experienced so far.

Warm, Snow-Free Weather Comes With Consequences

By Adam Moeller, agronomist, Northeast Region
January 19, 2012


The lack of snow cover and above average temperatures has been a welcomed sight for many golfers and a striking difference from the winter of 2011. Golf course superintendents, however, are keeping a close eye on the weather and how it could impact turf health for the remainder of the winter.

‘Snowmageddon’ and ‘snowpocalypse’ were frequently used terms the past two years. This winter, these terms have been replaced with ‘nice shot’, ‘good putt’, and ‘fore’ at many golf courses in the Northeast Region. Unusually warm, dry weather during December and the first half of January has provided an opportunity for some golfers to get in a game. In fact, a few courses saw 80 plus golfers during the second weekend of January when temperatures reached the 50’s. Although recent snow storms blanketed courses in southern Ontario and parts of New England, most of the region is without significant snow cover, which is not completely positive. I hate to be pessimistic, but it is important to consider some downsides to the unusual weather.

Increased winter play on the putting greens can weaken turf for next year. Because the turf has stopped growing, recovery from traffic will not occur until the spring. More traffic produces more wear, and this translates to increased need for recovery in the spring. Sometimes the amount of recovery needed is minimal, but this is impossible to predict. The bottom line is that winter play never benefits putting green conditions and higher levels this winter can contribute to less-than-ideal surfaces in the spring and summer.
The lack of a significant snow pack, combined with recent fluctuations in temperatures, leaves the turf more vulnerable to cold temperature injury. This is particularly true on Poa annua and perennial ryegrass. Large temperature fluctuations (e.g. 20 °F one day, 45 °F the next) reduce cold temperature hardiness, leaving plants more susceptible to injury from cold temperatures (e.g. < 5 °F) and crown hydration injury. Snow insulates the turf like a blanket so it is generally welcomed. The combination of recent warm days and little snow to insulate the turf is worrisome because cold temperatures are likely to develop at some point. Hopefully some snow pack develops before the cold temperature hits or insulating cover systems have been installed to protect the turf. All that said, we are in better shape at this point in winter than last year.
On a positive note, the severity of snow mold disease is much lower this year compared to 2011 given the lack of snow cover. However, according to Dr. Jim Kerns, turf pathologist at University of Wisconsin, fungicide breakdown/degradation due to the abnormal weather (primarily a soil temperature response) has likely reduced fungicide concentrations. He suggests superintendents be ready to treat for Microdochium Patch(often referred to as Fusarium patch or pink snow mold) as soon as air temperatures warm in the spring.

Although the uncertainty of the winter weather can bring some concerns, and February and early March are still ahead of us, things could be far worse at this stage of winter. For instance, in recent years ice layers have been common in several parts of the region and thankfully, few reports of this scenario exist at this point. Most putting green soils in the region are frozen which also lessens the chances for winter injury. After the record breaking heat of the last two summers and harsh winter of last year, perhaps the turf will finally catch a break. Feel free to contact us if any questions arise about snow/ice accumulation on the turf.

Today's weather

2012-01-12T12:04:00.002-05:00

Just another day in New England. The rain and snow has so far combined to give the course 0.4" of precipitation so far. The rain/snow line continues to move up and down along the Mass Pike. We are very fortunate to be on the "warm" side of the storm.

The course is clear of snow so far and my only concern is water collecting on greens. We'll be out tomorrow once the rain stops to remove any standing water to reduce crown hydration / refreezing issues that may occur once the cold weather moves in. As we have seen in year's past the annual bluegrass in the club's greens can be susceptible and must be protected.

First Post of the New Year

2012-01-10T09:05:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! I hope everyone made it through New Year safely and are looking forward to a successful 2012. I haven't posted in a while but we've been busy preparing for next year. It took over a week to steam clean all of the grounds equipment and golf carts. We try to do this during the season but the early winter steam clean is extremely important so that we can see any structural issues we will need to repair over the winter.

Peter is working on our hand mowers. Filters, belts, and oil are changed out and the reels are removed so that they can be taken apart prior to grinding. Scratch, who's work schedule has been reduced to three days each week from his usual four day a week during the golf season, is scraping, sanding, and painting the club's course supplies. He's working on hazard stakes right now. Ryan is training Sam on our golf cart repair procedure right now. Those two have a lot of work ahead of them as they look at 45 golf carts and 15 utility carts used by the Grounds staff and Pro Shop. The club has 60 carts in total in the fleet but we are planning on trading in (15) 2007's for new carts this spring. I'll take some photos of their progress to post later this month.

Brian and I have been busy closing out last year prior to starting our preparations for next year. First up is our annual report to the State of Massachusetts for our pesticide use last year. This requires compiling each individual pesticide applied last year for submission to the state. We take this from the individual spray sheets that are filled out each time we spray. These sheets not only detail total quantities used but also:

Weather conditions that existed while spraying (wind, temperature, relative humidity).
Target pests and area treated (1000 sq. feet and /or acres).
Method of application including spray pressure, spray volume, gallons per tank, and nozzle size.
Product information on the pesticide which include the name of the product, % of active ingredient and formulation, manufacturer lot number, and EPA registration number.

This information isn't due until early May but we complete it early so that we can use the report when preparing our maintenance program for 2012. In case you were wondering we are all licensed to apply pesticides in Massachusetts. It is a requirement for my Assistants when applying for employment opportunities on my staff.

Next up is finalizing budgets for submission to the club's Treasurer. I'll touch on that in a future blog post.

I'm attaching a video to this post and I hope you take the time to view it. It discusses skin cancer and I was aware of it from Pat Jones Golf Course Industry post on Twitter. Thanks for sharing it Pat.

2011-12-22T07:42:00.002-05:00

It's been very busy at the golf course lately. All of the greens have been covered for the season, our shade tees are covered, and the practice tee has been covered. We were able to get the fairways dormant fertilizer applied and are finishing our pre-emergent herbicide application today. By days end the sprayers will be winterized and put away for the season. When we come back from our holiday break we will begin breaking down equipment and course supplies, go outside when the weather cooperates to clean up some brush work, and begin the task of preparing golf carts for next season. Spray applications will be reviewed, along with all of our maintenance practices, and I'll finalize the Grounds budget and begin work on next year's schedule for my staff and all golf course work.

This extended fall has been very busy but rewarding. We have spent the last few weeks with just our year round staff ( Brian, Ryan, Sam, Pete, and Scratch ) and most days we get tasks in the morning, see each other at lunch, and then say good bye at the end of the day. It's during this time of year that I marvel at their dedication and efficiency at getting work done. These guys kill themselves all year for me and for that I am very thankful that I work with them.

From all of us on the Grounds staff we hope you and your families have a great Christmas and safe New Year.

Pat

Greens

2011-12-16T11:18:00.004-05:00

We finished covering greens yesterday. As you can imagine we were under the gun to get them completed prior to today's wind. We are back at it today with a late season topdressing of sand on tees and trying to cover some of our shade tees that have historically been slow to green up in the spring. The practice tee still remains uncovered and we won't try to tackle it until the wind dies down sometime next week. We still have some spraying to complete, with snow mold applications on fairways and our Barricade pre-emergent herbicide application in roughs. The goal is to have that done by the end of next week as well.

We had a little work to complete prior to covering the greens for the year. What follows are some photos of our process this year.

3/8" solid tine aerification to allow a little air into the root zone. This was the same aerification that was performed on 16 and as you can see below the holes heal in fast even with the colder temps...

16 green holes healing in nicely.

Looking at the 3/8" aerification from above. These very small holes will be completely healed in when covers are removed in the spring.

These holes will not heal in when uncovered. This is the nursery green, located between the 8th green and driving range, and is our main source of plugs during the summer to repair any scars found on the greens. It was heavily topdressed, seeded with new varieties of bentgrass, and covered. It was developed a few years ago with aerification plugs taken from the regular golf course greens so that any patch work will blend in quickly.

Brian applying our snow mold application on Tuesday. We allowed the spray to dry for a day prior to Sam topdressing the greens yesterday. Once the sand was applied Ryan, Brian, and I followed with the covers.

That's it for now. It's going to be cold this weekend but the course remains open with temporary greens and tees available if you need to get out of the house.

Golf Course Update December 8

2011-12-08T08:52:00.001-05:00

2010 green covers in place on December 7th

This is always the hardest call I have to make all year but it is time to start shutting down the regular greens for the season. It's been a great stretch this fall but the long term forecast is starting to look colder and the worst thing we could do it hold off covering and get caught with a snow event that doesn't melt.

The final prep prior to covering takes up to 3 days and our goal is to have them buttoned up for the season by next Friday. This weekend will be the last with regular greens and we'll move to the winter/temp greens starting on Monday December 12th. Saturday looks to be the warmer of the two weekend days with temps in the low 40's.

We cut approaches and fairways this week and once the greens are completed next week we will turn our attention to prepping tees and fairways for the winter. As many of you know we use covers on some of our weaker tees and the practice tee. Covering those areas not only gives them added protection from snow and ice issues but also gives them a head start in the spring.

Golf Course Update-December 1

2011-12-01T10:36:00.001-05:00

I can't believe it's December. We've had some great weather lately but living in New England you know it won't last long. Even with our limited staff we are trying to take advantage of it.

We cut greens this week. I never thought I would see the day where the weather in late November would make us clean up the playing surfaces. We used this as a good opportunity to apply potash to the greens before the rain the other day. This product, which is high in potassium, increases the stress tolerance of the plant as we move into winter. It was very small in size (100 SGN) and washed in without a problem.
Brian has been out fixing irrigation breaks that occurred during the system blowout last month. He's finished most of the repairs and it gives us a head start on work that usually is performed in the Spring.
Ryan and Sam have been plugging some new green areas that didn't acclimate to the lower height of cut during the season and where we had issues with the transition from collars/approaches to greens from years of topdressing sand buildup. Front nine is almost complete and they will be starting the back by lunch.
Ryan and Sam also sodded some areas that were damaged when we aerified the front nine fairways. This is work that is usually performed in the spring and should be rooting within a week or so. The sod that was installed around some of the collars is already starting to push roots. Even though they are rooting we are still ask that you refrain from hitting off these areas until they fully take.
We are also out continuing to cut up brush and branches that dropped during the early fall snow. This is on-going process that should continue until the snow starts later this month. We have also removed some trees along the 18th tee and branches that have started to overhang the tee on 5. Hopefully this will allow golfers to use the entire tee when playing the course.
Temporary greens have been cut and cups installed. When this happens I start to get the questions about when the greens will be closed. I know many clubs are using this weekend as the end of their season, having closing tournaments and closing the greens for the season. I see no need to close right now. The weather is in our favor, and if the forecast holds true, will continue into next week. We will start thinking about closing when the ground begins to freeze and snow if forecasted. When the upper root zone begins to tighten up I become concerned that we won't be able to install staples to hold the greens covers down over the winter. Please be rest assured that we won't take any chances with the covers and I will update you as the time nears to close.

I hope you have been enjoying this late Fall. As much as I would like to see some snow we are enjoying the opportunity to finish tasks that were delayed due to the weather and complete those that are usually completed in the Spring.

Course Update-November 23

2011-11-23T11:44:00.001-05:00

The day before Thanksgiving and it's quiet at the club. The course received over 1.9" of rain overnight and into this morning. We have a significant amount of standing water on the course and will not have carts available today. The temperature is dropping and it's raw outside.

This was a busy week for us on the course. We have now picked up 90% of the leaves that have dropped. We cut all our natural/fescue areas again and most of the rough was cleaned up as well. Sod was installed on some of the collars and collections repairing some of the damage from this past summer. It was very hard to find, with my supplier in Rhode Island also dealing with the wet weather, but we were able to secure some bentgrass from a supplier in Maine. If at all possible please refrain from hitting your golf balls from the sodded areas.

We are now prepping for snow removal. During yesterday's frost plow stakes were placed along our paved areas and marking where drains are located along the parking lot. Sand buckets were put out and will be filled sometime over the next few weeks. With the majority of leaf litter removed from the course we removed the leaf box from the club's dump truck and are now prepping the sander for winter use.

Sander being prepped for a long winter.

We will blow more leaves for removal next week and start spraying the course for next year. Up first is a pre-emergent crabgrass application in the main rough areas surrounding fairways. This can take up to a week to finish, depending on frost, but we have found good results from applying it now instead of early spring. We need to store the sprayers inside the heated bays this time of year to keep the lines from freezing...

We will also need to apply our snow mold application to tees, fairways, and the practice tee and our second application to greens in the coming week. What happens if you don't apply? Here is a photo from 2001 when the snow fell prior to the application.

If we have time we'll start cutting the temporary greens for the winter. Please don't take this to mean we are closing the greens. I typically wait until the forecast calls for heavy snow and the ground begins to freeze before I make the call to close. With warm temps being called for the weekend and early next week I believe we've got a ways to go prior to closing the greens and will notify everyone when we are getting close.

I hope you and your families have a great Thanksgiving.

Golf Course Update-November 18

2011-11-18T08:59:00.000-05:00

Frost this morning allows me to post some misc items on the course. We are looking at cooler weather into Sunday's brief warmup and then back to mid 40's thru Thanksgiving. My staff is out by the clubhouse picking up leaves and working their way around cart paths looking for leaves to pick up. Today is the last day for our seasonal staff.

I was able to 3/8" solid tine the new green area on the 1st green the other day. As I performed the process it dawned on me that it wasn't that long ago that it was being maintained at collar height. This post gives me the opportunity to show you how far we've come since October of last year.

These were taken June 25, 2010. The collection area was shaved down the year prior and was performing well. As you can see we have a mixed stand of annual bluegrass, bentgrass, and ryegrass in the area that we hope will some day become the edge of the green.

The next set were taken in October, when we first shaved the grass down. We aerified with 1/2" tines at 2" spacing, topdressed with sand, and overseeded with bentgrass. We are trying to remove thatch and take out any high spots that have developed after years of dragging topdressing to the edge of the green, and incorporate grass that we hope will take over the stand and provide a quality putting surface.

The next set of photos was taken on November 12, 2010. The area has been aerified again, removing more thatch, and topdressed with sand and seed. This will be the last aerification before we shut down the course for the season. Although we don't expect any seed to germinate now, we hope that under the cover the soil will be warm enough in the spring to push the seed to germinate.

April 6, 2011. Covers are off and the new green area is looking good. The first mowing of the season has occurred and there is some scalping where high spots are found. Earthworms are also being found on the new green area (but not on the green). We usually don't have worms on greens because they don't like burrowing thru the sand topdressing incorporated from years of aerification. It will take a few years for this to stop on the new green area but as we put more sand down the worms will start to stay away.

We are now into the "heat" of 2011. These shots were taken on July 5th and the surface is performing well for it's first year. We are having some thinning occur where annual bluegrass populations are high and we are plugging out any scars with plugs from our nursery. It looks better than I expected for July, and we still have a long way to go, but we are finding misplayed shots rolling off the green into the collection area.

This shot was taken November 7, 2011. It shows the high spot that we struggle with on all our expansions. This is the edge of the "old" collar where sand topdressing has built up over the years. These spots don't like the lower height of cut and scalp constantly. It takes a few years of aerification before it acclimates to the lower height of cut. It's time to aerifiy again...

November 16,, 2011. 3/8" solid tines, sand, and seed. We'll plug out some thin spots if time allows but this should be the last time we aerify this expansion before the covers go down.

There you have it. As many of you know we are still enlarging greens and creating collection areas with the long-term goal of recapturing strategic contours, putting surfaces and pin placements that were lost when the maintenance industry turned from walking greens mowers to riding "triplex" greens mowers. These expansions also allow the greens to surface drain during rain events. It takes time but you will find it is well worth it...even when your ball rolls off the 1st green!

The following link is the latest update from Jim Skorulski, senior agronomist for the USGA in the Northeast region. It discusses winter preparation for a golf course including covering greens, temporary greens, and evaluating trees. It's a good read and explains many of the things that we are doing right now at Framingham.

Have a great weekend.

Nice Forecast...

2011-11-16T13:57:00.000-05:00

...but I'm not complaining. Feels like a found day for us when there wasn't any rain in our area this morning. My guys are busy picking up leaves on the front nine and will move to the back after lunch. It's a lot easier picking them up when it isn't raining and it goes without saying that productivity is much higher when you aren't working in rain gear.

This also gave me the chance to do a little aerifying. The 16th green has struggled since I came to the club, mainly thinning in the back left and middle at times since 2000. As the years have gone by it's gotten better due to our aggressive aerification and over-seeding program. The green thrives when it's hot with no humidity and when we have a rain spell or any high humidity it begins to thin out. It is also prone to the disease anthracnose which can be very severe during the summer stress period of high humidity and when the green's surface doesn't dry out. The photos below show some if the issues we are facing.

Taken this summer. The green is in the distance.

Trees to the left of the green shade it and reduce airflow.

You would think that when the leaves are down it would help the green out. With the low angle of the sun and the towering arborvitae there isn't much relief in the fall either.

I aerified the back portion of the green with 3/8" solid tines at 2" spacing. These are the same tines that were used this fall prior to the DryJect aerification and provide an avenue for incorporating sand and seed.

Green after 3/8" solid tine. From a distance you can't tell it was aerified.

Close-up of green's surface.

Kiln dried topdressing sand is added with a small rotary spreader. After the sand application bentgrass seed is applied with a drop spreader.

Look real close and you will see a small pile of seed at the tip of the knife.

Bentgrass is really small!! There is 8,000,000 seeds in one pound of bentgrass.

After applying the seed the green was swept by hand.

Finished product.

Besides the aerifier no heavy equipment was used for this process. The green's surface is tender and I did not want anything heavy rolling over the greens. I am hoping that the some of the seed will germinate with this warm weather we have been experiencing. These holes will fill in quickly and after one mowing should have no influence on your putts.

We will be performing the same process to some of our green expansions over the coming week. I'll keep you updated as we move along.

Where do all the leaves go?

2011-11-15T11:50:00.001-05:00

This is a question I get on a regular basis. If you were out this weekend, you noticed we had a significant leaf drop with the rains on Thursday. If you go out today you probably won't recognize the course. My staff has been out the last few days blowing leaves into piles and picking them up with our large leaf vacuum. This is usually our busiest week of the year and the staff, although smaller in size, is efficient when performing their tasks.

Julio using the small 345 blower to create piles for the large leaf vac.

Ryan, Jorge, and Roel "suck" the piles with the vac for disposal.

We prep many areas on the course. Looking at least a day or two ahead we keep piles near the cart paths so that they can be picked up during rain (tomorrow's forecast) and when there are frosts (Thursday and Friday).

We use our smaller leaf vac in tight areas (hole 11 for example) where the turning radius is smaller and more difficult for the club's dump truck or near wet areas. So where do the leaves end up?

Dump to right of 7 green. This is full after over a week of heavy use.

After being pushed back by the club's skid steer.

The dump on 7 was expanded and doubled in size during the irrigation system upgrade in 2001. We also have a dump to the left of 14 but that one is used primarily for grass clipping disposal during the season. It is difficult to get to with any large construction equipment which limits our ability to push it back for any large debris. We will continue to pickup leaves all week and we are expecting more to fall with tomorrow's rain. This is the last week with the remaining seasonal staff.

The approaches on holes 15-18 were aerified today and should be cleaned up by the end of the day. We are still awaiting word from our contractor regarding rescheduling the back nine fairway aerification. If we find ourselves with time over the next few weeks we might start the work in-house with our greens aerifiers.

We will be applying a granular calcium product to the greens tomorrow. I had a soil test performed on our greens and they are low in this important macronutrient. Besides being very important for plant health and growth (aiding in the cell's ability to resist pathogens, carbohydrate translocation, protein synthesis, and enhanced nutrient uptake in roots) it is also important in correcting soils that are high in sodium. Our irrigation water is high in sodium and this readily available form of calcium should help with that issue. With the irrigation system shut down and winterized for the season tomorrow's rain should break it down and wash it into the soil.

It's going to get cold for a few days after the rain with a warming trend forecasted for early next week. I hope you get the chance to come out and enjoy the golf course.

Golf Course Update-November 11

2011-11-11T10:17:00.000-05:00

The irrigation system winterization has been completed. Although the weather yesterday was less than ideal we were able to complete the range and 16 out of 18 holes. It was a long day and my staff performed well under adverse conditions. The remaining holes have just been finished and all that is left is winterizing the pumping station. That is scheduled for sometime next week and will entail draining any water still in the station, blowing out with compressed air as needed, installing some antifreeze, and removing any components with small water inlets to keep from freezing. We'll paint the walls, floors, and station skid and close it down for the year.

A lot of leaves dropped yesterday with the rain. We still have many oaks holding strong but with the heavy winds today and tomorrow we should lose some of those as well. The entire staff is out blowing and picking up leaves but we still have a long way to go before we're done with leaves for the year. I appreciate your patience as we continue this long process.

We have a long week ahead of us next week with a reduced staff. I've been holding onto the majority of my guys because of the leaf situation but we are now stretching our labor budget and so we're losing four after today. Next week will be it for the rest of the "summer" staff and what remains is our year round staff of Brian, Ryan, Sam, Pete, and Scratch. Hopefully the weather next week will cooperate.

That's it for now. We are expecting frost both mornings so please contact the pro shop before coming to the club if you have an early tee time. Have a good weekend.

Golf Course Update-November 8

2011-11-08T09:21:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've updated the blog. I took some time off last week to work on all the projects at home that were started but never completed and I came to realize yet again what a saint I married. It's a lot like working on a golf course. As soon as one stage of the season winds down another starts picking up.

Fall is here and we've been busy on the course. Approach and collection area aerification is almost complete and we are on a standby list for the back nine fairway aerification. We'll wait a little longer before we bring out the greens aerifiers and perform the process in house. I am trying to find time to aerify collars again and some of our weaker shade tees. I've had some questions recently about some of the collars that were dinged up this past summer. As many of you know we've aerified them numerous times and they are slowly recovering. I have been waiting for my sod supplier to have a mature stand of grass available prior to sodding any of the areas but like us, the weather in RI hasn't been conducive to establishing grass. Here are a few photos of some areas that are in various stages of recover.

"Interface" area on 2 green where native soil meets the sand green root zone mix. Environmental and mechanical stresses during Summer always makes this a difficult area to manage.

New bentgrass seedlings establishing in aerification holes. They will fill in the voids over time.

Course supplies are slowly moving into the maintenance building. We've started with any items that might freeze with the colder temperatures and coolers were brought in last week and ball washers taken off yesterday. The portable restrooms have been removed and bunker rakes will be taken in over the next few weeks. All of the course supplies are broken down each winter by Scratch and repaired, sanded, and painted.

There was some damage from the snow fall last week but we were very fortunate with this one. As you have seen on the news if the storm moved 25-30 miles east we would have had significant damage. There are many courses in Connecticut still cleaning debris and without power. Here are a few photos of what heavy snow does to trees that still have leaves.

One of our favorite trees behind 7 green lost some limbs due to heavy snow. We will prune this back to see if we can get some recovery.

This tree on 6 wasn't as lucky with damage breaking off numerous branches.

The natural/fescue areas are being mowed in preparation for the winter. We have a few more areas to work on around the course and what follows are some pictures of the work completed so far.

Natural area between holes 1 and 9.

Natural area to the right of the 2nd hole.

Work continues on the range project. We haven't been lucky with the wet weather. We've overseeded the target greens numerous time trying to establish the grass and will continue into early winter working on the range. Here are a few photos of the targets.

Fescue plugs from the natural on holes 1 and 9 will form "eyebrows" and frame the target greens.

Washouts from the recent rain and snow slowing establishment.

We will be spraying our greens with our first snow mold application today. This preventative fungicide is applied to the greens to prevent the establishment of the snow mold disease and anthracnose from overwintering under snow cover. You might remember anthracnose from previous posts during the summer. It is a stress related disease which attacks annual bluegrass and I've seen it appear the first time we remove covers in the spring. Hopefully we can prevent that from happening and come out of the spring in good shape and have the grass rearing to go for the summer. The greens are looking good right now and you will see the grass turning shades of purple over the next few weeks. This is a reaction by the grass to the colder temperatures and frost. I noticed it yesterday on the putting green...

We will also be winterizing the irrigation system on Thursday and Friday. You will notice a compressor located at the irrigation system pumping station located in the parking lot. We use compressed air to remove water from the irrigation lines to prevent freezing over the winter. We have been draining the irrigation system the last few days and it usually takes 1.5 days to get thru the system. Once the system has been completed we bring in a contractor to blow out the pumping station and shut it down for the season.

Other than that we are out blowing and picking up leaves. We still have a lot of leaves in the trees but I anticipate a lot dropping with the rain on Thursday. I hope you will be able to get out the next few days. With warm weather forecasted it should be a great time to get those last few swings in before fall sets back in on Friday.

I'll see you on the course.

Pat

November 1 Course Update

2011-11-01T09:04:00.000-04:00

There still is 40-50% snow cover on the course and we are hoping for it to clear by tomorrow. The course is open for walking and we are asking you to stay off the greens with snow. We will return the flags to those greens once they are open for play.

Staff is keeping busy picking up branches, cutting back our fescue/natural areas, and blowing leaves where the snow has receded. We apologize for any inconvenience with the current condition and as soon as the ground firms up carts should be available and the course should be completely open.

Pat

2011-10-20T13:57:00.000-04:00

The sun is out, wind is blowing, and leaves are falling. I haven't posted in some time but there hasn't been much to say lately. We've had over 7" of rain in October after a rainy August and September. We need some drier weather to come thru soon.

The tees and practice tee have been aerified, the front nine fairways have been aerified, and greens DryJected. The greens are 95% healed but have started to thin due to this excess moisture. We fertilized them again this past week to keep the healing process moving, push roots, and fill in any areas that have been weakened due to the rain. We were planning on finishing fairway aerification today but had to postpone due to the rain. The list of backlogged services for our contractor is long and may make it necessary for us to complete the back nine in-house with our greens aerifiers. We still need to complete aerifying approaches but will start that once the outing schedule quiets down.

We have been doing our best with the leaves that have dropped so far. Heavy winds are forecasted for tomorrow and we will be out there with small push blowers and backpack blowers around greens and tees. Fairways and rough are more difficult due to wet ground conditions and we'll work our way around the course looking for dry areas to blow with the tractors. We have to rebuild the bunkers again so I ask for your patience over the next few days.

Other than that we've been struggling to keep the course playable with all this rain. 2.2" yesterday and we are soaked. Please refer to the pictures below for updated shots from this last storm. The range project has been put on hold until the area dries out. 4 out of 5 targets have been seeded but the area that was raised with fill and topsoil is too soft to smooth out. We've picked most of the rocks out and hopefully will be able to complete it once the ruts are removed.

Long range the forecast looks more like fall...cooler temps, no rain, and sunshine.

100 yard target after 1 triaxle of fill. We topped off with 3 triaxles of topsoil before floating the green, adding seed and aerification plugs from this fall's tee aerification.

100 yard target green. Fescue plugs were taken from the rough holes on 1/9 to create an "eyebrow" effect from the practice tee.

Seed popping on the 50 yard target green.

Luis and Roel picking up plugs along 9 fairway.

This is a new one. Standing water on the rough on 1.

The swimming pool on 16 fairway draining down.

10 fairway bunkers washed out...again.

Ryan and Julio pushing water off of 18 fairway after tackling standing water on greens.

Tee Aerification

2011-10-11T06:57:00.000-04:00

We are trying to the tees on the back nine today. This routine maintenance was scheduled for September and was rained out. We are hoping to get all the tees punched before the rain forecasted for Wednesday night into Thursday. We'll do our best to keep any disruption to a minimum.

I'm also trying to finish smoothing out the range area today. Although it was a great drying holiday weekend there is still some moisture coming to the surface which is causing the surface to be soft. Four out of the five target greens have been completed and seeded.

Golf Course Update-October 4

2011-10-04T07:33:00.000-04:00

Another day and more rain. The course took on 0.9" rain last night and we have standing water and streams moving across greens, tees, and fairways. Squeegees are out trying to get water off the greens, we're prepping the course for the ladies today, and trying to cut some rough. I'm hoping that it dries down quickly because the greens are growing pretty fast right now due to the fertilizer we added after the DryJect. Speaking of the DryJect...

One week after the DryJect was performed and the greens are over 90% healed. We had some great weather to aerify and I think using the 3/8" solid tines prior to running the DryJect on greens helped us achieve better depths ( 7-8") and incorporate more sand (+29 tons). A little sun and we should be completely healed by weeks end. After today the weather looks dry for the rest of the week with cooler temps taking over in our area before warm weather comes in for the weekend.

Unfortunately the Driving Range project is at a standstill right now. Our contractor worked on finishing the sub-grade yesterday and we hauled in a number of loads of topsoil to cap the area yesterday. They'll be working around the mud today trying to get some work completed. We still have to haul material to cap the target greens, irrigation to reinstall, and spreading the topsoil and seeding to complete. Let's hope we dry out soon.

Golf Course Update-September 30

2011-09-30T06:38:00.000-04:00

I'm glad to see September come to an end. Hopefully October will bring less rain (over 6" of rain for the month of September), warmer weather, and clear skies. More rain is forecasted for part of the weekend so please contact the pro shop if you require a cart. We will allow carts at noon on both sides today.

The greens are healing nicely after this week's DryJect aerification. We've now cut them 3 times since Tuesday and will begin putting the heavier mowers on them once they dry down from the rain. The collars were also aerified this past week and any weak areas topdressed, seeded with new varieties of bentgrass, and fertilized. We've struggled with some collars (2 and 3 in particular) this summer when traffic from double cutting to achieve decent green speeds caused the annual bluegrass to thin out. They haven't appreciated all this rain either and we are looking at plugging some of these spots out if the seed struggles to survive.

As you can imagine this rain has set our timeline for the range project back. More material was hauled in and our contractor is continuing to work the sub-grades prior to bringing in the topsoil cap. I am hopeful that we'll start hauling in topsoil Monday morning with the goal of seeding by the end of next week. I will keep you updated as the week and we ask that you continue to use caution while practicing.

We'll see you on the course.

Golf Course Update-September 26

2011-09-26T05:46:00.001-04:00

Weather looks good for today and we'll be DryJect aerifying greens today. Here are some photos of the process.

3/8" solid tine prior to DryJect.

DryJect on left. Excess sand in brushed in after drying.

Prior to brushing on the 8th green.

8th after brushing in one direction.

Putting surface after brushing. Greens are fertilized and watered in after.

Golf Course Update-September 24

2011-09-24T05:39:00.000-04:00

The course received over 1.5" of rain last night. There will be no carts all day on the golf course, we are unable to cut greens this morning, and are trying to change cups right now.

I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

Pat

Range Project Update

2011-09-23T09:23:00.000-04:00

The following are pictures from the range project. So far this week they have brought in over 2000 cu. yards of material. It's a very exciting project for us as this will upgrade of our practice facility dramatically for very little cost to the membership.

Range before fill arrives.

As of Friday morning.

Slowly raising low spot in range.

Raised approximately 5 feet so far.

Target green subgrade prep

Target green profile. Need to bring in additional fill to "show" green prior to installing topsoil.

We are out cutting the entire course again today. Little or no rain so far will allow us to prep course for weekend play. There is a flood watch out for our area tonight and into tomorrow morning so please make sure to call the pro shop each morning this weekend if you require the use of a golf cart.

Marking heads around the greens today as we prep for the aerification on Monday. The decision to move forward, as previously discussed the other day, won't be made until Monday morning.

Enjoy the first day of Fall.

Golf Course Update-Sept 22

2011-09-22T06:45:00.000-04:00

The forecast doesn't get any uglier than this with a chance of rain all the way thru Wednesday of next week. Ponds have been lowered but as many of you have seen the course doesn't dry out well in the fall. Lower sun angles, cooler temps, shading by trees, and less daylight all combine to slow the dry down time. On Tuesday the course received 0.1" of rain and ground conditions quickly deteriorated, becoming sloppy with mud coming to the surface when carts were driven on the course. We got lucky last night, received less than 0.1" of rain, and we are out right now trying to prepare for today's Member-Guest. The radar so far looks good with most of the rain out in the western part of the state. I hope it stays there all day.

We have a busy couple of days starting Saturday with regular Men's play in the morning, the Ladies Solheim Cup in the afternoon, Member's shotgun Sunday at 8 a.m. and an outing on Sunday afternoon. Please know that we will do our best to have carts available for use over both days. Hopefully the weather cooperates.

Greens are scheduled to have the DryJect performed on Monday and Tuesday. I have been in contact with our contractor and as long as it isn't raining we can move foreword. Because it is necessary to inject kiln dried sand, any moisture at all will reduce the effectiveness of the DryJect and will need to reschedule to a date later in the fall. I'll let you know as we get closer to Monday.

The range project continues and over 2000 cu. yards of material has been brought in. Material was brought in for the target greens yesterday afternoon and we are hoping to have the sub-grade shaped this morning. Please continue to use caution when hitting balls off the range tee.

Have a good day.

Range Project Update

2011-09-20T08:29:00.000-04:00

I wanted to add some pictures after day 1 of the range fill project. The goal is to fill in the hollow, approximately 150 yards out, so that members can see their shots land in the range. Target greens will be formed to give you a better practice experience. It will take some time to bring in the fill (over 7,000 cubic yards) but it will be well worth it once the project is completed.

From the tee prior to fill arriving.

Adding a road. Although the area hasn't been watered since our last rain the trucks were bogging down.

After day one (and about 650 yards of fill.)

We are keeping the range tee open during the project and ask that you use caution when our contractors are on the range. We do not want anyone to get hurt while working and ask that you use your best judgement when hitting as the work progresses so that we can continue to keep the tee open. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

Golf Course Update-Sept 15

2011-09-15T07:46:00.000-04:00

2011 JoAnne M. Sullivan
Memorial Play for Pink
Charity Event
September 15, 2011

I apologize for not posting these last few days. We've been busy on the course and are very close to being back to normal. We have a few piles left from Irene to pickup on the course near the 4th tee and will begin picking up the pines at the Gates Street entrance during frost delays. The greens are now at the pre-Irene heights and we've been double cutting the last two days to increase their speed for the weekend. I'm hoping to lightly topdress them on Monday before the outing at 1 p.m. to further smooth them out. Greens, tees, and approaches have been sprayed and the practice tee has been aerified. It will be fertilized after today's outing goes off.

The weather looks spectacular after today and I think fall is finally here. With that there are some things that you should know about over the next few weeks.

The golf course will be closed on September 26 and 27 for greens aerification. As we've discussed before ( DryJect Post-June 17 ) we are using the DryJect this fall instead of the Drill and Fill. We will be solid tining the greens first with 3/8" tines to relieve the surface tension, allowing the DryJect to penetrate the green's root zone at a greater depth. The DryJect will follow and any sand left on the surface will be allowed to dry. The greens will be seeded, brushed in, fertilized, and watered. This is a very labor intensive process but if we have time we'll be aerifying the collars and approaches as well those days. I'm hopeful that the weather cooperates and we get it all done in two days.
The fairway aerification from the spring has been rescheduled to October 18 and 20. The golf course will remain open and we will work on 9 holes each day. I'll keep you updated as we get closer to the dates.
Tee aerification has not been rescheduled yet. If you look on the club calendar you'll notice that we are pretty busy with member events and outings. If we can't find some time we'll begin picking away at a few tees a day until we finish them all.
Work will begin over the next few weeks on the driving range. The club is bringing in some fill to build target greens and raise the low area about 170 yards out from the tee. There will be trucks bringing in material and a bull dozer grading the area during the renovation. We are trying to keep the range open during the renovation and I ask that you use caution while the machines are out working.

I hope you enjoy this first taste of fall. We'll see you on the course.

Golf Course Update-Sept 11

2011-09-11T07:39:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was a good drying day at FCC. We still have a lot of wet areas out there, with our main choke points being 12, 13, 14, and 18. For that reason we are making carts optional again today. Thanks to those who walked yesterday morning and also those who took carts. As I was driving around this morning adjusting cart signs and ropes I didn't notice any significant damage. I'm hoping I find the same again tomorrow.

We are double cutting greens as we begin the process of lowering to our pre-storm heights. Hopefully with drier air and no rain forecasted for the next few days it will be a quick process. Thanks again your continued patience.

We've got a very busy morning tomorrow as we prepare for an outing that tees off at 12:30. We finally should be able to get on greens to spray them and need to cut the entire property in time for their shotgun. I'm hoping to aerify the practice tee as well so we'll have it shut down after the outing tees off for about an hour.

I hope you find the time on this day of remembrance to spend some quality time with family and friends.

Golf Course Update-Sept 10

2011-09-10T06:50:00.000-04:00

Golf carts are optional today and available on both sides. Please use caution on the course as ground conditions are still pretty sloppy out there. Remember to keep carts on paths, outside roped areas, and in rough wherever possible.

We ask that you be vigilant in your ball mark repair. The greens are VERY soft and wet and will ball mark easily. Until they start drying down we will not be able to lower our mowing heights and increase their speed. Your patience is greatly appreciated.

Have a good day.

Pat

Golf Course Update-September 9

2011-09-09T07:22:00.000-04:00

We are out cutting today and trying to fix bunkers. Carts will be made available for members at noon on the front nine only. There will be no carts on the back nine today. Do your best to stay in rough, on paths, and out of roped areas whenever possible.

Please remember to fix your ball marks. Greens are extremely soft. Also we have seen a lot of drag marks on greens from members dragging their feet when walking on greens. Anything you can do to keep these marks to a minimum will be greatly appreciated.

I will update the pro shop and this blog regarding cart availability for tomorrow. The course is draining well and I anticipate a decent day of drying with the weather forecasted for today. Stay tuned.

Golf Course Update-September 8

2011-09-08T13:30:00.000-04:00

The storm seems to have slid off the coast and after taking a tour of the course this is what I am seeing...

View from 14 tee. Water draining off from neighbors and down the fairway.

Water in pond on 13 moving closer to 13 green.

13 Green surface draining into pond. When water levels are this high in the pond it often times is very difficult to have the green root-zone dry out. It will take a few days.

Rough will be a little "rough" outside the bunker surrounds. We'll be back at it tomorrow a.m. but there will be some areas on the course that are just too wet to be cut.

The walking bridge on 13 holding strong.

Water level in pond on 18. Almost to the top of the bank even with boards removed.

Water moving across 12 fairway from 15th hole.

12 green standing water

Bathtub bunker on 16 fairway.

If you've been following the last few days the course had received about 2" of rain before this morning. We took on an additional 1.4" today. I'm hearing that the clouds might part today and we might get some sun this afternoon. The course is closed until 2 p.m. so that we can allow the greens to try and dry down and the range has been closed for the day because ground conditions are too soft and balls are plugging.

We'll be back at it tomorrow. Our goal is to cut greens, tees, fairways, and approaches and try and cut as much rough as possible. We are asking that all play in the morning start off the first tee. Many of the fairways on the front and all on the back need to be cut with lightweight triplex greens mowers and will take some time. All the fairways and much of the rough will also need to be blown off. If we can get out in front of play and are able to stay in front of the members it will be a faster process and will enable my staff to get to secondary jobs that need to take place prior to the weekend.

The greens will be SLOW for the next few days. Without hot days and high winds they will hold the moisture and until they begin to dry down we can not be aggressive with the height of cut or double cutting. The greens will easily ball mark and I ask that you do your best to fix ball marks on your greens.

The bunkers vary in the amount of work necessary to fix them and make a presentable playing surface. Many now have standing water and have washed out. Stones will be evident in the bunkers as will sediment from the surrounds that washed into them. After this storm we will have rebuilt/restored the bunkers 5 times now with over 50 tons of bunker sand.

I'll have a better feel for weekend cart availability tomorrow. As I stated before the course is extremely wet and we are only cutting fairways because they haven't been mowed since Tuesday. In a perfect world we would mow them Saturday morning but there just isn't enough time on weekend mornings to get them done ahead of play. As soon as I know about carts I will inform the pro shop, post the info on this blog, and use my Twitter account to get the word out.

As frustrating as this week has been for us I try to keep in mind those that were effected by Irene. From what I seen from golf course blogs along the East Coast we've been very lucky. We'll do our best to put the place back together over the next few days.

Golf Course Update-September 7

2011-09-07T14:12:00.000-04:00

Not much you can really say about this weather. Yesterday the course received over 0.9" of rain before we left for the day. As of right now we have received an additional 0.9" of rain with a heavy band of mist/rain right now. This is a soaking rain and the course is extremely wet. As you can see from the pictures below we've got a lot of standing water out there.

The cup in the 13th green. No standing water yet on the green but foot traffic brings casual water to the surface and puddles are evident in both the approach and bunkers.

18 fairway. Nothing new here.

Fairway bunkers on 12. Many of the bunkers across the course have water seeping to the surface due to the lack of drainage.

Standing water near cart path entrance on 5 fairway.

Standing water on 5 fairway and a few hearty souls playing golf in the distance.

We are still continuing to cut up and remove debris from Irene, cut rough by hand, and cut any playing surface that doesn't have standing water.

Flymo crew cutting bunkers on 15. Rotary work was completed yesterday and they should have most of the hand work completed by the end of the day.

Ryan and Sam working on cutting pines at Gates Street entrance.

I'm still amazed that these pines, one on each side of the main power feed to the club, didn't drop across the lines.

How is this moisture, and the over-saturated ground conditions, effecting the golf course? We are beginning to see some mechanical damage due to mowers, thinning on greens, collars, collection areas, and fairways, and chlorotic (yellow) turf.

Unfortunately when we have a long duration storm sometime during it we will need to cut the grass. If we wait a number of days the grass will scalp when cut and although we raise mowing heights the grass is still soft and will have some damage due to mowers cutting and turning on the grass. The following is a shot of some damage that we are seeing.

Saturated collar thinning due to greens mower traveling across, scalping from approach mower, and foot traffic from both members and staff.

The greens thin and turn yellow where drainage is less than adequate, sunlight doesn't reach the plant, and heavy traffic occurs from staff and members. The newer varieties of bentgrass that we are seeding into the greens are less susceptible to this due to their aggressive nature and ability to outcompete the annual bluegrass that is found in our greens. Most of these areas will be fine when the sun comes out, they dry out, and we are able to apply some granular fertilizer later in the month prior to the DryJect greens aerification. Until that time comes we'll be applying light applications of soluble and foliar fertilizers along with our plant protectants. Here is a photo of some thinning on a green.

The 2nd and 3rd greens are beginning to thin out. The annual bluegrass is yellow and more susceptible to this than the bentgrass which is green.

This is another example where too much of one thing is not good. We are doing our best and will work hard the next few days to prepare the course for member play but what we need now more than anything is for the rain to stop, the sun to come out, and some wind to help us dry down. Thanks for your continued support as we work to get the course back into shape.

Tee Aerification Update

2011-09-06T08:41:00.000-04:00

Due to heavy rain the tee aerification that was scheduled for today has been postponed. We'll see if we can aerify some tomorrow. Luckily tees are not contracted out and can be completed while to course is still open.

We're busy performing some of the trim work that couldn't be completed last week during the storm cleanup. The schedule at the club is pretty busy this week with the Northeastern outing scheduled for Thursday at 1 p.m. We'll have a lot of work to do to catch up for lost time due to Labor Day and today.

Golf Course Update-September 2

2011-09-02T10:04:00.001-04:00

We just were hooked up by NStar and I'm happy to report that irrigation heads can now be run thru the computer and your water will be cool from the coolers on the front nine.

We're finishing picking up piles today and trying to prep the course for the weekend. We still have some cleanup to complete next week around the edges but we're close. The greens are at their pre-Irene mowing height and hopefully you'll find a difference in their speed.

I want to thank my staff for all their hard work this week and the membership for your support. A special note of thanks to my key staff members as they kept the place alive during some extremely difficult conditions. Brian, Ryan, Pete, Sam, and Brigham (who is returning to UMass next week to finish his degree in Turf) really outdid themselves this week and I've never been more proud of them or more happy to have them working with me at the club.

A special thank you to my family for putting up with me not being around a lot this week. As many of you know the support structure at home is just as important as it is at work and I find myself absent a lot during the summer. I couldn't do what I do at work without my wife. I'm lucky I have her.

Have a good weekend and we'll see you out on the course.

Golf Course Update-September 1

2011-09-01T06:08:00.000-04:00

Good Morning,

A quick update on how we are progressing on the cleanup. All of the bunkers have been completed, with sand pushed back up on the banks, packed, sand levels checked and raked. There may be some small rocks still in the sand as there is no way to get every last one out. The bridge on 13 was reset and reopened yesterday morning.

We are still waiting for NStar to restore the electricity to the front nine irrigation and water coolers on the front nine. We were able to restore power to the back nine irrigation system last night after a bad electrical splice had grounded out when flooded. Right now we are hand watering greens and turning heads on manually on the front. I appreciate your patience as we work our way thru this difficult situation.

We are cutting the entire golf course today and will be back picking up piles.

Golf Course Update-August 31

2011-08-31T08:22:00.000-04:00

Two days since cleanup began and we are starting to make some progress in restoring the course to pre-Irene condition. All of the playing surfaces were cut yesterday along with some rough, blowers were out again blowing off fairways and rough, and most of the debris around the course has been blown into tree lines and into piles. Here's where we stand this morning:

1. I am still waiting for NStar to come out to fix the downed wire that controls irrigation on the front nine along with the water coolers on 3/7 tees and 3/5 greens. I spoke with a representative early this morning and a work order has been put in to replace the service. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's operational by days end.

We are also having storm related issues with the power for the back nine which is fed by the Willow Brook. I have the club electrician reviewing it but as of right now even though we have water in all the lines we only have the irrigation controllers on holes 13 and 14 operational.

2. We are slowly bringing the mowing heights down on the greens mowers. As I posted yesterday we are concerned about scalping the greens after not cutting since Saturday morning. The greens did not being cut yesterday and we found a significant amount of surface wilt yesterday afternoon. They have bounced back and are being hand watered this morning to help those areas get thru the day today.

3. We have two trees left to cut down and remove dangerous hangers. One near the 6th cart path was especially difficult to get down yesterday as it was hung up on another tree. A little creative work with the club's skid steer helped knock it down without putting any members of my staff in danger.

4. The walking bridge near the 13th green should be reset by days end after being washed out with the heavy flow thru the brook on 18.

5. We have a crew repairing greenside bunkers and were able to get holes 2-11 fixed yesterday. My goal is to complete work on the back today and start work on fairway bunkers by tomorrow at the latest.

6. We have two crews picking up piles of branches and other debris. It's a daunting task but the staff is moving as fast as possible to complete it and we are concentrating on the golf course first before returning to the Parker Road entrance piles.

Golf Course Update-August 30

2011-08-30T06:35:00.000-04:00

Good Morning,

The wind yesterday helped out the drying process on the course and we'll be allowing carts on both nines today. Some things that you should be aware of:

1. All playing surfaces are being cut today. Unfortunately due to the excessive moisture and debris from the storm we were not able to cut yesterday. The greens are long and are being cut at a higher height than usual to prevent scalping. I anticipate having the height of cut back to normal by the end of the week but you should be prepared for slower than normal greens.

2. There are still some trees and stumps that need to be removed from the course and a tremendous amount of debris to be picked up. We are doing our best to restore the course to pre-Irene condition but it will take some time.

3. We will start bunker repair today. This will take some time due to washouts and sand contamination with rocks and soil.

4. We are still awaiting NStar's arrival to fix a power wire that provides electricity to not only the front nine irrigation system but also the water coolers located at tees 3/7 and greens 3/5. I have called them numerous times and have not been given a time frame for the repair.

Please feel free to contact me at the club if you have any questions.

Pat

Irene Pictures

2011-08-29T08:13:00.000-04:00

Gates Street Entrance

Parker Road Entrance

Pool Slope

Pines at Gates just missed power lines.

Pines at Gates

Deck area

Cart Path on 2

4th hole

5th hole

5th Hole

8th Hole

9th Hole

16th Hole

18th Blue Tee

Irene Cleanup

2011-08-29T04:48:00.000-04:00

Like many of you I don't have power at my house. I sent my family to RI to stay with family and woke up this morning at 3 to no power again. Hopefully by the time I get home I'll have power but I'm not betting on it. With three power lines down within a half mile it will probably be a few days.

We'll start cleaning up from the entrance out to the course. From what I have seen so far there are many branches/limbs down around the entrance and clubhouse. We lost the RCN cable that feeds the club ( I'm on a separate feed at my building ) and we should be up and running by the end of the day. We are lucky that we have power.

The course received over 4.5" of rain from the storm but as I anticipated the wind damage will be the biggest hurdle to get over. Obviously we won't be carts today and until the sun is up I won't be able to full assess the situation on the course. I'll try to update you later this morning with pictures.

Prepping for Irene

2011-08-25T08:24:00.000-04:00

How do you prep for a Category 2 storm that is forecasted to throw 70 mph winds at you along with 4-10" of rain?

Step 1: Spray every playing surface. Greens are being sprayed today with a combo of fungicide and foliar fertilizer. Tees, practice tee, approaches, and fairways were sprayed earlier this week. A storm of this size can move a significant amount of disease spores from the South when it hits. With the rain it also might take some serious dry down time before we can put a sprayer on any playing surface.

Step 2: All chainsaws, blowers, pumps, and generators are tuned up with extra blades for chainsaws on hand. No explanation needed here.

Step 3: Both dumps have been pushed back to make room for any storm debris.

Step 4: All fuel tanks are topped off and every can of gas is full in case we lose power. All mowers are filled prior to the storm.

Step 5: All pond water levels are dropped, including the irrigation pond, and the fountain in the pond on 13 will be shut off. The quicker we can get the water off the property the better.

Step 6: Greens, tees, and approaches will be cut on Saturday. Unfortunately we don't have enough daylight to cut fairways with the early weekend tee times. Fairways are being cut both today and Friday and a growth regulator was included with the fairway spray earlier this week.

Step 7: Pins are removed from greens late Saturday. I'm sure there will be plenty of debris flying around. No need to add the pins to the mix.

Step 8: We close the Grounds department down for Sunday morning. With the storm starting on Saturday there is no need to have the staff in on Sunday a.m. This could change if the track changes over the next day but should know better by tomorrow morning where it will hit.

The projected path is thru Worcester which puts us on the windy side of the storm. Let's hope it looses some steam when it crosses North Carolina and New York.

I'm glad that week is over

2011-08-23T11:06:00.000-04:00

I knew when I was called last year by the USGA that last week would be busy but I didn't expect all that rain. The O'Reilly went well, even after 0.5" of rain after only 5 holes on Friday called the players off the course and allowed them to see the benefits of the last three year's Drill and Fill. They had a long day on Saturday and lucky for me took great care while driving on the course. Thanks to all participants for their help.

The course got hit with a passing shower on Sunday afternoon, missed the rain entirely Sunday night, and were able to get out on the course early yesterday morning to get it prepared for the qualifier. If you click on the link below you'll see the course stats from the event. Congrats to Victor Galvani for taking one of the spots after making birdie on the first in a playoff.

USGA Mid-Am Course Stats

The course now takes a breather with cooler air over the Northeast. We are cutting rough, spraying wall to wall, and prepping for Friday morning's outing and Hurricane Irene? As far as the weather is concerned nothing would surprise me this year.

The following link is from Dave Oatis, Director of Northeast Agronomists for the USGA. It talks about some of the issues we've faced over the course of this year and tells us that even though the weather has been in our favor the summer isn't over yet.

USGA Greens Section August Update

Golf Course Update August 16

2011-08-16T06:29:00.000-04:00

More rain in our area yesterday and the course received over 1.6" of rain. That's over 6" of rain since last week and more is forecasted for today and later in the week. Needless to say we are pretty wet out there and carts are restricted to the front nine only today. My apologies to the ladies who are taking part in the Best of Team event and all those who are planning on venturing out this afternoon. Based upon the rain totals I am seeing around our area we were lucky to only get the 1.6"

We were able to cut greens, tees, fairways and approaches yesterday before the heavy rain hit. We are trying to trim around bunkers today, cleanup some rough on flat areas, weedy around tree lines and rocks, and begin other tasks as we prepare for the O'Reilly on Friday and Saturday and the USGA Mid Am on Monday. Greens are being cut from the front to the back as we wait for them to drain down.

It's going to be a busy week. I'll try to keep you updated as we move along.

Golf Course Update August 12

2011-08-12T10:58:00.000-04:00

The air has now been clear for a couple of days and the course is finally drying out. This is huge for the golf course, as we have been fighting to control growth across all playing conditions, when we have been able to mow have gotten a "sloppy" cut, and we need to dry down prior to the next rain forecasted for Sunday into Monday. It doesn't help that next week is again pretty busy at the club with an outing on Monday, Ladies 9-H Club Championship and mini outing on Wednesday, Patriot 4-Ball on Thursday, The O'Reilly starting on Friday into Saturday, finishing with the USGA Mid-Am Regional qualifier on August 22. It will certainly be a busy week on the Grounds side.

I mentioned a few posts ago that steps might need to be taken to alleviate the saturated conditions and to get some air into the root zones. We again went after some collars and approach areas that have been fading this past week, aerifying and adding sand/seed/fertilizer to the voids. Many of the spots that were tackled a few weeks ago have started to bounce back and I anticipate these will soon as well. Here's a shot of Ryan, Sam, and Brigham tackling the 13th approach.

One green that I have been very concerned with these last few days is 16. As many of you know growing environment is most important factor for the health of a green. The 16th, with the green location within the "pocket' of trees limiting both sunlight and air movement, is in a less than ideal spot. The following are shots of 16.

Here is Brian spraying the green. Since I've come to the club the trees to the left and behind the green have grown up and into the green creating a less than ideal growing environment.

Looking back really shows off the pocket where the green resides.

We are constantly watching this green, keeping water to a minimum and adding additional fertilizer and plant protection applications to keep it going. However the rain we received since Sunday has begun to make the back of the green waterlogged. To alleviate this issue we vented that area with needle tines this morning.

Needle-tines on aerifier.

The green after venting with needle-tines.

Close-up look at holes on the putting surface.

This venting process not only will dry the area down but also allow air to penetrate to the roots. The void also fill with new roots as the night time temperatures cool during the next week.

The beginning of the weekend looks good with temps in the middle 80's. Rain is expected again sometime Sunday afternoon. Hopefully Mother Nature will be kind to us this time. Please remember to fix your ball marks, replace your divots when soil is visible on the divot, rake bunkers, and...

Please keep carts out of the natural areas!

PGA Championship

2011-08-11T05:34:00.000-04:00

If you were watching the Golf Channel, or listening to ESPN Radio this morning on the way to work, you've probably heard about the damage that happened to a couple of greens at Atlanta Athletic Club during the evening maintenance of the golf course. Here are a couple of photos courtesy of Seth Jones, Editor-In-Chief of Golfdom.

Seth has a great behind the scenes look at the maintenance of the golf course. Read along with me at Golfdom. We don't have the first round of the PGA but I've got to get onto the golf course as we prepare for the Ladies Invitational that tees off at 8 a.m.

Golf Course Update August 10

2011-08-10T10:08:00.000-04:00

Brian trying to get water off of 12 green.

Another 1.75" rain last night brings our total to over 4" rain since Sunday. We are at beyond field capacity and most greens are now fully saturated. We need some cool, clear air soon since this humid air will not allow the course to dry out and increases the incidence of disease. With that said where do we go from here?

For today we are not allowing golf carts on the back nine. Carts should be kept on cart paths and in the rough whenever possible and out of roped areas on the front side. We are trying to cut greens on the front nine now and will cut only 10, 11, 14, 15, and 18 on the back. With ground conditions like these the greens can be scalped and we will be very cautious with them today. We are trying to hand mow all tees and approaches and cutting the fairways on the front with lightweight triplex mowers. You are now probably saying to yourself "Why cut at all? Just do it tomorrow." I would like to but we have the first round of the Ladies 9-hole Club Championship this morning and tomorrow we have the Ladies Invitational with an 8 a.m. shotgun followed by the Men's Patriot 4-Ball.

Here are a few shots taken early this morning.

13 green. Saturated green and standing water in the bunkers and approach.

Standing water found in both greenside bunkers on 14.

Right rough on 15th hole with standing water. Unfortunately with the present conditions we have no place to send carts from 15 tee to green.

The turkeys love the water on 12 fairway but the turkey taking the picture isn't too happy.

Even though this is a regular occurrence I'm still amazed at the amount of water that can be found in the bunkers on 16 fairway.

Another regular occurrence when water is found on 18 fairway during a rain event. Brigham, Sam, and Ryan are trying to squeegee these spots right now so that when the sun appears we do not get any scald on them.

Standing water on 5 fairway. With all the ledge under this fairway there just isn't anyplace for it to go.

I'll try to update you tomorrow to how we are making out and any long-term issues I see with the weather conditions that we are facing right now.

Course Update...August 9

2011-08-09T13:21:00.000-04:00

We are half way thru Tuesday and wanted to update everyone on the course. As you might have seen on my Twitter updates (you can receive my updates if you click on the link to the right) the course received 2.2" rain from Saturday night into Sunday. The course drained reasonably well and we were able to cut the entire golf course yesterday (some fairways were soft and needed to be mowed with lightweight triplex mowers) before the outing which teed off at 9:00 a.m. The course received an additional 0.2" rain from some hit or miss storms yesterday afternoon and was dry in time for the start of today.

Today we were out cutting greens, trying to catch up with rough around greens and fairways, trimming around bunkers and tees and starting to trim the hazards on the back nine. We were able to keep away from the Ladies golf and their first round of the Club Championship and I now have some of the staff out "dry" cutting and tractor blowing our wet fairways as we prepare for the next round of storms tonight and tomorrow. The forecast continues to fluctuate between heavy rain and showers and we'll know which forecast is right once tomorrow comes.

I'm disappointed with the weather so far this week. I hoped to miss some of the rain and groom the greens followed by a light topdressing Monday as we set ourselves up for next weeks O'Reilly and the USGA Mid-Amateur Regional qualifier on August 22. If the weather cooperates tomorrow and the storms hit us late morning I might try to sneak out and topdress the greens before the Ladies 9-Hole Club Championship.

Either way this rain will help some of the scars on the course recover from the heat in July. It also enabled us to hold off on irrigation on the course and flushed some of the salt buildup on greens that occurs when we are pulling irrigation water from the pond on Gates Street. The fertilizer applied to rough a few weeks ago is working and should any cart/traffic related issues bounce back as well.

The following link is from the Grounds Department of the Atlanta Athletic Club, site of this week's PGA Championship. It gives a behind the scenes look at the Grounds Department from the perspective of Ken Mangum, CGCS Director of Golf Course and Grounds. Although I have not met Ken in person, he's one of the leaders in the Superintendent industry (former president of the Georgia GCSA and a board member of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America). I hope you take the time to have a look at the blog.

Atlanta Athletic Club Grounds

How Do You Know The Greens Are Fast?

2011-08-06T13:41:00.000-04:00

Replacing you divot...

...on the 11th Green?

Really? This divot was taken out of the 11th green this morning (August 6th). It wasn't taken out during an outing. It was taken by a member while playing with other members. The pin was difficult, as pin #2 is on 11, but in no way should a divot be taken out of the green by a putter after a missed putt. I'm not sure what else to say.

Golf Course Update August 5

2011-08-05T06:32:00.000-04:00

The first week of August is almost over and the weather has been good to us at the club. The humidity has been at acceptable levels, nights have been on the cool side, and daytime highs have bounced around from the upper 70's to upper 80's. The wetting agent that was applied to the greens has allowed us keep the greens firm thru this stretch, with overhead ( sprinkler ) irrigation being used only once at night. We are still watering tees, fairways and rough and regularly, mainly to allow turf that has been stressed by increased cart traffic to rebound and keep the seed found in our divot mix wet allow them to germinate and grow.

If you've been out on the course you will notice that we have aerified some of the collars and approaches on Wednesday. This was in response to the stress that has been placed on them by increased foot traffic and compaction from double cutting with the club's hand mowers. Many of these spots were hard as concrete and instead of watching them thin out like last year we aerified them with 3/8" hollow tines, removing the plugs and topdressing with a mix of sand, seed, and organic fertilizer. We also applied a spray to them yesterday with a combination of plant protectants and soluble fertilizer to foster root growth. I've already noticed a big difference in how they look after "airing" them out and expect them to bounce back fully by next week.

We are still plugging out some of the green expansions out on the course, mostly depressions that may influence your ball roll, and although some of these areas are off color they are still establishing and becoming acclimated to the low height of cut. We sprayed them yesterday with the collars that were aerified to keep them healthy. As most of you know it takes a few years until they are perfect and we'll be aggressively aerifying and over-seeding them once the golf calendar slows down.

Finally there is a sense of normalcy back at the club...

The Clambake tees off at 1 p.m. so I need to get back on the course. Looks like a great weekend for some baseball and although the forecast is calling for rain on Saturday night into Sunday, should be a good weekend for some golf as well. I'll see you on the course.

A Busy Week

2011-07-29T10:15:00.000-04:00

It's Friday and we are preparing for the rain that is forecasted for this afternoon and tonight. All of the playing surfaces are being cut, with the greens cut twice again in preparation for the scratch Club Championship. Fairway divots are being filled, hazards and drops painted, and rough is being cut.

We are also applying a wetting agent to greens today. This product will reduce water repellency ( up to 10 times over a check plot ) and allows the greens to accept water more efficiently. This will help out if we receive heavy rain today and will allow the water to penetrate to where stressed turf needs it most. This application also helps our localized dry spots (LDS) on greens and should work in our favor once the heat starts up again on Saturday. We'll also "spot" apply this products on our fairway rock spots, drains, and some tees that have been giving us a hard time. This will be the third time we have applied the wetting agent to greens.

Please check out the link below from Adam Moeller, USGA Northeast Region Agronomist, on what is going on around our area. Adam visits many courses during the summer and has a good feel for what others are dealing with.

USGA Agronomy July Update-Adam Moeller

We are in for a hot stretch this coming week. Please remember to do your part on the course fixing ball marks, filling and replacing divots, and staying outside of roped areas. We appreciate your help and I hope you enjoy the weekend.

Golf Course Update-July 26

2011-07-26T08:48:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was a busy (and unseasonably cool) day on the course. We were closed until 12 p.m. when a NEPGA junior tournament took over the first tee. With that event, and the rain that was forecasted for the afternoon, we had a short window of opportunity to do a lot out there.

We started by spiking all the greens in one direction. This was discussed on a previous post and the greens were firm enough to handle the machine running across the green. The following are what the greens looked like after the spiking.

Green surface right after spiking process

The spiker was followed by a single cut with the greens mower. Ryan then followed the mowers with a light sand topdressing which was watered in. Brian sprayed the greens next with a plant protectant and growth regulator to tighten up the putting surfaces. The next photo is what the greens look like this morning. I expect by Thursday the greens will be fully healed.

Green surface one day later.

We followed the greens spray with a practice tee and golf course tee spray, applying another plant protectant, growth regulator, and fertilizer.

Today we are at it again. Overnight the course received 0.2" of rain and the sun is coming out and 80's are forecasted along with a chance of storms this afternoon. We are treating approaches and collection areas for crabgrass. Bunker and tee banks are being mowed, rough is being cut, and if time allows traffic areas will be fertilized.

As you can see we are trying to take advantage of the cooler weather to get some much needed maintenance done and perform tasks to both aid in recovery and help get us thru the remainder of the season. In case you were wondering, rooting is still good on the greens with 2-2.5" depth. The following is a shot from the 18th green.

18 Green roots

Golf Course Update-July 22

2011-07-22T10:19:00.000-04:00

It's a balmy 90 degrees at FCC, with heat index at 104, and we haven't even reached 10 a.m. yet. It's going to be a long day. The course is holding up well with this heat with only rocks and drains beginning to show in fairways and rough. Cart traffic is driving us crazy right now and hopefully with some cooler weather next week we'll be allowed to fertilize those areas to have them rebound a little. We are cutting the entire course except rough today, changing cups to reduce any wear around the cups, and finishing a fairway spray. Other than that my staff will be doing light duty work ( divots, cleaning landscape beds, weedy work in trees ) so they don't get worn down in this heat. If you do plan to come out today take it easy. You might feel good at the start but this heat can get to you quickly as my guys found out late yesterday afternoon.

I can't say enough about the how hard my guys have been working this last week. Special recognition goes out to Brian, Ryan, Sam, and Brigham for their efforts during the afternoon. We are running the course on the light side with water, trying to keep playing conditions firm and limiting our exposure to disease due to overwatering. They have been the ones that have paid the price however, driving the course and scouting for grass feeling the effects of this heat. We've been proactive trying to keep the grass cool with applying a fine mist mid afternoon to reduce the surface temperatures on the greens. It's worked so far and we'll be doing it again today.

Depending how we do today and tomorrow I am planning on spiking and topdressing the greens on Monday. I have been spiking the greens on a regular basis at the club and I have found it to be a great tool to air out the greens and incorporate sand topdressing. As you can see from the pictures below it isn't an aggressive maintenance practice.

Spiker on the chipping green

Spike penetrates the surface and provides air to the crown of the grass plant.

We will follow the spiker and sand with a light watering and finish with a greens spray that will include foliar fertilizer. Within a couple of days the marks should be gone and greens rolling well again.

Weather is will moderate down by Sunday a.m. all the way to the middle of next week. Try to take it easy out there until it does.

2011-07-20T11:57:00.000-04:00

Well we are now in the thick of it. Temps are rising fast and by the afternoon the humid air should be in place. As I said in yesterday's post you should expect the greens to be a little slower as we take our foot off the gas peddle until we get thru this heat. Being smart with our maintenance practices will allow us to enjoy the remainder of the season. Please do you part too and continue to be vigilant with ball mark repair, repairing divots, and watching where you drive golf carts. Your help is greatly appreciated.

You'll see an increased presence of staff hand watering greens, tees, fairways, and rough over the coming week. We will not be watering a lot over the next few warm nights (the grass does not use a lot of water when it's humid and overwatering can lead to disease, mechanical damage, and overly soft playing surfaces) and that will call for us to be out and about hand-watering. If someone is in your way kindly wave them off before hitting. We are not out there on purpose...just trying to keep the grass alive during the heat. Your patience is greatly appreciated.

The Cicada Killer Wasps are back. They can be found on the slopes of the bunkers on 4, 6, and 7. Here is some info on this pest.

Rutgers Fact Sheet on Cicada Killer Wasps

Below is a link from USGA Northeast Agronomist Dave Oatis. It's a good read for everyone.

USGA Northeast Update

Please be careful out on the course over the next few days. It will feel over 100 degrees with the dew point rising along with the high temps. There is a lot of golf left this year and we all want to be around to enjoy it.

Golf Course Update-July 18

2011-07-19T11:10:00.002-04:00

I think it's safe to say that the summer is finally upon us. The air is heavy this morning which should help later on since the course is holding onto moisture right now and I watered lightly expecting thunderstorms last night. Ryan, Sam, and Brigham are out hand watering, with Ryan concentrating on applying wetting agent and water to rock spots and drain lines in the fairways and rough, Sam concentrating on sodded areas to keep them hydrated, and Brigham working on the flowers, trees, and shrubs at the clubhouse, pool, and on the course. Our goal is to have them done by lunch so that we can start watching the greens, tees, fairways, and rough when the air clears and becomes less humid this afternoon.

Although the humidity helping the course with retaining moisture it is slowing the greens down. As many of you have noticed the greens have had a good pace this last week. We were double cutting them for the one day Member-Guest last Thursday and club championship over this past weekend. Doing so not only stressed the greens but created wear on some of the collars, causing them to go off color and wilt. We are also seeing a little anthracnose popping up on the greens. Although we use BMP's to combat this disease, which includes topdressing and employing a good fertility and disease program, it still pops up occasionally when the greens are under stress. We are on top of both but have gone back to a single cut on greens and will continue until we are done with the next stretch of heat and humidity.

We are always aware of daytime highs. Maybe it's how much emphasis is placed upon it by our TV weather forecasters or possibly it's because of that's the time of day when we are out and about. The forecast is calling for 87 today with the days following at 90, 96, 95, 89, and 84 on Sunday.

Even thought we look at daytime highs we concentrate more on the nighttime lows when we are planning our water cycle for the days to come. Tonight will be beautiful, with low 60's forecasted, and the golf course will take any water we give it. If you look at the nighttime lows the days after you will see another story...68, 73, 72, and 68 before we get into more clear air on Sunday night. High nighttime humidity can create a great environment for disease, doesn't allow the water to be taken up by the plant efficiently, and can soften the golf course. One way we combat these issues with applying less water at night and monitor the course during the day for dry spots.

The goal for my staff and you as members should be to create as little stress on the course as possible. Although the greens might be a little slower keeping them smooth by fixing ball marks helps our cause. Doing your best not to drag your feet across the putting surfaces also helps keeping the greens smooth. Replacing divots on tees, fairways, and rough when there is still soil attached to the divot helps as well. Working together allows for everyone to have a good experience when playing your course.

British Open

2011-07-15T07:19:00.000-04:00

The British Open started yesterday so I thought I would include a few photos and links for you to look at. Pretty amazing golf course.

Overhead shot of the Open venue.

That's what I call a bunker!

Follow this link for an interview with the head Greenkeeper Graham Royden, who has been at the club for 19 years, and how he has prepared the course for this year's Open.

Graham Royden Interview

This next link was sent to me by Steve Leon. It's a BBC video of Rory McIlroy's backyard.

Rory McIlroy's Backyard

It looks like a great weekend ahead. Weather will be perfect today and the heat and humidity will return late Saturday before a cold front clears the air on Wednesday. We are HydroJecting some green expansions this morning and fertilizing some tees that are getting beat up. Regular golf course grooming continues as we prepare for the Net and Senior Club Championships starting Saturday. Have a good weekend.

No Carts?????

2011-07-14T05:36:00.000-04:00

13 Green during yesterday's storm

After being inundated with 0.6" of rain yesterday afternoon I decided at 5 p.m. to close off carts for the remainder of the day. I'm sure if you came out after the storm cleared you were wondering why carts weren't available. It's not a decision we make lightly. I understand that we have many members that like to use them or need to have a cart to play and the revenue that carts bring to the club are important for us to operate. It's obvious that I consider the damage that carts make to the course, both above ground with ruts and below the surface with sheared roots, when deciding about cart availability. What might not be obvious to many is the safety factor with golf cart use on the course.

As you can see from the picture above there was a lot of water out there and the grass can be slick on the slopes of the course. Driving down unpaved surfaces like the hills on holes 13, 5, or 9 can be dangerous and the ability to stop the cart while driving can be compromised. Golf carts can hydroplane on slick grass surfaces and that can lead to overturned golf carts and injured golfers.

I take the decision to limit golf cart availability very seriously. Hopefully the next time you come out you'll have a better understanding why carts aren't available.

Golf Course Update-July 12

2011-07-12T15:27:00.001-04:00

It is pretty hot out there right now. Stopping in for some water to soak my hat and cool down got me thinking. I am sure that many of you have been wondering about why we water the course during the day if we are running a full irrigation cycle at night.

We categorize "watering" depending on the quantity of water added. Our nighttime water is replacing what was used by the turf during the previous day. We hand water (apply more than a light mist) in the morning any spots that have dried down the prior day, any thatchy areas that are having a hard time getting water to penetrate to the roots, and any rock/drain spot on the course. We have a lot of rocks out there...

Exposed rock on 5 fairway expansion.

Probing the 4th fairway for ledge.

This is a common occurrence around FCC. At times we struggle keeping the rock and ledge cool during the heat of the summer.

Ryan hand watering thatch and rock spots on 1st fairway.

We syringe from 12 p.m. on during the day and that calls for a light mist cooling down the turf canopy. As you can see from the photos below a light mist cools the canopy down significantly.

9th fairway dry spot before syringing at 108 degrees.

One turn to cool off the surface.

22 degree decrease in surface temperature.

Pavement from 1st cartpath at 130 degrees.

18th green at 100 degrees

Sam syringing 14th approach.

We've been working on a few other things behind the scenes lately. One is a restoration of the club's riverfront near the maintenance building.

Riverfront Restoration includes Red Maple, River Birch, Elderberry, Blueberry, and Silky Dogwood.

The other is chasing moles around the property. We find them on the second tee, 4th fairway, and a new spot is the 9th fairway and rough.

Mole holes on the 9th hole.

We'll I've got to get back on the course. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

Dog Days of Summer

2011-07-05T08:31:00.001-04:00

July 4th is over and we are starting the Dog Days of Summer. This is the time when annual bluegrass starts showing some wear, night-time water seems to hold on longer into the day as heat and humidity begins to entrench itself into our area, and crabgrass begins germinating. Across our 150 acres we deal with all of these issues and more. Below is a brief discussion of the decision making that goes on when trying to combat these problems.

Green expansion on 1st hole.

Expansion on right of 1 green.

You might have noticed the annual bluegrass (Poa) on some of our green expansions looking off color and thinning. This is a normal process when grass that was cut at 0.450" four times each week is now being mown at 0.110" seven days each week, with four of those days being mowed twice (double cut). There is increased traffic by both members and staff, root structures start to shrink and die back, and these immature plants can go down hill quick. To combat this we apply small amounts of foliar fertilizer to keep the grass growing, fungicides to combat fungi that target these week plants, and open up the soil with the HydroJect, needle tine aerifiers, and spikers to allow better air exchange for the roots. On occasion we will also lightly topdress these areas with sawdust to protect the poa and any immature bentgrass plants. This program has been in place since we opened up our first green expansion back in 2000 on the 7th green and with a little TLC these areas continue to improve each year.

When we water at night the goal is for the grass to make it to 1 p.m. before supplemental irrigation (syringing) needs to be added. To achieve this goal I monitor the weather daily, looking at both short and long term forecasts because the decisions we make today can effect not only how the course plays but how it performs later in the week. Typically we set up irrigation for the next day two days before based upon forecasted humidity, dew points, chance of rain, and tournaments planned for the course. For example we watered well last night because we watered lightly Saturday, Sunday, and Monday nights and I knew that the humidity will be building today, with more heat and humidity tomorrow and a chance of storms in the afternoon. Depending how we make out today I'll water lightly tonight, hope the forecast holds true, and setup for the next two days tomorrow.

The crabgrass has begun germinating around the course and we'll begin spraying a post-emergent control in the coming weeks. We sprayed the entire course last fall and early this spring with a pre-emergent and anticipated some break-thru. We fertilized our green, tee, and bunker surrounds early last week and want the rough actively growing prior to spraying the herbicide. We also need the weather to cooperate ( low 80's ) to safely apply it. Once everything is right we'll apply the product.

We're out today setting up for today's ladies event, cutting fairways, greens, and rough. We are also removing weeds from our natural areas, watering sod, trees, and flowers, and cleaning up landscaped beds both on the course and at the clubhouse. We'll see you on the course and remember to wear plenty of sunscreen.

Pulling weeds behind 1 green

Walkway cut to ladies tee on 5.

Golf Course Update-Photos

2011-06-30T11:05:00.000-04:00

I've been updating on a regular basis with small snippets but haven't updated with any pictures. The following are some shots taken today. We'll start with the pool which for the most part is complete. Congratulations to member Tim Lescalleet for running the project for the club and all those associated with the pool construction.

Over 20,000 sq. feet of sod was used on the entire project.

Ramp leading down from clubhouse. A privet hedge circles the entire fence line with Liriope mixed in.

Slope from patio to pool deck was planted with Wintergem Boxwood, Pachysandra, and petunias. The drain was covered with a river stone to a granite curb.

Zero entry kiddie pool.

Diving pool.

Slide in the adventure pool. A bench can be found inside pool edge.

Entrance circle planted with Bloodgood Japanese Red Maple, privet hedge, Endless Summer Hydrangea, Liriope, and lemon portulaca.

We've been adding natural areas as part of our Master Plan work. This spot on 6 was added and allows us to reduce not only an area which was mowed in the past but also a slope that was in constant need of water during hot days.

Fairway expansion on 5th hole highlighting the fairway bunker on the left.

Fairway expansion at the beginning of 5 opens the landing area in this tight chute.

Green expansion on the right of the 1st green filling in nicely.

False front on 1st green. The misplayed shots now rolls down into the collection area.

Replacing worn sod at 1st tee. This is an area that is constantly in need of repair with cart traffic from holes 1 and 9.

Removal of timbers, adjusted slope, and adding sod to left of 14 tee.

New collection area on 14.

Expansion area on 14 approach. You can see the outline of the old greenside bunker.

Another shot of the collection area on 14. We'll begin expanding the green this fall.

Golf Course Update-June 27

2011-06-27T08:05:00.001-04:00

We hit a wet spell last week and the course received over 2.5" of rain since last Wednesday. This weekend was especially brutal when the course took on 0.8" rain in 45 minutes on Saturday morning and another 0.6" of rain overnight Saturday. There was a ton of standing water and like we have seen before some of the greens were scalped after mowing due to over-saturated ground conditions. It looks like we'll have a reprieve until Tuesday night when more rain is forecasted. Let's hope we dry down before then.

How does this weather affect our plans for the golf course this week? We were hoping to groom the greens today and apply a granular gypsum to greens. Obviously we can't do either since the greens are still soft and I can't add water to the greens to break down the gypsum. Instead we'll be catching up on sprays this morning, taking care of the practice tee and regular course tees. We'll also be cutting rough, the hazards, and trying to cleanup washouts in bunkers, cart paths, and landscape beds as we prepare for the 4th of July weekend. We also need to trouble shoot the irrigation system since the lightning associated with Saturday's storm has caused fuses to be blown in every ( 33 total ) irrigation controller on the golf course. I'm hoping that there isn't any major damage but won't know until we change the fuses out.

It will be a busy couple of days.

Anthony Pioppi, a freelance golf writer and author from Connecticut, describes how the PGA golfers dealt with the heavy rain that hit TPC River Highlands this past week and adjusted their games. Click on the link below to read about it.

Anthony Pioppi Blog

Family

2011-06-23T09:02:00.000-04:00

Today is the first day of the Framingham Country Club Father Son/Daughter. The golf course received over 1.6" of rain the last 24 hours and the course is pretty wet. We've been able to prep the course for play, squeegeeing greens and fairways, cutting greens, setting up for carts, and repairing bunkers. I'm hopeful that the rain that is called for later on today misses us so that we can cut the entire course tomorrow as we prepare for day 2 and the weekend. More rain is scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

I've never had the pleasure in playing in the Father Son/Daughter. I should probably make the time to play since my kids are all old enough to enjoy the event ( my favorite event held at the club each year ) and if their play in the backyard is any indication of their ability, they all could handle themselves on the course. Maybe next year.

We are blessed with children that are multitalented. Whether it's playing sports ( softball, baseball, tennis, basketball, soccer ), in the classroom, or volunteering in our community my kids can do it all. In a previous post I mentioned Emma's Kennedy award and she was just selected by our local online newspaper as a Whiz Kid. Here's the link.

Norton Patch Whiz Kid

One activity that they have excelled at is piano. Both girls have been playing for a couple of years, taking lessons and practicing often. We've been thrilled about the results over the years but at this year's recital I was blown away. Below is Caroline surprising me with Beauty and the Beast and Emma playing Piano Man. Excuse the bragging but I just couldn't resist.

DryJect Demo

2011-06-17T11:33:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we had our contractor out doing a demo of the DryJect sand injection process on the chipping green. We are considering using the DryJect instead of the Drill and Fill for our September greens aerification program.

About 4 years ago we used the DryJect but issues with our contractor and the need to increase deep greens drainage made the move to the Drill a no-brainer. I am sure you all remember that we had some issues with the Drill this past fall, when wet ground conditions caused tufting of the turf and scalping across many of our greens. We also want address the needs of our membership to have the greens heal quicker in the Fall and Spring. Although the penetration depth into our native soils is only 7" with the DryJect compared to 13" with the Drill, this is a process that we need to look at again.

What follows are some pictures that were taken yesterday. I am trying to upload a video but am getting a error message from Blogger. I'll try again later.

Chipping green being completed. Follow DryJect with seed, light brush, and water sand topdressing in.

Column of sand to right of ball mark repair tool was injected by DryJect.

The only issue we found with the DryJect is ability to follow contour on sloped green. Here the DryJect ridged the contour, raising the injection ports and causing sand buildup on surface. Light brush after sand dries fills in the holes.

I want to wish everyone a happy Father's Day. The weather looks good for Sunday and I hope everyone tunes in during the afternoon for the final holes of the U.S. Open. The U.S.G.A. is sure to have the course playing tough, with the 1.5 year old greens rolling like marble. While it would be nice to have a course play like this all the time, it just isn't sustainable as maintenance costs would skyrocket, time to play a round of golf would go over 6 hours, and I believe play by the "average" golfer would drop off.

Here is my typical picture of fairways being mowed for a major. In case you were wondering there are over 100 staff and volunteers maintaining the course this week.

I count 13 fairway mowers, 5 volunteers filling divots on fairways, and 1 volunteer handwatering.

The following link is from the Golf Course Management Blog, written by Editor-in-Chief Scott Hollister, and it offers a great behind the scenes look at what's going on at Congressional.

From the desk of GCM

Pool Project Update

2011-06-15T06:45:00.000-04:00

In case you haven't been to the club in a few days the sod was installed yesterday. We are hoping to have plants installed in the landscape beds starting tomorrow and into Friday with the berm installed along the parking lot tomorrow morning.

June 13 Update

2011-06-13T06:02:00.000-04:00

More rain today and we've had to adjust our plans again. We were hoping to groom the greens today but the 1.2" of rain from Saturday night and all day yesterday has left the greens too soft to perform this task. Instead we'll be spraying the greens with a wetting agent to allow the greens to drain down more efficiently. We'll also topdress the greens as we spray to help smooth them out more. Double cutting has begun as we tune up for the Hargraves on Friday and Saturday.

We planned to sod the pool this morning but unfortunately the farm located in RI received over 2" of rain and they were unable to harvest the sod yesterday. We have rescheduled the sodding for tomorrow which will allow my staff to work on some fine grading today.

We are cutting rough and the hazards today along with all the playing surfaces ( greens, tees, fairways, and approaches.) I'm starting to get real tired of fighting the weather.

June 10 Update

2011-06-10T07:35:00.002-04:00

We got lucky again with last night's storm. Only 0.5" of rain and lots of lightning. We'll be troubleshooting the irrigation system all day tracking down some issues but the course took the rain like a champ. Spraying greens today and prepping for weekend play. The greens are a little soft and slower than normal. I'm hoping as the greens dry out they'll get a little better.

There has been some questions about the green expansions on some of the greens. In particular the one on the fifth greens. As many of you might know it is important to have morning sun for greens, with 6 hours of morning sun being optimum for the health of the greens. As you can see from the picture below, taken this morning at 8:00 a.m., we do not receive any sun on this area of the green and will not see sun until 11:30 a.m.

5 green at 8:00 a.m.

This is also a traffic area for members which makes it more difficult for bentgrass to establish. Sodding is a short term solution but it is better to incorporate newer varieties of bent into the stand because they have been genetically selected to crowd out annual bluegrass and have increased disease resistance. We aren't happy with the look of these areas either and over the next week will selectively plug out some of the larger scars. We've had this happen over the years with all our expansions and as with anything patience is rewarded in the long run.

June 9 Update

2011-06-09T05:31:00.000-04:00

Well it's 73 degrees this morning at 5:00 a.m. and it's going to be hot today. Forecast is for temps to reach upper 90's and with the dew point it will feel like 110. We were lucky to only receive 0.1" of rain last night with the storm moving around the course before severe thunderstorms hit the Boston area. We are keeping an eye on the thunderstorms that are moving thru Boston right now.

I know that the greens were slow yesterday. We applied a foliar fertilizer on Monday and with the humidity the greens grew. We are still trying to heal in some areas on greens and that requires sand topdressing ( also smoothes them out ) which was applied on Monday and a little fertilizer. We are also trying to set ourselves up for next weeks Hargraves Member-Guest where will will begin double cutting on this Friday and not stop until the tournament is over. That level of maintenance requires preparation and nutrients so that the greens can survive the abuse.

Please feel free to grab me around the club if you have any questions.

Pat

June 6 Update

2011-06-06T07:02:00.000-04:00

Topdressing greens, watering sand in, and spraying with foliar fertilizer today. We are trying to cut the entire course today but have an outing today so we are pressed for time. Ladies Member-Guest tomorrow compresses all our work for two days into one day. Makes for a busy Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Add prepping the pool area for topsoil, irrigation installation, and sod and it will be a crazy week.

Weather is going to be hot into Thursday with temps getting to the 90's. I guess the summer has finally arrived. I knew the weather these last few days was too good to be true. I'll post more updates when there's time. Have a good week.

June 2 Update

2011-06-02T06:28:00.001-04:00

I am pleased to let you know that we came thru the storms last night with only 0.7" rain and minimal debris littering the course. We're blowing off the playing surfaces right now and trying to get the course ready for play.

Our thoughts go out to those affected by the storms yesterday. I hope all of your families were as lucky as we were here at the club.

June 1

2011-06-01T14:03:00.000-04:00

It's nice to finally see June. We barely missed out on a storm that brought heavy rain, hail, and cloud to ground lightning to the North and South of the club this morning. We are looking for a cold front to move thru late this afternoon which will usher in a great stretch of weather for the remainder of the week and into the weekend. They are even calling for mid 40's tomorrow night!!!!

The following picture comes from the first green. It's not measles or some turfgrass disease. It's new grass that we seeded when the greens were aerified last month and one of the better catches that we have had in the last few years.

Dark green "spots" are developing bentgrass seedlings

Up close look at the new seedlings

If you think back to my aerification post the first week of May, we seeded the greens with Independence and T1 this year, both newer varieties of bentgrass that have been bred for disease resistance, color, and aggressive growth habit. We've seen over the past few years an increase in overall density for these new grasses and in the long run their aggressive nature will cause them to crowd out the annual bluegrass that is so predominant in the putting surfaces at FCC.

That's it for today. We will be applying some soluble fertilizer tomorrow to push these new grasses and that with another light topdressing should tighten up the putting surfaces and smooth the greens even more.

Golf Course Update-May 27

2011-05-27T10:29:00.000-04:00

It's the Friday before the Memorial Day weekend. Sun and warm weather have taken hold of our area and the greens are responding. It's been a busy week prepping for the Member-Member and the golf course should be ready one a few loose ends are taken care. I hope you have the time to get out to the course and enjoy this weather.

Please take the time this weekend to remember and pay respect to those that have died gave their lives to preserve freedom.

Golf Course Update-May 23

2011-05-23T06:45:00.000-04:00

We are finally drying down. You can feel the greens firming up and we are removing some ropes around the course. The greens are growing finally and today we are ultra-grooming the greens as we prepare for the Memorial Day Member-Member. We have an outing at 12:30 p.m. so we have a short window of opportunity to get things done today. We'll set up the course easy so we can get the group in and out as fast as possible.

Although warmer temps are being forecasted for the week the weather is sill unsettled with a chance of rain every day except Thursday. We are doing our best to get the rough under control and should have mowers out every day.

Rough

2011-05-21T05:44:00.000-04:00

2009 U.S. Open Bethpage Black

No it's not that bad but the rough is pretty thick right now. Although we tried to cut it all week due to the excess moisture, our inability to keep up with it due to soft ground conditions, and the annual bluegrass seedhead flush it's downright nasty. My apologies to all that struggle with it this weekend and I can assure you that we will be back at it all week before Memorial Day.

Golf Course Update-May 20

2011-05-20T06:43:00.001-04:00

Today

Chance
Showers
Hi 68 °F

Tonight

Scattered
Showers
Lo 52 °F

Saturday

Slight Chc
Showers
Hi 70 °F

Saturday
Night

Slight Chc
Showers
Lo 49 °F

Sunday

Mostly
Cloudy
Hi 62 °F

Sunday
Night

Chance
Showers
Lo 47 °F

Monday

Chance
Showers
Hi 69 °F

Another night and more rain. The club received another 0.3" of rain yesterday afternoon which now brings our total for the week to 2.2" of rain. They are forecasting breaks of sun by the afternoon which could increase the chance of thunderstorms. More of the same tomorrow with some warmer weather anticipated but so far Sunday looks dry. By late next week however we are looking to warm weather in the 80's.

Where do we go from here? We are trying to cut the golf course this morning but as you can imagine we are starting to have a hard time getting around the course. We'll keep carts off the course today and do our best to prepare for carts tomorrow.

I know I haven't posted any pictures lately so here are a few from today. We have been discussing the greens, specifically the aerification holes filling in, but we haven't talked about what is going on below the putting surface. What follows will show you how deep the sand is moving, thatch layers, and rooting.

This is a typical cross section of our native pushup green root zone.

To the left of the measuring tape is the most recent core aerification which we are using to remove thatch and break up the organic mat that absorbs and retains moisture during wet weather. Our frequent (10-14 day) light topdressing program also helps with the excessive thatch accumulation near the greens surface but the core aerification removes thatch. To the right is the 1" drill and fill from three years ago. It is difficult to see but there is a solid column of roots reaching close to 4" below the surface.

Another great shot from the 10th green that shows the layer of native soil at 4.5" below the surface. This is the layer we are trying to break with the Drill and Fill which will allow water to move deeper into the root zone There is a single root 7.5" below the surface running down a older drill and fill hole.

For those of you who watched TPC last week the link that follows details some of the maintenance practices employed as their grounds staff prepped the Stadium Course for the event.

Tournament Players Championship Conditioning

Golf Course Update-May 19

2011-05-19T08:23:00.000-04:00

The course took on another 0.3" of rain last night into the morning and we are pretty lucky it wasn't more. It looks like the coast into New Hampshire is getting a pretty good slug of rain right now. So where do we stand at FCC?

We are keeping carts off the golf course today. No decision will be made on carts for tomorrow until the morning. I did not cut greens this morning since as of right now they are waterlogged. We will cut them later if they dry down enough where we won't scalp them or cause any mechanical damage. We have split up our crew with half cutting the clubhouse area and moving to trim work around the course. The other crew is going thru bunkers, removing any debris and rocks that have migrated to the surface. This also offers us a great opportunity to recheck sand levels and smooth out any rough edges around the bunkers.

Try to stay dry today. It's almost over.

Golf Course Update-May 18

2011-05-18T15:32:00.000-04:00

Another day and more rain. 0.3" fell overnight and we have had on and off mist all day. We were able to cut some grass this morning, mowing greens, tees, and approaches by hand and using lightweight triplex mowers on wet fairways. Rough and weedy work was also completed today as we try and prepare for the weekend. I kept carts off the course for most of the day as we are beginning to see tracks appear in the rough and some fairways where cart paths are not present.

Ryan and Sam topdressed the greens again late this morning and I imagine it will be washed in when the rain that is forecasted for tonight finally hits. The greens are looking better and the bentgrass is taking off. Hopefully it will dry out by Monday morning when we plan to ultragroom the greens to tighten up the putting surfaces in time for Memorial Day Member-Member. What follows is a link to last year's post on grooming.

Greens Grooming

May 17 Course Update

2011-05-17T13:59:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we were able to cut the entire golf course, spray the greens with soluble fertilizer, topdress the greens, and weedy hazards. The rain last night (0.1") washed in the sand and we were preparing to cut the entire course again when we had a heavy shower drop 0.1" of rain on the course over 15 minutes. With the standing water on fairways ( none on greens thanks to our Drill and Fill practices the last three years ) we passed on cutting fairways so that we wouldn't scalp them or cause any other mechanical damage and instead only cut greens. The course was set up for our ladies event today, rough was cut ( fairway intermediate rough, regular rough around fairways, greens, and tees, and rough around bunkers), hazards were painted, and more plugging on greens and collars. We also spot seeded some areas that have been slow to bounce back after the aerification and used sawdust to protect any young seedlings that are germinating.

So far this year we have applied 1.4 lbs. of Nitrogen to the greens trying to speed up the recovery from aerification. This fertilizer has been applied with a granular material ( 0.75 lbs. ) and with our soluble fertilizer ( 0.65 lbs.) Our root structure is great right now, with greens averaging 4-5" in depth, and that should help as the heat causes root decline over the course of the summer. Hopefully the rain will stop soon.

We'll be back at it again tomorrow.

Looking the coming week

2011-05-16T06:05:00.000-04:00

It's a balmy 49 degrees this morning and the course has received 1.1" of rain since Saturday night. The forecast doesn't look good for the week, calling for a chance of rain every day until Sunday. Here is what the National Weather Service is saying:

Monday: Chance of rain 50% mostly after 1 p.m. from 0.1 to 0.25" of rain.

Monday Night: Chance of rain 90% from 0.1 to 0.25" of rain.

Tuesday: Chance of rain 100%. Showers totaling 0.25 to 0.5" of rain.

Tuesday Night: Chance of rain 90%. Showers totaling 0.25 to 0.5" of rain.

Wednesday: Chance of rain 70%. Showers totaling 0.5 to 0.75" of rain.

Our goal is to cut each day to keep the grass under control in case we can't cut the next day due to water logged playing surfaces. As it is right now we have to cut some of the wetter fairways with lightweight greens The greens this morning look better than yesterday, with the holes closing in, and we'll be spraying them with some soluble fertilizer to help the healing process. If we can, we'll try to lightly topdress the greens today to smooth them out. We are under the gun trying to fill them in completely prior to the Member-Guest on Thursday.

It's going to be a busy week and I'll try to keep the blog updated when I can.

Golf Course Update-May 13

2011-05-13T15:50:00.001-04:00

Note: Since I originally posted this update yesterday afternoon I was able to sit down and read the most recent USGA NE Regional update by Dave Oatis. Please click on the title link for his post.

It has been ten days since the greens were aerified and I wanted to give you a quick update on how they are recovering. As you can imagine the weather hasn't been in our favor, with lower than normal temperatures, rain, and clouds slowing their growth. We have fertilized them twice since the aerification and although the holes have begun to close up we are in need of warm weather to finish the recovery process. This past week my staff has also been plugging out any areas on greens and collars that needed extra attention after last summer's heat and the fall's Drill and Fill aerification.

Our plan is to continue to add small amounts of fertilizer to push the grass to heal over and topdress the greens again when the weather and golf schedule allows to smooth the putting surfaces. I have spoken with numerous Superintendents around the area and most are struggling with having their greens heal in after the aerification.

The link below is a post from April 29, 2010. In it is a description of why we aerify, the different size tines and holes they create, and our overall goal when aerifying. I hope this link will provide you with additional information about this necessary maintenance practice.

April 29, 2010 Greens Aerification Update

Please feel free to contact me at pat@framinghamcc.com or while you are out on the course if you have any questions about the greens or any other maintenance practices. I hope you have a great weekend.

Pat

Golf Course Update-May 9

2011-05-09T08:23:00.001-04:00

It's Monday and that is typically our busiest morning of the week. We are catching up on mowing right now and trying to stay ahead of the sprayers. Greens are getting sprayed with some soluble fertilizer to help with healing the holes from the aerification. They are slowly healing in as we wait for the granular fertilizer application to start pushing growth this week. All of the tees are also being sprayed right now as well.

Unfortunately the heavy rain on Saturday washed some of the sand out of the holes and we might need to reapply some more sand this week. The timing of the sand application is tight with a Ladies major event tomorrow, Spring Teams on Thursday, and our first Big Event for the men on Saturday morning. I'll be watching the weather to see how I can make it work with some rainfall so that it doesn't dull the mowers that Pete is tuning up right now.

We'll be mowing rough this week and pick away at some loose ends from this year's spring cleanup. We continue to plug out some of the damaged areas on greens and collars from last year summer and fall aerification. It's a slow process and I appreciate your continued patience.

Seve Ballesteros...

2011-05-07T06:01:00.000-04:00

April 9, 1957 - May7, 2001

5 majors...87 titles

Helped European Ryder Cup team to 5 wins both as a player and captain

Golf Course Update-May 5

2011-05-05T07:12:00.001-04:00

The course received 0.4" of rain last night which helped to knock some of the sand down on the greens. We are cutting them today. I took some pool photos this morning. I apologize for not updating the construction progress lately.

Spring Greens Aerification

2011-05-04T07:14:00.000-04:00

What follows is a summary of the greens aerification that was performed the last two days.

Brigham adds topdressing to first green with new topdresser

Dried sand on 16 green prior to brushing

Up close shot of sand on green

After brushing two times. Time to add seed before filling holes to the top.

Bentgrass seed is applied with a drop spreader across the entire putting surface.

After brushing seed in this is what the surface looks like. Time for the blowers.

Antonio begins blowing the third green.

The putting surface after being blown off.

As the sand is blown to the side it is picked up and reused on the next green.

Jose A performs a final cleanup along the collars prior to water being applied

Adding water to cool the surface. Water is also applied after the green is fertilized.

A little surprise for us on the third hole. This limb is scheduled to be removed on Friday.

Greens Aerification Update-May 3

2011-05-03T14:59:00.000-04:00

The greens are done. The weather was perfect and staff was firing on all cylinders yet again. I'll try to update with some pictures tomorrow. Thanks for your continued patience and support of our greens maintenance program.

Greens Aerification Update-May 2

2011-05-03T06:35:00.000-04:00

Day one of our greens aerification went well with 13 greens completed. The weather was a little dry and we saw some greens become bruised and wilt as the day went along. I've actually seen them look worse and the color should bounce back in less than a week. All the holes were filled with sand, greens were seeded, and a serious amount of water was applied. We'll be finishing the greens today and fertilizing them all to start the healing process. I'll update you when we finish.

Golf Course Update-May 2

2011-05-02T06:09:00.000-04:00

Greens aerification begins today. As in years past we will be using the smaller 1/2" tines ( see the picture below...it's the one on the right ) which we will pickup and then topdress with sand.

The sand is a 1 mm kiln dried sand which we bring in from Best Sand in Ohio. You can see the sand below on the right. This is also the same sand that we use when we topdress every 10-14 days during the golf season and when we perform the drill and fill in the fall.

Let's hope that the weather holds and we are able to get thru all the greens before the rain comes on Tuesday.

Bocci

2011-04-29T09:51:00.000-04:00

The courts are open for play. It should be a great weekend to be at the club. Please remember that we are aerifying greens on Monday and Tuesday of next week.

Golf Course Update-April 28

2011-04-28T07:10:00.000-04:00

The fairway aerification scheduled for today has been postponed. I am working with our contractor to find replacement dates and will let you know of the dates as soon as I can.

Bunker work is for the most part done. We have not added sand to our typical washout bunkers ( 10 fairway, 12 fairway, 16 fairway ) as we wait for the rain this afternoon and tonight. They have been edged and our goal for tomorrow is to finish them in time for the weekend. We are cutting the entire golf course today in preparation for the rain. If you do come out to the golf course please keep an eye on the weather.

We are aerifying greens on Monday and Tuesday of next week with the smaller 1/2" hollow tines. Once we remove the cores we will be topdressing with sand and overseeding with bentgrass. This is our typical Spring aerification date and method and weather permitting they should be completed by Tuesday afternoon. What follows is a good video produced by the U.S.G.A. discussing aerification.

Golf Course Update

2011-04-26T14:51:00.000-04:00

Although the sun has finally come out the course is still wet with clouds and a chance of rain both Wednesday and Thursday. As of right now we are postponing the fairway aerification scheduled for tomorrow and are on hold for Thursday in case the weather forecast turns in our favor. The fairways right now are in good shape and although they could use the aerification it isn't worth taking a chance of having 10+ acres of fairways in various stages of cleanup and getting rained upon. That would take a job that usually takes us 10 hours stretch into a few days and the end result could be worse than what we have now. I am in contact with our contractor trying reschedule and find dates that work in our busy golf calendar.

While out on the course I was able to take the following photos or work in progress.

Antonio begins by cutting a clean edge where the sand meets the grass surrounds

Sam and Jorge check sand depths and pushes the sand that washed out on the faces back up the slopes

Jose and Roel remove debris, rake the slopes so that the ball rolls off the face and into the belly, and do a final inspection of sand depths

A view of 18 green. We've pruned back the trees to the left, removing some of the branches that are covering the left of the green and opening a small window for sunlight to penetrate onto the green

5th fairway before expansion on left up the hill

Expansion growing in nicely

5th expansion allowing entry into bunkers

Expansion today. We are still tweaking the lines with each mowing

At the 5th green before expansion work begins

Expansion today allowing for wayward shots to enter the left green-side bunker

I will continue to update you over the coming weeks with before and after shots of the start of our Master Plan expansion work.

Golf Course Update-April 25

2011-04-25T10:27:00.000-04:00

It has been pretty busy on the course with our annual bluegrass seedhead sprays going out, course cleanup, mowing playing areas, and bunker work/reconstruction being completed. As of today all the green-side bunkers have been completed except for 11 green. Those will be completed within the hour and so far we have used over 23 tons of high density bunker sand. We just received another 23 tons of sand and we will begin the fairway bunkers next, concentrating on those with the least washouts.

The practice tee was just aerified and cleaned up. We will begin a new hitting rotation, moving from the back of the tee to the front. My hope is that as we move forward and blow off old divots, less seed and divot mix will be removed during the process, helping the grass to fill in faster.

We are scheduled to have fairways aerified on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. The forecast doesn't look good with chance of rain and clouds all the way until Friday. We need it to be dry and sunny to help dry the plugs and help during the cleanup process. I have a call into our contractor and will keep everyone updated as the week goes on. Worst case scenario will have us try to reschedule to later this month or in the fall. The worst thing we could do it aerify, have it rain, and then struggle with the cleanup process.

April 18 Course Update

2011-04-18T10:16:00.000-04:00

Happy Patriot's Day! For those of you not at work, on the Marathon route, or at the Sox game here is what's going at the course. We are still extremely wet from Saturday night's rain. It looks like we've finally hit our max with rainfall and the back nine is still closed to carts. We are getting some high winds and hopefully that helps to dry the course out a little. Unfortunately the weather forecast for the week is not favorable for the course with 50% chance of rain tonight, showers tomorrow after 2 p.m. and tomorrow night, and the same for Wednesday.

Bunker work begins today as the staff concentrates on green side bunkers first followed by fairway bunkers next. The typical washout bunkers will be tackled last. Scratch is out cutting rough, not getting much grass but finishing our winter cleanup with the mower.

We'll keep you updated as the week progresses. Please make sure to contact the Pro Shop for timely course updates including golf cart availability.