January Newsletter

Course Condition

The winter weather has slowed the growth of the grass down.  You will notice the rough turning a bronze color from the cold frozen weather we experienced late last year.  The rough is going partially dormant.

Completed Items

This winter we are focusing on clean up.  As the winds pick up and the debris comes down our priority is getting the course ready for play. 

We have done some clean up at our shop as well.  Geoff, our mechanic has work hard to rebuild equipment, stripe the garage for more efficient use and organize the parts area that he inherited when he started last year.  I believe if we can start out the day organized and clean then we can transfer these practices to our daily tasks.

 

We have also repaired the waterfall pump for the big waterfall on the second hole.  It will be running once the season starts in June.  Last season the pump failed and needed some fabrication to the motor seal and the windings repaired.  To give you a picture of the enormity of this pump; the average 4 person household uses roughly 110 thousand gallons a year, the waterfall pump can move that amount of water in one hour.

Current Affairs

We are currently in the process of edging bunkers.  We are reclaiming the edge to as close as we can determine.  It will give us a frresh look for 2014.

We are also monitoring the greens for possible signs of pythium and spraying trouble greens as necessary.  This was a problem a few years ago, but superintendents overall are much more informed about the once elusive disease.  We have done our due diligence and sprayed when the conditions became favorable before the last freeze and since other courses are starting to see symptoms we have applied another application to curb any problems before they arise.

Upcoming Events

This coming season we are considering early aerifcation of the greens and then follow up with aerification across tees and fairways.  We have usually gone at the end of April or the start of May, but weather permitted we should be able to complete the projects within a month.  We will follow up the aerfication process with sand and fertilizer.

We are looking to bring the seasonal team on earlier this year to accommodate the large aerification project that we are scheduling.  This will help us move through the aerification project before the mowing practices are in full force.

Please take the time to follow my blog.  You can view it on the course webpage under the course maintenance page www.indiansummergolf.com  or straight to the blog at  www.indiansummergolf.blogspot.com

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Justin Ruiz, CGCS, MG

justinr@indiansummergolf.com

Winter Weather Restrictions

We are headed to a record setting December this year.  The driest in over 100yrs.  We have also had our share of freezing temperatures as well. Dry cold conditions, freezing temperatures all add up to less than satisfying turfgrass growing conditions resulting in course restrictions and closure.

www.storyofsnow.com

In the Northwest, turfgrass continues to grow all year long.  The winter months become cold, but not so cold to initiate dormancy. As the temperatures get low for a week or two at a time it causes us to become cautious with letting people on the course.  This can put the turf team and the golf shop in a tough situation as we communicate course delays and closures to members that would like to go play.

Usually, a cold snap will produce frosty conditions which is straight forward on holding people back from playing until the frost lifts.  I have mentioned it before and most people understand why we cannot allow traffic on frosted turf.  Traffic on frost conditions can destroy leaf tissue and leave turf thin and weak all winter long. The slow growing conditions during the winter can slow healing down to a crawl and it could take months to come back with any other disturbances.

If the cold snap continues for an extended period of time then we have the possibility of the ground freezing. This opens up a completely different set of issues that are much more difficult to explain because they are not as visible as the frost conditions.  In fact the ground could be frozen and the turf not frosty at all.

When the ground is completely frozen and the turf is not frosty we can allow play.  When the ground begins to thaw and the top layer is thawed but frozen underneath we cannot allow play.  It becomes a little confusing because we could be open one day when it is cold and then when it warms up it only makes sense that it is better for golf, but it is not for the course.

www.wunderground.com

As the ground thaws and there is a layer beneath that is frozen we are susceptible to a couple damaging issues.  One is the potential of the top layer shifting form the golfing traffic.  The other is the potential for extreme soil compaction.

If the top layer shifts from the traffic of players we have the potential to have root shearing.  A portion of the roots remain in the frozen layer while the rest of the plant has been thawed and in usually a saturated layer.  The saturated layer is not much for structure and can shift fairly easily.  This is why we do not allow any traffic onto the course even the turf equipment.  The damage is not easily seen like a frost damaged foot print but it can show its ugly head in the spring as the turf begins to need water and nutrients.

As I explained above, the top layer is in a saturated area which also lends to severe compaction.  Not even an inch below might be frozen like concrete which gives a good back board to squeeze that top layer between a foot and the frozen ground.  This also is not damage that is easily seen, but will give us problems as we enter the next season.

Please bear with us as we tread lightly through the winter months.  Although instant damage may not occur it is the future complications that we want to avoid.  If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Justin Ruiz, CGCS, MG
justinr@indiansummergolf.com  

Chipping Green Renovation Update

The chipping green at the practice facility was not a good representation of the golf course this last year. We decided to make use of our aerification plugs from the greens to renovate the small chipping green.

We redesigned the chipping green to have three separate tiers and nearly double the square footage. The reason for the larger size was to give us the ability to use a portion for a nursery if we needed. We also wanted to make it possible to practice a variety of different shots around the green.

The green is coming along really well and we are planning our first cut very soon. If you have any comments or questions about the renovated chipping green, please contact me.

Justin Ruiz, CGCS, MG

justinr@indiansummergolf.com

 

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Practice Area Upgrade

If you have been to the practice area lately, you have probably noticed the chipping green has been renovated. For quite some time the chipping green has been lackluster to say the least. The green was not a good representation of the golf course.

A few weeks ago we stripped the old sod off of the chipping green and re-graded the sand underneath. We enlarged the green in hopes to make use of some of the area on the course if needed. We are also trying to create more of a variety of chip and pitch shots to practice.

This season we also tried to make the driving range a little more interesting with better targets. We mowed out several areas that were most likely previously used for target greens. We also added some flags at short intervals to hone in your wedges. I think this has worked since the amount of debris left on the range tee has increased quite a bit since we mowed out these areas.

Stay tuned for more improvements over the winter and next spring. We have a laundry list of things to do. Don't forget to talk up the club to your friends. It is a pretty exciting time to join the club.

Also, don't forget to fill out your survey. The survey is important to help get your opinion heard on what you like about the club and what we can do to make your membership more valuable.

If you have any question please contact me.

Justin Ruiz, CGCS, MG

justinr@indiansummergolf.com

 

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2012 Member Guest

Today was the first day of the Men's Member Guest. The maintenance team has had a tough week getting the course prepared for the tournament.

We started the week with many of the staff sick. Short staffed and a number of events lined up for the week we were scrambling to get the normal mowing completed before the big day. To put the cherry on top our sidewinder rough unit broke down before the tournament started today but we were able to get the course ready for our members and their guest for the first round afternoon shotgun.

This evening the skills challenge took place on the practice area. We help set up the different stations and added some flare to the challenge.

Here is a picture of this year's logo. Last year, I painted the logo as the target for the pitch shot. This year I painted the logo for the teeing ground of the pitch shot.

I enjoy all the great comments this summer and during the tournament. We have completed a lot of projects this year. We are moving in the right direction and I am glad that members have been noticing the new changes.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me,

Justin Ruiz, CGCS, MG

justinr@indiansummergolf.com

 

 

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Divot Party

The divot repair party was a huge success. The members had a great time on the golf course and helped our staff by filling in all the divots on the fairways and tees.

I have had quite a few members ask me if I prefer that divots are filled with sand or to replace the pelt. It is a great question and I always answer it the same.a I feel that repairing the divot is best done with sand and seed.

 

A divot that has the pelt replaced is prone to failing unless it is a large enough piece of sod to stay in the hole. The fairway mowers will most likely pull the replaced turf out of its hole. The blower will also blow replaced divots out of their hole as well. Sand and seed performs best in both situations.

 

I would also like to address the driving range divots. I have sen a few blog posts from other superintendents showing divot patterns that they have requested at their golf courses for quicker healing. Taking divots in rows or strips will help the grass fill in quicker. Below are a couple of pictures to show you the difference.

 

The top picture show a strip of divots. Then the next strip was started yet leaving some grass between the two strips. This has a much quicker healing time. The bottom picture shows a more traditional pattern. It makes for a long recover time when a large area like this is removed. The grass has a long way to go to get to the middle of that area and seed has less protection from the elements and mowers.

 

If you can please try to take divots in strips this would help with the recovery time and help us utilize our range more efficiently.

 

If you have any questions about the divot party or the range divot patterns please contact me.

 

Justinr@indiansummergolf.com

 

 

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Fall Aerification Video

I wanted to share this video.  This was our process this fall with the 1/2" I.D. quadtines.  The process was successful and the greens recovered quickly.

If you have any questions please contact me.

Justin Ruiz, CGCS
justinr@indiansummergolf.com