It seemed like the leave's on the trees produced some great color this fall, but it peaked very quickly. I'm sure the lack of rainfall has stressed the trees which caused this. Here are some pictures from the fall.
 |
| Hole #7 |
 |
| Hole #9 |
 |
| Hole #1 |
 |
| Hole #4 |
The CRCC Turf Management blog is designed to communicate the goals and strategies of our management practices along with some general information to ensure that you have a great golfing experience.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Fall color
It seemed like the leave's on the trees produced some great color this fall, but it peaked very quickly. I'm sure the lack of rainfall has stressed the trees which caused this. Here are some pictures from the fall.
RECAP OF 2012
DRY and HOT. I think that explains the 2012 season. Year to date, we have received 22" of rain for the year which is 11" below normal. There is a positive and negative side to this:
POSITIVE SIDE:
1. Course conditions are more controllable. We can manage the water in accordance to plant needs. Deep and infrequent irrigation along with the use of wetting agents created fast, firm conditions.
2. Lower humidity reduces disease pressure which reduces the number of pesticide applications.
3. All member and outside events ran. This is the first time in my 11 years at CRCC that we had no cancellations due to weather.
4. The top 6" of the soil profile, which is where the majority of the root system is for the turf grass, seems to have adequate moisture even with the drought.
5. Projects are completed with minimal disruption.
6. The locker room and facility smell better due to the lack of wet clothes.
NEGATIVE SIDE:
1. There is an increase in the cost of electricity due to the increase use of the irrigation system.
2. Grass seed doesn't germinate.
3. Irrigation water doesn't give you a good flushing of the soil profile like a good rain does.
4. Drought conditions affect trees more than the turf due to the lack of sub-soil moisture. Trees that are diseased or weak will be extremely affected.
Along with the drought came the heat. I recorded at the golf course 36 days over 90 degrees and 3 days over 100 degrees. The best thing about the heat was the lack of humidity. The days were very dry which made it tolerable. The majority of time this summer was spent hand watering greens and fairways to keep conditions consistent.
POSITIVE SIDE:
1. Course conditions are more controllable. We can manage the water in accordance to plant needs. Deep and infrequent irrigation along with the use of wetting agents created fast, firm conditions.
2. Lower humidity reduces disease pressure which reduces the number of pesticide applications.
3. All member and outside events ran. This is the first time in my 11 years at CRCC that we had no cancellations due to weather.
4. The top 6" of the soil profile, which is where the majority of the root system is for the turf grass, seems to have adequate moisture even with the drought.
5. Projects are completed with minimal disruption. 6. The locker room and facility smell better due to the lack of wet clothes.
NEGATIVE SIDE:
1. There is an increase in the cost of electricity due to the increase use of the irrigation system.
2. Grass seed doesn't germinate.
3. Irrigation water doesn't give you a good flushing of the soil profile like a good rain does.
4. Drought conditions affect trees more than the turf due to the lack of sub-soil moisture. Trees that are diseased or weak will be extremely affected. Along with the drought came the heat. I recorded at the golf course 36 days over 90 degrees and 3 days over 100 degrees. The best thing about the heat was the lack of humidity. The days were very dry which made it tolerable. The majority of time this summer was spent hand watering greens and fairways to keep conditions consistent.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Fall Projects
We started a few projects last week on the driving range. We enlarged the practice green and removed the bushes that separated the green from the parking lot. We are in the process of installing drainage on the driving range fairway and building a new forward tee. The drainage is being installed to catch the water as it crosses the range before it reaches number 1 fairway. The drainage will help dry out the range and number 1 & 3 fairways. We are adding another driving range tee for Monday events, some junior golf and area to use when conditions aren't favorable to use the regular tee. The tee will be sodded with blue grass instead of bent grass for quicker recovery. 
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Update for Week of August 13th
The week looks great for turf recovery as temperature's are expected to be in the upper 70's to low 80's for highs and lows in the 50's. The golf course is in great shape following the hottest month on record. The area's that received the most damage were on the fairways and approaches with the majority of turf loss being annual bluegrass. We will go in to these area's and core aerify, verticut, seed and topdress. It will take a couple of weeks for these area's to fill in with bentgrass.
I planned on mini-tining greens tomorrow, but the rain is going to delay us. I don't want to put the aerifiers on the greens when they are soft. We will re-schedule for a different date. The greens held up great during the summer. The greens program will change in a couple of weeks to promote the bent over the poa.
We lost the majority of our summer staff this past week. They did a great job and I appreciate all of their efforts. Staffing went from 22 employees to 8. This is normal for us and we always make it through it. The majority of the changes include ride mowing greens and tees instead of walk mowing and altering the maintenance to bunkers, course set-up and projects.
See you on the course.
I planned on mini-tining greens tomorrow, but the rain is going to delay us. I don't want to put the aerifiers on the greens when they are soft. We will re-schedule for a different date. The greens held up great during the summer. The greens program will change in a couple of weeks to promote the bent over the poa.
We lost the majority of our summer staff this past week. They did a great job and I appreciate all of their efforts. Staffing went from 22 employees to 8. This is normal for us and we always make it through it. The majority of the changes include ride mowing greens and tees instead of walk mowing and altering the maintenance to bunkers, course set-up and projects.
See you on the course.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Golf Course Update
The golf course is in good shape despite the current weather pattern. Next week looks hot through Thursday with a break in temperatures by Friday. The primary turf (greens, tees and fairways) is in excellent shape. We have lost some poa annua on green collars and fairways, but these areas will fill in with bentgrass or be inter-seeded.
This is the first year that we have relied on the irrigation system since installing it four years ago and it has worked perfectly. The triple row system has allowed us to manage the watering requirements for the bentgrass in the fairways and the bluegrass in the rough. The system is much more efficient than the old system. We have 1200 irrigation heads compared to 550 on the old system and because of the efficiency the system uses 25% less water and has 50% more coverage. Also, our labor hours are greatly reduced with the new system.
The course will play softer this week. Please remember to replace divot's and repair ball mark's. Once we get through this weather pattern we will get course conditions back to normal.
This is the first year that we have relied on the irrigation system since installing it four years ago and it has worked perfectly. The triple row system has allowed us to manage the watering requirements for the bentgrass in the fairways and the bluegrass in the rough. The system is much more efficient than the old system. We have 1200 irrigation heads compared to 550 on the old system and because of the efficiency the system uses 25% less water and has 50% more coverage. Also, our labor hours are greatly reduced with the new system.
The course will play softer this week. Please remember to replace divot's and repair ball mark's. Once we get through this weather pattern we will get course conditions back to normal.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Weekly Update July 9th
This week's weather looks much better than last week. The average high last week at the course was 95 degrees with the low at 75 degrees. This week we are facing upper 80's and low 90's, but the lows are in the 60's. Cool season grass responds much better to this week's weather versus last week. Last weeks soil temperatures at a 3" depth was right at 88 degrees. That is one of the highest readings that I have seen in Cedar Rapids. The reasoning is the heat along with the lack of rain. The rain helps cool the soil. The dry weather has forced us to do quite a bit of hand watering. We have a great irrigation system, but I try to balance playability with watering. I like to keep the course on the dry side which causes some area's to become localized, which means that one area on the fairway has adequate moisture, but another area is dry. To take care of the dry area we must hand water.
This week we look forward to the Swinging Bridge Member/Guest tournament. We really don't do a lot different for this week other than alter our mowing schedule. The weather for the event looks perfect so conditions should be great.
I have included a few improvements in this weeks blog. Jim Pillard, the horticulturist, has done an outstanding job with the flowers and landscaping here at the club since coming on board two years ago. My staff, lead by Assistant Tim Salazar, have also done a great job and are the reason the golf course is in such great shape.
 |
| Spray tech Brad Larson hand watering fairways. |
I have included a few improvements in this weeks blog. Jim Pillard, the horticulturist, has done an outstanding job with the flowers and landscaping here at the club since coming on board two years ago. My staff, lead by Assistant Tim Salazar, have also done a great job and are the reason the golf course is in such great shape.
 |
| New planting in front of Club |
 |
| #1 Tee expansion |
 |
| Bluebird nest left of #4 |
Sunday, July 1, 2012
July 2nd Weekly Update
The week looks hot and dry with temperatures in the 90's and lows in the 70's. This past week we did receive some needed rain, but I would rather control the moisture through the irrigation system while the heat is on.
This week we plan to apply the grub control to the greens, tees and fairways. We will start on Monday and finish on Tuesday. We are also are cleaning along the creek on 15 and 17, detailing the ponds, detailing bunkers and monitoring the course for heat stress.
The course will play a little softer due to the heat and humidity. The seven day forcast is hot and humid, so the plan is to make sure that the turf responds in a positive way. We had a mild winter and a great spring, so the turf is going into the heat of the summer in great shape. I plan to keep green speeds at 10', but this is close to a foot slower than they have been. Please remember that the greens have been rolling quicker than they have for quite a few years, so bear with me and as soon as the weather breaks we will be able to quicken things up again.
This week we plan to apply the grub control to the greens, tees and fairways. We will start on Monday and finish on Tuesday. We are also are cleaning along the creek on 15 and 17, detailing the ponds, detailing bunkers and monitoring the course for heat stress.
The course will play a little softer due to the heat and humidity. The seven day forcast is hot and humid, so the plan is to make sure that the turf responds in a positive way. We had a mild winter and a great spring, so the turf is going into the heat of the summer in great shape. I plan to keep green speeds at 10', but this is close to a foot slower than they have been. Please remember that the greens have been rolling quicker than they have for quite a few years, so bear with me and as soon as the weather breaks we will be able to quicken things up again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)