October 28, 2011

I was probably just as surprised as anyone else was this morning to see a thin layer of frost on my windshield. It seems too early to be this cold already....but then again it seemed too early to be 90 degrees last April too. The weather is changing.

Earlier today Bucky made a trip out to my office and we talked about possibilities of having frost delays these next few days. We talked about getting everyone out as soon as possible and to still have the course prepped. We are always trying.

If it does frost, we ask that you stay off the course, including the practice greens, until we clear the course for play. Traffic and frost don’t go well together. The frozen plant cells will crack like frozen balloons if pressure is applied to them. If enough cells are cracked, the plant dies. Damage may not show for days, and sometimes not for weeks. But it will. Trust me - I have seen it.

Bucky and I work really close together when we get frosts, and as soon as we can, with out wasting a minute, we will get you to your tee. Your patience is appreciated, and it pays off with keeping the course in great condition.

October 20, 2011

Leaves, leaves, and leaves.....We get more leaf fall than snow fall!

From here on in we will be dealing with the leaves from the thousands of trees on the course – blowing, raking, gathering, and mulching. Leaf clean up requires more labor hours per year than any other job we perform, except for mowing greens.

We have already begun to send out staff to blow off the greens, tees, and fairways on a daily basis, followed by the rough mowers fitted with leaf mulching kits. We send staff to rake the leaves, acorns, hickory nuts, etc from the bunkers. Sometimes the leaves fall faster than we can keep up, and on windy days, it’s almost impossible as they scurry in all directions to escape us!

October 7, 2011

As the weather cools, we have been doing some “re-hab” to the course. These past weeks we have aerated, fertilized, and overseeded the tees. We fertilized the fairways and are in the process of overseeding areas that have thinned a bit due to the elements and everyday wear and tear. We are sodding the few areas on collars that suffered from the summer’s heat. We are catching up on tree work and repairing cart paths too. Soon we will be overseeding  and aerating the rough.

For the greens department, it is the beginning of the 2012 season. The work we do now benefits the course this year, but it really pays off the next.

Note: The months of August and September have been the area’s wettest ever since weather records have been kept.

September 24, 2011

For our Audubon re –certification project, we chose to make the course friendlier to the monarch butterfly that passes through the area on its trek north from Mexico in the spring, and back again in the fall.

Early in 2010 we identified and preserved milkweed beds growing along both tunnel slopes to provide habitat for the monarch butterfly. We also preserved areas that were growing flowering plants that the monarch liked as a nectar source. We continued this project through this year, and hope to expand it in the coming years.

The monarch butterfly larvae only feed on one plant – milkweed! And for that reason milkweed is the only plant that the monarch will lays its eggs on. The digested milkweed makes the monarch caterpillar “toxic” to other animals that eat them and makes them sick. An animal soon learns not to eat these caterpillars, and so the monarch specie naturally protects its population generation after generation. It’s an arrangement that worked so well for awhile...

.....except for one thing the monarch could not plan on....Man, his machines, and herbicides. Over the years, development and the “need” to have manicured open spaces has greatly reduced the population of milkweed plants, which in turn has reduced the population of monarchs. This is why preserving remaining communities of milkweed and establishing new ones is important.

We are lucky that we have areas out of play that support the milkweed plant. These past years we have not allowed the staff to cut them down, and we do not use any herbicides in these areas. It is our goal to help the monarch by helping the milkweed!

September 20, 2011

Lightning 101 - Do not stand under a tree in a thunder storm!

This strike occurred on Thursday afternoon, September 15. It hit the tree top and passed through the tree, exploding its bark and wood, and throwing it thirty yards away. Had anyone taken shelter there... 

If you hear thunder, come off the course immediately and finish your round after the storm passes- its just not worth it to take a chance with lightning.

September 14, 2011

A few random clips.....

The greens are healing up really well following last week’s aeration. By next week they should be back to normal! Thanks for understanding the reasons for, and the long term value, of aeration. Our staff greatly appreciates your support!

We are aerating tees now– a few at a time, and doing our best not to be too disruptive. We will also topdress and over seed them. Our goal is to make them healthier and denser.

We are still cleaning up from Hurricane Irene. Over thirty trees were uprooted or blown down, and many more trees suffered damage from broken branches and leaders. Yoos Tree Service has come almost every day since the storm to cut up and chip the fallen trees and broken branches, trim out “hangers”, and grind stumps. Some of you asked why there are letters on the trees....it’s to identify each tree and compile data regarding the damage suffered by each tree.

We have decided to lay down Ken’Surprise Tournament for this year. With all that’s going on with aeration, over seeding, hurricane clean-up, and coming projects, our staff is unable to give the tournament the time and effort to make it as successful and fun as we’d like. And we don’t want to do it half way....that wouldn’t be right....you deserve better than that. We will hold it in 2012, and we will do our best to make it worth your wait...!

August 31, 2011

#5 with debris and downed trees to the left of the fairway

When I toured the course after Hurricane Irene, I first counted our blessings that the storm could have been a lot worse, and secondly, the twenty three trees that the storm blew down. It was the back end of the storm on Sunday afternoon that brought very powerful south west winds and uprooted most of the downed trees. Fortunately, none came down on any greens, tees, equipment, buildings, or irrigation satellites.

Along with the downed trees and tons of debris, Irene’s heavy rains washed out bunkers and cart paths, which will take a lot of work to restore.

On Monday we began cleaning up. Our first priority was safety....to remove / take down leaning trees and broken branches left hanging in trees. We brought in Yoos Tree service to take down what we were not equipped to do, and for the rest of the week they and our staff will be working together to get everything chipped up. With the added help of staff from the bag drop and clubhouse, we began cleaning out the bunkers and re grading the main cart paths on Tuesday. We are also working to get back on our regular mowing and maintenance schedules, and also to prepare for Memorial Day weekend and next weeks aeration!

We do have our work cut out for us....

#2 greenside bunker completely washed out

Downed pine on #11

Oak on #13

Masses of downed branches on #14

One of the many uprooted trees on #1

Chipping up trees on #1