October 30, 2010

Here is a picture of the 6th rough where we tilled and seeded earlier this month...even after 30 years of doing this, I still get excited to see the grass come up!

October 15, 2010

On hole # 6, left of the tee to fairway rough, there is an area where the turf has continually struggled to grow. The soil has been seriously compacted, worn down, and has lost its structure due to years and years of traffic. Whatever topsoil that might have been in this area, is gone. And to make things worse, the area is bordered by trees which block sunlight, and whose roots compete for water and nutrients.

This area indeed has a few challenges! On Wednesday, we did all we could to face them!

The first thing we did was to spread topsoil over the area, and then add peat moss. We then spread slow releasing organic fertilizer and gypsum (for calcium). The last thing we added to our “mix” was a product that supplies micro nutrients, sulfur, potassium, and manganese. After all these were spread, we roto-tilled the area five times to mix it in and to relieve all that compaction. What we were not able to do was remove the trees!

After the area was raked out and leveled, we seeded it with a mix of grasses that best tolerate shade, poor soil, and to a degree, traffic. And finally, we roped it off so that the seedbed would not be damaged.

It was quite a lot of work!

Now we just need to keep it moist and nurture it to grow. I will post blog updates on how the area progresses, so please stay tuned!

October 8, 2010

The weather seems to be returning to a more normal pattern…the temperatures are becoming more in tune with historical averages rather than record breakers, and needed rain has returned. Perhaps the last two weeks have been somewhat frustrating to some of us with the rain storms, yet the rain alleviated the current short term drought conditions and delayed the NJ DEP from issuing statewide water restrictions.

We have been very busy reseeding the few areas in the rough where we lost some turf. We are using a mix of bluegrass and creeping fescue on these areas – bluegrass for wear and drought tolerance along with disease resistance, and fescue for drought tolerance. In some areas we add a bit of ryegrass for quick cover, expecting that the blue will out compete it by next summer. This is the same overseeding program that we’ve done in the rough over the past five years. We’ve had a lot of success with these varieties.

Over the next few weeks we will be applying herbicides in the rough to reduce weed populations! Fall is the best and most effective time for weed control due to the cool growing conditions! We will also begin rough aeration too.

One other project that we are in the process of completing is planting a privacy screen of arborvitaes along the northeast side of the 13th tee.

So we are busy – using the fall to prepare for next spring…

September 22, 2010

The Fall Solstice is now less than a day away, yet the warm and dry weather continues. This weather pattern is forecast to continue with higher than normal temperatures and little rainfall.

Looking back over the summer, there were… 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44 days over 90 degrees since April!

And the record highs that were set so far this year:
- March 19…73 degrees
- April 6…88 degrees
- April 7… 91 degrees
- May 2…88 degrees
- June 20…95 degrees
- June 25…99 degrees
- July 5…99 degrees
- July 6 …102 degrees
- July 7…98 degrees
- July 24…99 degrees
- July 25…99 degrees
- August 5…96 degrees
- August 29…98 degrees
- August 31…99 degrees

April, June, and July of 2010 respectively were the warmest single months ever recorded.
There was less than 6 inches of rain combined June through August.
On September 8, 2010 the NJ DEP declared a drought watch.

September 21, 2010

It has been less than two weeks since we aerated the greens and fairways. With the nice weather that we are having, and after-aeration care, the greens and fairways are almost completely healed. Next week we will be back to lower mowing heights and grooming!

During the aeration, we overseeded all the tees with a bentgrass variety mix, and are happy to say that the seed is coming up strong! The overseeding was done to increase the bent population of the tee boxes, which will help reduce the time it takes for divot healing, as the bent will grow over.

With the return of moderate weather, we are picking back up activities to improve the course. Presently, we are preparing the area left of 13 tee to plant a screen of arborvitaes to seclude the tee from neighborhood yards.

September 15, 2010

You’ve probably noticed that there are a great number of monarch butterflies in the air throughout the course, and many more on flowering plants and shrubs resting or taking in nectar.

This is the start of the monarch’s fall migration to Mexico where they will “hibernate” for the winter. It’s hard to imagine that such a light and fragile insect has the bird like abilities to navigate these long distances and survive. The monarch is the only butterfly to do this.

Next spring, the monarchs will make their way back north in successive generations.

Monarchs lay their eggs on milkweed plants which is the only plant the monarch caterpillar feeds on. There are “toxins” in the milkweed plant that make the caterpillar bad tasting to predators, so most birds, etc leave it well enough alone. To help the monarch along and increase its populations, we let milkweed plants grow where they do not interfere with play. One area is at the top of the 15-16 tunnel banks nearest 15 green.

This is another example of how Greate Bay does all it to can help wildlife.

September 10, 2010

A few weeks ago, on Saturday, August 14th, I attended the Eagle Scout presentation and ceremony for Chris Waniak of Somers Point, a member the area’s local BSA Troop 55.

In May of 2009, Chris did his Eagle Scout Community Service project here at Greate Bay, erecting nesting boxes and nesting tubes for mason bees, and placing them throughout the golf course. I helped Chris with the planning and implementation of this project as part of our certification project with Audubon International. Together we made a great team.

I am proud of Chris for achieving the honor of Eagle Scout. I know that he will continue to achieve and make a difference in this world throughout his lifetime.

Congratulations Chris – you deserve it!

Related notes:

Chris is the son of James Waniak, who is not a stranger to golf! Jim was an Assistant Superintendent of Linwood CC and later became the Golf Course Superintendent of B.L. England. Jim is now in charge of the fields for the Atlantic City school system.

Heidi Hibbs, Chef Norm Hibb’s wife, has been very active throughout the years with BSA Troop 55. Both sons of Norm and Hiedi achieved Eagle Scout as members of BSA Troop 55.