What A Summer!!

What a difference a year makes.  Maybe Mother Nature is trying to show some kindness after last years brutal heat and drought.  Regardless, this year the weather has been great for growing grass with just 10 days or so of hot temperatures thus far in the summer.  Mid August is when we see the days begin to shorten and even "hot" days don't seem to be that much of a problem.
 
The cooler night time temperatures are always a welcome sight and we started seeing those return in late July.  Last year we did not see a day with a low in the sixties from mid May until August 12th.  That was a long stretch of terrible weather.  This year we were wearing wind shirts and jackets in July with a few lows in the 50's.  Can you say "Climate Change"?  If you are not a believer in global warming you have to agree that we are seeing weather extremes pushed to new limits.

Hole #6 July 2013

  The course remains in good shape and playing conditions are very good.  As we enter into the fall we are preparing for a busy September highlighted by The Grandview Invitational September 12-14.  The Course will be closed on September 23-24 for fall aeration of the course.  September and October are always busy with agronomic tasks that begin to prepare the course for the upcoming winter and next year's season.

But for now, what a great end of summer!  Come out and enjoy the course during the final round of summer.  Next week's forecast is a little warmer in the upper 80's.  The kids are returning to school and soon fall football, soccer and my personal favorite, hockey will dominate any free time that is available.  For now, get out and enjoy the course.       

Busy Week for Visitors

This week was a little different in that we had many guests come to tour the course.  Oscar Miles, Retired Certified Golf Course Superintendent paid us a visit on Monday with a group from Spring Lake Country Club in Quincy, Illinois.  Mr Miles is consulting for Spring Lake C.C. during a gas and regrass project that they are going to be doing.  Oscar is somewhat of a legend among superintendents in Illinois as he was Superintendent at the Merit Club in Chicago for over 20 years.  He was also Superintendent at Olympia Fields and Butler National prior to the Merit Club and is in the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame.  Oscar has hosted numerous PGA and LPGA tour events during his 40+ year career as a Superintendent.  It was an honor to spend time with him on our golf course.  He was impressed with the results of our regrassing project as were the rest of the group.

Oscar Miles (far right) with group from Spring Lake C.C.

 
Tuesday we had a visit from Dr. James Crum, PhD from Michigan State University.  Dr. Crum is one of the leading authorities on turfgrass soils/ chemistry in the industry.  He has worked around the globe as a consultant for such projects as the Beijing Olympics, World Soccer Federation, NFL, Major League Baseball and countless golf courses from Spain to China.  He was here to visit our MSU intern Kyle DeRoo who has been with us this season.  Again it was an honor to have Dr. Crum on the course for a tour and he also attended a Green Committee meeting that evening and gave some insight into the benefits of topdressing fairways.  Dr. Crum has always been a mentor to me and his evaluation and input of our course is always appreciated on his visits.  He has visited our course numerous times over the last 8 years so he has seen the transition as course improvements were made and was very complimentary of the course conditions.

Thursday we had Dr. Ed Nangle, PhD, Director of Turgrass Programs for the CDGA on the course for the morning.  Dr. Nangle is new this year to his CDGA position and was visiting different courses around the state to get a feel for the diversity of growing conditions and challenges that he will be consulting on.  Originally from Ireland Dr. Nangle did his PhD work at The Ohio State University.  (We won't hold that Against him! )  He worked in New Zealand and Florida prior to making his way to the Chicagoland area.  Illinois is an interesting state to be a turf advisor as you have both warm season grasses in the south and cool season grasses in the north with the transition zone in between.  After meeting Dr. Nangle he will be a great asset to all CDGA clubs throughout the state as he has worked with all grass types.  He was pleased with our golf course and surprised by the topography that the course is on.  We look forward to working with Dr. Nangle on agronomic issues and wish him luck in his new position.

The course continues to be in good shape so get out and play some golf.  The ten day forecast looks good and it is hard to believe we are looking at mid July already.  The heat and humidity have not been too bad and the staff and the turf both appreciate that!  
     

The 4th of July.....Already

Where did June go?   As we move into July the weather for the first few days has felt like late May!  Highs in the 70's and nighttime temperatures in the low 60's.  What a strange year we are having.  The course remains in good shape as we head into July and what is usually the most stressful time of year for the turf.  Warmer temperatures and the humidity have to show up sooner or later but until then this weather is simply Awesome!

Hole #1 at Country Club of Peoria

The weather for the 4th of July could not be better so come out and play some golf.  It is a great way to burn off some of those BBQ ribs and get ready for all the fireworks that will be presented in the area. 
We all enjoy the parades and fireworks but let's not forget what this day is in celebration of.  On July 4th, 1776 our forefathers signed the Declaration of Independence declaring our freedom and separation from Great Britain.  Please remember those who currently serve in the military and past veterans as Americans have always led the fight for freedom and justice not only on our soil back in 1776 but around the world.  We should all remember that freedom is not free so thank a veteran or someone currently serving in the military for what they have done for our country.  God Bless America!      

Hole #4 ready for some golf!

Come out and enjoy some golf, eat plenty of BBQ and be safe as you enjoy the fireworks during the holiday.  The CCP Golf Maintenance Staff wish you all a Happy and Safe 4th of July.

4th of July celebration at Washington Monument

A Fine Time to Deep Tine

As we prepare the course for the summer stress period we are utilizing a new deep tine machine that was purchased earlier this Spring.  The Redxim 7120 Verti-Drain can drive solid or hollow tines down to 8 inches deep.  We are using this machine on the fairways to relieve a hard pan that has developed at a 3 inch depth.  After aerating the fairways at a depth of 3 inches for the last 50 plus years it is not hard to imagine that a compaction layer has developed in the soil profile.  The same problem occurs in agriculture after a crop field is plowed for years at a 10 inch depth.  A hard pan develops in the soil profile at the bottom of the plowing depth.  This new machine allows us to break through that hard pan and shatter the soil profile at depth. We have the flexibility to set the depth anywhere from 1 to 8 inches. 

Deep tiner in use.  Turf behind the machine is ready for play

The process has very little impact on golf as it does not pull up any debris and creates very small holes.  The surface is basically playable immediately after the process is completed.  A very small half inch hole may be visible but for most golfers will go unnoticed.  After the fairway is mowed a couple of times the holes cannot be seen.  We set the machine to a depth of 4.5 inches to start with and over the next few years will continue to go deeper.  We are finding there are plenty of hard objects at the 4.5 inch depth and can only imagine what we will find once we are down to 7 or 8 inches!      

Holes made by half inch solid tines 4.5 inches deep

We will deep tine Fairways and Tees a couple of times during the season. Some Superintendents are using this machine on greens and we may test that out at some point in time.

Deep tining obviously helps break up and shatter compacted layers but there are other side benefits.  It allows water and air movement down into the root zone.  It also provides a great channel for new root growth to occur and promotes deep healthy root systems.

We are excited to have this piece of equipment in our "tool box" and to see the improvements it can make to our turf quality and turf root system.  The course is playing very well right now and is in good shape so come out and enjoy it.       

8 inch long deep tines used on fairways  

    

Rain, Rain and More Rain!

Lately it seems that the rain will just not end.  Over the last week from May 26 to June 2 we recorded over 7 inches of rain at our course weather station.  Some may believe that this is good for the turf but excessive rain can cause numerous issues for the turf plant and is an area of concern for Golf Course Superintendents.

Saturated soil conditions limit pore space for air and gas exchanges to occur in the root zone and roots need oxygen.  Some areas of the course have had standing water on them for the last week.  Bent grass suffers drastically when submerged for more than 24 hours and we are seeing some submerged areas turning yellow and thinning out after being underwater for almost an entire week.   

#1 fairway after .4 inches of rain in 20 minutes

Prolonged saturated soils also prevent the turf plant from developing a deep root system.  This may not result in immediate decline in plant health but when the summer stress period shows up in July and August plant health declines readily.  Root development occurs in the top 2-3 inches of the soil profile because plants have not had to put roots down to seek moisture.  The roots heat up very quickly in the top 2-3 inches as soil temperatures increase resulting in plant health decline and root die back.  This time of year we would usually water deep and infrequently to force the plants to develop deep root systems.  The current rains are exactly the opposite of this agronomic strategy. 

The other issue that is concerning is disease pressure.  Saturated soils along with higher soil temperature literally provide the perfect environment for disease development.  It is like Mother Natures petri dish!  You might ask, "Don't you spray for disease control?"  We do spray but getting the sprayer out on saturated soils can cause major damage to the turf due to rutting and ripping the turf right out of the ground.  Getting mowers, sprayers or any large equipment out on the course for any daily maintenance over the last week has become very challenging. 

As you can see the current situation regarding rain has created many concerns for the upcoming season and we have not even touched on current playability or the financial impacts it has on the Club.  We will do our best to manage our way through this situation and get the course back in shape.  Understand that the course is not drying out very well and getting carts out will take a few dry days and some time.  Unfortunately this weeks forecast is calling for more rain mid week.  Hopefully the forecasters are wrong.  Last year we could not buy a rain event and this year we could not pay to keep rain away!  Crazy....                        

      

Spring Aeration Nears Completion

The aeration of greens, tees, approaches, fairways and cart path ends is very close to completion.  The greens and tees were aerated 2 weeks ago and have fully recovered from the process.  We have 3 fairways left to aerate and we will be done with this important spring cultural practice.  The weather over the last few weeks has been challenging in getting the fairways completed as we lost numerous days to rain but we will wrap up fairway aeration this week.



#5 fairway being aerated

 Aerating these areas is a huge task and one that is vitally important in promoting healthy turf.  It allows gas and water exchange to the root zone, relieves soil compaction and removes thatch.  Thatch is the dead and dying organic matter that if allowed to accumulate can cause many issues.  Thatch can tie up water, nutrient and chemical applications preventing them from getting down into the root zone of the plant.  Excessive thatch can also "cap" or seal off the gas exchange between the root zone and the atmosphere allowing toxic levels of gases to build up in the root zone and potentially reduce plant health. 
The benefits of aeration are numerous and it is one practice that allows us to nurse the turf through the summer stress period.  We understand that it is disruptive to play but the short term inconvenience provides long term benefits in providing good playing conditions throughout the season.

#4 green 13 days after aeration.  Hard to tell it had been done!

So the next time you see that holes have been punched in a playing surface, please consider the below ground benefits it is providing to the turf.  A few weeks of inconvenience now provides 3-4 months of solid playing conditions during the season.  That is not such a bad deal, is it? 
Get out and enjoy the course as conditions are very good currently and the weather has been fantastic, except for the rain days!                 

A River Runs Through It....

Just a quick post showing the current status of the course after 3.62 inches of rain in the last 24 hours.  There will be no carts today but if you are interested in a canoe or kayak rental we can work out the arrangements. 

No. 1 fairway with new water hazard

The forecast today is calling for another 1-2 inches so we will be wet for a few days.  Hopefully the rain will stop before Friday and we can dry out and have carts sometime this weekend.  Crazy weather!!
Have a good end of the week and stay dry.

River through driving range!