Japanese Beetles

Japanese beetle infestation on a Linden Tree. Hopefuly our early grub control application will have us protected.



June 29th Weather

Current Conditions: 6:30am
It is currently overcast and 75 degrees. Southeast winds are light gusting up to 9 mph. We had just under .7" of rain this morning forcing us to keep carts on paths for a while.

Forecast:
Expect cloudy conditions early eventually clearing this afternoon. Temperatures will reach the mid 90's with heat index values approaching 105. South winds should remain light around 7 mph.

Good Vegetables

 Lately I have been asked by a few readers if I know of any good produce stands so I figured I would respond to everyone. I recently purchased some beets and carrots from a stand in the Old Market that is owned by Rhizosphere Farms. It was my first experience with their produce and it was quite good. From what I gathered they are a small organic farm located in Waterloo and they have stands at the weekend farmers markets in the Old Market and Aksarben Village.

Early Morning Soil Temps

The 4" soil temp on the green on #9 Red Feather at 6:30am on June 28th. Root mass begins to decline quickly at soil temps above 70 degrees. Night time lows are expected to be in the mid 70's for the next 10 days.



June 28th Weather

Current Conditions: 5:45 am

It is currently overcast and 76 degrees. The calm winds and 91% humidity level makes it pretty awful out here this morning.

Forecast:
Expect mostly sunny conditions with a high in the mid 90's. Northeast winds should remain calm throughout the day.

June 27th Weather

Current Conditions: 8:00 am
So it begins. It is currently sunny and 81 degrees. South/southeast winds are a life saver blowing around 13 mph. Humidity sits at 64%.

Forecast:
UNBEARABLE might be all that needs to be said.
Expect sunny and hot conditions with highs over 100 degrees. Heat index values could easily reach 110. Winds will remain around 13 to 18 mph and gust up to 25 mph. The winds will help some, but I would stay inside given the chance.

Battling Mother Nature

"The current 10-day forecast for the area has highs in the 90’s or 100’s and lows in the 70’s, which is tough on all coolseason grasses. The good news is that cool-season grasses are usually healthy enough to withstand high temperature like this in June, but the bad news is that this heat may weaken the plant leading to thinning or death later this summer. High temperatures cause problems both above and below ground. Above ground, photosynthesis or energy production of cool-season turfgrasses starts to decline once daytime air temperatures exceed 70-75F. At the same time, respiration (the energy-consuming process to maintain the plant) is increasing with higher temperatures. At air temperatures greater than 80-85F, cool-season turfgrass plants are in an energy debit where energy demand is higher than energy production. Short periods of an energy debit are normal and the plant uses stored energy to meet its needs. However, energy stores are depleted with extended heat, and the plant weakens. This energy depletion is further exaggerated during warm nights when the plant uses up far more stored energy for respiration than during cool nights. Since the energy reserves of cool-season plants are fairly high early in the summer (June), they are usually capable of withstanding early summer heat like we are expecting. However, this early summer heat depletes energy reserves that may be needed later in the summer.

Below ground, root growth of cool-season turfgrass is optimal between 50 and 65F and declines quickly above 70F. At the same time, root death increases at elevated temperatures, especially in wet soils with limited ability to hold oxygen. The end result is that root systems become shallow and spindly with prolonged heat and thus have limited ability to take up water and nutrients."

-Zac Reicher, Professor, Turfgrass Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; "Forecast heat hard on cool-season grasses," June 24, 2012, Turf iNfo for the North Central US

There are a couple things we are currently doing to combat the effects of the weather.

The first is venting the greens. Venting is the process of creating small holes in the putting green surface with the intention of improving gas exchange, improving water infiltration, and allowing the soil profile to dry down to the proper moisture levels. Essentially we are aerifying the greens only with smaller solid time so we do not disrupt play. We will try and repeat this process every 14-21 days through the summer.

The following pictures and video illustrate the venting process on the greens. We first punch a 3" to 4" deep hole and follow that with a roller to smooth the surface for play.  We do the same process to the fairways with larger and longer tines and without the rolling.

                 

 

                         




The second thing we will do is dial back our overhead irrigation. To prevent our soils from becoming saturated, we will rely on shorter and more precise watering cycles and syringing. Our goal is to apply only enough water to allow the plant to maintain its metabolic processes and no more beyond that. Excess water leads to wet wilt, disease, and saturated soils.

Mother Nature will always have the upper hand but we are going to give ourselves every advantage that we can.

June 26th Weather

Current Conditions: 6:15 am
 It is currently sunny and 67 degrees. East winds are blowing around 10 mph. Humidity sits at 60%. It is quite comfortable right now so take advantage of it. It is going to be ugly for the next 10 days.

Forecast:
Expect sunny conditions with highs in the mid 90's. A south/southeast breeze should blow around 13 to 17 mph with gusts around 25. The winds are welcome as it would other wise be a very uncomfortably muggy day.

June 25th Weather

Current Conditions: 7:15am
It is currently sunny and 74 degrees. North/northeast winds are blowing between 10 and 17 mph. The humidity level sits at 84%.

Forecast:
Expect sunny skies withs temps in the mid 80's. East winds will blow around 14 mph with gusts exceeding 25 mph. The winds should provide some relief from the humidity. Brace for some hot and humid weather the rest of this week.

June 23rd Weather

Current Conditions: 8:30am
It is currently rainy and 67 degrees. Humidity levels are high at 88%.  East winds are extremely variable.

Forecast:
Expect rain chances to persist throughout the morning. Skies will eventually clear and temps will reach the upper 80's. South/southeast winds will blow around 15-18 mph with gusts around around 26 mph. Once the rain moves through it should be a good day to play. If we can miss out on the heavy precipitation we can avoid any cart restrictions. We will keep you updated.

June 22nd Weather

Current Conditions: 5:50am
It is currently 61 degrees and sunny. Winds are very light. The course dried up a little overnight and the cart path rule has been lifted from all 27 holes.

Forecast:
Expect sunny skies with temps in the mid 80's. A south/southeast wind should remain calm at about 8-11 mph. It should be a very nice day for golf.

June 21st Weather

Current Conditions: 6:30am
It is currently sunny and 58 degrees. Winds are very calm. We had close to 1" of rain last night which has forced carts to remain on the paths for the time being. We hope to dry out during the morning hours and reassess the cart path restrictions closer to the 11:00 hour.

Forecast:
Expect sunny conditions with a high in the low 80's. Northwest winds should remain light topping out around 9 mph. Outside of the course being a bit wet it should be a beautiful day for golf.

June 20th Weather

Current Conditions: 6:10am
It is currently sunny and 76 degrees. South winds are blowing at 9-18 mph. The humidity sits at 72%.

Forecast:
Expect partly cloudy skies with a high in the low 80's. South winds should remain strong around 9-18 mph and eventually shift out of the north/northwest. These north winds will carry with them a cold front that will increase our chance of rain showers to 70% around 3:00pm. The winds and chance of rain will persist into the overnight.

Course Update

We have survived the first half of the dry, hot summer relatively well. During this dry stretch, we have focused most of our attention on the areas between the cart paths and, to some extent, left everything beyond that to Mother Nature. Attempting to keep the entire course watered and lush would be nearly impossible, but we have done our best. Our prioriy has been to provide playing surfaces with enough moisture to keep them healthy, without creating soft conditions.

The playing surfaces have maintained their density relatively well. I would not be surprised if there is a slight thinning of some of the construction areas on Red Feather as natural selection thins out the weaker plants. To offset this possible issue, we will spot fertilize these areas carefully, not to overstimulate growth but to help the turf remain strong and viable. We may also enforce some cart path rules on certain fairways, but there is no need for that at this time.

Leaving our greenside roll-off areas at a higher height of cut on Red Feather has proven to be a good move. This may not provide a puttable surface yet, but it has allowed these areas to continue to fill in and should put us ahead of the game heading into next season.

Greens speeds have picked up slightly. We are rolling around 9'-9.5' on a daily basis. While not lightning quick, they should be more consistent and smoother than they were a few weeks ago. I understand and share the desire for quicker greens, but understand that speed will come with maturity. The most important thing to remember is in order to ensure consistency between courses, I must maintain all the older greens in the same way as the new ones. This will continue through the grow-in of Gray Hawk. We cannot have a course setup in which our 2-yr old and 3-yr old greens putt differently than our 10-month old greens.

Right now we are mowing greens at a height of .140", which is higher than most courses. We do this to help the younger turf maintain its root mass. Shoot height (grass blade height) and root mass are directly correlated. Once all 30 of the greens have had a year to grow in, I expect to be mowing around .125". I assure you that within that .015",  there is an additional foot of ball roll. This would give us green speeds of 10'-10.5', which is plenty fast for greens with our contour.

With the renovation of 18 holes complete, it is easy to see the finish line. However, we still have nine holes to go so your patience is ever valuable. I cannot stress enough how much we appreciate your understanding. Please remember that the purpose of these renovations is to provide you with the best product in the area. 

To help put things into perspective, I have included the following pictures. The first is of the green on #5 Red Feather during the last week of August 2011. The next two are of #5 Red Feather nine months later when we opened the course. Within those nine months, we had about four actual months of growing weather. These greens are still very young.

August 2011

            

May 2012



Finally, I've joined the Twitter universe! I'll be posting daily weather forecasts and links to blog posts, among other things. You can follow me @icturftalk on Twitter by clicking the "Follow Me" button on the left sidebar.



Gray Hawk Contractor

We are very excited to announce that we have contracted Duininck Golf to perform the Gray Hawk renovation. We previously used Duininck on the Red Feather renovation and we were extremely pleased with their work. The following link takes you to their site if your interested.

http://www.duininckgolf.com/

June 19th Weather

Current Conditions: 5:45am
It is currently 76 degrees and sunny. South winds are blowing at 15-20 mph. The humidity level is 75%. This wind will make the first three holes of Gray Hawk play awfully short today.

Forecast:
Expect sunny and hot conditions with a high in the low 90's. South/Southwest winds will increase to 20-25 mph with gusts approaching 40 mph. This is all ahead of a cold front expected to pass through tomorrow which could bring cooler temps and a chance of rain.

June 18th Weather

Current Conditions: 8:00am
It is currently sunny and 80 degrees. South winds are blowing 15-20mph. The humidity sits at 55%. These winds should help dry the course out over the next couple days.

Forecast:
Expect hot and windy conditions with the high approaching 100 degrees. South winds should remain strong with gusts approaching 30 mph.

June 17th Weather

Current Conditions: 7:45 a.m.
It is currently 62 degrees and hazy. Winds are out of the south at 3 mph. The humidity is at 92%.
The golf course remains wet and soft after the 4" of rain we have received since Thursday night.

Forecast:
Expect warm and muggy conditions today with highs approaching the low 90's. Winds will remain out of the south and should pick up to 15-20 mph. Expect a hot and humid start to the week.

June 16th Weather

Current Conditions: 7:00 am
It is currently 66 degrees and overcast. Winds are calm. All the rain yesterday has left the course very wet and soft.

Forecast:
Expect cloudy skies and a high temperature in the low 80's. Southeast winds should remain light and eventually shift and come out of the west. There is a strong chance for precipitation today with our greatest chances coming before 4:00pm.

New Bunker vs. Old Bunker

This picture is the old bunker on #9 Gray Hawk which holds water and washes out.

The new bunker on a renovated hole, #9 Black Bird, drains water and doesn't wash.

June 15th Weather

Current Conditions: 5:45am
It is currently 67 degrees and rainy with a light NE breeze. We had over 2.5" of rain last night and the course has quite a bit of standing water. We will be closed until 9:00 a.m. Cart path only rule will be in effect through the day.

Forecast:
Expect mostly cloudy conditions with a high in the mid 80's. Southeast winds should blow around 6-8 mph. There is a 50% chance of precipitation throughout the day, but these showers should be hit and miss. The chance for precipitation should hang around through the overnight hours into Saturday morning.

June 14th Weather

                          

Current Conditions: 6:20am
It is 73 degrees and hazy with a south wind of 14 mph. The humidity sits at 69% making for a sticky morning.

Forecast:

Expect partly cloudy conditions with temps in the mid to upper 80's. Our winds should remain fairly steady throughout the day.The chance for rain increases as the day goes on and we could be set up for some decent thunderstorm activity this evening.



Rolling Greens

The following clip shows a greens roller in action. We use rolling to both smooth the putting surface and increase speeds. There is also evidence that rolling greens results in a lower incidents of turfgrass diseases, such as dollar spot. Rolling greens provides us the opportunity to give the greens a weekly break from daily mowing without effecting the playability of the putting surface.

Operating the machine takes some time to perfect and is not a job for those who suffer from motion sickness. It is a nice job to give those college students who are late to work after a long night on the town. One morning of rolling greens after a night with a few too many drinks and I am assured they won't be late again.

We currently follow the rotation of:
Three days/week - mow and roll;
Three days/week - mow only;
Once/week - roll only.

Cart Damage

Damage caused by a cart driving through a drought stressed area. Driving through a drought stressed area will cause damage similar to driving through frost covered turf. If you see these areas try and drive around them.

Localized Dry Spot

As the temperatures continue to rise and soil moisture is further depleted we will become increasingly concerned with preventing and curing a soil condition known as localized dry spot (LDS). LDS is caused by the formation of an organic, wax-like coating on the soil/sand particle which makes the particle hydrophobic, or water repellant. This organic coating is a product of the natural breakdown of organic matter present in the soil.  This is a condition that is far more prevalent in the sandy soils of a greens profile, but it can be observed in almost all soil types. As the soils continue to dry down, this organic coating makes rewetting the soil very difficult. It is no longer as simple as applying water as the soils will simply repel it.

The best plan of attack to prevent or cure this problem is to apply chemicals known as wetting agents. To better understand how a wetting agent works, you first need to understand the chemical properties of water.

Water molecules are comprised of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. Water is a dipolar molecule which means it has both negatively- and positively-charged polar ends. This polarity allows water molecules to bond well with other polar molecules, but prevents it from bonding with nonpolar molecules such as the molecules that comprise the waxy, organic coatings on soils suffering from LDS.

A wetting agent is a type of surfactant. Surfactants are a class of chemicals that change the physical characteristics of the surface of a molecule. These changes occur at the interface between two substances, for example between the surface of water molecules and the waxy coating on a soil particle. All wetting agents are comprised of a water soluble (hydrophilic) end bonded to an oil soluble (lipophilic) end. When wetting agents are introduced to the soil, the lipophilic, nonpolar ends adhere to the waxy coating of the soil and the hydrophilic, polar ends adhere to the water molecule allowing the soil to hold onto the water.

This clip illustrates the effects a surfactant has on a hydrophobic soil. I know it may be boring but it is very important.

Organic Nutrient Application

You may have noticed the brown, soil-like debris in the fairways and rough of Red Feather and Black Bird. What you are seeing is composted organic nutrient. We are applying this organic nutrient in order to replace what was stripped off during the renovations. The renovations destroyed any good soil structure we had and the organic nutrient will will hopefully help restore this over a time. This is not a quick fix but is simply another tool in our arsenal.

The nutrient should work its way into the turf canopy over the next few days.

Below is a clip of the application process.

Extended Weather Forecast

The seven day forecast is not looking good for the course. We can expect highs of 90 degrees for the next 5 days with very little chance of rain. The overnight lows are expected to be in the high 60's and low 70's. This is higher than I would like to see this early in the year as it doesn't give the root zone a chance to cool down overnight.

We will have a hand-watering crew working over the weekend in an attempt to keep things cool. I have explained to them to be patient with the golfers and as inconspicuous as possible. We appreciate your patience as we fight through this rough stretch of weather.

Link to the National Weather Service forecast for Elkhorn:
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?site=oax&zmx=1.1979166666666667&zmy=1.1979166666666667&map.x=242&map.y=182

Roped Off Turf

You will notice two areas we have roped off to cart traffic on #1 and #9 Black Bird. We have done this to temporarily relieve the area of cart traffic stress and allow for turf recovery. We core aerified these areas and hit them with a Urea-based fertilizer to help jump start recovery. We hope to give this area a week or two of rest and then address two more areas on the course. We plan to make this the routine for the rest of the year by addressing different areas as they need it. It is a way to help deal with wear and tear without being to much of a hassle to the golfers. These areas are 100% open for play, we just simply ask that the carts stay out of the area.

Flymower

Above is a short video of the specialized mower we use to maintain our bunker banks. This mower floats on a cushion of air just as a hovercraft does. It has a cutting action similar to a rotary mower.