Tree Removals

A few hazardous and unhealthy trees needed to be removed this fall.  Probably the most noticeable are three large willows next to the pond on 6.  The willow trees were around 30-40 years old.  After 30-40 years these trees served their purpose.  Willows are a short lived trees and these particular trees had a great degree of rot and decay throughout their structures.  

 Before

After-We now have a great view of the 7th hole.

Below is a photo of a Green ash on the hillside left of the 5th tee.  It's quite obvious this tree needed to be removed before it unexpectedly falls.

Covering Greens

The golf course closed yesterday.  Today we will begin the process of covering greens.  This morning we have frost so the staff will not be able to begin the process until the frost lifts.  If the wind stays light we should be able to cover half the greens today and the other half on Friday. Next week tree trimming and tree removals will begin as well as landscape work to the front drive as well as finish clean-up of a few gardens.

Fall Tree Removals

Trees are an important part of the landscape on a Parkland golf course, but all living things have a limited life span.  When that life comes to a close, no matter how attached we may be to a specific tree or trees, whether the tree is dying, diseased or has become a hazard, it must be removed.  That time has come for the three large Weeping willows by the pond on six.  You can see from the photos below, the trees have large cracks in the trunks, branches have numerous shelf mushrooms emerging, which are indicators of decay, and the trunks are completely rotted throughout.

Large trees in the middle will be removed

At this time the Grounds Committee has decided not to replace the trees.  We will also be removing the cattails from the pond.  This will open the view of the pond as well as the view of the 7th hole from the 6th green.

Green ash tree behind 12 green in the no-mow area.  The trunk of the tree is rotten which makes this tree hazardous.  We will be removing this tree in November.

Another view of the same ash tree.

American elm to the right of the 8th tee will be removed. 

Bur oak behind the 17th tee will be removed as it has become a hazardous tree.

The base of the tree has split and the cavity of the tree has decayed.

Tim's Tree Service will be here beginning the week of November 5th.  They will start with tree removals and then the remaining budget will be utilized on trimming.



Fall Projects

Last fall the construction of the new practice facility as well as the addition of three bunkers and three tees consumed our time as a staff.  This fall we are construction free, but not project free.  There's always detail work that needs to be accomplished.  One of the largest projects we undertook during the past two weeks was the rebuilding of various bunker faces in need of repair.

10" of sand had accumulated on the face of this bunker on the first hole.  That's 1" of sand for every year since the restoration

 The bunker face on #1 was brought back to the original contours 

Prepping the bunker on #5

The finished product on #5

Over time bunker faces begin to show the stress of daily wear and tear and repair work is required.  Damaged turf on bunker faces on holes 1, 5, 7, 12, 13 and 16 has been stripped and sodded.  Sodded areas have been painted Ground Under Repair and are roped off.  Please stay off of these areas until the ropes are removed.

A Tribute to Man's Best Friend

On September 13th our dog Pepper lost her battle with cancer.  It was only a month ago when I took her to the vet, as she was not her usual self.  The test came back as cancer and it took its toll on her quickly.  Pepper was almost 14 and she spent here whole life here at the golf course.  It was her favorite place to be.  After a weekend of being at home she could not wait to get back to the course.  As we would make the turn from France Ave. onto 38th Street she would whine with excitement as she knew we were getting close to work.

Stalking Geese

There weren't many animals she hadn't chased or tried to tangle with on the course.  The squirrel population definitely was diminished during her early years (her best day was 3 squirrel kill in a time span of 30 minutes) as her herding ability allowed her to turn on a dime.  Her mix of Border Collie and Australian Cattle dog provided her with exceptional speed, agility and of course intelligence.  She pursued many raccoon's (one time just a little too close costing here the tip of her ear, a trip to the pet hospital and $250 for me) and chased many deer.  One morning while touring the course Pepper got a little too close to a fawn and was subsequently pursued closely by a doe that was not too pleased with Pepper.  This may be one of the funniest things I have ever witnessed; seeing a dog get chased by a deer.

For almost 14 years she rode everyday next to me on my cart.  Sometimes she was relegated to the office and usually for reasons she did not understand.  Pepper wanted to be where the action was. Sunday evening cart rides were always a treat and she would sit right between me and my boys.  Most mornings we would stop at the club house; for me a better cup of coffee and for Pepper a blueberry muffin and if she was really lucky fresh bacon from the kitchen.  Her final ride was on September 13th.  I knew she was not feeling well.  She laid on the cart all morning.  I was in my usual morning rush, rolling greens and hurrying around the course.  She didn't seem to mind.  I'm pretty sure neither one of us knew that day was going to be her last ride, but I did find time to talk to her as I usually did and tried to comfort her as I knew she was not well.

Continually working, looking for something to herd

The ride for me is a little lonelier now, but I have many wonderful memories of my fury friend.  Having grown up on a farm, we always had dogs, and many of them, but Pepper was by far the BEST dog I have ever had.  Her first place ribbon from obedience class has a permanent a place in my office and she will always have a place in our hearts.  Thank you to the members of Minikahda for allowing me to have Pepper roam the grounds and earn her keep maintaining the golf course free from geese. We had a good run Peppergirl.

After a long run on a hot summer day, nothing like cooling down in a mud puddle. 

Irrigation Pump Issues

Since July 22nd we have been operating the irrigation system with only 36% of our total capable capacity. The pump on Well #1 quit working and we have been forced to rely solely on our secondary pump (thankfully we have a second well). The reason for the broken pump is yet to be determined. In fact today the well company was finally able to extract the pump. We do know that the main shaft broke and this caused the pump to fall to a depth of 316ft down the well casing. We know the exact depth since we had to have a company investigate the casing with a camera so we could determine if the pump was still in the well and if so what its condition was.

 Once the pipe column was located McCarthy Well had to fabricate a jig to fish for the column so the pump could be retrieved. Success happened last week and after a few days of removing the column pipes, 10 ft at a time, the pump was finally removed today. Most of the shaft, rubber gaskets and spiders were all destroyed. At this time we do not know what is repairable and if replacing with a new pump will be necessary. The entire process has been quite slow and thankfully we have had a break in the weather as well as a few rain events to help us manage our irrigation needs.

 Camera being lowered down the well casing

View from the camera inside the truck  

 The loss of our main pump for an extended period is an excellent example of why we want to encourage creeping bentgrass as our main sward of fine turf. We also want to encourage deep rooting plants that are not conditioned to require water on a nightly basis. We typically water our fine playing surfaces deep and infrequent to encourage deeper more healthy roots. Something we have been very successful at on our tees and fairways. With our current pump situation we are limited to how much water can be applied at night and are forced to make light infrequent applications. Not something we encourage but are forced to do out of necessity. Thankfully this is a temporary (although we don't know for how long) adjustment to our maintenance practices and once the pump is up and running we will return to our deep and infrequent philosophy for irrigating fairways and tees. 

Fabricated jig built to fish the pipe column that was resting at 316ft.

Success.  This Vertical Turbine Pump has 7 bowls and has the ability to pump 900gpm when its completely maxed but we only run it at 700 gpm.  McCarthy Well will now take the pump back to their shop to inspect and determine what the next course of action will be.  

Preserving the Practice Facility

The Grounds Committee and the Board of Governors have concluded we need to limit the amount of days we allow for practice on the new tee.  The tee has received a great deal of play in the limited amount of time we have been open (opened to grass on July 3).  Play will be allowed on the grass from Wednesday through Saturday.  Practice will occur on the Mats on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.  The turf is less than a year old and needs more time to mature.  Players practicing have also created a large amount of divots that will take a considerable amount of time to heal before the played area will be ready for play again.  You can see in the photo taken, this is less than 3 weeks of practice.

We also need to have players improve the way they practice.  Please view the video created by Dan Meersman, Director of Grounds at Philadelphia Cricket Club.  Dan gives an excellent presentation of how to properly practice.

It's a Team Effort

It takes a dedicated staff to prepare the golf course on a daily basis.  Whether its the extensive seasonal and daily planning, setting the mowing units for daily mowing, making sure the back pack blowers are working properly, filling divots, mowing playing surfaces or making sure the gardens have been weeded and flowers deadheaded, it's all important and everyone on the staff has a part in making it happen.  We have an outstanding staff this year.  From the seasoned veterans down to the rookies with only a few weeks under their belt, they have done a great job this year.  We have a long ways to go before the snow flies, so if you see them on the course, be sure to say a little "thank you."  I know they will appreciate it.

Weather

One thing about working outside, we get to see some pretty cool things that happen with the weather, such as this shelf cloud moving in this morning.

Happy Birthday

Its not often I have a "Happy Birthday" post, but it's also not everyday that one of our staff members turns 80.  Our Rough Mower operator for the past 15 years "Pistol Pete" Geier, turned 80 today.  Pete started working at Minikahda back in 1993 following his retirement from Control Data.  Pete had a brief stint as one of the guys of our divot crew but we soon realized he would be a good fit for mowing rough.  Despite his wife's attempt to get him to call it quits, Pete has returned for another season.  Pete typically works Monday through Thursday allowing himself plenty of time to spend a long weekend at his cabin.  Having an individual we can count on day after day to mow the rough provides us with many benefits.  Pete knows how the rough   grows, which areas grow the quickest, where he should and shouldn't mow and as our mechanic says, we have a talking hour meter because he always lets the mechanics know when the oil needs changing and when the blades need sharpening.  Thanks Pete for your years of commitment and dedication.  I hope you have a great birthday celebration.

Practice Facility

The new practice facility opened on May 26th on hitting mats only.  All comments have been positive about design and layout.  We will continue to keep players on mats until we feel the turf on the tee will be healthy enough to tolerate daily play.  Based on the amount of practice we are seeing off the mats I expect to see a great deal of practice off the turf.  We will be closely monitoring the traffic to make sure turf recovery will match the amount of play off the turf.  Currently our practice has been to allow unlimited ball usage, if there is an increase in players practicing we may need to either limit ball use, hours the range is open or close it earlier in the fall.  All options we may consider if necessary.  Otherwise, enjoy!

Clink these photos for 2 great panoramic views of the practice facility.