Course Update

Its been over a month since I last updated the blog.  Time flies when you're busy.  Despite the cooler than normal temperatures as well as rainy (3.75" this month) and cloudy weather, the staff has been very busy working to get the course into summer condition.

Aside from typical mowing and daily maintenance we have been planting trees and shrubs around the perimeter of the course as well as improving gardens around the club house and golf shop.  Spring is a great time for planting and we want to install as much plant material as we can now, before the heat of the summer.  This week installation of annuals is taking place.  When the threat of a killing frost is over then we can install annual flowers we also want to make sure the flowers all get planted before Memorial weekend.  We work with an outside contractor who grows and installs the flowers for us which allows us the time to focus our efforts on maintaining the golf course.

Monday the decision was made to sod the dead spot on 1 green.  After a good attempt at aiding recovery by over-seeding and covering the affected area, we decided the best alternative would be to sod.  Sod was removed from our main practice green and then sod from our nursery was used to replace the sod on the practice green.  The sod from the practice green is a good match to the existing grass species on the 1st green and in time will blend quite nicely. 

Green is not Great by Alexander M. Radko

I came across this article yesterday and thought it was worth publishing on the blog.  Although the article was written almost 35 years ago, I think the information holds true even today.  A great deal of the information stated includes philosophies we have been incorporating as we manage towards creeping bentgrass. Read the article, I would be interested in your comments.

Green Is Not Great

Golf is played on grass, not on color.
By Alexander M. Radko
A group from Britain visited the Green Section research grounds at Beltsville, MD, early in the 1950’s when interest was high in the warm-season grasses in that area.  Dr. Fred V. Grau, who was Green Section Director at the time, escorted the visitors through the grounds and enthusiastically described the studies that were being done.  One was the Zoysia plot, which happened to be bleached tan in color because it was late October and Zoysia was dormant.  After Dr. Grau finished his glowing discourse on Zoysia, one visitor, whose voice was exceptionally heavy and whose whisper could carry a long way, said, “That’s the first bloody time I’ve heard so elegant an address on dead grass!”
            This remark typifies what most people think about turfgrass – if it’s green, it’s alive; if it’s any other color, it’s dead or dying!  Many people also have the mistaken notion that the greener the grass, the healthier the turf.  Unfortunately this notion is especially strong among golfers.  They equate dark green with good playing turf, and they often refer to it as beautifully lush turf!  Those trained in the study of turfgrass cringe at this description.  To them lush means undesirable, soft, succulent, out of condition, filled with juice or liquid – as the case may be.  A lush growth often results from the needless race for color despite the fact that color has minimal effect on turfgrass quality for golf.
            Nature has provided grasses with much genetic diversity.  This includes wide differences in color, ranging from dark blue-green to light yellow-green and every intermediate shade.  It is interesting to note that Europeans prefer the light green grasses while Americans very definitely favor a deep blue-green, similar to the dark color of Merion bluegrass.  There are bentgrasses referred to as the Washington types that take on a purple cast with cold weather.  Cohansey (C-7) creeping bentgrass is an example of yellow-green, and although it makes an outstanding putting turf, it isn’t widely accepted because of its very light color.
            Grasses also turn tan with cold weather.  During the winter, northern and southern grasses turn differing shades of tan depending upon the location where they are grown.  Despite this, even the most drastic color change does not affect the playing quality of well-managed turf, a fact that is strikingly evident with warm-season grasses during the winter.  Although dormant and off-color, grasses hold the ball nicely for fairway play.  Color, therefore, is not the most important consideration.  GOLF IS PLAYED ON GRASS, NOT ON COLOR!
            Why this obsession with color?  Golfers like to brag about the color of their golf course; they equate dark green with health, they take pride in saying that “our course looks healthier than yours!”  They also complain about their courses; they compare some neighboring course from a distance (where, indeed, the grass always looks greener) or they compare the course they played when growing conditions were ideal with the condition of their own clubs at times of stress when growing conditions are poor.  Unfair?  Yes, but it’s difficult to overcome such pressure once it circulates within a membership.  Too often such comments force management to say, “If that’s what they want, that’s what we have to give them.”  It takes a very strong personality to stand up to 300 members and say, “You are wrong!  My program is the best long-range direction for the club, we’ll do it my way completely and totally!”  The usual result is a compromise in program, sometimes doing things more for cosmetic purposes and not because it’s the best thing to do.
            The pressure of a membership indeed has great bearing on the golf course management scene.  It has spawned Poa annua-oriented thinking because in reality this is what some memberships want.  (Poa annua, an unreliable annual grass, is considered a weed by some, but a good turf cover by others).  The result is a forced growth of grasses that makes them uniformly greener, but this does not necessarily mean the condition is better for golf.  A forced growth is not a healthy growth!  Without question it is also a large part of the reason why so-called “winter rules” prevail at many golf courses today despite adequate budget expenditure.  If memberships occasionally would accept off-color areas throughout their courses during the playing season, they would be able to play the ball as they find it for a greater part, if not for all the golfing season.
            Turfgrass, as any plant, has varied cycles of growth.  Warm-season grasses begin growth in the spring and show their strongest growth in summer.  When cold weather comes they go into a period of semi-to total dormancy, depending upon the degree of cold experienced in any specific location.  All growth begins in spring as air temperatures rise above freezing.  Growth is slow until the soil warms and winter moisture disappears.  Cool-season grasses go into their stress period in summer; they enter a period of semi-dormancy, which is a resting stage of reduced metabolism, until cool nights prevail in late summer.  Then they resume good growth throughout the fall.  During winter they go dormant with freezing weather and remain in that condition until spring.  This is their yearly cycle; there is no way to change it and attempts to force growth or to force color can have only a harmful effect on their healthful growth.  In spring, therefore, cool-season grasses take time to regain their normal color.  Don’t hurry it by watering and fertilizing too early.  These practices weaken the turf, make it soft and succulent, and more often than not impose a greater stress on the turf during difficult periods of summer.
            Early watering is difficult to justify.  Grasses don’t die in the spring from lack of water!  Normally, winter and early spring precipitation is adequate to provide for early season grass needs.  It is at this time that grasses have the opportunity to develop deep root systems that are so necessary for healthful growth throughout the rest of the growing year.  Early irrigation encourages shallow roots.  Grasses are much the same as humans; they, too, can be conditioned to a way of life and never know any other.  The time to be rough and still get away with it is in the early spring.  What is done during this stage of growth has a strong bearing on how the grasses perform during the rest of the year, especially during stress periods.
            So the grass isn’t green!  So the greens don’t hold well for the first month of play!  So what?  This is the time of year for the player to work his swing into the groove for better summer play; similarly, this is the time for grasses to work themselves out of dormancy, to condition themselves for the tough road ahead.  There is a big difference between growing grasses for golf and growing grasses for exhibitions.  Utility grasses must be disciplined and conditioned for traffic, abuse and wear under trying conditions of close cut.  This is tough treatment but toughness is necessary for their healthful performance when the chips are down.  If members would accept this as a way of golf course life, it would be easier to develop permanent grasses in place of Poa annua.
            There is another fact of life in irrigating golf courses.  Terrain is varied.  Slopes, mounds, hills and depressions complement whatever level areas are to be found.  Soils vary too, in depth as well as in composition.  Sand, gravel, rock or ledge permeate areas of golf course property, and soil types vary, sometimes slightly, sometimes greatly.  How is it possible, therefore, to irrigate uniformly when water runoff and water penetration are so variable?
            You can’t!
            If you want to keep the high spots and rock ledge areas green in summer, you must overwater the adjacent areas.  If you set your pattern of irrigation to favor the low areas, then the high spots suffer.  The point is that there is no uniform way to satisfy all conditions of soil and terrain in irrigating golf courses.  Something must suffer, and the agronomically sound direction to pursue is to water only enough to keep grasses alive without serious regard for the development of off-color areas.
            Overwatering is one of the cardinal sins of turfgrass management.  If your course doesn’t have off-color areas under conditions described, then chances are your turf is being overwatered to satisfy the membership’s “keep it green at all costs” edict – whether it favors Poa annua or not!
            This is another reason why turfgrass managers throw their hands up and sooner or later follow the path of least resistance.  Why fight it if their members play golf on color?
            Poa annua is the perfect answer for a good portion of the year.  From the members’ viewpoint water is the answer to keeping grass green.  After all, when an expensive system is installed, the members will take no excuses for grasses turning off-color; if the grass isn’t solidly green, then the man doesn’t know his business.  Let’s fire him and get someone new!  What a misconception!  What an unfair, amateurish appraisal!  However, the old axiom applies; “The boss may not always be right, but he’s always the boss!”
            Fertilizer also promotes color in turfgrasses.  Nitrogen can modify the natural color of grasses slightly, making them a shade darker green than normal, especially when they are heavily fertilized.  Color can be induced early in spring by applications of nitrogen.  This is forced growth, inducing faster growth than the plant would make otherwise, an accepted practice, but only if it is timely and controlled.  We have already said that grasses, too, are creatures of habit.  If you feed them heavily, they come to expect it.  Heavy feeding, however, induces heavy and thick-bladed growth.  If grasses are overstimulated and are fed too early, their growth is soft, succulent and less capable of supporting the golf ball.  Hungry grass, on the other hand, is tough grass; blades that are hungry and lean support the ball well and interfere least with the clubhead’s progress through the ball.  When the grasses are ready to move, only a little help from fertilizer will provide healthful growth.  It’s important to wait for signs that they are ready for food.  This is what most superintendents would do if they managed only for the turfgrass needs.
            Mowing also has a bearing on color.  The higher the cut, the easier it is to keep grasses green and the better the color, especially during periods of stress.  The mowing height, the mowing frequency and the mowing pattern each influences health and color.  The closer the grasses are cut, the better they play.  The closer they are cut, the more difficult it is to keep them uniformly green.  Again, terrain and soils have a strong bearing on the performance of grasses on certain areas.  The closer the cut, the more difficult it is to manage water properly.  Water application is more critical here again, if it is pointed towards the preservation of the permanent grasses.  This means a low amount of watering.  Poa annua always benefits from overwatering.  In the days before fairway irrigation, grasses were often moved at 1 ¼ to 1 ½ inches.  When the grass was dry, this cut was not objectionable because dry grass blades are thin and rigid and the clubhead can move through the ball easily.  The unwatered grass is light and firm, while the watered grass is soft and heavy. Unwatered grass allows a firm surface; heavy watering results in a soft, spongy turf and soil and, therefore, the golfer loses some control over his shots.  A good example of this phenomenon now exists on unwatered rough areas.  Find a spot and try it for yourself.  The problem, however, under completely unwatered conditions is a lack of turf uniformity and density.  Eliminating water obviously is not the answer, just as too much water is not the answer, either.
            The solution lies in a management program somewhere in between.  The British system of course management for the most part represents the least watering principle, the tough management of grasses, the laissez faire doctrine of allowing grasses to fend for themselves and encouraging the fittest to survive.  They describe the American way of management as “the manufactured look,” one that tends to favor weaker grasses through management and maintenance techniques, thereby promoting a weak overall stand.
            Somewhere in between is the answer, but for better golf, in my opinion, the British style of management is the system to follow.  This is especially true since economic, ecological and environmental factors are now so much a part of golf and will become even more influential in the future.
            Finally, the race for color has had a solid impact on budgets.  Water, energy, fertilizer, chemicals, manpower and equipment are now more costly.  As grass growth is forced with excesses of water and fertilizer, more disease, insect and Poa annua problems result.  The more the grass is forced, the more the need for additional man-hours of mowing time.
            Equally important are the increased time and cost of parts required for conditioning and repair of equipment.  The race of color has had a solid impact on golf course management.  It’s time to get away from the manufactured look.  Let’s go back to emphasizing natural turf growth, to growing tougher grasses.  Let’s go back to playing golf on grass, and not on color!
Golf Journal, August 1977

Advantage...Bentgrass

For those that have been following the changes we made to our maintenance philosophy 3 years ago on our greens,tees and fairways you're aware of adjustments we've made to our cultural and nutritional practices.  Practices that we know, over time, have the ability to favor creeping bentgrass and give it the edge over poa annua. As we start the 2011 season I thought now would be a good time to show some photos to compare where we were to where we are now.  I have a lot of photos so it's difficult to show them all for comparison purposes, but I have selected a few of interest.

No one said what we are trying to accomplish would be easy and we've never said it would happen over night.  A transition takes time, patience and no doubt we have had our share of bumps along the way.  But what we have seen over the past 3 years is a slow and steady change in the overall dynamics of our greens and fairways.  Fairways, as most would expect, have transitioned the quickest.  Going from a stand of 30-50% creeping bentgrass to a dominant stand of creeping bentgrass estimated to be 80-90%.  The most highly populated poa areas are where we have the most cart and mower traffic, where compaction is the greatest, next to fairway bunkers and where the transition between the fairway and approach meet.  Areas we will be focusing a great deal of attention on this year to provide more favorable conditions for creeping bentgrass.

As seen in the this photo of 7 fairway in the spring of 2008 compared to the same fairway in the spring of 2011, the swing in the composition of turf varieties is quite obvious.  My one wish is that I would have taken more photographs of our fairways to show the transition.  But for those on our staff who have worked here a long time, they notice it and comment on the change quite frequently. (click on the photos to enlarge them to have a better view of the various grass types, the light colored turf is poa annua and the darker grass is creeping bentgrass)

Two more photos showing the 14th fairway.  The first from 2008 and the second from 2011.

Now greens on the other hand have not been the beneficiary of such an easy transition and that's to be expected. The dynamics of our greens is all over the board.  Typically we group them into 3 categories, we have 6 greens with over 60% creeping bentgrass, 6 greens with around 25-60% bent populations and then we have 6 greens well under 25% bent. These are clearly our poa dominated greens.  I would like to share some photos of one green in particular that has made a huge swing from poa annua to bentgrass in the past 3 years.

In 2008 our 2nd green was 70-80% poa annua.  In only the second year 2009 you can seen the bent emerging. 3 years later in 2011 its closer to 60% bentgrass.

 

All three photos show the green before a cut in the spring following the removal of covers.  In the 2008 photo there is virtually no creeping bentgrass visible as we never provided an advantage for the bent.  2009 you can see a change taking place. Now in 2011 following the removal of the covers...Advantage Bentgrass.  Interestingly there is a diverse population of multiple varieties of creeping bentgrass, as would be expected on a 113 year old course.

One question I'm often asked is do you overseed?  No we do not.  The bentgrass that's creeping and filling in is grass that's always been there. We're just providing it an environment where it can thrive.

If you study the photo of our 12th green from the summer of 2009 to the spring of 2011 you can see how the bentgrass has not only been spreading, but also colonizing into larger groups.  As we continue to provide adventitious conditions for the bentgrass it continues to thrive and compete against the poa.

Pretty cool stuff

Spring Snow Event

The Forecasters were calling for 1-2" of snow last night.  This is surely not unusual for Minnesota, but after a long snow covered winter, just not what many of us had in mind for the month of April.  It hasn't been a great opening week, weather wise it's been cool and cloudy.  The extended forecast shows temperatures barely making 50 degrees.  For those courses with winter damage to their fine turf areas, this weather is not conducive for aiding turf recovery.  Patience will be needed for the Superintendents and golfers alike and hopefully May will provide us with some warmer conditions.

Covers Removed and Course Clean-up Begins

                                                                             # 4 green

This past Wednesday we removed all the covers from the greens.  Based on reported conditions around the Twin Cities, I'm quite pleased with the condition of our greens.  There are a few blemishes on a few greens such as 4, 6 and 13, but these are minor and will recover or can be repaired quite easily.  The green with the most damage was on the 1st green.  Damage occurred in the middle of the green (a very strange location) in a 250 sq. ft. area.  The plants have severe leaf tissue damage, but the crowns of the plants and the roots appear healthy.  We have covered this area in an attempt to raise the soil temperature to try and stimulate some growth.  We will attempt this method first so we can determine what our next phase in the recovery process might be.  Hopefully the plants are not completely dead.

The covers we utilized to protect our greens through the winter are an impermeable plastic.  We use this type of cover to protect the plants from free water or ice.  We also install a 1/8" rolls of foam to protect the plants from freeze/thaw cycles which can also kill plants in the middle of the winter.  Although we are trying to eliminate free water from reaching the plants in winter, one disadvantage to the impermeable cover is that no snow melt is allowed on the greens. So when we remove our covers, the greens are dry and require water very soon following the removal.  A lesson we have learned the hard way in the past. Now with the use of our TDR 300 moisture sensor we can easily monitor our moisture levels. 

This year, only two days after removing covers greens needed water asap. We checked moisture levels as soon as the covers were removed as well as the following 2 days.  It was obvious with moisture levels falling below 10% or delicate poa annua plants would require water very soon.  Since the frost is gone we were able to pressurize the irrigation system on Friday.  Based on the plants needs we broke one of the cardinal sins of our Rick Krause, our irrigation technician of 27 years, never pressurize the irrigation system on a Friday.  Unfortunately the plants don't know or care what day it is and they needed water. That's two years in a row of breaking that rule, last year we pressurized on a Saturday.

It appears we did a great job with the blow-out last fall with the irrigation system. We were able to pressurize in a little under 2 hours and have no leaks or breaks.  Greens we flooded with a 30 minute water cycle and field capacity moisture levels were obtained. The affect of the water on the plants was almost immediate.  Good to know we have a solid irrigation system that we can count on, money well spent 8 years ago.

Cover Removal

Today we will be removing covers from greens.  I will keep you posted as to the outcome.  I'm staying optimistic even though there are four course's in the Metro that have minor to severe damage on their greens, even with covers.  I will post photos later today or tomorrow. Hoping to have the majority of the covers removed as long as the wind doesn't get too strong.  Watch the twitter feed for the most up-to-date information.

A Lot of Changes in the Past Two Weeks

Over the course of the last two weeks we have seen quite a few changes on the course.  The way the weather looks today it the changes keep on coming.  I thought I would share a few photos of the golf course over the past two weeks.  Last week Nick and I shoveled the snow away from all of our drain inlets to aid the process of melting snow exiting the course.  There was a great deal of ice in many of the low spots on fairways, but from what we have observed, the turf appears, at this time, to be healthy, despite areas that had 4-6 of ice build-up.

Opening drains so the water can exit the course

Ice on 4 fairway-March 15th

In one weeks time the majority of snow has melted but we continue to have snow cover on many fairways, just not at the depth we had a week ago.  That was of course until today with the addition of 3-6 inches of wet snow.

Yesterday I walked the course to take a better look at our fine turf areas.  At this point in the season, I like what I see.  Obviously the tees look outstanding.  The bentgrass is in perfect condition.  The fairway turf also looks very good and even the poa looks pretty darn good. We've had snow cover on the golf course since the 10th of November, that's over 140 days of continual snow cover and we're receiving additional snow today that will last at least another week.  All indications show our snow mold protection to be holding up.  A few areas are questionable, but at this point it appears to be superfical and will not be a factor towards the quality of the turf.  What happens in the next few weeks will be any ones guess.  Hopefully snow melt will occur quickly and the surfaces will begin to dry out.

#12 red tee

Poa on #12 Approach

#12 Fairway

As far are the quality of the turf under the covers?  I have only peeked under the covers on #1 and #2.   From what I've seen, the turf looks very good.  The anticipation of pulling all covers drives me crazy this time of year.  I just want to look at them all and know what the status is of each green.  There's nothing we can do at this point but to wait for warmer weather.  It'll come and when it does we'll be ready.

A view from under the cover #2 green

New Course Bird Feeders

After 15 years of abuse from the wildlife on the golf course it was time to replace our bird feeders. Typically we feed the birds throughout the winter months(November - March) as part of our Certified Audubon Sanctuary Program. The supplemental feed helps the birds survive the harsh Minnesota winters.
Instead of purchasing the new feeders from a supply store we sought out one of our members who is quite the woodworker/craftsman. Mr. Wally May, long time Minikahda member donated his time to make us 5 new bird feeders. Being the very meticulous person that he is, Mr. May took several specific measurements and looked at several different styles of bird feeders before constructing the first one. After finishing the first feeder, several small adjustments were made to make the next several feeders even better, with the final design meeting Mr. May's expectation.
Pictured below is Mr. May delivering the 5th and final feeder to us at the grounds department. Mr. May delivered the feeders as "raw" constructed material, so they would need a couple good coats of quality stain to prevent rotting and weathering.












Pictured above left is John Jarosz applying the first coat of stain. Above right is the finished look after a couple of coats of stain. The last and final step will be to attach the new feeders to the mounting posts.

A special thanks goes out to Mr. Wally May. We at the grounds department really appreciate time and pride that Mr. May took to construct the feeders. With the quality and attention to detail, these bird feeders will last for many, many years.

Where Does All Our Irrigation Water Go?

Looking out over the golf course this time of year it might seem strange to see a topic discussing irrigation water usage.  But winter is a great time of year to run some calculations and review our water usage from the previous year.  Water usage in our industry tends to be a topic discussed by many Superintendents as well as our association leaders so we feel it's in our best interest to track where our water goes on the golf course.

Do we have a water crisis?  Based on the amount of snow we have this year most in our state would probably say no. But  what would happen if  local and state leaders began to regulate our industries water usage? This is a question Nick and I have discussed the past few years.  One question we have asked ourselves is what would happen if we were asked by the Minnesota DNR (regulators of our water use) to restrict our usage by, say 10%.  What would we do?  Where would we look at reducing our input?  How would we communicate with our members and what information would we have to back those decisions?  Important questions but difficult to answer if you don't have the data.

Thankfully we keep diligent records of our water usage and the programs we run on a daily basis in season. Each program is listed on a sheet and the time or amount of water applied is recorded.  When each program is run, our Toro Site-Pro irrigation controller automatically calculates how many gallons are used for a particular program.  Nick then calculates the gallons used for each program throughout the season.  We then end up with totals for each area of the golf course, green, tees, fairways, rough, clubhouse lawn and a few other programs we utilize.  Currently we have four years worth of specific data.

Daily log of irrigation cycles and rainfall amounts

Changes in our irrigation practices as well as changes in our sward of turf from predominately poa annua to creeping bentgrass has allowed us to work at adjusting our watering philosophy from nightly light watering cycles to deep and infrequent cycles.  Obviously weather conditions greatly dictate when and how much we water and can greatly impact our consumption from year to year.  But by tracking our water usage on each area of the course we feel we have some valuable information.

Site-Pro Irrigation Programs

Shows that gallons of water used for a specific days usage

This season we will monitor greens moisture on a daily basis using the TDR 300 moisture sensor. By knowing what our daily soil moisture content is and where that level needs to be maintained for healthy turf I fore see a reduction of water usage on our greens. This is because we will only be applying water to reach field capacity when we know we reach our wilt point threshold as opposed to when we think we have reached our threshold.  Additionally since we have 21 greens with 21 different requirements we have now developed 21 separate greens programs.  We will still have the capability of watering all 21 greens on any given night, but we can also add or eliminate water to a green based on its requirement.  Watering all greens when some don't require it, is not only a waste of water, but can create unhealthy conditions for the turf and inconsistent playing conditions for the golfer.

Here's a closer look at our irrigation usage over the past 4 season.

	2007	2008	2009	2010
Greens	841,959	874,874	940,503	598,216
Main PG	8,639	23,997	81,787	74,859
Hedge Green	no program	9,876	43,659	37,197
Chipper Green	no program	21,902	89,582	86,992
Tees	4,264,375	3,477,955	3,809,864	3,130,119
Surrounds	1,313,606	1,105,263	1,008,137	476,744
Fairways	8,150,787	6,854,786	6,848,072	4,899,798
Rough	9,091,439	8,296,344	6,822,187	6,688,950
DR Tee	341,856	308,304	290,304	226,800
DR Fairway	756,648	622,728	648,000	608,256
SG Tee	577,512	342,252	438,480	332,316
Nurseries	93,744	75,600	22,680	41,580
Fescue Bunkers	0	0	255,312	0
Fairway Hotspots	129,600	269,640	232,380	84,924
MSF	145,451	106,184	152,162	89,910
CH Lawn	467,820	405,720	69,000	160,928
Fairway Landing Zones	no program	no program	no program	no program
Total	26,185,443	22,797,433	21,754,118	17,539,599
Rainfall (inches)	22.67	16.11	21.24	25.19

A New Champion

This past weekend the skeet shooters declared a new 2010-11 Cookout Shootout Champion.  Young Gun Max Smith captured the trophy of Cookout Shootout Champion by edging his father Pat by 2 shots.  Max shot combined score of 43 while his dad could only muster a 41.  Max not only won the annual Cookout Shootout trophy, but he also won the 1st annual Wobble Shootout trophy just 2 weeks prior.  With a steady hand he again managed to out due his father by posting a combined score of 42, once again 2 shots better than his dad.  Not bad for someone who had never shot wobble skeet before. 

Max Smith-Cookout Shootout and Wobble Shootout Champion

With only about 3 weekends remaining in the season we have yet to declare a season winner for Large Bore and Small Bore Champions.  A total of five rounds need to be declared to qualify for the award. The way Max Smith's been shooting, who knows he could be the first and only to have his name etched in all four trophy's in the same season.  Best of Luck to all the shooters.

Alex Knopick, set and ready at station 7

Long time member (42 yrs) Dr. Don Mosser and his wife Janet, entertaining the group with one of his many stories

Shooters Bill Schmoker, Max Smith, Pat Smith and Pat Moran

Mointoring Winter Soil Temperatures

 Since the winter of 2005 we have been monitoring the soil temperature under 3 of our greens covers, from the time the covers are installed in the fall until the covers are removed the following spring.  During the winter of 2004 we experienced significant dessication to our turf on the majority of our greens.  One of our biggest questions at that time was when did the winter kill occur?  We all know as long as it's winter and we have snow cover, there's nothing we can do if winter kill has taken place, but we figure it's sure better to know when and why it happened than to know nothing at all.      

Data Loggers are located on greens 6, 7 and 12

The installation of the Watchdog Data Logger is an easy device to utilize.  We can set the monitor to gather data from every minute to every 2 hours.  We gather data every 2 hours and it can store enough data to last 365 days.  The data logger is installed next to the green and two cables are installed under the cover.  One monitors soil temperature and one monitors the temperature between the cover and the green.  The data logger also gathers ambient air temperature.  Typically we will leave the monitor on the course all winter and unless there's some really unique weather patterns that may indicate to us the turf is in jeopardy, we have no real reason, besides curiosity, to bring the data loggers in to down load the information.

So today, out of curiosity and the fact that we have a Grounds Committee meeting this week, I wanted to look at the information and see where we stand at this point in the season.  After gathering this information for the past 6 years, one thing we have found to be very consistent, once the ground freezes and we have snow cover, no matter the warming of the air temperature, the soil has yet to get above 32 degrees until the snow is completely gone and the frost comes out of the ground.  Additionally once we have snow cover the fluctuation in soil temperatures is very minimal no matter how cold we get and no matter how warm it gets. 

It appears from the information gathered today, the above information continues to hold true.  This year we installed the covers on November 10th, the following day we had 8" of snow.  The ground never really froze.  We do not have a deep frost this year.  Since the soil temperatures were unable to freeze before the snow event, the snow has insulated the ground very well.  Interestingly the soil temperature under the covers has been consistently at 30.6 degrees and 31.4 degrees for the past 3 months. 

The coldest recorded air temperature was on January 21st, at -26.8 degrees.  Due to the insulation of the covers and the snow, soil temperatures remained at 31.4 degrees.  Then on February 13th we were having our mid-winter thaw, air temperatures reached a high of 49.6 degrees.  Soil temperatures remained at 30.6 degrees.

Past history has shown us that temperatures that remain steady and below freezing, our fine turf areas have emerged from winter in great condition.  What will happen this year has yet to be seen, we have a lot of snow remaining and a good 4-6 week to go before we will have a good answer.  But until that time, we know only what the data logger information is at this point. If anything was out of the ordinary, it would still remain out of our control.  Now the question remains, what kind of damage might we see from snow mold?