Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Course Restrooms

The restrooms at 8/15 are closed for the season.  The on course restrooms require irrigation system operation to function...and the system is down for the remainder of 2014.  The restrooms at the 1/2 house remain open, at least through the cross country golf event on 11/22. 

RB

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

EAB loss removals begin...

Today, I dropped the first of many EAB casualties.  Here is a link as a quick reference to EAB and it's effect on the Ash populations in Indiana and surrounding states.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerald_ash_borer

We have quite a large volume of specimens to remove; roughly 130 with half of those on the golf course and the other half in fringe zones (along parking lots, property lines, etc.).  The specimens that are safe for an unskilled forester to drop are the ones the HGCC staff started on today.  I am currently working to set up a wood wholesaler, and come to an agreement to lessen or even remove the economic impact of removing the specimens requiring specialized skills and equipment.  Stay tuned...

Another project underway is root pruning near playing surfaces.  We do this by trenching shallow between the playing surface and the tree base.  The turf grass "outside" the trench zone will no longer compete with the tree for soil based requirements; moisture and nutrients.  The noticeable difference will be a denser, healthier turf stand; more consistent to what a playing surface should be.  A management benefit is improved moisture control and reduced hand watering needs.  With less tree roots depleting soil moisture, less irrigation will be required in these areas for turf survival.  This means less $ spent on irrigation water, and less labor requirements for supplementing these areas multiple times a day during droughty conditions.  

Busy times in late fall; all in preparation for a fantastic 2015.

Ryan Baldwin, CGCS

Friday, October 31, 2014

Bringing the Blog up to speed

A blustery Halloween is upon us.  It's time to fire up the HGCC grounds blog and bring it back online!  A fantastic fall is coming to an abrupt end with possible snow showers tonight coupled with our first hard freeze warning.  Its difficult to predict when the course will become available tomorrow; and with the freeze warning not expiring until 10 AM, the course will not be checked for thaw until that point in time.  If it is not available yet, we will keep the golf shop informed every half hour as to status.  This is a far cry from the 80 degree weekend from a mere 7 days past!

The remaining seasonal staff is dedicating 80% of our weekly labor hours to leaf control.  I expect this to continue for another 3 weeks solid, then fade as we enter late November.  Due to the impending freeze, the irrigation system is shut down for the season...thus the on course restrooms at 8/15 are now closed for the season.

We have a busy winter ahead.  Stay warm, and have a safe Halloween weekend.

Ryan Baldwin, CGCS

Monday, November 5, 2012

Back Again

The combination of my lack of Tech savvy and the brutal season limited my posts dramatically.  I plan to update this site on a regular basis moving forward, so keep an eye out for new and insightful (in my eyes anyway!) information.

The highlight of our fall stretch was the execution of a large scale Tenacity program.  We treated roughly 38 acres of rough with 3 apps @ 15 oz.  spaced 10 days apart.  The chemistry is quite amazing, and results are in the form of "bleaching" leaf tissue.  I noticed that most all plants had some bleaching effect, and after three apps even some desireable species had thinning or decline.  However, this turf recovered quite well following a break and some Urea N.  Bentgrass, crabgrass, and most broadleaf weeds did not fair so well!  In areas of good 3 app coverage, my estimate is 90% was eradicated.  Interseeding began immediately following the first application; and continued well beyond app 3 due to amount of acreage.

Due to growth habit, the bit of Bent that did survive moved and competed with new seedlings introduced via a Turfco TriWave seeder.  Seed "catch" was a bit below my expectations, as I believe the Tenacity has more soil activity on seed/seedlings than they let on.  The fall fill was adequate, and I hold final reservation until June of 2013.  It is my experience that Bluegrass fill will be quite suprising by May's end!

Leaf season was much quicker in 2012.  Another extremely hard summer has taken it's toll on urban forests.  Color was short lived, and most species dropped quickly in October.  The positive for us is the ability to execute other projects, and actually begin a broadleaf program in the Fall; not typically available on this piece of property.

Enjoy the upcoming Holidays, and remember what we are all thankful for.

RB

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Time to take a breath!

Wow.  What an unbelievable stretch of heat and drought.  May ended as one of the driest on record, and the second half of the month saw more highs in the 90's than the 70's.  This pushed through a very busy Memorial Day holiday.  The constant heat and lack of natural precipitation forced more summer like irrigation practices.  I am very pleased with the results of this first wave and the staff's response.  We implemented a more aggressive hand watering program during the week; covering surfaces other than just greens.  Even at the height of the heat and drought (the weekend), we were able to keep turf alive while still providing acceptable firmness and kept speed up on the greens. 

There is a little break in the heat; and it came with a small .5 inch rainfall Monday evening.  The dust is settled for a few days, and the irrigation can be shut down...but we could all benefit from another rain event late in the week. 

Ryan Baldwin, CGCS

Monday, April 9, 2012

Firm, Firmer, Firmest

Sure wouldn't expect to post this on April 9th!  The incredibly warm, dry spring has provided some of the best playing conditions seen over the past 3 total golf seasons.  Add in the cocktail of Plant Growth Regulators (PGR's) used to inhibit seed head development and slow typical spring growth; and you set the recipe for a fast track. 

This is a great time to talk about soft and firm conditions, and how we "control" said scenarios.  As you would know, dry conditions give us the ability to add water as needed...a much nicer scenario than saturated ground.  The conditions today are prime example of our practices and said results.  The turf plants are requesting little to no additional hydration even with soil moisture levels Well Below the "wilt" or "death" stage when in summer months.  The past two summers, we have applied water to preserve the asset...and under such extremes provided a softer than desired playing surface.  Now, little irrigation is required to ensure plant and asset protection, therefore the conditions are allowed to firm and speed increases....a prime example of how we Want to manage the course under normal temperatures and around rainfall events.

Get out here and tee it up!!

Friday, March 30, 2012

Spring....err...I mean Summer!

It's been a while since updating the Blog.  Hopefully understandable, as golf season and course preparations are in FULL swing.  The record setting March was a welcome suprise for all; providing an excellent start to the growing season and an opportunity for Members to reengage with Highland early in the calendar year.

As you can imagine, it has been quite challenging balancing the needs of a course in May condition while still attempting to accomplish March needs; all with a reduced staff typical for this time of year.  We are knee deep in mowing schedules, topdressing programs, pesticide needs, PGR applications, etc. etc.  This is unheard of for anytime in March, especially starting as early as mid March.  However, I am proud and confident to say the golf course is in excellent playing condition.  Nice, dry days have kept the facility firm (especially for spring!) and all the preparations we have accomplished compliment this nice weather stretch.

The Master's is upcoming, and that means our first "unofficial" event of the season...the Master's Par 3 event is right around the corner.  Let the season commence!!