Ice Melt Accomplished!

With the snow removed from the greens late last week, and Mother Nature coming through with warmer temperatures and a little rain this weekend, all except two greens were completely free of ice this morning. The two that still had ice remaining were greens no. 3 and no. 11, but with a little ice breaking and shoveling work, these too are now ice free.

        

Cracking the remaining ice on No. 11 Green

Shoveling and loading cracked ice 

Ice free surface of No. 11 Green

 Time will tell whether our snow and ice removal work these last few days will reduce or eliminate turf damage. We still have more winter to come (in fact it's back already!) and there are other types of Winter Injury that are, unfortunately, still possible.  In theory though, we've broken a long period of continuous ice encasement and removing this layer, one that restricts oxygen and causes carbon dioxide to accumulate, can only be beneficial. Looking forward to the warmer days of spring!    

Speeding up Ice Melt - Reducing Ice Damage?

Looking at the last post I think most would agree that the photos of the blanket of snow throughout the course are very attractive and quite serene. I remember taking them and enjoying the picturesque beauty of the moment. At this point however, it's now been over 50 days of continuous snow coverage, and much of it has turned to ice. Snow cover is fine and even provides beneficial protection. Ice, in contrast, is infinitely more concerning and has now been in place perhaps a bit too long! Shortly after taking the winter wonderland photos,  we had a slight warm-up and then some rainfall. It was actually right at Christmas and was one of only a few days where the maximum temperature exceeded 32 degrees. The warm-up (41 degrees that day) was not enough to melt all the snow but it did reduce the depth. The melting snow of course changed to liquid and added a layer of water beneath the remaining snow and directly on the ground/turf surface. The rain, over 1.5 inches falling the same day, contributed to this layer.  Cold temperatures that then followed changed this water to ice, and with temperatures remaining near or below freezing for the past 30 plus days, it has remained as ice. So at this time a layer of ice has been present for over 30 and approaching 40 days.

Snow cover over 50 days now.

Winter Injury & Our Turf
 There are several forms of what is generally called Winter Injury and includes: Winter Desiccation, Direct Low Temperature Kill; Crown Hydration Injury, and Ice Encasement / Suffocation. At this time I'm mainly concerned about the potential for the latter. The covers that we always use help guard against Winter Desiccation but have little effect on these other listed injury forms.
Our turf species components on our greens, tees, and fairways is primarily poa annua (perennial biotypes) and creeping bentgrass. Of the two species the poa annua is by far the more sensitive to ice encasement.  University research generally shows that ice encasement injury to poa annua will occur at continuous coverage lengths of 45 days and bentgrass at 90 or more. With ice cover on the course (the greens being our primary concern) approaching this 45 day mark, the anxiety (for me) about suffocation injury of our poa annua,  increases with each passing day.

Test hole reveals 2" ice layer on No. 11 Green

Time to Act:
With the temperatures expected to rise into the 40's for this weekend I felt it was a good opportunity to try to have Mother Nature help us reduce some of the ice accumulation we're experiencing.  So over the last couple days we've used snow blowers and shovels to remove the snow off all greens so that the surfaces will hopefully absorb some heat, (snow insulates and reflects) by exposing the darker ice and the darker greencovers, and also reduce the added moisture that would result when it melts this weekend. As we removed the snow we noted that the thickness of ice is minimal on many greens, a 1/2" or so on a few greens, and quite thick (2") on only one green, the same one we had winter injury on last year, No. 11 green.
Our snow removal will certainly help the warmer expected temperatures to begin to melt some of the ice and perhaps most of it on the greens with minimal thicknesses.  I'm expecting that Monday we may have to physically crack and remove remaining ice on No. 11 as I think it's unlikely that 2 inches will melt in just a couple days. We'll see what next week brings.

   

Snow blowing approx. 6" of snow off No. 11 Green 

 

                                 Hand shoveling to assist removal process 

Will This Remove the Threat of Injury?
We wont really know for another couple months as ice damage injury is so variable and depends on many factors.  It varies from year to year in places of the country that deal with it annually, where various efforts are employed which work well some years and may not work at all the next. Managing Winter Injury is certainly an inexact science! I do know that our efforts now, trying to reduce the length of ice encasement, can't hurt, and if anything may help reduce some anxiety (and allow me to sleep a little better at night!) for the next couple months!

Ice depth of approx. 1/2" exposed on No.10 Green. 

A Final Comment & Request:
As we removed snow from the greens we did note that in areas where cross country skiers and snowshoe walkers had crossed greens, the areas beneath the surface had definitely changed to solid ice and was much thicker than adjacent areas. You'll see the snowshoe prints in the photos below.  Given this, and our concern about ice damage, I would ask that skier and snowshoe activities be restricted from the greens and tees. There are many mounds and bunker shoulders throughout the course, in rough areas, where if you're one who enjoys these activities, can travel, to get the rolling elevation changes you may desire.

 

Snowshoe tracks showing heavy ice accumulation on No. 17 Green

 

Close up of Snowshoe track and ice accumulation

Enjoy your skiing and snowshoeing but please refrain from traveling on the greens and tees. Thank You!
Let's hope Mother Nature "Holds the Ice" from here until spring.  I'll keep you posted.

A Winter Wonderland

The golf course is truly a thing of beauty, not just spring through fall, but in winter as well, when quieted by a blanket of fresh snow. Hope you enjoy these few photos as the year comes to a close.

 Hole No. 1

No. 2 Green

No. 3 Tee & Channel

Hole No. 4

 

Hole No. 8

 

Hole No. 9

 

 Hole No. 15

  

No. 16 Approach & Green

 

Your Grounds (&Snow Removal) Crew!

From all of us on the Grounds & Greens: We wish all of you, a very Merry Christmas & a Healthy, Happy New Year!

All Covered Up

I started this post a few weeks ago and then had a few difficulties getting pictures uploaded but now these issues have been resolved. At the time we had just covered (thinking we were just in time for that matter!) the greens, as the temperatures were dipping below freezing, snowfall was predicted, and accumulation was likely.

 Green covering took place on Dec. 2nd &3rd

The date of our annual green covering, and the closing of the greens until spring, varies from year to year (dictated by freezing temperatures) and is preceded by several tasks including; deep tine aeration, topdressing, setting temporary hole locations in the approaches, nutrient applications (designed to be available for plant uptake as soon as the grounds thaws in early spring), and a final plant protectant application.
This final plant protection, which helps control fungi that cause snow mold diseases, is applied as late in the year as possible, and as close to what we believe (a little weather prediction involved) could be a lasting snow cover. A good hard freeze prior to, and then a nice blanket of snow, is always preferred, since snow falling on unfrozen ground can actually insulate it and provide an ideal environment for certain snow mold fungi, but we can't control this.  What we can do is apply protection products before snow is expected and this was completed just prior to our placing of the greens covers.

For the twentieth year now we have used greens covers which are a permeable material made with a double layer, woven, translucent polyethylene and bonded with a unique lace coating. I believe they have been very beneficial for the following reasons:

• Protect against the desiccating affects of cold dry wind should it be an "open" low snow cover winter.
• Protect against debris and other undesirable accumulation and damage from geese, deer, and coyote.
• Protect against walkers, cross country skiers, joggers, etc., when greens are frost covered.
• Enhances soil warming in early spring leading to earlier root growth, and earlier dormancy break and spring green up.   
• Allows late season aeration versus more common immediate post Labor Day timing, providing a longer period, well into late fall, of undisturbed putting surfaces. 
• Should damage occur due to disease or ice (covers allow air and moisture to pass so ice can still accumulate) the covers will enhance new seed germination from overseeding and general plant recovery.

 All tucked in for winter!

Well, as it turned out, our covering process was indeed quite timely as the ground froze and has remained frozen since then. Snow cover has been nearly continuous, at least in the shorter turf areas (greens, tees, and fairways) where the soil is not as well insulated by the plants as it is in longer turf (rough) areas. Yesterday a new blanket of the fluffy white stuff fell and more is falling as I write this, so Mother Nature has the entire course well covered at the moment and it appears as though it will be this way for some time. It's quite nice for Christmas and it protects in much the same way that our green covers do, but a mid-winter thaw often occurs and the green covers will then, and continuing on into spring, provide the many valuable benefits that they have for many past years.

Mother Nature's Natural Covering!

Pressing On...Deep Greens Aeration, & Project Activities.

While the weather appears to be rather rapidly deteriorating we're not letting it slow us down. This week we're performing our second greens aeration session (deep tine aeration), finishing a dormant seeding project at #12 tee, continuing the construction of additional paddle parking, and beginning the extension of #17 championship tee.

Deep Aeration
In October we conducted our first greens aeration session with small diameter tines which extracted cores of sandy material (from years of sand topdressing) which we then reincorporated for a number of important benefits. (See October Aeration post). This week, typically at this same time every year, we conduct a deep aeration using solid tines which provide different but equally beneficial results.
The equipment used is a Verti-drain aerator and the solid tines we use are 3/4" in diameter and penetrate the soil 9-10" deep on 4" center spacing.  These channels that are created aid oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange deeper into the soil profile, provide avenues for deeper root growth, allow the incorporation of sand (from follow up topdressing ) improving rootzone characteristics, and help drain excess moisture from late season rain or melted snow off the putting surfaces. Additionally, moisture that fills these channels will freeze, expand, and in the process fracture the rootzone creating cracks and fissures that further improve all of the aforementioned aeration benefits. So, should we have some nice weather and you get a chance to play, you'll find the putting surfaces rather disrupted (even with several rollings) but at least you can take some solace in knowing that the benefits are highly valuable and help us to provide the quality putting surfaces you enjoy during the golf season.

Verti-drain, Deep Aeration in Progress

Aeration Channels 3/4" x 9-10" deep

(with 1/2" tine added in between for good measure!)

Grassing Improvement Project
A few weeks back we used a product (Roundup herbicide) to control several unwanted grasses and broadleaved plants adjacent to the regular tee and alternate tee (across the bridge) and pond at #12. One particular grass that we wanted to control is Switch grass which is a native plant, and originally intentionally planted, but has proven to be too aggressive and invasive.  With these areas controlled, the soil was prepared for re-seeding and the species sown was fine leaved fescues along with a "smattering"of the less aggressive native grass, Little Blue stem. This dormant seeding was covered with a straw blanket to protect the seeds and keep them in place ready for germination in the spring. In time we will continue this same vegetation control and re-grassing around the entire pond at #12.

Blanketed Fine Fescue & Little Blue stem seed awaits spring germination

Paddle Parking Extension
Over the last few weeks we have been constructing an area, adjacent (west side along Forest Preserve) to the entrance road to the Paddle Area and Grounds Operations Center. We first removed all the vegetation (mostly buckthorn trees) and then added 30 or so truckloads of fill material to elevate to the proper grade.  After leveling and compacting the fill material we're now adding, leveling, and compacting approx. a dozen semi-loads of base gravel. When complete, likely next week, we'll have an asphalt company apply a "base layer" which will allow parking and plowing capabilities.  Next year a final "top course" will be applied smoothing and leveling any settling that may occur over winter.  This project will add nearly 50 additional parking spaces, sorely needed on many days during heavy paddle play.  This additional parking will also come in handy next year during the Western Amateur Championship.

Gravel base (6-7") being spread for Paddle parking extension

Northern end of new parking area awaiting gravel base

#17 Championship Tee Expansion
Plans have been in place for many months to lengthen the championship tee at #17, and with other tees and the new bunker complex at #18 now complete, we are moving ahead with this work. It's a fairly straightforward extension (or should I say straight back!) which will add 10 yards to the back of this tee.

 Lengthening of #17 tee begins

 It may not seem like much distance but it will surely add a bit more challenge from this tee. I'll keep you posted on our progress.          

Winterizing the Course

We certainly had a bonus regarding the weather this past weekend. Aside from a little frost delay, the days turned out sunny and mild and it was great to see a good bit of "late season" play. Was it the last good weather weekend? Time will surely tell, but as Thanksgiving approaches, the inevitable cold, snow, and frozen soil, looms on the horizon and our focus this past weekend turned to preparing the course for winter.

A frosty start to a beautiful weekend. Hopefully not the last! 

Winterizing the course actually began a few weeks ago with nutrient applications targeted to extend photosynthesis (which improves energy storage) as well as strengthen the turf plants aiding cold stress tolerance. These applications were completed on all turf areas (greens, tees, fairways, rough) and while they are very important, our activities over the weekend were essential and included clearing water from the irrigation system, the tennis court sprinkler system, and drinking water lines, and applying plant protection products to greens, tees, and fairways to prevent winter disease activity.
The process of clearing the irrigation system and other water lines involves attaching an air compressor capable of producing a large volume of air to the main line pipe at the pump station and then actuating every head (nearly 2000 now) individually, until all water is "blown" free. Additionally, manual coupling valves are cleared and the pump station is thoroughly drained.

The big "Blower"...a 750 Cubic Feet / Minute Compressor 

Adding some mist to the morning...an almost clear sprinkler 

All clear...until next spring 

Our other critically important "winterization" task is plant protectant applications to prevent two potentially damaging diseases. There are fungi that can cause disease at any time of the year, and the early winter through spring period is unfortunately no exception.

 Plant Protection in Action

A very common disease active during our current cool and damp conditions (and continuing until warm temperatures return next spring) is a disease called Microdochium Patch.

 

 Microdochium Patch (photo fortunately not from SCC!)

When snow cover eventually occurs, another less common but more destructive disease is called Typhula Blight, or more commonly known as Gray Snow Mold. Snow cover actually provides an insulating layer for this fungi, preventing it from drying out.

 

Typhula Blight (photo fortunately not from SCC!)

Microdochium Blight - (this one is from #17 at SCC -now treated!)

These two diseases are generally our main off season concern and the primary targets of our late fall/winter preventive plant protectant applications.

Additional winterizing tasks include deep tine aeration and sand topdressing of the greens (which began today) and covering of the greens and several tees prior to freezing conditions. Hopefully these "freezing conditions" are still several weeks away!

Finishing touches completed on #18 Bunker Project!

In just a little over a week the combined efforts of Wadsworth Golf Construction and Skokie Grounds Operations Staff have completed the Bunker and Mound Project at #18.  With great weather and a few very long days we just may have set a record for building and grassing this new complex!
Over the weekend the bunker shapes, shoulder elevations, drainage, irrigation modifications, mounded ridge shaping, topsoil placement, and most of the sod installation was completed.

Irrigation and shoulder (face) sod being installed 

Drainage in place and shoulder sodding progressing

 Topsoil replacement on mounded ridge 

Monday the sand was installed, final sodding of the mounded ridge completed, and the haul road (where all traffic was confined during construction) was tilled, leveled and seeded. Also, with areas where the fairway has now shifted from original, we replaced all fairway sod that was lifted prior to construction. There was a net increase in fairway width, and rather than bring in sod that would not match the existing fairway turf varieties, we used our "home-grown" sod, planted from cores at our nursery, which will much more closely match the existing turf varieties in the adjacent areas on #18 fairway. This is the same method as we have used with other fairway expansions (see last post), but in this case rather than grow in place we used sod available at our nursery.

Shoulder sod complete, fairway expansion begins 

 

Sand installed, fairway replacement and expansion complete

 Haul road tilled and prepped for seeding

 The few final details were completed on Tuesday and included smoothing and compacting the bunker sand, fertilizing and applying wetting agents to aid moisture retention for the new sod and seed, and covering the seeded, former haul road with a straw blanket. This late seeding is what's considered 'dormant seeding', and germination will not take place now but the seed will be in place and will do so as soon as the soil warms in the spring. With these final few items addressed today, I guess I can say for this project,...that's a wrap!

Straw blanket in place to prevent erosion and protect seeds

 Fairway expansion at first bunker, sand smoothed and compacted

A few details about the new complex:

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the new bunkers approximately split the location of the former bunker. The new far bunker is approximately 10 yards further from the tee, and the new closest bunker is approximately 10 yards closer. A low shoulder or face separates the two, and a formidable shoulder on the far bunker gives true meaning to the term "hazard"! An off line shot entering the first bunker will have a much more manageable recovery shot. If a player challenges the far bunker and is skilled enough to carry 295 yards he'll be rewarded by a nice "kick" off the back slope, where fairway lies beyond, receiving a good amount of additional yardage.
The mounded ridge short of the bunkers is a continuation of the ridge that was existing between the former bunker and the existing grass bunker on #1 side. The sloped areas of the mounded ridge will add challenge to shots hit wide right off both #1 and #18 due to potential uneven stance. There is a generous amount of fairway and flat rough in these areas and this should only affect shots hit rather far off line.
I believe this entire new complex looks very attractive (and will of course be more so when fully established) and with design similarities of that of many of our other bunkers, these "new" bunkers blend well with our overall bunker style.

 Complex complete - Attractive but.."A hazard to be avoided"!

 Enjoy the view but remember bunkers are hazards, and in the words of architect Donald J. Ross, "Regardless of where a bunker may be, it is the business of the player to avoid it"!

A Quick Fairway Expansion

As part of the Master Restoration Plan of year 2000, one of the original goals was to bring fairway turf closer to many of the bunkers to, "make them more integral with the fairway", as well as where appropriate, provide fairway behind bunkers, where a carried shot challenging a bunker, would be rewarded with additional roll.

This fairway expansion work (beyond larger re-contour expansions during the implementation of the Master Restoration), as you will probably recall, has been recently done in locations on fairways #3, #4, #7 and now this week on #8.

The former bunker on the right side approach of #8 green was a large, long, parallel bunker. The restored hazard became two bunkers which were turned more perpendicular, "stacked", (one above the other), to make up the elevation rise, and brought much closer to the putting surface. This left a rather large area of rough which was a perfect location for fairway expansion to "make them more integral to the fairway" as well as to visually enhance this area.

So this week, with weather still cooperating, and both sod (some from repositioning of fairway and rough in this area, some from #18 project) and cores available, (#8 is our last fairway to core aerate) we addressed this expansion.

Fairway removed in foreground (was under Oak Tree) -
Expansion area prepared for sod & cores

Fairway sod repositioned to area closest to bunkers


Harvesting cores-soon to be the new fairway


Cores spread and leveled - Seeding and Rolling will follow

Completed project with intermediate rough repositioned
in foreground (slightly darker green), and new expansion
area closest to bunker

There are several other areas throughout the course where we will eventually implement this same fairway expansion work, both on the leading side, as well as the sloped, back side of bunkers. I'll keep you posted!