Sugar Creek Golf Course Maintenance

Time to Grind

2011-12-09T11:32:00.000-08:00

If you walk past a golf course maintenance facility this time of year, you will most likely hear the sound of grinding wheels, air rachets, and other assorted power tools. Winter maintenance of golf course equipment is essential to keeping them sharp and operational. At Sugar Creek, we use two Neary grinders to spin-grind reels and grind bedknives back into cutting shape. These grinders are considered "classics" but they do their job well if you are careful and treat them nicely. Throughout the season, we touch-up and adjust these reels twice a week but winter is when we re-grind and re-set all the cutting angles and surfaces.

Here are some pictures of Greens King IV reels being worked on:

Our equipment technician uses very precise gauges and calipers to ensure that the reels are not slightly cone-shaped or the bedknives tilted. He often uses this Interapid indicator to test within a 10,000th of an inch if everything is coming out straight and parallel. Here you can see the indicator being used on the bedknife grinder:

Winter is when golf course equipment technicians shine. In addition to sharpening and grinding reels and blades, they change bearings, grease joints, change oil, rebuild engines, service hydraulics, replace brake pads, and a whole bunch of other stuff that I won't list here. After finishing grinding and preventative maintenance on the machines, we will be replacing the reels on the fairway mower and refurbishing the groomers on our greens mower early next year.

In the above photo, you can see the groomer blades on the greens mower cutting units. The bearings and adjustment hardware are worn out making it very difficult to set them precisely and have them stay there. Grooming is tricky as it is without having the cutting depth change on you. Ideally we like the little vertical blades to go into the "canopy" of the turf just slightly and lift up leaf blades that are getting too long or running sideways (about .030" below height of cut on greens). Having groomers too deep could damage the green and would eventually break groomers -- for deep cutting we have verti-cutter units. Going too shallow will have no effect at all. Since accurate adjustment is so important, the bearings and hardware on these groomers needs to be replaced once in a while to produce a quality results.

Somebody once told me Superintendents swear by groomers; mechanics swear at them. This will most likely be true in our shop sometime in mid to late January when we take them apart and start fixing them up.

Frost Delays

2011-10-22T06:36:00.000-07:00

Reposted from April 2010:

Since we have a frost delay today, I thought I would post some information on frost and frost delays. No one likes frost delays - maintenance workers especially - but they are necessary for the health of the course. Golf course employees ask for your understanding during frost delays. We don't like them either.

Here are some key points from the Golf Course Superintendent Association:

• Frost is basically frozen dew that has crystallized on the grass, making it hard and brittle. A grass blade is actually 90 percent water, therefore it also freezes.

• Walking on frost-covered greens causes the plant to break and cell walls to rupture, thereby losing its ability to function normally.

• When damaged, the putting surface weakens and becomes more susceptible to disease and weeds.

• One foursome can leave several hundred footprints on each green, causing extensive damage.

• A short delay while the frost melts can preserve the quality of the greens and prevent needless repairs.

You can find a more detailed article on frost formation and effects in this article - "The Big Chill"

The following is a video from the USGA:

October Pictures

2011-10-09T16:50:00.000-07:00

Fall always makes for some great golf weather, and great pictures. The weather lately has been perfect for misty mornings and sunny, clear afternoons. Enjoy! You can click on the pictures for a larger view.

A Week after Aerification : Update

2011-09-29T08:26:00.000-07:00

For the last few days, a low pressure system has been swirling over Chicagoland. At Sugar Creek, we have had around 3 inches of rain in total. Not all at once, though, but in six hour soakers spaced about 12 hours apart. Wonderful! Believe it or not, these are very busy weeks for a maintenance crew -- in a different way than usual. We have not been able to mow fairways, but we have been able to mow everythings else very slowly. Sand traps have been a constant battle. In weather like this, we pump them just to give us a shot at drying them faster after it stops raining. Since you never know when will be the last shower for the week, sometimes we pump them only to have them fill up again. That's just the chance you take.

On a positive note, the greens have healed quickly from aerification last week. After one week's time, they now look like this:

1 Week after Aerification

Close-up of #1 Green

They will be putting nicely once they get a chance to dry out a little.

Flooded bunkers have been common this week:

This is Gary's third time pumping traps this week. You can also see him pulling weeds while he waits for the double sump pump arrangement to do its job. Great job, Gary!

Gary's daily ritual : Pumping and weeding!

The last problem areas are filling in with slit seeding and aerification:

5 Tee slit seeding

The 5th tee has always been challenging to grow. It is affected by morning shade, hard subsoil, and heavy use. Being a short hole, divots are often very large and numerous. We ask that players refrain from practicing, or taking multiple shots, on this tee for obvious reasons:

Divots on 5 tee

Divots taken during the course of regular play are necessary, but these divots were not between the tee blocks and are probably from just one golfer "practicing". Ouch.

Looks like we may have one more sprinkle before a nice dry week!

Aerifying Day 2011

2011-09-23T08:12:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again! The greens at Sugar Creek were aerified on September 21 with a deep tine machine that loosens up the ground up to 8 inches deep. Aerifying is essential to the long term health of a green. Here are a few pictures of the process.

We started spreading sand before the deep tine machine this year. This helped it dry out before brushing. Here is the deep tine machine on the first green:

Topdressing the greens:

In this photo, you can see the brush in action on the 5th green and the tractor aerifying the 7th green:

After brushing as much sand as possible into the holes, we used some custom built brush reels on the old greens mower. These reels have a bedknife set to a little under our usual height of cut. Brushes then come around to pick up extra sand and debris and collect it in the baskets. These brush reels help to create a puttable surface:

After the first day, the greens look something like this area:

We try hard not to over-sand them even if all the holes aren't full to the top. It is easy to add more sand later but very difficult to get rid of too much. After testing many spots, the holes almost never interfer with putting after we roll the greens out. At least in my opinion, excessive sand is more difficult to putt on and can delay recovery.

At the end of the process, we used a pull behind roller to smooth out any bumps. One of the difficulties of dealing with recently aerified greens is dew in the morning. The next two mornings were too dewy to mow or roll the greens without making them clumpy and unputtable. Instead, we will be brushing and mowing them in the afternoon after they have dried out.

They are putting smoothly and especially in the dry afternoon are almost too fast. Some golfers even told me they loved putting them the afternoon after they were done. Others said they liked the challenge of the different speed. I hear a rumor that some golfers are not big fans of aerification, but I haven't run into them yet . . . Well, maybe one or two!

Summer of 2011 : Seeding Fairways

2011-09-14T09:26:00.000-07:00

Meteorological summer is over and it has definitely cooled off in the Chicago area -- just barely dipped under 50 last night in many areas. The last month has been a busy one at many golf courses in the area struggling to recover from late July's rain and heat. Luckily, August was not extreme: 1.1 degrees F over normal and about average rainfall. This meant that it was possible to get seed to grow in fairway areas.

In the last 5 weeks, we experimented with several methods of seeding and aerification in the fairways. We used a slicing knives several times in an attempt to break through the thatch into soil. This worked in some spots. We also used an Aera-vator with a seeder to spike seed and cultivate areas. Other areas we used a Ryan Mataway slit seeder. All three methods worked to one extent or another. The trick is to get seed-to-soil contact without making the situation worse or delaying recovery.

Seed growing in aeravator holes

Some of the plants you see are not new seed. Most of these areas in our fairways are composed of annual bluegrass, or Poa annua, an annual grass with lots of seed in the ground. It is very aggressive in spring and fall, but often dies in summer. In some of these areas, our new seed may have gotten started early enough to establish before the annual fall resurgance of Poa annua. In others, Poa will likely take back over.

You can identify Poa annua by its bunch-type growth, yellow-green color, and "boat-shaped" tip:

Annual blugrass boat shaped tip

Annual bluegrass is not exactly what we want to see because it is the species that died in the first place, but it is turf and you can play golf on it! There isn't any way to stop it without stopping our new seed also, so superintendents have to constantly manage it.

About three weeks ago, we slit-seeded the first fairway and it is starting to fill in:

First Fairway slit seeding

It is easier to see the fuzzy new grass with dew on it

Finally, an area on 7 fairway that suffered from water damage needed more aggressive tactics. Using an Aeravator, rake, and roller, we essentially cultivated and seeded the area around this drain:

The seed germinated very quickly and is doing well. If you click on the image, you can see them more easily:

Seedlings on 7 Fairway

Many other areas have already recovered from early August and the rest are filling in quickly. September has really been a nice month!

6th Hole

1st Green

Update September 22, 2011: Seedlings are really filling in on our fairways. The renovated area on the 7th fairway now looks like this:

7 fairway

Overall, we have had a lot of success this year replacing pesky Poa annua with bentgrass and bluegrass. Hopefully these seedlings will toughen up before winter and make great turf next year!

July Weather Since 1990

2011-08-10T05:39:00.000-07:00

One of the interesting parts of working in the golf world is dealing with weather. It is important to understand weather variations over time when planning future projects and evaluating the success of past projects. The last two summers have been hot and stormy, so I was curious: How "normal" is this weather? When was the last summer with high heat and lots of rain? The chart below summarizes July weather in Chicagoland since 1990.

(Click chart for full size view)

There are lots of ways to measure heat and precipitation, but I looked at the National Weather Service's departure from average figures for July. Out of curiousity, I also added in the number of days with rains over .5" -- big rains, in other words.

The pattern confirms what I have heard from other Superintendents in the area. Besides 2010, the last July we saw this extreme combination of high heat and heavy rain was . . . 1995. Many people remember 1995 for its 100 degree days, but July also saw a lot of storms in this area. We have had other unpleasant months over the years, but 1995, 2010, and 2011 really stick out for their combination of hot and wet -- one of the toughest situations for golf courses.

Notes on the chart: Clicking on the chart will open a larger version. Most of the data came from the National Weather Service. I made a couple adjustments based on local measurements. For instance, O'Hare measured over 11 inches July 2011 but we luckily missed a few of those inches. It is important to note that this chart is only meant to summarize weather in July, not the entire summer. There are many other factors in turfgrass health and golf playability, but July weather is very significant in our area. I will take a look at August and its effects later this year.

Interview with a Fairway

2011-08-08T06:26:00.000-07:00

A lot of golf course fairways have been hurting since it started raining this summer. I decided to go straight to the source and ask our fairways some tough questions. The following is a transcript of our interview:

So, fairway, it looks like you’ve been having a rough time in the past weeks?

Tell me about it! I was doing great up until it started raining again. I appreciate a nice shower. Even a short bath I can tolerate, but I can’t sit in water for a week. I can’t breathe. Especially when the sun is out – that water gets hot! Try holding your breath underwater in a hot tub. That’s what it’s been like.

How did you cope with the extreme heat? Was that a problem?

That string of really hot days wasn’t a walk in the park, but I survived. The maintenance crew tried to give me just the right amount of water. Too much water would have cooked me and too little would have permanently wilted me. I made it through those hot days by breathing at night and holding my breath during mid-day. That way I didn’t wilt to death during the middle of the day. I’m not saying it was pleasant, but I can handle that for a while as long as the maintenance crew is helping me out.

If you didn’t mind the extreme heat, when did the trouble start?

Well. I started getting wet. The first downpour was alright. I soaked it up and it was cloudy and not too hot out. The second one on July 23^rd was way too much for me to handle, my roots were saturated and I couldn’t breathe. Luckily it wasn’t too hot and sunny so you couldn’t really tell how much I was hurting.

It seemed like you suddenly got sick right after that. What happened next?

Just when I was starting to dry out and feel good again, I got a combined 2.5 inches of rain on the 28^th and 29^th. Those two days were cloudy and not too hot so I just held on partially underwater. Some of my low spots were starting to get smothered, but I was mostly ok. And then it happened . . . Saturday and Sunday were the worst!

Did you get a horrible disease or something?

Not really. The maintenance crew had just helped me out with some protectants that prevented most of the diseases. I may have had a spot or two of Pythium Blight and Brown Patch, but that wasn’t really a big deal. It was just the conditions out here on the 30^th and 31^st. Remember, I’m plants, I can’t run away from lethal heat like you can -- hiding in your nice air conditioning all day and night! I have to just sit here and take it.

I remember it was miserable out there in the middle of the day. Why couldn’t you use the water to cool off?

My roots were still soaked and it was very humid so I couldn’t transpire. Kind of like humans and your sweat, I need to evaporate some water to cool myself off.

Didn't the maintenance crew just add some drain lines on the first hole to help you out?

Yes they did, and I appreciate the effort. They put a new line under the cart path and some other lines. I'm sorry, but the way I'm built, it's going to take a lot more than that to dry me out when it rains this much!

New drain and sodded area on #1. Sod didn't make it.

OK. So what happened?

I wasn’t dry yet and the sun came out. July 30^th was the sunniest day in a long time and the temperatures hit the low 90’s. The sun heated up the surface of the water that was partly covering my blades to over 110 degrees and it cooked their insides. In a four hour span on Saturday afternoon, a lot of my cells turned to useless soup. Sunday afternoon hurt again with the exact same conditions.

Can we do anything to help right now?

Well. The maintenance crew tried to help by aerating some holes for me. Unfortunately, it has continued to rain so I still haven’t been able to breathe much. Just rained another 1.5 inches in the last 24 hours. At least the temperatures have cooled off so I’m not losing any more plants. I know the maintenance crew is going to aerate and overseed this week once I dry out a little. I’ve been in this situation before and I always come back with a little help. Please be patient while I grow some new shoots and roots.

Why are other areas of the course growing so well and you’re not?

There are lots of reasons, but most of them go back many years. If you notice, I’m low and the greens and tees are high – for the most part. They were built with soil and sand custom made for greens and tees. I’m all clay, rock, asphalt, and brick. You might not know this, but I was a rock dump before I was a golf course fairway. The greens and tees got the benefit of topsoil and there wasn’t much left for me. I have a rougher life than those pampered greens. They don't even get driven on by carts! The tees are less spoiled – at least they have to deal with divots. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to grow some roots now.

One more question -- When do you think you'll be back to "normal"?

If past years are any guide, I will probably have one more rough patch in August that will prevent a big recovery. At the end of August, I will recover and grow new shoots with the help of the maintenance crew. By October 1, you may not be able to tell that it was another hot, wet summer.

Early October 2010

That was the end of our interview. You may want to see these post for more information:

Scald and annual bluegrass (Poa annua) problems:
http://sugarcreekgolfcourse.blogspot.com/2010/07/turf-notes-summer-decline-of-annual.html

Pythium Blight:
http://sugarcreekgolfcourse.blogspot.com/2010/08/turf-notes-pythium-blight.html

Drainage project on 1st hole:
http://sugarcreekgolfcourse.blogspot.com/2011/05/1-cart-path-drainage-project-update.html

2010 -- a similar year for us -- in review:
http://sugarcreekgolfcourse.blogspot.com/2010/12/2010-year-in-pictures.html

Venting Fairways and Tees

2011-08-01T11:55:00.000-07:00

The past couple weeks have not been kind to most Chicago-area golf courses. First we had extreme heat and then lots of rain. While some turf wilted in the heat and the rough went dormant in many areas, we could cope with dry and hot. The wet period that started on July 22nd was a different matter. The end of last week (July 27-29) saw significant rain 3 days in a row with warm temperatures. This created a situation we know well in a wet late summer -- a toxic soup of wet wilt, scald, and pythium. The high temps this weekend cooked saturated, low-lying fairway areas but the rough is looking fabulous! Quite a few golfers have commented on how green it is on the course and they are right: The greens, higher areas, and rough are healthy and growing fast. It is those lower areas that are the problem.

Scalded low area near the creek on #1.

At the moment, there is only one thing we can do to improve the situation and speed up turf recovery -- Vent! Not the verbal kind of venting, although that can help, but the mechanical kind. Venting refers to solid tine aeration done mostly for the purpose of improving gas exchange in the soil. We have been using a machine called the Planet Air on the fairways that shatters soil while leaving only a slit in the turf and a minimum of mess. Tees are being treated with solid tines on a conventional aerifier. So far, I have no plans to needle tine the greens as they are still performing well.

Aerator uses a slicing motion to vent turf

Slicing Tines on Planet Air

I've noticed a lot of superintendents are doing the same thing and dealing with a lot of the same problems. Check here for more recent superintendent blog posts (Link). I especially like this blog post as they seem to be in a similar situation (Link).

In his Scouting Report for July 29, 2011, Dr. Settle writes: "Then there's why overly wet rootzones are our worst enemy. Midsummer is never a good time for cool-season turfgrass because any additional downward spiral of turfgrass health can be difficult to reverse until cooler weather returns. Root biomass/length are at their lowest levels and what's left root-wise has impaired function because of high soil temperature. Turf plants in physiological decline display abnormal photosynthesis and respiration, yet concentrated wear continues on a daily basis (the life of a golf green). Often the only recourse is a well-timed cultural method such as needle-tine aeration. If it sounds as if I'm exaggerating or blaming the weather too much, guess again."

Thanks for telling it how it is! Wet + Hot + Stress = Unhappy Turf. These scouting reports a great resource for everyone involved in golf. You can check them out at Chicago District Golf Association Turfgrass.

Classic water damage in a drainage swail.
Saturated conditions lasted for longer than the turf could tolerate.

Course Update: July 23, 2011

2011-07-23T06:59:00.000-07:00

The rainstorms last night dumped a lot of water on us. We're not exactly sure of the amount because our rain gauge was knocked over. My best guess is over 2 inches but way less than the over 6 inches falling at O'hare. Most of the water drained off as of 7:30am. The course has remained open so far and many groups have played. More rain appears to be on the way, so please check with the clubhouse to be sure of the course's status (Phone #: 630-834-3325).

Last week was very hot and humid, but the course made it through in good shape. You will hear many superintendents say that they prefer to have it not rain when it is hot. Too much water combined with heat leads to more severe problems than drought stress (see posts from 2010!). Last week was a good example of why rain is not always welcome for a golf course. Through moderate irrigation and spot watering by hand with hoses we were able to get through the week without major problems. This amount of rain a couple days ago would have lead to severe scald, wet wilt, and probably diseases. Hopefully it will stay cloudy today and not get too hot until it dries up a little. It looks like we have a little cool down coming Sunday night through Tuesday which will be a welcome relief for both people and plants.

Junior Golf League Featured on WGN

2011-07-04T05:51:00.000-07:00

Sugar Creek's Junior Golf League was featured on WGN's Instant Replay with Dan Roan last night. You can tell from the video that our golf professionals and educational staff are doing a great job getting hundreds of kids into the game. The course is looking good on camera, too. At Sugar Creek, we also strive to teach course etiquette, safety, and an intro to course maintenance with our juniors. It is a unique program and one of the reasons Sugar Creek was awarded the Top 100 Facility distinction by Play Golf America.

Tree Inventory Online

2011-06-28T17:05:00.000-07:00

View Larger Map

Above is a Google maps version of the Sugar Creek tree inventory. I have already found that it can be extremely slow on some connections but fine on others. Hopefully it will work on yours . . .

It is easiest to use by clicking on "View Larger Map." You can click on each tree for its species. Eventually, I would like to import more data like diameter and age and perhaps color code the icons. I think I will schedule that for a winter project!

Bug Spray Harms Turf

2011-06-21T04:15:00.000-07:00

I have received a few questions about the mysterious patches of light tan turf that appeared over the weekend. This is one turf problem that has a simple explanation: Whenever the weather is muggy and buggy, we experience an outbreak of "bug spray disease." Most golfers do not know that their insect repellent will harm turf, especially when directed at legs and ankles. The overspray usually leaves a pattern of a green footprint or footprints surrounded by straw-colored injured turf.

The solution to this problem is to spray legs and ankles on a cart path or other non-turf surface where the overspray will not contact grass. Depending on conditions and the amount of spray on the grass, these spots usually recover in 1-4 weeks. In extreme cases, though, they can result in the death of the patch of turf.

Bug spray injury on a tee with a footprint in the center

Bug spray injury on a green collar

Can you see the footprint?

Hopefully these pictures will help us all remember to use bug spray on the cart path. I know it has slipped my mind in the middle of a mosquito attack. Next time you golf on a buggy day, please help us educate others about the cause of the mysterious green footprint disease.

Pictures from June 2011

2011-06-16T06:24:00.000-07:00

While looking over recent pictures, I noticed that we golf course superintendents tend to take a lot of pictures of problem areas or projects in progress. I take about 10 times more pictures meant to inform (not so pretty) than pictures meant to impress (pretty ones). Superintendents are fascinated by pictures of turf disorders, projects involving mud and machines, and rare phenomenon. We can't help it. It's our job to deal with the behind-the-scenes stuff that makes golf courses tick. I realized the other day that if you looked at this blog, you might think that Sugar Creek is always 1) flooded, or 2) under construction. Definitely not true! The majority of the time it is a beautiful place with lots of golfers enjoying themselves. I decided to lead with the good stuff this post!

A collection of pretty pictures can be found here : Slideshow

So far, June has been an eventful month at Sugar Creek. We have had many beautiful days for golf. We've also had a tiny flood -- just a little one, no big deal!

9 Green and Clubhouse on a nice day

2 Green and Clubhouse

4 Tee

June wouldn't be complete without one flood picture. Let's hope it's the only one! Thuderstorms gave us over 3 inches with the inevitable result:

4 Fairway

The crew has been very busy working on the sandtraps, mulching landscape beds, preparing the course, and all the other tasks that are part of our in season routine. The course is in very nice shape thanks to the efforts of our dedicated staff.

One of our major accomplishments over the past few months was the replacement of our main irrigation pump and the renovation of the pumphouse plumbing. Thanks to the previous experience of our handy mechanic, we were able to do the work in-house and meticulously go over these pieces of equipment. I am now 99% sure this plumbing will hold on any given night. Last year, it was down to about 50/50. We got it up and running just in time for some dry weather, which all too quickly turned into wet weather.

Below you can see our beautiful new Berkeley pump and reassembled plumbing. The pumphouse is really the heart of any golf course. This pumphouse supplies the rest of the course with life at about 600 gallons per minute:

40hp centrifugal pump

Rebuilt valves and plumbing

We used the new pump for 2 nights before the recent rainy spell hit. Who knows when we will need it again! No one is really looking forward to the forecast at the moment:

I'm thinking this has to be a mistake. The meteorologists are having a good laugh right now. OK guys, you can change it to the real forecast any time now!

Added June 19, 2011: I knew the forecast had to be wrong. It has turned out to be a beautiful Father's Day weekend in our area. Slight chance of a sprinkle later Sunday but I'm betting on it missing us.

A Beautiful Sunday Morning

2011-06-05T12:59:00.000-07:00

The weather is finally cooperating in our area and many golfers have been coming out to enjoy it. Here are some pictures from this morning - a typical Sunday morning during the season at Sugar Creek. You can click on the pictures to enlarge:

Mowing the first green

Jim prepares the greens

View of the clubhouse from the 2nd hole

4th Hole early in the morning

#1 Cart Path Drainage Project Update

2011-05-25T08:40:00.000-07:00

In March, the maintenance crew added a new drain under the cart path on #1 to prevent flooding and ice related problems along the path. Almost every year, ice kills a portion of this turf. Seed was not growing fast enough for us due to our cool, wet April so we decided to sod the area to completely restore it.

Here are some before and after pictures:

Before

After

This area could still benefit from the addition of some sub-surface drain lines but the new catch basin will greatly reduce the amount of water hung up on the high side of the path. Something tells me this will not be the last drainage project done in this area, but it is greatly improved.

5 Tee Results

2011-05-25T08:23:00.000-07:00

Last fall, we resurfaced the 5th tee with bentgrass. It has been open since April, but is just now starting to really look good. Our cool, wet April delayed its growth for a while. Soil temperatures have now risen to a point where it is looking happy!

The new Red tee on #1 is also now open. It takes a while to develop soil fertility and culture when starting with a sandy mix. These new tees are undergoing the transition from seedlings to an mature turf system and are still developing root mass and a thatch layer. Some have commented on how firm they can be when dry. This will go away in time with aerification and normal maturation processes.

Rain Days

2011-04-19T11:09:00.000-07:00

People often wonder what golf course workers do when it is raining. Well . . . it's been raining this April so I can answer that question! Rainy days actually serve an important function for a golf course crew. I always keep a couple "rain day" jobs on the back burner until there is a suitable day to get them done. In fact, if it never rained, I think I would have to create "virtual rain days" where the crew stays off the course and focusses on other projects.

A View from the Maintenance Building

Here's what we've been up to on the past few rain, or snow, days:

3-hour Spring Safety Training and Staff Meeting
1 worker fixed ball marks in the rain
1 worker changed course set up so that we can catch up on mowing when it drys out
We disassembled most of the pumphouse in preparation for some repairs
Refurbished 50 bunker rakes with Vinyl Guard
Investigated the mystery of the bladder tank (see below)
Cleaned shop
At the moment, the crew is helping me do an alpha sort and file of receipts and PO's from 2010. I meant to do it over the winter but, you know, didn't get around to it.
Blog!

Bunker Rakes

Over time, fiberglass bunker rakes start to fade and splinter. They last longer than the old aluminum handles that would kink and bend, but nobody likes fiberglass splinters. Paint doesn't stick for long, so we decided to use a product called Vinyl Guard to refurbish the rakes. Vinyl Guard uses a heat shrrinking process to put a permanent protective coat on the handle. For a couple bucks per rake, they are like new.

Jimmy's favorite job

Some of our "new" bunker rakes

The Pump House

We are in the process of making some repairs to the irrigation pump system. Over the past week, we have been disassembling and inspecting all the components of the system. Most of the piping will be replaced due to its age and condition but some elements can be refurbished.

Irrigation system components up for replacement

Definitely in the "replace" pile

Particularly interesting has been the "mystery of the bladder tank"! We have never been able to figure out the manufacturer or model number of our tank because there are no markings. We also weren't exactly sure if it was working properly or not (we suspected not).

The red tank in the following pictures is supposed to hold an inflated air bladder that buffers system pressure and protects the pumps from excessive starts and stops. It is important to maintaining the system's health and longevity. Unfortunately, the air cavity was slowly leaking pressure and had been contaminated with water and sludge. The tank weighed at least 800 pounds in its waterlogged state so our mechanic had to do some rigging to move it. Using a combination of chainfalls, sleds, chains, and rollers, he moved the tank out of the pumphouse without breaking a sweat.

The tank on a "sled" with rollers

Out the door and in the air

With the tank at the shop, it was time to investigate. Many of these tanks are repairable if you can find the manufacturer and replace the "bladder" inside. We carefully removed the flanges and drained the air compartment of water so we could take out the bladder. Here is what it looks like:

Pressure tank bladder

After a lot of searching, we found the slit that was leaking. Unfortunately these are not patchable. They have to hold 120 psi while expanding and contracting constantly so they have to be in one piece. We had to consult with a few experienced pump contractors to figure out the manufacturer. After calling the manufacturer, we determined a replacement bladder is available. Now we have the option to replace the bladder and rebuild this tank instead of buying a whole new tank. Neither option is exactly "cheap" but the mystery has been solved!

Spring Green-up

2011-04-03T07:10:00.000-07:00

Spring is coming slowly but surely! We have had a cooler March than last year, but April is here. In 2010, we had some unusually warm days early on. April 1 and 2, 2010, were over 80 degrees! We haven't had any really warm days yet, but temps are climbing gradually and turf is starting to respond.

Here is a pair of photos that illustrate how different each year can be:

March 31st 2011 - Starting to warm up

April 2nd 2010 - 80 degrees and green already

April in 2010 was unusually warm early on, so we're not complaining. We're just looking forward to those 70 degree and sunny days that are on their way.

Drainage Project under Cart Path on #1

2011-03-22T08:20:00.000-07:00

As part of our continuing effort to improve drainage on the 1st hole, the maintenance crew repaired a drain under the cart path. Last fall, we added some lines by the sandtrap on the right (Click here for more on that project). This year, we are fixing the bottleneck under the cart path on the left. Many years ago, the addition of the cart path interrupted surface flow to the creek and crushed a couple 4-inch drain lines. The one functioning 4-inch line in this low spot is not capable of collecting and moving all the water to the other side of the path.

Here is a picture of the problem area:

After some investigation we found that the line was partially crushed slowing down drainage. At the time this picture was taken, the rest of the course was dry and it had not rained or snowed for days.

We could feel an obstruction under the path with a hose, so we decided to cut the path and fix the problem:

Here we start excavating the drain line. The curve in the line is the result of going around a large rock that we eventually removed:

We decided to replace the pipe with a section of 6-inch solid PVC that we had on hand from another project a few years ago. To do this, we had to make the trench deeper and dig holes for 2 large catch basins.

Here is the structure we installed before backfilling:

And after some backfilling:

This is the first step in the project. Now that we have a good route under the cart path, we can run drain lines to it to dry up the area. Before, we had no way to drain the water to a lower point.

Obviously, the area still needs to be finished and seeded. I will post a "finished" picture below once the grass starts growing (looks like we are going back to freezing temps for a while) . . .

Golf Course Management Blogging World

2011-03-20T18:14:00.000-07:00

I just ran across a great resource for anyone interested in golf course management and maintenance. Golf Course Management Blogging World will save me the trouble of having to search for all of the blogs out there and "Follow" them. Not only does the site list a lot of resources, but it contains a snippet from the blogs' latest post. Thanks to whoever put this together -- I couldn't find the author mentioned. This will save me a lot of time. Instead of making sure I'm following all these blogs with a newsreader, I'll just check this site.

There are two other handy lists of golf blogs that I use frequently. They are a great source of real world information about golf course maintenance and management. Do you want to know how greens are maintained at various courses? Wondering about course conditions in a certain region of the country? Ever think "How did they do that"? I know I have. These sites are a great place to find the answer.

BASF Turf Talk's "Blogs We Like" is a very complete list of superintendent blogs. I have clicked through it many times and learned something every time.

Golf Course Industry magazine's "Blog Central" also contains links to a wide variety of golf course related blogs from superintendents, architects, and builders.

Thanks to all of these sites for including Sugar Creek!

Frost Season 2011

2011-03-19T06:23:00.000-07:00

Did it snow? No. Just frost.

With the start of the 2011 season comes the usual early season frost delays. While I know many golfers are looking forward to playing their first round today, there will be a lengthy frost delay.

Click here for more information and a video about frost delays.

When we have to delay play due to frost at Sugar Creek, we place signs around the putting green and clubhouse to alert golfers of the condition.

In order to prevent damage to the turf, play is delayed until the first two greens are frost free. Playing on frosted turf results in damage to the plants in the shape of footprints.

Click here for pictures of frost damage.

If you watched golf this winter, you may remember the Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Arizona this February won by Mark Wilson . Frost delays forced the PGA tournament to finish on Monday instead of Sunday. The frost delays were unusual for Arizona, but we are very familiar with them in the Chicago area. The winner of the tournament, Mark Wilson, is from Wisconsin and lives in Illinois. Could his familiarity with cold mornings and frost delays have given him an edge over others in the field?

Dealing with frost delays takes a lot of patience from golfers and staff. As always, we appreciate the understanding of golfers while we wait for the frost to lift.

Turf Notes: Annual Bluegrass and Winter Hardiness

2011-03-17T14:33:00.000-07:00

Compared to last year, it looks like we will have only limited areas of winterkill this spring. In 2010, a long period of snow cover and a long period of freezing and thawing of ice sheets resulted in a lot of lost annual bluegrass (Poa annua). We sodded the worst areas and slit seeded the rest. For pictures from 2010, see "7th Fairway- Update."

Sodding areas of the 6th fairway in 2010

If you see any strange patterns or lines in the fairways this March or April, it may be areas sodded with bentgrass in 2010. Pictures like the ones below really illustrate the weaknesses of annual bluegrass compared to creeping bentgrass or Kentucky bluegrass.

Bentgrass sod design on 6 fairway

Another square on 6 fairway from 2010

Creeping bent on the left -- Annual bluegrass on the right

Large square sodded in 2010

These areas have 2 problems that go together: poor drainage (they are naturally low and almost flat) and poor turf species. While it will take a combination of approaches to improve these areas of the fairways, I am glad to see that bentgrass is capable of surviving the winter in these difficult spots. It shows that keeping up with our current strategies will improve these areas in the long term.

Right now, you can really see the contrast between different grass species and their reaction to cold temperatures. Unfortunately, most of the brown areas around our sod from 2010 will green up with warmer temperatures. I say "unfortunately" because it would be a lot easier to get rid of annual bluegrass if it would die off and stay dead. Its persistance is amazing. It will die in a heartbeat in the winter and summer and re-germinate just as fast in the spring and fall.

The Golf Course is Open

2011-03-14T12:41:00.000-07:00

With the rising temperatures, golfers have started coming out in increasing numbers. We had our first significant amount of rounds on Sunday. This week looks to be a good one for golf.

If you would like to golf, we are open and the course is looking and playing well for this time of year. The maintenance crew has been busy cleaning greens, tees, and fairways and finishing our winter tree work. The grass isn't growing yet, but it looks like spring is just around the corner.

You can always check availability or make tee times at our website (Click here).

Soil Temperatures Since 2005

2011-03-08T08:21:00.000-08:00

Over the winter, I had the opportunity to gather and analyze some climate data from the past decade. One chart in particular I thought interesting enough to share with the golf and turf community. The following chart summarizes average soil temperature at a 4-inch depth from 2005-2010. It confirms what superintendents and golfers already know: 2009 was an unusually favorable year for cool-season turf, and 2010 unusually unfavorable.

Click on image for a larger view

The peaks of the trendlines are about 5 degrees apart. That is a huge difference, especially considering that our major turf species prefer soil temperatures well under 70 degrees. A trend of average soil temperature over 75 degrees is a difficult summer, especially for Poa annua.

I fully admit that I produced this chart to put my mind at ease! 2010 was my second year as a superintendent and I needed some scientific confirmation: Yes, there was something very different about 2010 -- and it doesn't happen every year. The take-away message of 2010 for me: Superintendents have to work to make improvements during those "easier" years to get as much turf as possible through those tough years.

Thawing and Freezing

2011-03-01T10:49:00.000-08:00

Since the snow has mostly melted, we have been assessing the health of our turf coming out of winter. Last year, I wrote about the factors that influence turf health coming out of winter in Good or Bad Winter for Turf and A Long, Difficult Winter for Turf. As it turned out, we had to do a lot seeding and sodding last April to repair ice damage in the fairways. After a tough summer in 2010, it would be nice to have favorable conditions for turf growth this spring.

Like most golf courses, we have a few areas that tend to weaken or die over the winter. About every other year, the 7th fairway exhibits significant ice damage. My theory is that this ice damage is caused by crown hydration of mostly Poa annua during freeze/thaw cycles. During our last thaw after the first of the year, the grass plants appeared healthy. While it is difficult to assess health during the winter, ice damaged plants often take on a mushy, soupy texture due to their ruptured cell walls. This month's freezing and thawing are starting to concern golf course superintendents, but I am still hoping we will have less damage than last year when the ice didn't melt until the middle of March.

On February 28th, the fairways were covered in ice after a heavy rain. Luckily most of the ice has melted and drained overnight.

Here are two spots we are watching closely:

Draining areas on 7 fairway

Melting ice on 6 fairway

In 2010, we tried to improve the drainage in these areas and re-seeded them with creeping bentgrass. Because bentgrass has a greater tolerance for ice cover and cold temperatures than Poa annua, we are hoping to see less ice damage this year in the places where the bentgrass took. More improvements will need to be made to drain these areas more quickly, but planting a hardier species should help these areas survive the winter in the meantime.

Besides these areas, the turf is looking good after a snowy February. Our newly planted tees are looking healthy and the greens are free of snow mold.

Chili Open 2011

2011-01-08T18:46:00.000-08:00

On January 8, 2011, Sugar Creek held the year's first outing -- the annual Chili Open. Cold temperatures and a dusting of snow did not deter a packed field of hardened Chili Open veterans and newcomers from heading out for a shotgun start tournament at 9 o'clock. Many golfers commented on the excellent conditions this year as opposed to last year's Open which saw brutal winds and almost a foot of snow cover. This morning the greens were rolling over 2 feet on the Stimpmeter as opposed to 2010's 2 inches. Blazing fast greens speeds(for this time of year) and firm fairway conditions contributed to low scores and lots of fun.

2010: The Year in Pictures

2010-12-08T18:36:00.001-08:00

For a larger slideshow, please click here.

Tree Trimming and Buckthorn Removal on #7

2010-11-27T16:04:00.000-08:00

Now that the grass has stopped growing, it is tree trimming season again! Last week, we started work on some trees that were resulting in some unfair tee shots on #7 and some buckthorn that was encroaching on the course from the fenceline. A few overhanging branches were rendering the back of 7 tee almost unusable during the season. After removal, the health of the tee will also probably improve due to increase sun exposure.

You can see from this photo that the view from the tee will be significantly improved in 2011:

7 Tee

Last winter, I wrote a post about buckthorn that answers many questions about the undesirable nature of this plant (Link to article). In addition to the ecological reasons for controling buckthorn, this fenceline in particular often resulted lost balls. Lost balls ofen cause slow play so we began our winter buckthorn removal here.

A portion of the fence line cleared

Buckthorn along 7 fence line

Clubhouse Service Area Project

2010-11-25T15:23:00.000-08:00

In October, the maintenance crew installed drainage and brick pavers behind the clubhouse in an area that often turned into a mess during the summer. We were so busy during the project that I forgot to take many photos! I have finally pieced together some before and after shots from different cameras:

Clubhouse service entrance before the project

The "Mud Pit"

After excavation and base compaction

Finished brick pavers

Fun with Google Earth

2010-11-09T15:58:00.000-08:00

Is that a human smiley face on our putting green? Well, yes ... but not on purpose. The satellite must have snapped a photo just as the junior league was having a putting lesson this July. The availability of satellite imagery on the web is a great resource for superintendents and golfers alike. I know I like checking out other golf courses with Google Earth before I play them. I also use Google Earth to retrieve satellite images from previous years. These photos help us identify problem areas and changes made to the course.

2010 Fall Scramble

2010-10-30T10:57:00.000-07:00

It is a beautiful day for the Fall Scramble at Sugar Creek!

These golfers try their luck on the third hole's risk vs. reward bonus. They may gain a 1/2 stroke advantage over the competition for shooting at the difficult far pin placement (Blue Flag). Which one will it be, guys?

If you look close, there are 2 flags on the 3rd green! (Just for today).

It may be October 30th, but Mr. Hoffman is not ready to give up his shorts for winter gear:

#1 Red Tee Germination

2010-10-10T16:10:00.000-07:00

The red tee on #1 started germinating and filling in this week.

Many people have asked about the brown spots on the front of this tee. They look like little piles of dirt deposited on the tee, and that is pretty close to what they are. The spots are actually earthworm castings, a.k.a. worm poop. They will not adversely affect the establishment of the tee, although they may smother small quarter-sized areas. Once the grass gets taller and starts to spread, they should become mostly invisible. Worm castings are actually in most turf, we just rarely notice them except on extremely short turf or newly seeded areas.

Drainage Project on #1

2010-10-10T15:13:00.000-07:00

Last week, we tackled a few drainage projects on the course and by the clubhouse. We ran some drain lines to the right of #1 fairway in an attempt to fix a persistent soggy spot. After ruling out the usual culprits, irrigation leak or broken drain line, we found that in this whole area water seeps up from the ground around the rocks and bricks that are buried here. Adding perforated drain lines should give the water a clear route to the creek instead of bubbling up to the surface. We will probably have to wait until next year to judge the success of this project, but these additional lines should improve the situation.

1st Step - Sod Removal

Trenching in progress

This trench started filling with water very soon after digging

Laying the lines and replacing sod

Recent Projects: September 2010

2010-09-28T13:57:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks have been ideal for completing many of our planned renovations and improvements. Rainfall and temperatures have been moderate except for a couple above average days. The sun has been shining more often. It's been a nice month!

The renovated 5 tee continues to grow in despite a brief setback due to seedling blight on a hot day. In general, it is looking good:

5 tee - September 27, 2010

Small patches of "damping off" of seedlings

After 5 tee, the crew began work on the forward tee on the 1st hole. Renovating this tee required the excavation of a small drainage swale to prevent water from flowing onto the tee from the hill and cartpath. The soil was also modified and regraded. With these modifications, this tee should not experience the same level of scald and water damage that it did this year.

Here is the tee a day before seeding:

1st tee renovation in progress

In addition to tee renovations, the crew has been busy slit-seeding fairway spots in an effort to replace our lost annual bluegrass with bentgrass. We have already had some success with slit-seeding this year and are hoping for even better results this round due to lower soil temperatures and, hopefully, no flooding!

Walk behind slit seeder in action

5 Tee Renovation Progress

2010-09-21T11:06:00.000-07:00

Last week, the maintenance crew finished moving soil and grading 5 tee. We seeded the tee on Wednesday, September 15th, with 'Declaration' bentgrass. The process involved moving and grading 80 tons of material.

The grading process went smoothly. We used a tractor, box blade, laser level, and sand trap rake to move and compact the material to the desired grade. Here is how it looked after grading:

On Monday morning, we already noticed significant germination. Germination in 5 days is faster than I expected, but ideal soil tempuratures and light rainfall sped up the process.

This photo is from Tuesday morning:

So far, the new tee is progressing nicely, but it is very fragile. Care must be taken to keep the seedlings moist and keep traffic off the tee. While the tee still needs a lot of time and attention, this one-week-old tee is looking good considering its age!

5 Tee Renovation

2010-09-10T14:37:00.000-07:00

Today we started work on the 5th tee. This tee was hard hit by our wet, hot summer due to poor surface drainage and poor soil structure. This tee has always had a hard time in summer, but this year was especially difficult. Our goal with this renovation is to correct these underlying problems so that we have a healthy tee in the future.

Here's our progress so far in picture:

First, we surveyed site elevations and marked out the center lines and the shape of the new tee. As you can see, the turf is not happy in this photo. This area was around 2 inches lower than it should be:

Using a sod cutter, a sand trap rake, and a tractor, we stripped the first inch of material from the tee:

Here is the tee with the sod stripped and groomed a bit. The sand on top is from 7 years of topdressing and divot filling:

Unfortunately, the sand layer doesn't go very deep. It's only about an inch. Below this layer is where the problems start, as you can see in this photo:

After about 3 inches, the material is what one consultant called "construction gumbo": clay, gravel, asphalt, rocks, rebar, etc. So . . . we're going to build upwards by adding several inches of a soil/sand mix often used in tee construction.

While we had the sod stripped, we took the opportunity to aerify the sub-soil. We hope this will help meld the sand and soil layers at the base of the tee:

This soil was then groomed and worked to approximate the finished grade after our new material is added.

The last thing we did today was rough grade a drainage swale between the upper and lower tiers of the tee. This swale will move excess water flowing down the hill away from the lower tee instead of flooding it:

Next week, the maintenance crew will be moving material to this tee and grading it. The tee will then be seeded. While seed takes longer to establish than sod, it will result in a longer-lasting, healthier tee. A temporary tee area will be in use while the tee is renovated. Our target date for opening the re-grassed tee is June 1st of next year.

Aerification 2010

2010-09-10T13:39:00.000-07:00

The greens were aerified and topdressed Wednesday, September 8th. Everything went smoothly and we were able to complete all 10 greens in one day. The greens have been rolled for the past 3 days and are putting smoothly.

Here are some pictures from Wednesday:

Holes being punched on the 2nd green

The topdresser in action

A greens brush is used to sweep the sand

We also aerated, seeded, and topdressed the tees this week

Greens Aerification Starts September 8th

2010-09-01T11:07:00.000-07:00

We will be aerifying greens starting Wednesday, September 8th. The process will take until Friday the 10th to complete. The maintenance crew will start early in the morning on the 8th and work backwards. With this method, we will be able to complete several holes before most golfers catch up to us. Our goal is to complete this important process while disrupting play as little as possible.

Here are some quick facts about aeration from the Golf Course Superintendent's Association:
 Aerification is a short-term disruption that has long-term benefits for golf courses.

 For grass to grow at 3/16-inch, they need to have deep, healthy roots. Good roots demand oxygen.

 Aerification is a mechanical process that creates more air space in the soil and promotes deeper rooting, thus helping the grass plants stay healthy.

 In most cases, aerification involves removing 1/2-inch cores. The spaces are then filled with sand "topdressing" that helps the soil retain air space and makes it easier for roots to grow downward.

 For more information, go to www.gcsaa.org/solutions

Interesting Article on the Summer of 2010

2010-08-12T15:11:00.000-07:00

I just read an article in the Wall Street Journal -- "The Ugly Summer of 2010" by John Paul Newport. It doesn't cover the Midwest too much, but this summer has been a tough one for courses nationwide. It is interesting to see an in-depth turf discussion in a mainstream daily newspaper.

Check it out if you have a moment. (Click here)

Morning Scene

2010-08-12T14:34:00.000-07:00

Rain, Rain, Go Away

2010-08-05T08:29:00.000-07:00

As everyone in the Chicagoland area knows, we've had a lot of rain recently. According to our rain gauge readings, we've had somewhere around 15 inches since July 23rd, including 7.5 inches on July 23-24 and another 5 inches in the past two days. Finally, it looks like we will have a chance to dry out!

The crew is out pumping and reconstructing the traps again:

Despite all the rain, golfers are still out having fun. This brave golfer shows off her mud splattered legs and shoes as a badge of honor:

At least the next few days look dry, so it should dry out soon!

Turf Notes: Pythium Blight

2010-08-05T07:38:00.000-07:00

In general, golf course superintendents don't like to see white, cottony stuff in the morning. It usually indicates some sort of fungal pathogen. There is one form of white, cottony we really don't like to see: Pythium Blight. This fast acting disease loves heat and water. We can blame the recent rain for its presence today. According to Purdue University's Richard Latin: "Late afternoon rain during these hot, humid periods further favor disease development and may be responsible for rapid spread of the pathogen." He's absolutely right. Yesterday, it rained all morning and in the late afternoon.

I haven't seen this disease for 3 years. I was hoping to never see it again, but nature had other plans. I offer the following pictures for identification and educational purposes to anyone interested in turf out there:

Pythium in the morning

Pythium Blight

Pythium, aka Grease Spot

Pythium Blight - Close-up

First Signs of Germination

2010-07-31T07:58:00.000-07:00

Friday we saw the first few blades of new grass in the areas slit-seeded Monday. Germination of bentgrass in 5 days is fast due to high soil temperatures and available moisture. Today, Saturday, I sighted germination all over #1 fairway. If you click on the pictures to make them larger, you can see the first fine blades peeking out of the slits:

Bentgrass Germination in Slits

Bentgrass Germination in Slits - Part 2

Saturday morning, we received about 7/10ths of rain. This will help some areas, but hurt others. Areas with standing water for prolonged periods may not fair well. Luckily, it is forecasted to be a cool day topping out at around 80. Last night was also a cool 65 degrees which lowered soil temperature significantly.

The rain soaked a few areas more than I would like. I'm seeing good germination in areas with moderate soil moisture -- say halfway up a hill. The areas with puddles are having difficulty. Rain is not always our friend. Most of the time, we would prefer to supply the moisture ourselves. Here is a low-lying area that is problematic:

Soaked area on #1 Fairway - No germination yet

It is not a coincidence that the areas with puddles are the areas that died in the first place. These areas "cooked" in mid-July when the surface water and high temperatures lead to the death of Poa annua. For more on this phenomenon, see "Turf Notes: Summer Decline of Annual Bluegrass".

Overall, we are happy to see some germination on this fairway. I would expect to see some of the tees start germinating in the order that we seeded them last week. I'm guessing we may see some action on #4 and #2 tee by Sunday or Monday. We are looking at some 90 degree days next week so some mid-day watering will need to be performed. The trick now is keeping the seedlings alive!

Slit Seeding in Progress

2010-07-27T13:06:00.000-07:00

Before the flood, I wrote about the problems with annual bluegrass, or Poa annua, that golf courses have been experiencing this summer. We started work on this problem today. Our first step is to slit seed the tees and fairways with bentgrass. Some areas, like the par-3 approaches, already have a significant Penncross population so we will focus on the areas that do not.

With a lot of care and some luck, we should be able to get some good germination in less than a week. Seeding in the summer can be difficult, but since the annual bluegrass is weak at this time we should be able to "get the jump on it" with bentgrass. If we waited for cooler temperatures, the annual bluegrass would germinate and outcompete our new bentgrass seed. The drawback to seeding bentgrass in the summer is the likelihood of "damping off" which we will have to watch for.

One of the advantages of slit seeding is the minimal disruption to play it causes. Many areas can be slit seeded without any obvious effect. Areas with patches of declined annual bluegrass will show the slits for a while before they close up or germination occurs.

Slit seeding the fairways

Here is a spot on the tees:

Some areas we will have to do more than slit seed, but a slit seeding program will help most of our problem areas greatly. I will update when germination occurs!

Update on the Flood

2010-07-27T12:41:00.000-07:00

The ground is drying out fast after the flood last weekend. We were lucky the water went down fairly quickly. The maintenance crew has now fixed all the sand traps and mowed almost all the rough. The course is starting to look like normal.

Loads of debris were removed after the flood, but we still keep finding things where they are not supposed to be. One of the most unpleasant jobs of flood cleanup: Fish duty! (See photo below)

Don't worry. They have been removed!

Flood Pictures from July 24, 2010

2010-07-25T14:36:00.000-07:00

On Friday night and Saturday morning, our area was hit by heavy storms and flooding . . . again. With some trouble due to closed roads, the maintenance crew arrived at the course to find our 5" rain gauge already full at 5am. In all, we had around 7" of rain overnight. According to a neighbor, the water almost reached 1987 levels.

Storm Total Map from National Weather Service shows Villa Park from 6-8"

As of this post, the water has left the course except for a some puddles. Much of the debris has been picked up. The evidence of the flood is still apparent in the fine layer of silt on the turf in some areas and the serious damage to the sand traps. We expect to be open on Monday.

For the curious, here are some pictures of the flood. While it was a sad scene, we couldn't help but be impressed by the power of Mother Nature at times like these:

First Fairway

First Green in the distance

The 3rd Hole with extra water hazard

7th Fariway underwater

#6 Redesigned with an island tee

#1 Green - later in the evening

Later in the evening - #4 still underwater
You can tell the tee was underwater at the peak of the flood

One of the problems with flooding:
Sand being carried downstream with the water from #6 green

Turf Notes: Summer Decline of Annual Bluegrass

2010-07-20T13:10:00.000-07:00

So far, 2010 has been very different than 2009 or 2008 for turf managers. 2010 soil tempuratures have been on average 10 degrees higher than 2009. The same goes for air tempuratures and humidity. We have also experienced extreme fluctuations in moisture - excessive rain followed by dry periods. While most turfgrasses can handle this sort of stress given decent soil conditions, there are a few that can't. The most notable being annual bluegrass, or Poa annua:

Photo: University of Kentucky Annual Bluegrass Profile

Introduction

Most turf is composed of different species of grass, unless it is a new construction planted as a monoculture. In most older golf course fairways, you can observe different types of bentgrass, Kentucky bluegrass, rye, Poa annua, and Poa trivialis all within a 500 square foot plot of turf. This has some benefits. Often when one species declines, another will take over. It is the transition period that causes problems for turf managers. Of the above listed species Poa annua (annual bluegrass) is the most problematic.

The life cycle of annual bluegrass is important to understanding its summer decline. Annual bluegrass grows aggressively in spring and germinates aggressively in fall. Summer and winter are its weak points. It does not survive cold temperatures or ice cover like perennial species, and it is genetically programmed to die during the summer. Some years, like 2009, it survived all year under cultivation (like at a golf course). This year, its weaknesses are more clear. Unlike creeping bentgrass or Kentucky bluegrass, annual bluegrass does not have a physiological mechanism like dormancy for dealing with heat stress. It doesn't have to since it relies on seed to perpetuate the species.

Turf managers often look at soil tempurature to determine the likelihood of turf stress. Significant root growth stops at 70 degrees F in cool season grasses, and completely shuts down at 80 degrees. Turf is in serious trouble at 90, especially annual bluegrass. Our soil tempuratures at the 4" level have been reaching 84 degrees with surface temperatures over 100 degrees some days. In the presence of water, this leads to scald or wet wilt. According to Dr. Beard, a well-known turf expert, "cool-season grasses - such as bentgrasses (Agrostis spp.) and annual bluegrass (Poa annua) - are physiologically adapted to optimum growth at temperatures of 60 to 75 degrees F. Even so, cool-season grass species demonstrate various capacities for heat resistance, ranging from medium for grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass to very poor for annual bluegrass and rough bluegrass, among others." See his article "Dealing with heat stress on golf course turf" for a great discussion of summer decline.

A lot of factors contribute to the growth of annual bluegrass in fairways. Low mowing heights allow annual bluegrass to invade other types of grass, along with irrigation, fertilization, and low areas with poor drainage. A 2.5 inch bluegrass lawn is in little danger of being invaded, but it is inevitable on a 1/2 inch fairway. In a classic turfgrass catch-22, a lot of golf course maintenance practices like mowing, fertilization, and irrigation even when done right allow annual bluegrass to survive making the situation worse, not better.

Recent Case Studies
At Sugar Creek and many area golf courses of similar construction, a lot of Poa annua declined over the last two weeks. We had an abnormally wet June followed by a dry period. Often turfgrass benefits from rainfall, but not in excess. The prolonged wet, warm period encouraged shallow rooting in many low-lying areas. During the period from July 6th to the 13th, it rained here every day but one including a soaking 1" rainfall on the 11th. The turf did not have a chance to dry out before we had 5 days of 90 degree temperatures from July 14th to 18th. Solar radiation plus excessive moisture plus high soil temperatures = "physiological decline of Poa annua." Another fancy term for it is "necrosis due to abiotic environmental factors." Many superintendents like myself prefer a simpler term: "It baked." The Poa baked on certain tees and fairways in areas with saturated soil. The spike in soil temperature literally cooks the cells of the plant. Often when we see brown grass, our first instinct is to put water on it. That is why you may see superintendents using soil probes to determine if the stress is caused by too little water or too much. More often than not, the cause is too much water.

While these areas of Poa annua are suffering right now, they will come back from their own seed once soil temperatures go down and the days shorten. That is what they are genetically programmed to do. Looking back at photos from 2005, another rough year for turf, the same areas suffered during the summer but came back quickly in September.

Through the following pictures, I'll try to give my diagnosis and answer that important question: "Why did that grass die?"

#4 Tee

Back tee on the 4th hole: This tee is somewhat shaded with inadequate drainage. It is, or was, mostly comprised of Poa trivialis (Roughstalk bluegrass) and Poa annua (annual bluegrass). The green turf is the Roughstalk bluegrass which is only slightly more heat tolerant than annual bluegrass. I watched the Poa annua on this tee decline over the course of 1 day on July 14th. There were no signs of disease or other causes and the surface moisture under the turf canopy was hot to the touch.

Diagnosis: Scald of Poa annua. From "Understanding Wet Wilt" by Dr. Peter H. Dernoeden: "On sunny days when air temperatures exceed 90°F, the temperature in the upper 2.0 inches of wet soil can range from 95°F to 100°F. These conditions led to root dysfunction and/or a rapid loss of roots." And later: "Indeed, turf almost literally 'cooks' in hot and wet soils. Affected greens initially appeared brownish and water-soaked. Turf soon thinned out in irregular shapes, but damage often followed the natural drainage pattern of the green."

#5 Tee

The 5th tee was sodded in 2003 with a low-mow cultivar of bluegrass. Unfortunately, the soil settled and created a drainage problem. With low mowing heights and excess water, Poa annua took over this tee. Over the years, we aerified, topdressed, and seeded frequently to try to improve the situation, but to no avail. You can see some algae growth on the scalded Poa annua which died in the presence of water on the same days as the 4th tee -- July 14th through the 18th.

Here's a soil plug from July 19th:

It is difficult to tell from the photo, but the soil was still moist even after several days of drying. You can see the layer of top dressing to the left of the photo. Even with this layer, areas of the tee are still lower than the rest causing water to sit there for long periods.

Diagnosis: Scald of Poa annua. Again.

#1 Fairway

This area is often soaked after rains. There is only about a foot of elevation difference between here and the creek and the contour is not consistent. There are ridges that hold the water here for extended periods. The interesting part of this photo is not the what went wrong but what didn't go wrong. Why did some patches survive and others did not? They had the same soil conditions, moisture levels, fertility and maintenance. What is different about them? The answer is genetics.

This isolated patch of creeping bent clearly illustrates the difference between the two grasses. Even though this patch is not an intentionally seeded cultivar - it simply drifted here on its own - it was able to take what nature threw at it while the annual bluegrass could not. Due to the grading of the fairway, this will always be tough spot to grow grass, but this photo indicates to me that bentgrass would be a better species for the area than Poa annua. While it is difficult to establish turf during the summer months, slit seeding some bentgrass just might increase the percentage of quality turf in the area. Once fall hits, the annual bluegrass will germinate with a vengeance and fill in the remaining area. It's a never ending battle.

Junior League Superintendent Demonstration Day

2010-07-14T06:13:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the efforts of our golf pros and staff, we have a very popular Junior League at Sugar Creek. Juniors are introduced to everything from putting technique to course etiquette. This year, we added a new element to the program involving the superintendent and course maintenance.

During a 15 minute talk, I had an opportunity to explain the basics of course maintenance, show the junior golfers the greens mower, demonstrate how to fix a ball mark, and answer questions. I think it was as fun for them as it was for me. It's never too early to start educating golfers about what they can do to become part of the golf course community and improve playing conditions for themselves and other golfers.

The most commonly asked question: "How fast does that thing go?" I think they were a little disappointed when I said 3 miles-per-hour!

Here's some photos of the demonstration:

Update: July 10, 2010

2010-07-10T05:30:00.000-07:00

Over the last month, we have really seen some ups and downs in moisture. After a wet June, we had a very dry week, then a little more rain. For a while, it seemed like the maintenance crew was pumping and reconstructing sand traps almost every day. See Update: May 15, 2010. I am happy to say we are back in what I call the "sweet spot" - not too wet and not overly dry. We have been having some beautiful golf weather. More pictures and articles to come . . .

Ring of Fire Storm Pattern

2010-06-24T10:31:00.000-07:00

If you are like me, you may have been asking yourself lately "What is going on with all these storms?" I found a good explanation on Tom Skilling's blog. He calls it the "Ring of Fire" pattern.

For more on the recent storms and their cause, check out Skilling's article.

A Storm and a Flash Flood

2010-06-24T08:37:00.000-07:00

It has been a wet and stormy June so far. Wednesday, June 23, we experienced a severe thunderstorm with high winds. Our rain gauge collected 2.5 inches in less than an hour. The maintenance crew has been working hard to clean up all the debris left by the flash flood and all the branches damaged by wind. The course is now playable but without riding carts for the time being.

Here is the 4th fairway underwater last night. Luckily the water went down overnight.

The bridges are underwater after the storm:

Here you can see the debris ring left by the flash flood:

By the Thursday morning, the water was gone and workers raked the debris into piles for removal:

Fortunately, all the golfers left the course well before the flood and nobody was stranded on the other side of this bridge. This picture was taken after the water had already gone down significantly:

This is 4 fairway the next morning:

The course is now drying out and golfers are out enjoying it.

Pictures from May 2010

2010-06-13T14:56:00.000-07:00

Here are some recent photos from this year. If anyone has a favorite, please leave a comment and I will add it to the Slideshow! You can click on the pictures for a larger version.

Rain Storms

2010-06-06T11:13:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, June 5th, we experienced a 2" rainfall in less than 30 min. As I mentioned in a previous post, this really wreaks havoc on the sand traps and lower areas of the course. The rest of the golf course is wet but undamaged.

Check out Sugar Creek's Facebook page for some photos from just after the down pour (Click here). If you ever wondered what the golf course looks like right after a storm, here is your chance to find out!

How to Fix a Ball Mark

2010-05-24T04:43:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been involved in a heated debate about the best way to fix a ball mark? I know I have! In general, superintendents would prefer that golfers use any method as opposed to doing nothing, but there is a method endorsed by the golf community that is considered the official way.

Here are some quick facts on ballmarks:

Unfixed ball marks result in an uneven and scarred putting surface
It is the responsibility of every golfer to fix at least their own ball mark
It can take 2 or 3 weeks for an unfixed ball mark to heal
Fixing ball marks vastly improves the putting surface for everyone

The best way to fix a ball mark

When I first started golfing in grade school, I assumed the best way to fix a ball mark was to use a tool to pry up the middle of the indentation. This seems logical but it can result in torn roots and more recovery time. The best way is the "twist" method endorsed by the Golf Course Superintendents Association (GCSAA).

Here is the secret: Your goal is to stretch the undamaged surface back into the depression, not to lift the depression by prying. The putting surface is actually a fairly elastic thing. Ball impact pushes the surface out to form the ridges around the depression, so you can fix it by stretching the surface back in. In the process, the indentation or depression should flatten out.

Here is a graphic from the GCSAA. Please click the image for a larger image:

I think many people are reluctant to try this method because it is difficult to visualize. As a result, many golfers may not attempt to fix their ball marks because they are afraid of doing it the "wrong" way. I am going to go out on a limb and say "If you have a method that works for you and results in a puttable surface, go for it!" If you don't, try this method. You may be suprised by how easy it is.

Sunrise at Sugar Creek

2010-05-16T16:06:00.000-07:00

Cart Path Restrictions

2010-05-16T16:01:00.000-07:00

After heavy rains, golf courses often have to restrict cart traffic. There are generally two types of restrictions: no carts available or cart path only. We do this to limit damage to the course and ensure playability for the season.

The following is from the Golf Course Superintendents Association:

For the sake of your golf course, remember that golf car traffic can cause damage to the golf course that is both unsightly and expensive to repair. Tire ruts in soft, wet areas can take weeks to heal. Compaction caused by heavy traffic can ruin the playing surface. As a result, most courses have a standard golf car policy and sometimes employ temporary restrictions due to weather, construction or other factors.

Golf course superintendents only put restrictions such as "Paths Only" rules in place when they feel it's necessary to protect the turf from damage. (GCSAA Article)

After the heavy rains Thursday, we had to restrict carts to paths only for two days. During that time, we had some golfers stray from the paths with visible results.

The pictures below show why we occasionally have to restrict cart usage:

As a superintendent, I really dislike having to restrict cart usage to the paths but you can see why it is important. Imagine if 10 people decided to go off the path instead of the 2 or 3 that probably did. If the areas you can see in the pictures were driven over multiple times, these areas would be damaged for weeks or even months.

To summarize, cart path restrictions are put in place by the people who really know the condition of the golf course and they are for every one's benefit. Just like frost delays, no one likes them -- but they are necessary for the health of the course.

Update: May 15, 2010

2010-05-16T09:25:00.000-07:00

After a relatively warm and dry April, the first half of May has been a little cool and wet. Many golf courses flooded last Thursday, May 13th. The average rainfall for May 1-13 is 1.5 inches and we have seen around 4.5 inches at Sugar Creek (WGN). Areas north of us have seen even more.

At Sugar Creek, we were fairly lucky. The water rose on Thursday morning after the thunderstorms but receded by the end of the day. With some modifications to our normal mowing schedule due to wet conditions, we were able to have the course in good shape on Friday for an outing.

One of the mosts time consuming jobs after a thunderstorm is fixing sandtraps. After a good downpour, the sand from the upper parts of the traps wash down and the traps are filled with water. Drains in the sandtraps will remove the water eventually but not immediately. To make the traps playable quickly, they need to be pumped, resculpted, and raked.

On Friday morning, our traps looked like this:

Or like this one that has already been pumped out:

Pumping, pushing up sand, and raking takes at least 2 people from 30 minutes to an hour per trap, depending on thier size. It can take a couple days to restore the traps to thier usual state, or more like this:

Excessive rain also interupts our mowing schedule temporarily leading to some catch-up work when it dries out. However, adjusting the mowing schedule is not nearly as time-consuming as sand trap restoration.

Frost Advisories

2010-05-08T08:25:00.000-07:00

There is a frost advisory for this Sunday morning. I was hoping we had already seen the last frost, but you never can tell. I usually check National Weather Service Chicago at http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lot/ for frost and severe weather information.

For information on golf and frost delays, check out Frost Delays on this blog.
Here is the advisory for Saturday night and Sunday morning:

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHICAGO HAS ISSUED A FROST
ADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM CDT /4 AM EDT/ TO 8 AM
CDT /9 AM EDT/ SUNDAY.

* TEMPERATURE...OVERNIGHT LOWS TONIGHT WILL DROP TO NEAR 30 AT
SOME SPOTS FROM THE FOX VALLEY...WESTWARD ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL
ILLINOIS. OVER NORTHEAST ILLINOIS...LOWS WILL DROP INTO THE
LOWER 30S BY DAYBREAK...EXCEPT IN DOWNTOWN CHICAGO WHERE
TEMPERATURES WILL HOLD UP AROUND 40. OVER NORTHWEST
INDIANA...WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS WILL REMAIN ELEVATED UNTIL
LATE IN THE NIGHT...HELPING OVERNIGHT LOWS TO ONLY DROP TO THE
MID 30S.

* IMPACTS...WIDESPREAD FROST IS EXPECTED TO BE A DANGER TO
SENSITIVE VEGETATION ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL AND MUCH OF NORTHEAST
ILLINOIS. THE RISK TO VEGETATION WILL DECREASE HEADING EASTWARD
ACROSS NORTHWEST INDIANA WHERE OVERNIGHT LOWS AND WIND SPEEDS
ARE EXPECTED TO BE A BIT HIGHER...MAKING THE FROST MORE
SCATTERED.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A FROST ADVISORY MEANS THAT FROST WILL BE A THREAT TO SENSITIVE
OUTDOOR PLANTS LEFT UNPROTECTED.

Irrigation Repairs

2010-05-01T14:53:00.000-07:00

One of the often overlooked responsibilities of a golf course superintendent is plumbing -- not residential plumbing, but high pressure irrigation plumbing. Over the last two weeks, we fixed 3 leaks on the golf course and replaced our main 6" suction pipe in the pump house. Click on the picture on the left to see more pictures from this project.

As you can see from the picture, this cast iron pipe was badly corroded at the waterline. It had developed a small leak. Even a small leak in this pipe can cause the pump to lose its prime, or will force the jockey pump - a smaller pump used for pressure maintenance - to run constantly trying to keep the system primed. We originally pulled the pipe to fix the foot valve - a check valve at the bottom of the pipe also vital to keeping the pump primed - and then we noticed the pin hole leak in the suction pipe.

Here's the old suction pipe:

Most of the pipe is in decent condition except for the portion near the water line where rusting occurs more rapidly due to the presence of oxygen. The foot valve (see photo below) was also leaking due to a torn rubber flapper. The aluminum screen was also falling to pieces. We have rebuilt this foot valve almost every year, so we decided to replace it with a stainless steel valve with brass internal parts that should be lower maintenance.

Here's the old foot valve:

And here's the new assembly:

We replaced the suction pipe with schedule 80 PVC instead of cast iron to resist corrosion and rust. The valve above the foot valve is connected to a rod that can be turned by hand above the water line. It is there to drain the pipe for the winter or to work on the pump and foot valve.

Once we put this pipe in place and connected it to the pump, it primed up and ran like a charm and is holding pressure with no leaks -- a beautiful thing!

Frost Delays

2010-04-28T05:17:00.000-07:00

• Frost is basically frozen dew that has crystallized on the grass, making it hard and brittle. A grass blade is actually 90 percent water, therefore it also freezes.

• Walking on frost-covered greens causes the plant to break and cell walls to rupture, thereby losing its ability to function normally.

• When damaged, the putting surface weakens and becomes more susceptible to disease and weeds.

• One foursome can leave several hundred footprints on each green, causing extensive damage.

• A short delay while the frost melts can preserve the quality of the greens and prevent needless repairs.

You can find a more detailed article on frost formation and effects in this article - "The Big Chill"

The following is a video from the USGA:

Flowering Trees

2010-04-25T14:59:00.000-07:00

Many of the Crabapple trees are flowering right now. Some cultivars are about to open next week. In this picture you can see a nice old white crabapple with two Saucer Magnolias in the foreground:

Another tree currently blooming is the Redbud (Cercis canadensis). Here is one blooming nicely behind the 1st tee:

A week ago, the Callery Pears (a.k.a. Bradford Pears) were beautiful. They have since dropped most of their petals with some help from the rain. This picture is from April 16th:

7th Fairway - Update

2010-04-25T14:23:00.000-07:00

Previous posts on this topic:
Good Winter or Bad Winter for Turf?
A Long, Difficult Winter for Turf
7th Fairway Project

Update - 4/25/2010
The seed planted 3 weeks ago has germinated and started to grow. In this picture you can see the seed that is filling in the damaged areas:

The maintenance crew also sodded some areas that we know from experience will take a long time to fill in with seed alone. This should speed up the grow-in time.

You can see some of the sodded areas in this picture:

Most of the areas injured over the winter have filled in or are greatly improved. These few stubborn spots needed some sod. With a little more sun and heat, the rest of the seeded areas should fill in quickly.

New Yardage Markers

2010-04-18T15:56:00.000-07:00

Last week, the maintenance crew installed new yardage markers on the course. The five par 4's are marked down the middle of the fairway every 25 yards from 200 yards out to 75 yards out. We measured the center of the green back to front and left to right. Remember that the markers go to the center of the green, not necessarily the pin location. For pin locations, a red flag means the hole is in the front third of the green, a white flag indicates the middle third, and a blue flag means back third.

One of our new pop-up yardage markers:

Yardage marker on the 6th hole:

We hope having more visible yardage markers every 25 yards instead of every 50 yards will make it easier to find your distance to the green and lead to more enjoyable rounds at Sugar Creek.

3rd Hole - April 9, 2010

2010-04-12T16:54:00.000-07:00

The turf really greened up last week and the willows are flowering. An abundance of catkins (flowers) and growing stems gives them a yellow color this time of year.

An Interesting Duck

2010-04-10T15:52:00.000-07:00

Last week we saw a duck that looks different than any other duck we've seen at Sugar Creek. After a little research, I think it is a hybrid between a Mallard and a Muscovy duck (that would be Anas platyryhnchos x Cairina moschata). If there are any duck experts out there, please let me know if I'm on the right track. Whatever it is, it's an interesting looking duck with nice green and blue colors in its wings.

Check out the pictures below. You can click on the picture for a larger image.

In this one, you can see that it is much bigger than most Mallard ducks:

If anyone has any information on this duck, please let me know.

First Flowers of the Year

2010-04-04T11:02:00.000-07:00

A Crocus blooming on March 30:

This Corneliancherry Dogwood (Cornus mas) is about to be in full bloom:

The Star Magnolia (Magnolia stellata) are beginning to bloom near the clubhouse:

Soon dozens of species will be in bloom around the clubhouse and golf course. Our reward for making it through another long winter!

7th Fairway Project

2010-04-03T09:06:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I wrote about some of the turf problems golf courses have been experiencing this spring under "A Long, Difficult Winter for Turf." Our 7th fairway experienced some crown hydration damage in the late winter. The maintenance crew has taken many steps to regrow these areas with less sensitive grass species. Read on to learn more....

Crown hydration damage is "one of the most destructive yet least preventable forms of winter kill" according to many turf researchers (Source). The causes are well known, but the reasons why some years are worse than others are not fully understood. In January, I wrote a bit about this frustrating phenomenon in another post, "Good Winter or Bad Winter for Turf?" I still can't quite explain why last winter was so much worse than the winter of 2008-2009, but I can explain the cause of the damage -- too much water and ice!

The image below is from 2007. It shows that the same areas affected now were affected then:

The yellow lines show the water flow patterns on this fairway. Essentially, about 5 acres of land needs to drain through a narrow corridor by the 7th green. Most of the land is not sufficiently pitched to make this happen quickly. While the ice is melting, water fills the area in front of the green and re-freezes causing crown hydration winter kill.

This photo, from March 10th shows this gradual melting and re-freezing in action:

The areas with ice in this picture were covered for around 3 months this year, but it was the freezing and thawing that really hurt them. Since this is a recurring problem, we took steps last week to improve these areas, hopefully long-term.

Here's what we've done so far:

Heavy aerification March 16th in an attempt to dry up the area faster. The idea: more holes, more soil-to-air surface area, faster drying. (See photos below)
Aerified again week of March 22nd.
Aerified again March 29th.
Cut slits into the soil on March 31.
Spread bentgrass seed with drop spreader.
Topdressed with sand to cover seed and fill slits.
Groomed area with drag mats.

Aerification March 16th:

Slits filled with sand and seed:

Now that soil tempuratures are rising, we have a good chance of regrowing these areas with a hardier species of bentgrass that should be more resistant to winterkill than the annual bluegrass that was in these areas previously. It is unfortunate that these areas died, but there is a silver lining. Sometimes, when nature throws us a curveball, it allows us to improve an area in a way that would not be possible otherwise.

These areas should begin germinating in 1-2 weeks. Soil tempurature is the determining factor. Warmer tempuratures will speed up the process.

In the next 2 weeks, we will see how these areas react to our cultivation and seeding. If there are areas that do not germinate well, they will be sodded. One of the best things about this process is that the area does not need to be taken out of play. The turf is playable and golfers will experience good lies even in areas that appear brown. The area is visually improving every day.

Update: March 28, 2010

2010-03-28T14:05:00.000-07:00

We've been waiting a long time to see a forecast like this. On November 7th and 8th, 2009, the temperatures broke 70 degrees for a fleeting moment, but you have to go back to September of 2009 to find another 70 degree day. In fact, we haven't seen a stretch of sunny, temperate days since the one that ended on September 19th -- about six months ago. Let's hope the forecast doesn't change on us!

We have already had a lot of play this March, but I suspect many golfers will play their first rounds soon. You can always see and book available tee times at our website: http://www.sugarcreekgolfcourse.org/. As of today, the course is dry enough to allow riding carts without restrictions until further notice.

Update: March 22, 2010

2010-03-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

Winter returned briefly last weekend, but all the snow has melted. The greens and tees are looking good along with most areas of the fairways. The weather for this week looks a lot better than they were forecasting. It will be a good week for early spring golf!

A Beautiful Day

2010-03-17T05:08:00.000-07:00

What a day for March 16th! The greens were mowed for the first time and are putting well. The next few days look like more of the same beatiful weather.

Many golfers came out to enjoy our 9,000 square foot putting green

Not bad for March 16th!

7th Green on March 16th

Golf Course Opening

2010-03-14T08:33:00.000-07:00

Starting Monday, March 15, the golf course will be playable and open. The rain on Saturday set us back a bit, but the greens and tees are clean and firming up. After a long winter, the weather starting March 15 looks great!

Did you know that last winter was one of the longest, coldest winters ever? The Chicago area had 97 straight days under 50 degrees. By this measure, only 4 winters were worse: 1920, 1945, 1899, and 1979. You can read about it here (WGN Weather Blog).

A Long, Difficult Winter for Turf

2010-03-13T10:36:00.000-08:00

A couple months ago, I wrote about possible sources of winter damage to turf ("Good Winter or Bad Winter for Turf?"). As of now, we can say it was not an easy winter on any sort of turf -- home lawns or golf courses. Almost every turf area I've seen has been affected in some way. What can we do about it?

In Chicago, we had long periods of snow cover and 97 days with high tempuratures under 50 degrees. We also had a slow thaw that may have soaked low areas. Because of this, many lawns and turf areas have spots of pink snow mold, gray snow mold, or water damage. A friend called me the other day in a panic because his landscaper told him he had snow mold. The landscaper wasn't wrong: Everyone has snow mold this year! Turf authorities do not recommend chemical treatments, except in very extreme cases, because your lawn will most likely recover once the grass starts growing.

The following was written in 2005, but is just as relevant this year:

Winter has definitely been a long one this year in Michigan and if I had to guess, I think we will definitely see some snow mold in some turf areas. There might be some pink snow mold and in other areas some gray snow mold. Whichever is your favorite color, I wouldn’t get too worked up over the symptoms you’ll see. Gray snow mold is typically seen in turf areas that were under snow cover for extended periods of time. The damage from either type of snow mold is typically restricted to the leaf tissue and once the temperature starts to warm, the turf will start growing and recover from the damage quickly. (Dr. Kevin Frank, Michigan State)

Most bluegrass lawns and golf course rough have been affected to some extent by gray snow mold. Most places, this fungus only affected the blades of the plant and will not affect the health of the turf long-term. Areas affected by gray snow mold have a matted down appearance. The blades look like they are glued together, and pin-head sized sclerotia (fungal structures) can often be seen. By now, this disease is inactive and can do no further damage. The best thing to do: Wait for it to dry out, use a rake to break up the matted areas, and wait for new blades to come up. Most of the time, seeding isn't necessary.

Pink snow mold can be a little more damaging. We have seen some spots at the golf course:

Pink Snow Mold spots

Isolated spots like this are not a big problem. Even if the roots have been killed, small amounts of seed in a few weeks will correct the problem. Sometimes these spots will be so numerous they can kill a large portion of turf. So far, we've only seen isolated spots. Since this was a unique winter, this is to be expected.

The slow thaw and large amounts of moisture this past month may cause a less interesting, but more common problem: flood damage. Some areas have been under water or ice for a long period. When the turf in these areas warm up and come out of dormancy while underwater, flood damage can occur. It is too early to say, but I suspect damage of this kind will be common this year throughout Chicagoland.

Spring water damage several years ago

One of the nice things about our greens at Sugar Creek is that they are elevated and sufficiently sloped to avoid a lot of these problems. So far, the greens look very good considering the long winter we came through. Pretty soon, it will be time to putt them!

So what is the answer to my initial question -- "what can we do about it?" Nothing fancy, really: Wait, rake it, seed it, mow it, and enjoy it!

Added 3/16/2010: I ran across some great pictures of snow mold from the Chicago area. Check them out for more information. (Link)

It's Almost Time!

2010-03-10T12:58:00.000-08:00

The driving range is now open! As for the rest of the course, it is getting close. There is still quite a bit of ice and slush out there. 4 of our 10 greens are still covered in ice and slush. The maintenance crew has been busy blowing debris (and some ice) off of the greens and tees so that the course will be playable as soon as possible.

Check back soon for more updates.

8 green with ice -- March 10 -- Should be gone tomorrow

7 Fairway with some ice, melting fast

Buckthorn Removal

2010-03-03T17:25:00.000-08:00

This plant, Common Buckthorn, is everywhere. It leafs out early and keeps its leaves well into the fall. It grows anywhere, and it grows fast. It can grow 6 feet in one year! Buckthorn was brought to the United States from Europe and was a popular hedge plant for decades in the 1800's. With all this going for it, what's wrong with buckthorn?
Buckthorn, along with several other plants, is classified as an Exotic Weed in Illinois and many other states and is regulated by law. It is also considered an invasive plant. Several species of buckthorn have invaded natural ecosystems throughout the country, smothering out native shrubs, trees, and wildflowers. (Full disclosure: My back yard is full of buckthorn and a few 100-year-old White Oaks. It's going to take me a while to take out the buckthorn and replace it with natives.)

There are many ecological and practical reasons forest preserve districts, park districts, municipalities, and property managers devote a lot of time to removing buckthorn. The following is from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources:

The Illinois Exotic Weed Act prohibits the purchase, sale, offer to sell, distribution or planting of Japanese honeysuckle, multiflora rose, purple loosestrife, kudzu and six species of buckthorn (common buckthorn, glossy buckthorn, saw-toothed buckthorn, dahurian buckthorn, Japanese buckthorn and Chinese buckthorn).

"These prohibited plants present a real danger to everything from the beauty of a backyard garden to the native flora of our state," said Illinois Department of Natural Resources Director Joel Brunsvold. "Exotics like buckthorn, kudzu and purple loosestrife spread rapidly, degrade natural communities, and can cause serious harm to threatened and endangered plants and wildlife." (Link)

Here are some of the negative ecological effects of buckthorn:

• Out competes our native plants for nutrients, light, and moisture.
• Degrades wildlife habitat.
• Threatens the future of forests, wetlands, prairies, and other natural habitats.
• Contributes to erosion by shading out other plants that grow on the forest floor.
• Serves as host to other pests, such as crown rust fungus and soybean aphid.
• Forms an impenetrable layer of vegetation.
• Creates messy fruits that stain sidewalks and driveways.
• Lacks ‘natural controls’ like insects or disease that would curb its growth. (MN DNR)

As if these ecological reasons aren't enough, there is another big reason property managers and government bodies do not like buckthorn: It is uncontrollable. It does not behave well in a landscape. It grows in fencelines and destroys infrastructure. It seeds everywhere and spreads. It is simply impossible to manage. It's also, besides for being green, an ugly plant.

At Sugar Creek Golf Course, we have our share of this invasive weed. Last year, as part of our removal program, the area behind the range tees was cleared and replanted with native shrubs and trees. This year, we cleared many yards of fenceline that had been overgrown with buckthorn. We are currently chipping up our pile of thorny limbs. You can see the pile below:

Next time you golf at Sugar Creek, you may notice the removal of this invasive weed along the fenceline on the 1st hole. Once the stumps are dead, these areas can be replanted with native shrubs or left as they are. Either way, they will be more manageable in the future.

Looking forward to spring

2010-02-28T07:27:00.000-08:00

It won't be long before this:

4th Hole in February

looks like this:

4th hole in April

Or this:

1st tee in February

looks like this!

1st tee in early April

Recent Tree Removals

2010-02-19T11:23:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, or fortunately for some, we had to say good-bye to two old willow trees this winter. One was located on the 1st hole near the creek, and the other was to the left of 5 green. The removal of these trees is one of the changes golfers may notice in 2010.

Both of these trees had so many dead branches that pruning them would not have left much. Willows are a short lived species and these were around 30 years old. Not a bad run for a willow. In the picture below, you can see the galleries of tunnels caused by carpenter ants and the associated rot. This is normal for an older willow and eventually leads to the trees total demise.

Recently, weeping willows have fallen out of favor among tree experts and landscape designers. Some even consider them a pest themselves. I have mixed feelings about them. They can be very beautiful, especially around water, but they don't live long and are very messy. I have also witnessed their ability to destroy drainage and and sewer systems even in their short lifespan.

Left of the 5th green, the tree except for the stump is now removed:

This willow presented many problems for golfers and maintenance crew. It often rendered the green un-puttable during the fall. Even when the maintenance crew blew it off twice a day, the leaves would be thick again in less than an hour. I had a sentimental attachment to it, but I'm not as sorry to see this one go.

The tree on the first hole was in a better location -- not close to a green -- but was too dead to salvage. It was also presenting a safety problem with its large dead limbs. After inspection, it was determined that only one of its dozen limbs was in sound health. Golfers will get a better look at the green from the right side in 2010, but we are planning on re-planting trees in this location soon.

On the right, you can see the remains of this willow:

If you are interesting in donating a memorial tree in 2010, this would be a great location. I have posted information on tree donations here.

Wildlife Slideshow

2010-02-09T15:40:00.000-08:00

One of the best parts of working at a golf course is getting to see interesting wildlife every day. At Sugar Creek, we see great blue heron, white egrets, mallards, and green heron almost every day during the season. These birds especially like hanging out by the bridge between the 5th and 6th hole at sunrise and sunset. For most of the day, they hunt for fish in the pond.

Other animals like coyote, beaver, fox, and even deer are seen more rarely at sunrise. Luckily the beaver has not been seen for 3 years!

Over the past few years, I've been able to capture a decent amount of these animals on camera. There are a lot more smaller mammals and songbirds around that have so far evaded the camera. Keep your eyes open next time you play Sugar Creek. You never know what you might see!

What in the world is a blog?

2010-02-09T12:41:00.000-08:00

The first time I heard someone use the word "blog" I remember thinking two things:

"That is the most absurd, made-up word I've ever heard," and
"Do we really need more slang words to describe internet stuff?"

I still think No. 1, even though the word "blog" has crept into my vocabulary with a vengeance. As for No. 2, I've discovered that the answer is, well, kind of. There are a lot of meaningless made-up brand names and slang terms used on the internet. Unlike some of these, "blog" does actually describe something.
When I showed this site to a few people, they said "Cool website, but what's a blog?" And they are right, they are the same thing for the most part. A blog is just a type of website (blog = "web log"). The main difference is that blogs are organized chronologically into "posts" instead of static pages like traditional websites.

Blogs have some limitations, but they have a lot of good points too: They are easy to create, easy to add to, and they are interactive. The original blogs were online diaries, but now people and companies are using them for many purposes (See here for more info). When we had the idea to start a website for the maintenance department, a blog was a logical choice. At the time, I thought we had a semi-original idea, but there are dozens of golf course maintenance blogs out there! At the bottom of this page, you will see links to some of them. If you would like to see more, a search reveals a big list. Just in the past couple years, these superintendents have put together a lot of information about turf practices at other golf courses. They are a great resource for golfers and other superintendents alike.

Weather and Weather Websites

2010-02-08T08:51:00.000-08:00

Weather is one of the most important things that golf course superintendents have to keep an eye on. I am often asked where I get my information, so I thought I would review my favorite weather websites here.

My weather "homebase" is the National Weather Service Chicago site which links to a massive amount of current and historical data. From here you can search for the Villa Park forecast. Most of the hundreds of weather websites out there simply copy this data. It's the real deal, and it's updated often. Sometimes, I check out Intellicast because I like the format of some of their charts, but the data is often identical or only slightly different.

I also really like this neat graphical forecast view from the National Weather Service:

When it comes to planning more than 2 days in advance, I don't rely too much on any weather forecast. If we planned our whole week based on the forecast on Monday, there is a 100% chance we're going to change it! I rely on weather data more for predicting what types of jobs we will have to be doing based on general trends.

No one can predict the weather perfectly but examining trends in tempurature, humidity, wind, and sunshine and their effects on turf is essential to taking care of a golf course. These trends help us time fertilizer applications, determine how to irrigate, predict disease outbreaks, and schedule daily tasks. Over the winter, we have been working on assembling a lot of historical weather data into one spreadsheet. Observing historical trends and what they have meant to the course at Sugar Creek will help me better time maintenance practices in the future.

There are a lot of times I would like to know seemingly irrelevant facts, like the high temps during the summer of 2006, or the amount of rain that fell in 2005, or the number of days in a row with over 90% humidity during a stretch of 2007. There are two sources I use to find out.

One is the NWS Monthly Climate Summaries which look like this:

The other site with free historical data is called Weather Underground. Want to know if it was raining on your birthday in 1996? You can search for it here.

There are a lot of radar websites out there. Some are prettier than others; but pretty doesn't mean accurate. It's my opinion that the National Weather Service Base Reflectivity Loop is the best free radar on the web. This is a raw radar loop that doesn't filter out clutter or enhance the image, but it is much more accurate than the enhanced radars on other sites.

If you are looking for a BIG radar, check out the National Mosaic radar. It is a large map of the US. You can click on a local area for the local radar.

Good Winter or Bad Winter for Turf?

2010-01-29T09:18:00.000-08:00

As we get ready for the 2010 golf season, I know a lot of superintendents are asking themselves: How much seeding and sodding will we have to do this spring? How well will the turf survive this winter? Will this turn out to be a good winter or a bad winter for the turf? How can we tell?

Here's a photo from late-April of 2007 after a "bad winter":

Turf can die over the winter for a lot of reasons. In this area, the most common causes are snow mold and something called "crown hydration." The crown of the grass plant contains its growing point located at the base of the leaf blades (see photo). If the crown is damaged, the plant will die. During dormant periods, the crown attempts to protect itself from its environment, but complete dessication or freezing can damage the tissue.

Over the winter, ice is often blamed for turf loss; but the ice itself is often not to blame. Over the past several years at Sugar Creek, I've found the real culprit is crown hydration and freezing late in winter. The worst winterkill I've seen here became visible in spring 2007. Ironically, this came after a very mild winter. Last spring, 2009, we experienced virtually no winterkill and it was a colder than average winter with the turf locked in ice for a long period. The reason for this is crown hydration and tempurature change.

Kevin Frank of Michigan State writes:

During the warm days of late winter, annual bluegrass plants start to take up water (hydrate). Potential for injury exists when a day or two of warm daytime temperatures in late winter is followed by a rapid freeze. The most common time for winterkill associated with crown hydration and refreezing to occur is during the late winter and early spring when there is snowmelt or rainfall and then refreezing of the water that has not drained away. ("Winterkill of Turfgrass")

This perfectly describes what we've seen in this area. So far, the turf at Sugar Creek appears healthy. It is the critical period coming up that will determine how much we may have to repair. We will be keeping a close eye on freezing and thawing cycles in the next 6 weeks to aid in planning our spring projects. What I would like to see is an early warm-up that stays warm. No "fake-outs"!

Added 1/30/2010: I was asked by a friend if this is something a homeowner might have to worry about. The answer: Probably not. It could happen if your property happens to have an area with bad drainage, like a low area at the rear of the property, but most properties slope away from the house sufficiently to avoid winterkill. In addition, a typical lawn of Kentucky Bluegrass cut at 2.5" or 3" is not very susceptible to crown hydration damage, while a close cut fairway or tee with a mix of different species can be. Like a lot of front lawns, our greens are elevated and sloped back to front so they rarely experience crown hydration damage.

If you have experienced winter injury, the best course of action is to re-plant the area in the spring, which I'll talk about in a later post, and improve the drainage in the area that died.

If you would like to read more about winter damage, you can check out these studies "Understanding Crown Hydration Damage", "Winter Crown Hydration Injury on Turf", and "Field Assessment of Winter Injury".

Reel Grinding Complete

2010-01-19T14:55:00.000-08:00

Annual equipment maintenance is an important project for any golf course maintenance department during the winter months. Our goal is to have all the machines ready-for-action when the season starts. To do this, we perform maintenance according to the machines' service manual, and we try to minimize down-time during the season by anticipating any problems that might occur. In addition to completing annual service on all the traction units and engines, golf courses also have to maintain complicated cutting units.

Here's a look at the underside of one of our greens reel units:

The 4 bearings on each side need to be inspected, greased, and possibly replaced. For the unit to cut evenly down to greens height(about 1/8th of an inch), the distance between the bedknife and spinning reel is supposed to be, by the book, 2/1000ths of an inch. Contrary to popular belief, they aren't supposed to touch. If they are rubbing, friction will slow down the reel speed, use up horsepower, dull the blade, and build up heat. A burning hot blade is not the best thing to pass over fine turfgrass!

A new bedknife being attached to the holder:

With a bedknife to reel spacing of 2/1000ths of an inch, the unit will cut copy paper without the bedknife and reel touching. To make this sort of fine adjustment possible, the reels and bedknives need to be ground periodically. We accomplish this with two separate machines: a spin grinder for the reels and a bedknife grinder for the bedknife. In the following photo, you can see the reel set-up on the grinder. Several distances need to be measured within 1/1000ths of an inch or you may end up with a cone-shaped reel instead of a cylinder.

The two wheels on the right or left are used to gradually adjust the grinding reel by tiny increments until the reel is ground to a "perfect" cylinder. Once the bedknife is ground and re-attached, the unit is adjusted and lubricated. It should be ready to go!

The grinder hard at work:

Recently, we finished grinding and servicing our 14 cutting units. Now the mechanic can move on to servicing all the engines and repairing any problems that arise during a point-by-point inspection.

Chili Open 2010

2010-01-05T09:17:00.000-08:00

On January 2nd, 2010, Sugar Creek hosted its annual "Chili Open." Over 80 golfers braved the snow and sub-zero windchills to participate in this event. While the weather was cold, golfers warmed up in the clubhouse with hot drinks, chili, a buffet, and raffle prizes. A fun time was had by all!

Slideshow

2009-12-11T08:45:00.000-08:00

Some of my favorite Sugar Creek pictures. You can click on the slideshow to download a picture.

If you can't see the pictures, you may need to install Adobe Flash Player (http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/).

Winter is here!

2009-12-10T16:55:00.001-08:00

Comments

2009-12-10T09:07:00.001-08:00

There are already many great golf course maintenance blogs and websites out there that cover a wide array of topics concerning maintenance practices and turf management. Instead of "reinventing the wheel," I would like to address topics specific to Sugar Creek. To do this, I need your help. If you have any suggestions for topics on this blog, please leave a comment below. Comments are sent to the author of the post first, so they will not appear immediately. Thanks for reading!