Monday, February 01, 2016
To say that the winter weather has slowed our team down this year would be an understatement. We have been locked down by both ends of the spectrum. December brought warm weather and great golfing conditions. If I remember correctly, it was 72F on Christmas Day. Our team was busy preparing the course for winter and golf at the same time.
January brought on a new set of circumstances. Cold weather and snow trapped our team inside and slowed progress on winter drainage projects. Our indoor work has included the refurbishing of all course amenities including tee markers, benches, stakes, and bird houses. Our team has done a beautiful job with these wooden pieces but is ready to get outside. With only a few dead trees to remove, our main focus this winter is drainage installation on holes #1, 3, 6, 13 and 16. We will also be installing fans on #12 and 16 as well as a new walk bridge on #16. As the weather allows, our team will be applying post and pre-emergent herbicides to eradicate winter weeds and prevent summer weeds including crabgrass. Aeration is right around the corner (End of March) and we know the main golfing season isn't too far behind.
This time of year, drainage and shade issues really show themselves. The course is very saturated due to the melting snow and thawing conditions. Drainage will continue to be an ongoing battle and our team has prioritized the greatest needs and will keep installing pipe, stone and sand. Some of the shade issues are really out of our control due to trees off property. Winter shade is harder to manage because the sun angle is so low in the sky. Trees that really don't cause problems in July, will shade the golf course in January because the sun is sitting lower in the sky. Trees on the southern side of a golf hole are particularly troublesome in the winter because we are in the Northern Hemisphere and tilted north, away from the sun. Good examples of this are holes #3, #7, and #15. Even after a good melting day yesterday (air temps near 60F) greens with southern shade are still covered in snow. Our team will be removing the snow and applying a dark-colored, organic fertilizer to help melt any remaining ice or snow. The forecast rain over the next few nights should do a good job of watering in the fertilizer.
The 2016 maintenance calendar has been updated with our putting green core aeration schedule. The key closed dates are March 21-23, March 28-30, and August 22-26. We have made the decision to aerate greens during our closed dates in August instead of the week after Labor Day to minimize disruption during September, October and November. The March aeration will be aggressive while the August aeration will be minimally invasive. Weekly topdressing and monthly greens venting will be employed to provide firm, healthy surfaces.
Have a great week and we look forward to seeing you on the golf course,
Jordan Booth, CGCS
jbooth@willowoakscc.org
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| This picture illustrates the difference between the sun angle during the summer solstice and the winter solstice. |
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| Our team will be removing snow from shaded greens today. This putting green is shaded by the large Willow Oak on the patio. |
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| The second green receives minimal shade and the remaining snow will certainly melt today. You can tell that the third fairway and green in the distance are still covered with snow due to shade from the trees, left (south) of the golf hole. |
