Snow Mold Application Down...

Part of the many tasks we do every year to put the course to bed in the fall for the winter is to spray all short cut areas (greens, tees and fairways) with a fungicide to prevent snow mold disease.  The disease, if not treated before the disease appears can be very devastating.  We spray in November on the calmest day we can, and the spray typically gets us about 3 solid months of control over the disease.  Like the snow mold component of possible winter damage, we have to monitor the ice accumulation on the greens even closer.  The damage from last winter on the 6th and 16th greens was a result of the ice accumulation and duration of coverage.  We were out on the greens last March with our tractor loader removing snow and ice but the damage had already been done.  We will be paying close attention to those greens and do everything in our power to prevent another damaging winter like we experienced last winter!  In the end, mother nature is always in the driver seat with regards to how the golf course withstands the winter!

New Rough Mower For Next Season!

We just recently took delivery of the new rough mower purchase from Toro.  This mower will be mowing the bulk of the rough with the 2 smaller (Sidewinder) mowers handling the rough around the greens, tees and tree lines.  This 7 deck mower will take the place of our 2 current mowers.  Our current mowers were quite tired and run down and each had 5 decks.  The idea here is to utilize this 1 mower to take the place of 2 mowers and still get ahead of the rough more efficiently than we have in the past.  The rough is typically a big topic of conversation with golfers as it is...lets just say, VERY HEALTHY and thick!  We are hoping to keep the rough as consistent as possible throughout the property with these new mowers.

Mike O'Neill, GCS

Drainage #12 Approach

Every year around July, the left side of 12th approach gets wetter and wetter as the season goes on. Lower sun angle and typically wetter weather contributes to the problem.  Recently we have decided to attempt some type of drainage work.  The area is actually the low spot of the entire area so sending the water to another location was not an option.  The soils in this area are very heavy clay which exaggerates the drainage problem.  We have dug several "Sumps" to effectively lower the water table where the water sits.  The idea here is to dry out the surface to allow for a dryer playing surface.  This will allow us to hopefully mow the area regularly with the designated mowing equipment when the area heals back up, and the area will not be totally wet and unplayable.

Mike O'Neill, GCS

Greens Roller Down...Engine Problems...

We have recently started experiencing some engine problems with the greens roller.  The engine needs to be replaced but in the meantime we will do our best to keep greens speed up by double cutting.  The greens roller is a key piece of equipment that we use regularly to keep greens speed at an acceptable level.  The greens roller is used to speed up the greens as well as smooth out any inconsistencies on the green surface.  We will have it back going as ASAP.  

Thatch Management on Fairways

It's that time of year again and we are nearly through the process of verticutting our fairways.  The process is very time consuming and labor intensive but in the end it is a great management tool in keeping our fairways as tight and plush as they are all season.

Mike O'Neill, CGS

Using Aeration Plugs To Fill In Thin Areas In The Rough.

Nothing goes to waste on this property...Many have probably noticed we have started using the aeration plugs from the greens to fill in thin areas in the rough.  Most of the areas have been void of grass for decades probably so we decided to start using the cores we harvest from the green to fill the spots in and then we seed them with some shade tolerant fescue grass to get them to fill in and provide cover in these areas.  Many of the areas have big roots exposed so the plugs actually cover them up nicely and gives us a medium to seed into.  Many will notice a lot of these spots have already started to grow.  Just another example of putting all bi-products from the course maintenance to good use!

Mike O'Neill, GCS

Irrigation Control Wires In Greens!

When the irrigation system was rewired, maybe 16 years ago, for some reason they decided to trench in the wires right into the collars and greens.  This is easier soil to trench into but when we implement the deep tine aeration once a year it seems we hit the wires in a few locations which causes us to lose control of those irrigation heads.  This poses a big problem because we then have to hand water those areas where we could have automatically turned the water on with the computer.  When we can we use a wire tracer to try and find where the breaks are and sometimes there are many breaks.  So if you see some areas where the green has been dug up and re-sodded, it is us trying to reconnect the broken wires.
Mike O'Neill, GCS