Ground Water Flowing Again Into Ponds On Course

As suspected, once the water table rose back up to a "Normal" level the groundwater started flowing down the creek and into the ponds on the golf course.  Currently both the pond on hole number 9 and the pond on hole number 8 are full.  The extremely dry summer last season clearly had the water table down to a level below any normal reading.  It remains to be seen if the water will continue to flow through the season this year, but we know it is going to be precipitation dependent.

Mike O'Neill, GCS

Tree Work Targets Safety Concerns

Many members and golfers ask the question " Why are you taking that tree down"?  Well, sometimes the answer is a master plan removal, while other times the answer is a safety concern.  As the picture above shows, this is the tree left of 8 green that sits very tall and limits access to the back left of the 8th green.  As you can visibly see from the picture, this tree was a major safety concern as it was totally rotted and in a severe state of decline.  Often times this type of deterioration goes unseen by golfers but we carefully monitor every tree on this property as any diligent golf course operation should.  If this tree ever fell while golfers were around it, the results would be catastrophic.  So rest assure, as you are playing your next round, we have examined every tree you may happen to land your golf ball under.

Mike O'Neill, GCS

Winter Prep For The Golf Course

Well it's that time of year again, the time of year we prep the golf course to go through another Central New York winter.  The winter we had last winter was not much of a winter which allowed us to provide some excellent conditions very early in the Spring as opposed to the long cold winters we typically experience here .  In prepping the golf course for the winter there are many tasks that need to be accomplished before the snow flies.  Pictured above is the application of a snow mold prevention spray.  We spray the greens, tees and fairways just before Thanksgiving to provide winter long control of a potentially devastating disease called snow mold. While spraying the correct chemicals certainly helps, it does not eliminate the even more devastating problem of ice layers on our fine turf.  Ice can suffocate the turf and cause widespread kill very very quickly.  We can only hope that mother nature is as kind as she can be to our golf course through the course of this winter and we can get out there in the Spring as early as possible.

Mike O'Neill, GCS

How To Put Your Home Lawns To Bed In The Fall.

Raking your leaves in the fall has been common practice practically forever, yet there is a better way to help improve your lawn by using the resource our trees provide us with every fall. Leaves are a good source of Nitrogen and can improve your soil structure by mulching them in your yard.  Please read on...


'It's great to have big shade trees in your yard. But, come fall, you can start to resent them. Those big trees drop leaves, and that means extra work, hassle, and lost time. However, there's good news. A recent study done at Michigan State University shows that you can forget about raking, blowing, and bagging leaves. Instead, just mulch them with your lawn mower and feed your lawn with a good fertilizer. It'll save you work, improve your soil, and add nutrients. Here's how to do it.

Chop those Leaves with your Mower
Take the grass catcher off your mower and mow over the leaves on your lawn. You want to reduce your leaf clutter to dime-size pieces. You'll know you're done when about half an inch of grass can be seen through the mulched leaf layer. Once the leaf bits settle in, microbes and worms get to work recycling them. Any kind of rotary-action mower will do the job, and any kind of leaves can be chopped up. With several passes of your mower, you can mulch up to 18 inches of leaf clutter.

Feed your Lawn to Speed Up the Process
Microbes do a better job recycling carbon from leaves when they have nitrogen. A nitrogen based fertilizer can help break down your mulched leaves faster. So your grass will grow better, and your microbes will work harder, when you feed your lawn after mulching those leaves.

See Great Results in the Spring
When spring arrives, you'll notice something. The leaf litter you mulched up in the fall will have disappeared. Your rake will look dusty and neglected. And your grass will look greener than ever.

Mulching: a Better Use of Resources
When you rake your leaves, it costs you. Your local taxes pay for trucks to sweep up your leaves or pick up your leaf bags, which often end up in landfills. If you burn leaves, you're just sending up clouds of carbon into the atmosphere. Mulching leaves simply recycles a natural resource, giving you richer soil for free.'

Mike O'Neill, GCS

Pond Project #8

The pond project has all but wrapped up except for some seeding work around the edges of the pond where the excavator did some damage while prepping the pond.  The pond has been lined with clay to keep the water from leaching, and rock installed along the edge to aid in erosion control as well as improve the overall appearance of the pond.  The pond is now full of water and ready for your viewing pleasure!

Frost and Impacts To The Golf Course

With regards to frost, there is something very important that many golfers are not aware of. When we arrive at the course in the morning, it very well may be frost-free. Quite often frost develops as the sun begins to rise and can continue to develop into a heavier frost even after sunrise as the temperature tends to drop a bit. We do our best to update you with current course conditions as early and often as we can, but don't be surprised if the frost develops on the course while you are already on your way for your morning tee time.

Here are three general rules of thumb when it comes to predicting whether or not we will have frosty conditions:

• Frost typically occurs at temperatures of 34 degrees or lower; it does not have to reach 32 degrees as many believe.
• Clear skies increase the potential for frost; cloudy skies tend to "insulate" better, resulting in warmer air and surface temperatures.
• Wind also influences frost development. Windy conditions can prevent cold air from settling in, again resulting in warmer air and surface temperatures. That being said, if the wind temperature is below zero, it can be quite damaging to the turf.

There are other factors that determine whether or not frost will develop, but these three are the most accurate when it comes to predicting it.

I could go on and on explaining the damage caused from traffic on frosty turf, but I'll leave that to the USGA Green Section Record via this video."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRcE-gUVa3M&feature=youtu.be

Starting Over With Flower Beds On The Golf Course.

Since the fast paced aspect of the season has slowed some, we have focused on some of the detail work on the golf course and clubhouse landscaping.  We have taken the approach that, low maintenance plants aren't always the best looking for a given landscape.  We have transformed many beds at the clubhouse as well as #8 and #11 tee areas.  We have planted some attractive perennials and will be supplementing the open areas in each bed with some colorful annual flowers next Spring.  I believe these areas will be much improved for the remainder of this year and look phenomenal for next season.

Mike O'Neill, GCS