Spring Is Coming, Right?!

Just a few of my favorite pictures of the golf course that will hopefully spark some spring weather!  The deep snow pack on the course is around 1.5 feet as I write this but I am hopeful in a couple weeks we will be out there to to evaluate how we wintered this tough weather.  I am hopeful for a gradual warm up without the unwanted fluctuations in temperature that seem to cause the most problems for our fine turf......

Mike O'Neill, GCS

Winter Shop Work.

The slow winter months allow us to fine tune our operation before the craziness if the season is here.  When the weather is good for golf, we are in full maintenance mode and we have no time for much else than maintaining the golf course.  During the winter months, we are diligently prepping our specialized equipment so they perform flawlessly when we are the busiest.  This prepping during the winter includes sharpening all of our mowers.  This is accomplished using a special grinding machine we have in the shop.  The mowers are sharpened in a manner that will allow us to keep them sharp through the season.  This sharpening is critical in providing a clean, sharp cut on the grass on the course, from the greens to the rough.

Mike O'Neill, GCS

Ice On Greens....A BIG Problem Over Winter!

The above pictures represent some of the practices we employ on the golf course to keep the grass alive through the winter.  Ice on greens for an extended period of time will cause certain death in the areas where the ice sits.  Often times in these locations, the sub-layer of soil is frozen, which doesn't allow the water to percolate through the soil in the winter.  What we end up with is the water pooling in the low areas on the greens and then freezing, essentially over time,  cutting of the oxygen to the grass plants.  The pictures above of the 6th green, show us actually aerating the ice to loosen it up so we can then shovel the ice off the greens. The area of the green where the ice was removed, was actually already starting to turn a little black, which is a sign of a lack of oxygen.  The greens are monitored closely through the winter months and what causes the ice formation is the fluctuating temps.  When we get any thaw, we are out there on the course proactively removing any ice that may form on the greens.  Here is an article on ice damage that is very informative...http://www.golfklubben.no/arkiv/2013/11/1384183240/winterkill.pdf

Mike O'Neill, GCS

Winter Shop Work Time.

With the onset of winter weather, we are hard into the inside shop work we accomplish on an annual basis. All blocks, hazard stakes and OB stakes get sanded and re-painted every year.  We work very hard to make everything that goes on the golf course look as professionally done as we possibly can.  We also go through all of the equipment such as the trailers we built last winter for our new greens mowers.  The trailers are being updated with different ways to make our job as efficient as we can depicted in the picture on top. All of the equipment gets tore down and serviced as well as any problems addressed during the winter months.  With a very busy 2014 season coming up, we leave no leaf unturned when it comes to getting the equipment dialed in.

Mike O'Neill, GCS

Bunker Delete #17

When weather and time allow, we will be filling in the right bunker on hole number 17.  The lower pic shows the master plan for the 17th green complex.  The bunker will be filled and raised to 1.2'  above grade.  We will also remove the old cart path behind the green that is falling apart and serves no real purpose.

Mike O'Neill, GCS

Winter Tree Work, Aimed To Make 2nd Shot Fair.

The above pictures show the landing area ( 250 yd tee shot) on the right side of the 4th fairway.  It is clear to see, the second shot is impeded by a few maples placed too close to the fairway on the right side.  A second shot in the fairway should never force the golfer to have to play a big sweeping fade from 180 yards out, not many have that shot in the bag!  The goal is to thin out some of these trees to make that shot fair because I believe 75% of golfers end up in this location.

Mike O'Neill, GCS

Frost Damage To Turf.

The above photos show the obvious damage from someone casually walking down the 12th fairway early in the morning when there was a heavy frost.  The damage looks bad and will eventually grow out but it will not look better until sometime in April!  This appears to be a neighbor as the tracks head to Country Club Drive but it is exactly the reason we have to wait for the frost to lift to send golfers on the course.

Mike O'Neill, GCS