Time for Temps

The pins have been moved to temporary greens. Winter finally arrived this week.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

No Carts Today

October 24th "Drill and Fill"

The Greens are having a process called "Drill and Fill" starting October 24th.
This process is basically a machine that drills holes using a .75 inch bit on 5 inch centers to a depth of 10 – 12 inches and fills the holes with sand.  The newer drill bits that are used today are much less disruptive than in the past and leave a better finished product. Actually most Clubs in the Metropolitan area do this annually to their Greens.  In combination with our routine cultural practices this process would help the Greens drain better, enhance root growth, and create a firmer playing surface.

 During the process the Green being worked on will have a temporary pin.

Cart Restrictions

Whenever we make the decision to pull carts on the golf course it disrupts not only club operations, but also the schedules of members and guests. The usage of the club decreases and that has a financial impact.

There is only reasons to prohibit carts: to protect the Golf Course, and Golfer Safety.

We have had the wettest August/September on record and  have restricted carts more often than in most years. There is no joy in restricting cart use and it is frustrating to members, BUT for Golfer safety and protecting the memberships greatest asset it is a nececary evil.

Thanks for your patience and understanding this week!

"Short Hole Restoration"

This week the Restoration began of the Bunkers on #4, "The Short Hole", which was a Stalwart with Most Banks, Raynor, and MacDonald Designs.

The picture below of #4 is from 1930 (before the nines were switched).

73 Degrees on Friday and this on Monday!

9.52" of Rain in 6 Days

The Crew has had a pump running for the past three days to remove the new lake on #3.

Black Sand is used to help melt Ice on the Greens

Mike Cirillo putting black sand on the fourth Green.

Is all the Snow good for the Greens?

Although snow cover can be good for protecting the Greens, Ice is not.  We try to monitor the ice along the surface.  This is Billy McQuaid digging a test hole on Green #5

A thick layer of ice for prolonged periods can cause the Poa to suffocate and die.  We will continue to monitor the situation as the snow continues to pile up.

Clearing behind #4 Green

The staff has been busy clearing the brush, vines and overgrowth behind #4 Green.

Winter is here!

Drill and Fill

The Greens are having a process called "Drill and Fill" starting today and finishing on Friday.
This process is basically a machine that drills holes using a .75 inch bit on 5 inch centers to a depth of 10 – 12 inches and fills the holes with sand.  The newer drill bits that are used today are much less disruptive than in the past and leave a better finished product. Actually most Clubs in the Metropolitan area do this annually to their Greens.  In combination with our routine cultural practices this process would help the Greens drain better, enhance root growth, and create a firmer playing surface.

 During the process the Green being worked on will have a temporary pin.

Thank-you for your patience!

Four inches of rain, all the bunkers washed out, branches all over, and a full field on a Saturday.
Thanks for your patience as we cleaned up the course this morning.

Why has #7 Fairway been closed to Cart Traffic?

It has been closed to carts since we aerified and seeded back in August.  It will be re-opened soon.  In the picture you can see the seedlings that we were trying to protect from carts until they matured.

Letter to Membership

Dear Member:

If you have followed my online blog (whippoorwillgrounds@blogspot.com) you have seen the updates not only from the USGA, but even a Wall Street Journal article on the record breaking weather and wide spread turf loss up and down the east coast.  While Whippoorwill has fared better than many we still have gotten “dinged up” in certain areas.

The Grounds staff has started the process of renovating and seeding areas that have fallen victim to drought stress, disease and heat stress.

    The fairways have been solid tine aerified and seeded with Bentgrass.  Areas that consist of mostly Poa, and that have suffered most from the heat, will be core aerified and will receive additional seed.

    Collars and approaches have been aerified seeded and fertilized.

    Tees will be aerified and seeded starting next week.

    Areas through out the rough have been or will be aerovated, seeded, and fertilized.  This will be an ongoing process over the next several weeks.

On maintenance days, because of the high temperatures, we had to be less aggressive with our practices.  The Greens were needle tined, (a venting process using quarter inch tines which penetrate about six inches deep) topdressed lightly and rolled.  The tentative plan is to do our regular Core Aeration along with a Drill and Fill (outside contractors using the drill & fill machine with which soil is removed and filled with sand to a depth of twelve inches) after closing day at the end of October.

I would like to thank the Membership for their patience especially on the weekends.  When the soil temperatures get as high as they have this summer one of the most critical aspects of the operation is water management.  Hand watering is done multiple times throughout the day to relieve heat stress and to syringe the Turf.  This is done lightly multiple times because too much moisture can lead to disease and turf failure.  On some of the extremely hot low humidity days the staff frantically tries to keep the Greens alive and play does get disrupted for a few minutes while staff members syringe a green.

Hopefully Mother Nature will cooperate with the work being done and a great Fall Season of Golf will be had by all.  If you should have any questions I can be reached in the shop (914) 273-3755 or via email pgntr@verizon.net.

Sincerely,

Paul Gonzalez, CGCS

USGA Update

Link

Ball Mark Repair

Each white dot in the picture is a ball mark that has been plugged out and filled with a sand and seed mixture.

Fairway Aerification

The Fairways were Aerified this week by an outside contractor.  The fairways will be seeded using a drop spreader borrowed from Rolling Hills CC and fertilized. 

Wall Street Journal Article

The Ugly Summer of 2010
LINK

USGA Update

ANNUAL Bluegrass…A Fitting Name, Unfortunately

By Adam Moeller, Agronomist
July 30, 2010




Annual bluegrass turf, particularly on putting greens, is hanging on for dear life at golf courses across the Northeast Region, and at many courses it has given up.  Anthracnose, summerpatch,annual bluegrass weevils, parasitic nematodes, heat and/or drought stress, wet wilt, scald, etc. are all responsible, and no doubt 2010 will be burned in the memories of many turf managers for a long time to come.  June and July could be the hottest on record in some locations, and when high temperatures are combined with humid conditions and sporadic thunderstorms, turf decline can be difficult or impossible to control.  Annual bluegrass turf, which has very poor stress tolerance compared to creeping bentgrass, is caving in first, but even bentgrass is failing in some situations.  It feels as though the equator shifted north by a couple hundred miles this year, and our grasses are simply not equipped to deal with the added stress the weather is producing.

Just about all turfgrass diseases are exacerbated in stressful weather, and many are causing damage this year.  Anthracnose and summer patch are destructive diseases of annual bluegrass putting greens and have been seen on all over the region.  However, root Pythium, nematodes, and bacterial infections are causing damage, too.  Even courses with sound cultural programs and excellent fungicide selection, timing, rates, and application intervals are experiencing disease breakthrough.  Why?  Fungicides do not kill pathogens -- they suppress them.  The term fungistatic more accurately describes most materials, and the effectiveness of most fungicides can be reduced if disease pressure is high enough.  

General decline from heat stress has occurred on many golf course putting greens as well.  Imagine trying to run a marathon when it’s 95^o F and humid without having access to water.  This is essentially what has happened to many annual bluegrass putting greens.  Turf plants are losing energy rapidly and are under so much stress that they can’t cool themselves fast enough.  Unfortunately, a lot of grass isn’t going to finish the race.  Low mowing heights, low soil oxygen caused by poorly draining greens, concentrated traffic, and poor microclimates with shade and air flow problems are the most common issues that have pushed turf into severe decline.  However, even the best programs have had problems this year. 
  
Most courses have lost grass; some are just worse off than others.  Microclimates, grasses, rootzone drainage, labor and maintenance resources, and expectations are unique at every golf course, and these factors explain the level of injury.  At some point the weather is going to break, but it might be awhile.  Attempting to alleviate plant stress is something all turf managers in the region have already done.  Reduce putting green stress by raising the height of cut, reducing mowing frequency, rolling instead of mowing, switching to solid front rollers on greens mowers, avoiding mowing wet greens, regular applications of soluble nitrogen and fungicides, periodic venting to improve rootzone gas exchange, and irrigating and syringing the turf as accurately as possible.  Even with all these practices, in some instances, decline has still occurred.  Closing a green also may be necessary to allow for recovery.  At this point, golfers need to realize that most putting greens are just barely hanging on, and turf loss is extremely difficult to prevent in a summer like 2010.