Spring has arrived

Spring has arrived and my staff has been working hard to get the course in shape for a great 2012 season.  The aerification of the greens, tees and fairways is complete and thin areas in the rough have been over-seeded.  If this warm weather stays in place and we can get a little rain, the seed will germinate and the course will recover quickly.

  

WInter projects on the golf course

We have been very busy this winter, the weather has been mild and the course has been busy.  We have been cutting cups, raking bunkers moving tee markers and finishing up with the leaves over the past month.  Donald and Hugo have been busy overhauling our equipment and making sure it is ready to go in the spring.  Annual maintenance includes sharpening blades, changing oils and filters, greasing, checking hydraulic hoses, and replacing any worn out bearings and rollers.  The well that services our shop and the bag room during the winter months was replaced.  We installed a new sign on the corner of our property which will make us more visible to our guests.  Tree work has also begun with the removal of several dead trees around the course and will continue as weather permits.  We are working on limbing up the White Pines and Cedars on #10, #11 and between #2 and #3.  Cedars by #6 blue tee are also being pruned to allow more air movement on the back tees.

Hugo is pressure washing our Toro 4500D rough mower getting it ready for maintenance.

Pupkar Property Maintenance 65 feet in the air removing dead Oak trees by #8 green.

A leaning Sycamore tree is removed with a 105 foot crane over the irrigation pump station.

Limbs are hooked up with 7000 lb cables and lowered to the ground.

Limbs are lowered and run through the brush chipper.

The Intimidator makes quick work of the giant limbs.

1/2 horsepower pump set at 170 feet needs to be pulled and replaced.

Donald and Hugo get ready to send it back down 170 feet.

The new sign is mounted.

Nice job guys, shouldn't have any problem finding Argyle now.

 

Winter has arrived.

Winter has arrived and the crew has been working hard getting the club ready for the Holiday Season.  The irrigation system has been winterized, along with the pool house, tennis facility and halfway house.  The fire poles have been returned to the patio for those that like to step out for a cigar during the Redskins games.  The leaves are almost finished except for a few stragglers we will be picking up this week.  We will be moving the tee markers off some of the smaller tees so they don't take to much abuse over the winter.

Marsha and Tony vacuum leaves along #9 fairway.

Mike Naas jumps in to lend a hand.

Marsha makes all the bows by hand.

The swags are made from fresh cuttings taken from the course.

Hugo and Tony hang the lights and the finished swags look great.

The club is ready for the Holiday Season.

Lit up and ready for Santa.

Happy Holidays from the Greens Staff.

  

Best golf weather of the year.

The weather over the past few weeks has been outstanding.  I have heard nothing but positive comments regarding the condition of the course and many have said the course has never looked better, I would agree.  The eradication of the Bermuda grass has been very successful and we will continue with it next year.  We are currently over-seeding additional areas of the course where the Bermuda has gone dormant for the winter.  This has been a great fall for seed germination and the weather looks like it will continue to cooperate later into the month.  Areas that earlier in the year were up to 70% Bermuda grass are now up to 90% Ryegrass and will continue to fill in over the winter months.  The tees have fully recovered and we will continue to make improvements to them through the winter and next spring.

View from #1 tee, the new Burning Bushes look great this fall.

#7 tee, less than one year old and it looks awesome.

#2 tee gets punched with 1/4" tines again using our Procore 648.  This helps keep the water moving.

#9 tee looks great, what a view.

#18 fairway, this area used to be approx. 60% Bermuda grass and is currently 90% Ryegrass.

View from #3, looks great.

 

#12 tee enlarged to original size.

The course has recovered following record heat and rain fall

Another challenging summer is behind us.  Record heat in July which is hard to believe after last summer was followed by perfect weather in August for aerification.  The greens recovered quicker than I had ever seen, and the tees were well on their way to full recovery when September arrived dumping over 9" of rain on us from storms like Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.  This made it the wettest September on record for our area.  Several tees that don't drain well had standing water on them for several weeks, making it impossible for seed to germinate and survive.  Some of the low spots on the tees are where sprinkler heads were removed and relocated from the teeing surface, and other low spots have developed over the years through settling.  We are working hard to fill in these areas and will be top-dressing them throughout the winter to raise them up, which will provide better surface drainage.  In addition, we will be deep tine aerifying next season which will achieve depths of 7+ inches that will create channels to increase water movement and promote a deeper root system.  We also intend to improve the irrigation on our most troubled tees which will definitely make them better. 

#3 Tee holding water.

#16 Tee covered with water.

#9 Tee

The new seedlings just can't handle the moisture.

 

Bermuda control on fairways and green surrounds

Last fall, the Green Committee decided to eradicate the Bermuda grass in the fairways.  Therefore, #3, #9, #14 and #16 fairways were sprayed and over-seeded with Ryegrass.  After seeing a significant reduction of Bermuda in these areas, the Committee decided to expand the eradication process this year to include additional fairways and green surrounds.  The goal is to increase the Rye and Annual Bluegrass (Poa) populations which will give our fairways and surrounds a more uniform appearance throughout the year.  The process begins by treating the Bermuda in the late summer prior to over-seeding.  This will turn the Bermuda a straw yellow color and suppress its growth giving the Rye a better opportunity to germinate.  The areas that have been treated have been over-seeded and once the Ryegrass germinates, they will recover and fill back in with the desired grass.  Through the winter months, the Rye and Poa will continue to fill in the areas of dormant Bermuda.  In the spring, when the Bermuda starts coming out of dormancy, we will treat it again to weaken it, which will decrease its ability to compete with the desired grasses.

Untreated Bermuda in #11 fairway

Bermuda overtaking Ryegrass and spreading in fairway

Treated Bermda in #4 fiarway

Smoked Bermuda #18 fairway

Bermuda treated around #16 green

Tough day for the Greens Department on Saturday. Around 4:40 PM on 5/7, I was on my way to Lancaster, PA with my wife and kids when I received a call from Allan Irwin. Allan informed me that my office was on fire and the fire department was on the way. I turned around headed back to the club to make everyting was under control. Hugo Miranda, a long time member of the Greens Team was at the club when the fire started and tried to fight it with an extinguisher. Mike Barillo was with Hugo and called 911. Hugo was able to save one of the computers from the office before it became fully engaged. The fire inspector said the fire started in the ceiling over the bathroom near the vent fan. I will be setting up an office in the clubhouse Monday and working hard to rebuild our shop.

Montgomery County responded very quickly to the 911 call.

My office after the fire was put out.

Greens Department after the fire inspector had completed his investigation.