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.

Renovations are almost complete. #6 and #15 are complete, #5 is ready for liner and sand and #8 has been approved by Bill Love.

#5 Green ready for liner and sand.

#6 completed, new f-way bunker and renovated green side bunkers.  Now you can see where the trouble is.

#7 tee opened on Friday 5/6 for play.

#8 tee opened 5/6, you can see the new target bunker in the distance.

#8 better view of the new fairway bunker.

#8 green, working hard, almost ready for sod.

#13 tee opened for play on 5/6, looks great.

Interesting facts about golf and how it benefits our economy.

Here are a few before, during and after pictures of the renovation project. #15 has been completed and is open for play, The fairway bunker and right green side bunker on #6 are complete and the left greenside bunker has sand and partial sod, the weather caught us this afternoon but we will finish it on Monday.

Work on #13 tee begins, the white and blue tees are widened by approx. 10 feet.

#13 tee on March 15th.

#13 tee April 20th, what a difference one month can make.

#15 green before improvement.

#15 during construction.

#15 completed, AWESOME.

Work on the bunkers is moving along., Sand liners are in and sand has been installed in the front right bunker on #15. With decent weather this week, #6 and #15 will be complete.

Liners are installed and stapled down with sod staples.  A smear of Liquid Nails on top will make sure the staples don't move.

View of #15 with liner in place.  Front right bunker filled with sand.

Sand didn't move at all during 1 1/2 inches of rain on Saturday.

Bunker right side #6 green ready for sand.

Now that the soil temperatures are at 60 degrees, #7 tee is really filling in. 

National Golf Day was celebrated on Wednesday April 13th. We Are Golf is a coalition led by five of the game's leading associations. Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA), PGA of America, World Golf Foundation, National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA), and the Club Managers Assocation of America (CMAA). I was invited to represent the GCSAA at the Rayburn Office Building to explain how golf courses benefit the environment. I had a great day and made lots of contacts. You can find out more about the day at wearegolf.org

Jon Lobenstine, Mike Barrett, Rhett Evans CEO GCSAA, Teddy Blauvelt, Robert Randquist President GCSAA

Holding the U.S. Open trophy, I bet you didn't know I could play that good.

Bruce McBride from the USGA cleans my prints from the trophy.

Bill Love visits the club to review the progress on the bunkers and determines the sand lines. Bill uses white towels to lay out the exact shape of the bunker edges. The towels allow Bill to view the lines from the fairway and make sure they are perfect before he paints them in. This is a slow process but it ensures proper visibility from all angles.

View of #15 green prepped for Bill Love.

Architects Bill Love and Brian Kington use white towels to lay out sand line edges.

The towels give clear visibility from the tee and fairway.

Once the towels are perfect, Bill paints the sand line.

A little help from Mike Barillo and Don Chick.

Robert Baker also lends a hand.

Drayhills Construction's team begins to cut in the edges.

Now the bunker is really taking shape.

Looking good, what a difference a few hours can make.

Look close and you can see all the edges, sand and sod should be done by next week.