Traditional April 1st Photo and Update, 2018

Take a look:

Acutally, I took this March 30 but close enough to April 1st

What's crazy is how close this is to April 2017 (Go Here) and in that year we opened a funked up 9 hole routing on April 22nd so........ 

My spider sense has been telling me we are similar to last year even though it may not look like it elsewhere on the course. However, unlike last year all the greens we've cleaned off to date look good with no disease but there is one or two "bobcat burps" from the tires.  All the front greens except old PG  and #8 are clear; 12 to 17 on the back still have snow (except to 15 which is clear). I'll admit the blowing has gone slow relative to last year and that may be due to the amount of snow or that fact that surfaces are starting to thaw and with very little ice we need to use the small track blowers to remove snow vs. the bobcat to keep from damaging more surfaces.

As I get a look at more greens next week I may be more comfortable in believing the sh*tty fall we had in 2015 and 2016 did have an impact on disease levels those following springs....but rehashinbg the past has more to do with making me feel better and nothing with the here and now.

When we are not taking off snow Neil and myself have been cleaning up the overgrown potentilla and caragana's at the clubhouse and parking lot; a task that has been on my radar for a few years but the bad springs over the past couple years meant I had to focus my attention elsewhere. Obviously, working in those areas is awkward with traffic and people so the temporary trashy looking gate I put up at the bottom of the driveway has helped in keeping the lookey-loos and the pot smoking high school punks from getting in our way.  We will remove the barrier and chain very soon but I plan to install a more formal gate at the bottom of the driveway at one point this summer since it does address the security issue of random people using the isolated parking lot for doing naughty things late at night.

Despite my threats I've been dragging my feet on removing that Ponderosa on the left edge of 4 green but pictures like this one keep reminding me of why it needs to go so don't be shocked or surprised when it's no longer there.

Picture from last year showing disease in the tree shadow

As I already said, we will continue to remove snow from the remaining greens as the weather permits and continue to speed spring along. Feel free to drop by and go for a walk to check out the course but no mischievous going ons or hanky-panky in the parking lot!

An addendum for those of you down south....

April 4, -7 and 15 cm of new snow has altered my optimistic
projection regarding possible opening date...

Getting "Schooled", Again!...Follow KGCtweets

Holy, I am still learning about Twitter.  You may be sick of how daft I am when it comes to this topic but this should be the last change.  A third party pointed out something with respect to Twitter and audiences.  I dare say none of you care about the minutia of growing grass and some other grass geeks most likely aren't interested in frost delays, aerating and top dressing days, or whatever I post as it relates to KGC.  Using the hashtag #KGC to identify posts particular to the golf course works but the tweets seems out of place when I post using my original username so I made a new one: KGCtweets.  Again, if you use Twitter you know what to do.  If you text all you need to do is send a text to 21212 and type Follow KGCtweets in the message body of your text to receive real time updates about the golf course.

Now, what's happening out on the course?  There are18 holes opening on Good Friday.  As usual, we won't be ready but any play in April is all about working out the kinks and renewing friendships.  All greens wintered well with no real problems and all will be in play.  The past couple years we've attempted a pre-opening aeration and top dressing and 2014 will be no different.  The biggest hurdle is completing the task while trying to clean up from winter.  Truthfully, we won't be done and you'll have to deal with the process until we are done.  Sorry.  As predicted, start up of the irrigation is a struggle.  We only just started the back on Tuesday this week and still the hydraulic lines on the driving range, hole 17, hole 15, hole 13, and hole 14 are frozen.  Without the control from the hydraulic lines to keep the sprinklers down we cannot pressure the pipes on these holes so, obviously, we are unable to water.  It may seem early, but with no real moisture this spring the greens have dried out and appear stressed.  It should be easy to get them back but we are at the mercy of our irrigation system.  Tank watering could be an option but without available equipment or staff it won't be happening this year.

This past Monday had the Annual Work Bee and as usual people really chipped in.  I would guess because of the day we picked, numbers were down a bit but those who showed up definitely did their part and I am grateful.  Pictures will be posted on the KGC website under the "Photo Gallery" tab so go check it out.

The only picture I want to show is this one:

Elk Tracks

For some strange reason the elk are still around.  They are a problem in the fall and are usually long gone by now but  #2 took a shellacking the other day.  The real interesting part is how the damage to the surface was the worst at the back left of the green and far less severe on the front right of the green.  Why?  Better root mass at the front is my theory.  That green doesn't have great roots to begin with but the front right of the green sees more sun and has somewhat more substance versus the left side which is weak looking and always shows disease stress first. That big fir and ponderosa are going, it just a case of when.

Trying to Figure it Out

It's probably the farthest thing from your mind but this post is a review of winter damage we experienced this year.  One thing I am learning is just as it takes multiple inputs to make the turf appear good it also takes more than one thing to cause damage.  I am always looking for common denominators to explain damage.  It's only with the benefit of hindsight do I think that one of the factors impacting spring conditions was the level and condition of the snow cover on the greens this past winter.  All the areas damaged this spring were prone to poor snow coverage during one or multiple times through out this past winter.

What really got me thinking about this was comparing the snow pack (depth and consistency) between 12 and 13 greens.  In late February there was 8" of tight corn snow on 12 green over a 1/2 of surface ice.  On that same date 380 yards away on 13 (a green with the same aspect) there was 16" of loose corn snow over an ice free and thawed surface.  Why?  Both are surrounded on the left and back by trees but the trees on 13 are much farther away so, it is my theory, that the trees influence (in this case shelter from snow) was limited; i.e. less shelter from the trees on 13 so more snow on that green versus 12.  

The damage on the front left of 1 green, I think, was caused by the trees acting as a heat sink.  During sunny days they would absorbed heat and radiated it at night.  Stupid sounding I know but I've been around enough times to see the snow melt first on the south west side of these trees to know that it is a very common occurrence.  This happened a few times early in the spring and combined with the snow events we experienced in March I think that area went through a series of melts that created a number of freeze/thaw cycles that ultimately killed the turf. 

Front Left #1 Green

What about the wrinkles of green under the tarp on #1 green?  This was where the semi-permeable tarp created insulating air gaps between the turf and the ice (a case for insulating greens prone to early season melting, i.e. bubble wrap).

Now the putting green.

New Putting Ice Layer

It too is prone to early season melting and freeze/thaw exposure.  I've never worried about it because of the bent grass component.  This time out I think the green was unhealthy going into winter and did not have the CHO reserves to cope with the freeze/thaw and ultimate anoxia created from the ice layer that developed.  For this green it was probably that one-two punch that caused all the problems since the lower half, which was completely playable early on, had the same lack of fertility but no ice.

What about 9 green? Remember this?

Ice Removed From Back #9 Green

I exposed it thinking the damage was done so what could I lose?  Interestingly enough while the back has mostly recovered it is those area on the right side that I did not touch in February that are still slow to come.

#9 Green One Day After Black Sand Melted Snow

Probably that damage relates to the melting of the snow I did in early March.  During that time the temperatures ranged from -14 to +10 and I think the mistake lies in melting the snow too fast (creating free water) and too early.  At the time I was concerned with a slow melt and freeze/thaw damage.  It may have been better to blow what snow I could, melt any ice and then tarp the green.

All these areas struggle with shade during the spring and fall but so do other greens and they weren't damaged.  But, again I think, a possible common denominator is the condition of the snow cover.  Most all other greens had a deep snow pack and were slow to melt.  The real kicker for me is the damage on 12 green.  The worst area is the spot where I exposed it very early thinking I was limiting the ice damage.  The rest of the green that I left covered was still damaged but has recovered faster than that back tier that was exposed earlier -- opposite as to what has occurred on #9 green.

Next winter it will be a different story.  I know this is long winded and awkward and maybe I've over explained stuff but I think with the way this spring has shaped up for golf courses in this area people should know that the choices made when dealing with winter can have different results within a golf property let alone different results between golf properties.

Trees and Shadows

Last fall and this past spring have motivated me to pay closer attention to tree's surrounding certain greens and the impact their shadows have on turf growth. The benefits of adequate sun in the fall include the typical increased air circulation and faster drying of tissue surfaces to help limit disease development. Another very important aspect of fall sun relates to the storing of carbohydrates (CHO) within the plant needed for overwintering and growth in the spring. As mentioned before, the growth habit of turf in the fall changes because of cooler temperatures and shorter days. These changes signal the plant to slow vertical growth and direct energy toward roots and the creation and storage of CHO's. The more light/energy available to a plant during the fall the more CHO's it can make and store which will help in winter survival and spring start up.
Good sun exposure in the early spring obviously helps in speeding the melt of snow and ice from the previous winter as well as warming up the soil quicker to increase plant and microbial activity.
The shade created by trees has many other physiological impacts on turf grass (low density, spindly and succulent growth, and poor root density) not to mention the direct competition trees pose to available resources for plant growth (light, water, and nutrients). Take a look and the following before and afters and see how selective tree removal can significantly increase available light and, hopefully, increase the health and, therefore, the playability of these surfaces.

8 Green Before

8 Green After

7 Green
Before and After

4 Green
Before and After

Removing trees is not the only maintenance practice we do to control their interference with growing turf. I've talked about root pruning before (November 3rd post in 2009) as it relates to cart paths. We also root prune around greens to limit root encroachment under greens. Kinda a boring picture but here it is.

Root Pruning Trench on 8G