From the Golf Course:
This year has been a good one for us but it has had its challenges as well.
I will begin by updating you on the Poa Annua control trial that we completed on #8 North. While we had moderate successes with the trial our conclusion was that we would not be comfortable having those playing conditions through the growing season. We have been able to control our Poa Annua on the other fairways using control methods that are much less invasive. We will continue with these methods going forward.
It has been nice for the golf course staff to not have an irrigation project this fall, as we’ve had the last four years. In lieu of that project we have been able to accomplish several smaller projects that have been on our to do list.
We have edged every cart path on the golf courses. While this does not sound like a big project, with over eight miles of paths it is not a small undertaking to remove the overgrown turf along both sides of the paths. Tree pruning, done on a limited basis in the past is another area of emphasis for us this fall. Both the North and South crews are pruning low hanging branches and addressing trees that have poor limb structure. By raising the canopies of some trees we will be able to grow better turf under some of the heavily shaded areas.
In November we begin a project to address the drainage problem that we experience along the left side of #7 south. This has been a problem the last couple of years and to remedy it we will be installing a larger drain tile along the bottom of the swale in that area. This will aid in the drainage of the water coming onto our property from developments to our south. We also have an erosion problem along #2 South that we will be addressing with a rock gabion basket wall. We have a very sharp angle at one spot in the creek and it is badly eroded. To address that problem we will install the baskets and then place native stone in front of the baskets to both stabilize and hide them.
To prepare for the possible arrival of the Emerald Ash Borer, the Green and Golf Committee spent several hours this summer identifying the ash trees on the golf courses and coming up with some tree planting plans to address some of the areas that would be most affected if the Borer does arrive. In November we will be moving trees from our nursery onto the golf course with a big tree spade to strengthen some of these weak areas.
Overall we have been very pleased with our year, we had a lot of drainage issues that have been identified and repaired, the turf going into the fall and winter season is in very good condition and we are hoping for a long fall to prolong our golf season.
Rick Tegtmeier
