Sunday March 31, 2013

These lines are a common sight around The Links right now.  It is from our new Verti-Quake machine.  The machine has knives that penetrate 8-10" deep and do an amazing job relieving compaction.  This will also help water infiltration so many of these areas will not stay saturated in season.

The bright green tufts of "grass" around 7 green are NOT Fescue plantings.  These are actually Wild Onion.      These are very problematic weeds, and the first application of herbicide was applied last Friday.  Follow up applications will be made in the upcoming weeks. 

Wild Onion

New USGA Green Section Article

Adam Moeller USGA Agronomist Northeast region new article that just came out.  Its about the exact problem facing us here at Rockville Links the past few weekends.....when do we open greens?

What a difference a year makes

Wet Conditions with Cold Nights Coming

Temp on 11 Approach Friday

Temp on 11 Approach Today

    

All the precip lately has saturated The Links.  Even more rain is expected the rest of the afternoon and through the night. The crazy weather will continue...overnight temps this weekend are expected to dip below freezing and even drop into the mid 20's for a night.  

There is a good chance Greens will not open this weekend.  The cold snaps at night will freeze the saturated soil.  Damage can be inflicted to frozen turf, and also to roots as the surface thaws.  

We will open the greens as soon at Mother Nature allows.  Updates will be posted here on the blog and also on twitter @rockvillelinks and @LKTurf 

Friday March 8th

The March Issue of the USGA Green Section is out.  Below are links from 3 seperate USGA Agronomists.  All touch on problems the turf faces this time of year.

Golfers and turfgrass don't always share the same season

Spring Play and hole locations

Education Season and ABW

Shop Cleanup

 

To take advantage of today's nasty weather, we are continuing a long overdue shop cleanup.    This has been an ongoing project since I took over as superintendent.  The top left picture is the filth cleaned out from under the shelving.  This area (and the whole shop!) are infested with squirrels and mice.  As shown in an earlier entry... tires filled with insulation were used by squirrels as nests.  We found and removed many areas all these rodents were living in.  So hopefully they move out!   

The crew break room has been completely gutted, and is receiving a fresh coat of paint.  This room will also serve as our morning meeting area when completed.  

Storm Damage

The high winds that accompanied the storm did some damage to some trees and limbs.  2 trees that fell were both tagged for removal by the Insurance Arborist.  Luckily they did no extra damage to any healthy trees surrounding them.  This reinforces the need to continue removal of these dead/damaged trees.  Removal now while the crew has time is much better than the tree falling in season, and will prevent additional damage to priority trees.

Wed Feb 27

During the horrible weather yesterday the crew room was cleaned, and put fresh coat of paint on the walls.  This area is being converted to the Morning Meeting area.  Job/task boards have been ordered for this wall.

The Long Island Golf Course Superintendent Association (LIGCSA) had their Spring Seminar at Bethpage State Park on Wednesday.  This is a great time to catch up and network with other superintendents in the area.  The main reason was the great lineup of speakers.  

Dr. Stacey Bonos, Rutgers University

Better grass selection for our golf course.  Especially roughs and low maintenance areas. 

David Doherty, ISTRC

Testing soil properties of our greens.  ISTRC has been done here at Rockville in the past.

Steven McDonald M.S.

Great speech on common disease and problems of Poa Annua putting greens.

Dave Oatis, USGA

Tree management programs and learning from past mistakes when planting new trees.  Gave great recommendations about new plantings and planning for the future.

Bob Farren, Pinehurst

Restoration and sustainability of Pinehurst No. 2