Stop & smell the peonies

I would imagine a lot of people have a feeling that the weather this season is much different than what we have experienced in years past. The cooler temperatures in the spring were one thing but what's been so persistent is the rain. For example from April 1, 2012 - June 25, 2012 we received a total of 130mm in precipitation. Where as for 2013 the total precipitation is 316mm. One other statistic that confirms that feeling is the total amount of irrigation water used until this point. Last season the total was 7,600,000 gallons, where as this seasons total is 1,040,000 gallons. Those are some pretty significant differences. The constant rain plays havoc on green speed, mowing frequencies, sand trap conditioning, ability to preform cultural practices and project completion to name a few. I'm looking forward to seeing the golf course firm up moving ahead!

One thing that the rain has done for sure is show us where we have drainage deficiencies. Areas that we have installed drainage over the last couple of weeks are before the pond on hole 1, and from the turn around to the capped ditch on 14. Tying in to some existing drainage and adding a catch basin should substantially improve the conditions on 1 but is not complete. Hole 14 required 275' of drainage to solve the issues. There were 3 existing drain lines installed which all succumb to the same fate, Canadian shield. With a little help form the transit we were able to establish a slope that would work with the rock and serve it's purpose. This will be a nice improvement as that area has always been wet. The next area that I see tackling is 100 yards in on 18 fairway as it hasn't been maintainable all season.

14 Drainage

So as everyone has probably noticed we built a new forward tee on hole 6. This will be the new location for the red tee blocks. The forward tee on hole 14 also received a face lift. It was expanded to add yardage to the hole as well manage the amount of traffic that the red tees see. Forward tee construction, as well as tee expansions will be an ongoing initiative. Hole 7 will most likely see its teeing ground improved.

6 Red Tee Deck

As your making your way around the golf course have a look for these couple of things that have been catching our eyes on a daily basis. The peonies in the front garden, putting green and the show stopper at the garden by the irrigation pump house. I dare you to smell them. Not to be forgotten are the foxgloves on the lower patio and the putting green gardens. Both are very showy this time of year enjoy, I know I do.

                   Peonies in the front garden                                                 Foxglove Hole 6

Over the previous couple of years we have been increasing the number of birdhouses that we have installed on the golf course. This season as it stands we have 15 nest boxes, 11 utilized, 35 hatch lings and 15 eggs unhatched. All of the birds inhabiting the nest boxes are tree swallows, however this season we are seeing are first eastern bluebird which has 4 hatch lings. You can see the female a top her nest box to the right of six green throughout the days.

Eastern Blue Bird Hole 6

Effective Friday the "Turf Hotline" will no longer be active. Daily golf course information regarding cart rulings, cultural practises, and any special maintenance practise will be posted daily via twitter. This can be viewed on this blog as well as the men's and ladies section of the Idylwylde website. When viewing the blog click the compatibility view button (looks like a page ripped in half) to the left of the refresh button in address bar to view the page as I intended it to be viewed. This is required when the browser I created the blog in is not compatible with the one you are using. Click it and see what looks best.

Jay Sisko
Golf Course Superintendent

How far we've come.

You never want to wish the days away because you never get them back, but after that May I'm glad it's June! Normal rainfall amounts for the month of May are 78mm and we received 108mm. Spring is typically a wet time of year without above normal amounts of precipitation adding to it. This now confirms to me that since I arrived here in 2009 I have never seen the golf course so wet. I would say that the weather, project wise has us about two weeks behind where I thought we would be by this time. The person who figures out how to control the weather will be the most powerful person in the world!

With all the rain and the last week of humidity it was a perfect storm for growing grass. Wow is it ever juicy out there. The mowers are running as much as possible and we still can't keep up. Looks like the cooler temperatures forecast will help us out a bit and slow things down. Not only is the rough growing rapidly, but the greens are as well. All these conditions are making it difficult to get the green speed up. Firmness is one of the key factors when it comes to ball roll and it's been next to impossible to achieve. Not to mention the annual bluegrass on the greens is seeding and that also affects speed by producing an uneven surface. You may have noticed this on many of the greens, the off coloured blotches (pale green) is the seed head of our predominant grass species on the greens. This usually last a couple of weeks. We will be trying to roll the greens daily (and cut of course) to help smooth things out and increase the speed of the greens.

I'm hoping at this point considering the start, everyone is as pleased as I am with regards to the condition of the golf course (forget how wet it is), in particular the greens. When I pulled the tarps off this season I wasn't sure if we were going to ever be able to recover. But, with the use of some tricks, hard work and patience we have been able to provide fairly respectable greens. Yes there is still a long way to go but we are heading in the right directions. Check out how far we've come!

Jay Sisko
Golf Course Superintendent



May 7, 2013



 

June 1, 2013

April 16, 2013



June 1, 2013

May 3, 2013

 

June 1, 2013

April 28, 2013

June 1, 2013

When it rains, it...?

Not only does "pour" come to many minds I'm sure, however today I would finish the statement by saying "grows like mad!". With the consecutive days of rain and high humidity all the grass is growing uncontrollably but the rough takes first prize for rate of growth. The primary rough is maintained with a 5 deck rotary mower called the "Toro Groundsmaster 4500-D". The operator of this mower is one of the clubs longest residing employees. He has been here so long even he doesn't remember the exact number of years but to put it simply his employee number is 45. Notice the unique stamp he is able to put on the golf course through his mowing patterns. Pete Verbeek is not only our master rough cutter but one of the ice techs as well . The other mower that you may be familiar with is the "Toro Groundsmaster 3500-D" a 3 deck rotary unit. We use this to maintain the rough surrounding the greens, tees and sand traps. It also is known as the "Sidewinder" because of its unique feature that allows the operator to slide the cutting units from side to side to help get those tricky little areas that wouldn't be within reach without it. Rest assured we will have all three of our mowers running daily to help keep the rough height at a consistent 2".

                  4500-D                                                                           Sidewinder





On to the greens. Today was a good day in the fact that number one green is ready for play so the decision was made to do so. I'm not going to lie, its great to be down to only one temporary green but all this rain doesn't make me feel incredibly comfortable about how the sod will handle the foot traffic. My main concern is the potential of foot printing due to the firmness of the surface since we've received almost 40mm of rain in the last 24 hours. I know it's almost impossible to ask but if possible please do your best to limit traffic on the sodded area whenever possible. Today the decision was also made to sod a damaged area at the back left of twelve green. This will help to increase pinning area and I would anticipate having this green in play for the weekend. With respect to the condition of the greens, I hope everyone is starting to feel pretty good about where were at. Yes we still have a long way to go, but I think it is now confirmed we are definitely on the right path. I have before and after pictures that I will post shortly.

 

Plans for the immediate future out on the course are to complete the face lift of the putting green area by installing drainage and sod. We do need things to firm up so completion of this is somewhat weather dependent. Also installing the plant material into the decorative stone planters will be the final touch. By Thursday I would anticipate that we will have begun the expansion of the forward tee on hole 14 and this will in no way impact your round of golf. The process of edging/weeding the sand traps will also be on going over the next few days and week. Don't forget to keep an eye on the blog calendar as next Tuesday the bi-weekly top dressing of the greens will be starting. Were looking forward to better weather and seeing everyone out on the golf course.

 

I just wanted to mention after doing this now for a few weeks, it seems as though I'm finding Sunday night to be a good time for me to post. Moving forward look for an update on Monday's.

 

Jay Sisko

Golf Course Superintendent

 

May in Sudbury

It's almost a certainty, if you want bad weather open a golf course. Friday definitely gave some truth to that statement, what a miserable day! However the weather did rebound and Saturday turned out to be the perfect day to get out and play the course for the first time. It was nice to see a lot of familiar faces as well as new ones. Thank you for all the positive comments and your understanding with the temporary greens.

As mentioned and many probably noticed we sodded 1 green and I would like to think it turned out pretty good. Typically under normal conditions I would anticipate having play on the green  2 weeks after sodding.  Rooting and firmness are the key factors that we are looking for. Greens 12 and 14 are coming along well however to ensure that the greens are in prime condition for the bulk of the season it is in their best interest to remain being managed as they currently are. The short term sacrifice made now is for the long term gains that this will most defiantly provide. Thank you for your patience.

Some may be wondering what's going on at the 19th green, which I refer to as the main putting green. The decision to remove the cedars was to improve sight lines from the pro shop and the starter shed as well as aesthetics. Some ground re contouring and the use of Rosetta stone similar to what was used on 1 tee will give a much improved first impression for members and guests. Improving and utilizing that great space we have is something that we will be working on over the course of the season as well as the future. We will be working hard to have the project completed for the long weekend, there may just be an issue with sod availability.

Moving forward the ditch that was filled on hole 14 will be our next priority and once this is completed the next project priorities will be discussed at tonight's greens committee meeting. Stay tuned for more information regarding course conditions and upcoming projects.

Jay Sisko
Golf Course Superintendent

The evolution of 1 Green

 

Things are shaping up!

It was another very eventful week  for us out on the golf course. Greens 12 and 14 have progressed as I would have hoped and we repaired the winter damage on 10 green with sod from our nursery. Unfortunately the damage that 1 green suffered has proven too severe to reestablish through seed. We have seen good results however I just don't feel that the condition of the green is where it needs to be at this point in time. With that being said it feel the best course of action is to sod 1 green as well. We are hoping to sod the green on Wednesday were just waiting for a new cutting blade for the sod cutter that should be here today.

I would anticipate that 1 green will be ready for play the following Wednesday and greens 12 and 14 if all goes well I'm hoping for May the 17th. Other than the few damaged greens (which have made great progress) the golf course is in great shape and I hope that everyone is pleased with the product come this Friday. Were looking forward to seeing everyone out here on Friday and the days following. Enjoy the 2013 golf season.


Jay Sisko
Golf Course Superintendent