Record Breaking Weather

We have experienced 10 consecutive days of above 70 degrees in March. The record previously set was 145 years ago in 1886 however that was in April.  This unprecedented warm March weather comes after south eastern Michigan's 5'th warmest winter on record, the 12'th warmest autumn and last summer where we experienced the hottest July ever recorded. We even saw temperatures this month in the upper 80's 3 consecutive days this month.
The irrigation system is fully charged and we are irrigating the actively growing turf. We are making applications on the course where normally we make them in the middle to late April. Typically we do not start to see the turf growth until late April. This past week we have cut all areas on the course from greens to the rough. Most of the staff has returned to work and are busy getting the course ready for play. The trees are blooming, the flowers are remerging from the ground, and the smell of fresh cut grass is in the air. Lakelands  90'th Anniversary celebration has started early.

Course is offically open

 On Monday we pulled all the winter covers off and were incredibly pleased with turf conditions.  Tuesday, March 13 the course officially opened.  Today we are rolling the greens followed by the first cut of the season.  The extended forecast is calling for highs in the 70s with plentiful sun. It's a great time to come out and celebrate the 90'th Anniversary of your course, Lakelands Golf and Country Club.

Keeping busy

The winter months are some of our busiest, but of a much different nature.  

Because this winter has been so mild it has allowed us time to get out on the course getting small projects done such as tree trimming. 

Limbing up pines on 17

Some of the most important work which is done in the winter months is preparing all the equipment for the golf season.  Every piece of equipment is inspected, cleaned, and tuned.  All the reels and bed knifes are ground, ready to cut our fine turf.  

Bedknife grinding  

 Toro Triplex overhaul

A mild start

This winter has been anything but normal. To date we have received less than 10 inches of snow. The turf has been exposed and overall looks good. Lets hope for an early spring.

2011 in Review

Put away for the winter

Today the final greens covers were installed on greens 1,2,13,15 and the putting green. Prior to covering these greens we applied over 50 ton of sand on all greens. We have been trying many new techniques on the greens to combat winter/ice damage  that we have been incurring for the past few years. I truly feel like it is all a crap shoot. Roll the dice and wait to see what you get. Honestly, alot of the techniques we are using are old ones that have just come back around. Stay tuned for updates and pictures of what the winter of 2011/2012 brings us. Lets all hope for consistently cold temperatures with lots of snow and no mid winter thaws.

                                                          Heavy sand top dressing on 10 green
                                                                             first pass
                                                                         

5 green cover

NOVEMBER COLOR

As we head into November, there is still some excellent fall foliage to be seen around the course. I took this photo on a frosty/foggy November 1'st morning. Yes the temperatures are dropping and the season is winding down rapidly. Our seasonal golf maintenance staff are finished for the year, however Shaun Maher(Asst. Supt.), Rich Johnson (Equip. Tech.) and I are still quite busy around the course. As you can see from this picture, many leaves are still on the trees. We have a significant amount of clean up still to be done.
We are identifying pipe sizes on 3 isolation valves to be replaced. One valve located  on #3 near the green, another valve on #14 between the forward and back tees and  another on #18 fairway.
Our plan is to apply our last plant protectent application on greens, tees and fairways next week. This application will protect us from a disease called snow mold. There are two types, pink snow mold (Microdochium Nivale), this type does not need snow to be present. It likes cool, moist conditions. The second type is grey snow mold, (Typhula incarnata, and 3 varieties of typhula ishikariensis). We see grey after deep and prolonged snow cover. These are both in the fungus family. You may recall seeing this on your home lawns in the spring time once snow has melted. Matted circles of grass/turf with  fluffy, cotton candy looking rings around the outside if the patches.
The week of November 14-18 we will be topdressing greens heavily. This aides in the reduction of winter damage to the turf. We will then cut drainage trenches in a handful of greens we see water accumulation during any mid-winter thaws. We will then cover the greens where we perennially see winter/ice damage.
We will also be winterizing our irrigation system and pump station. This process is done much like that of home irrigation systems however we utilize a very large compressor 8x that of what is used by your local landscape company at your homes. If water is kept in plastic pipes through the winter, the water will freeze and rupture the pipes leaving extensive damage to the system. This blow out process usually takes 2 full days to complete.
I would like to thank all that came out last Saturday morning for member help day. We had 15 members assist us with limbing up trees and hauling to the burn pit. It was quite a bon fire. We all enjoyed lunch  in the mixed grill accompanied by some college football. The course looks great. Come on out for some excellent fall golf.