Spring Needs a Kickstart

Busy Winter
This months update will catch up with what's new on the course  and down at the shop. It will also serve as an introduction for any new members reading this for the first time - Welcome to Greener Notes, the  grounds department's blog on course conditions and happenings.

Tee for two
Two years ago the Greens Committee decided to make improvements to teeing surfaces by leveling or enlarging ones that needed it.  We're at the halfway point in this process.  
Tees addressed fall/winter of 2015-16 are as follows: 
Forward tees on 4, 9, 14, 18 and Mid/Back tees on 6, 9, 11, 18. Tees were shaped and left to settle over the winter.  As soil dries enough to work, sod will be brought in. Both sodding and seeding will be used and will depend on the needs of the site.    
The  goal of creating more useable teeing area without making tees unnecessarily large was the goal. Renovated tees will be back in play as soon as the new sod can handle the foot traffic - about 2 weeks from date of sodding.

6 tee before

6 tee final grade

18 tee before

Bridging the Gap
The bridges around the pond and creek on 10, 11, and 12 are complete and impressive.  Slate Hill Constructors was hired as the builder and worked all winter through some awful weather to engineer and build these beautiful additions to the course.  We'll be adding some shrubs at the ends of the bridges to help blend them into the landscape and be working on mending ruts left from construction.  Those areas will be played as "under repair", generally, until we've completed the repairs and grass has recovered.  Your patience, as always, is appreciated as we heal up from this project.

10 bridge before

11 bridge before

10 bridge

11 bridge

11 bridge after

11 bridge after

Maintenance road bridge

New Additions
Tuscarora invested in a new fleet of mowers and course-trucks in 2016.  Age and downtime had finally caught up with our old fleet and increasing repair costs made the decision an easy one. The new package includes new tee mowers, greens mowers w/groomers, fairway mowers, bank mowers for greens and tee surrounds, and two 'Truckster' work vehicles. Their purchase was one we take seriously and think ourselves fortunate to be in the position to use the latest in course maintenance tools.  It's not often when a course can truly say they're using the state of the art in cutting equipment.  We look forward to many years of service from these machines.  

New Storage
As the Grounds Department updates itself with the cutting edge in cutting equipment, we saw a need for a better storage solution for that investment. Our goal was to have a storage building that was large enough to give shelter to all equipment, old and new. It will create a place to better store tools, irrigation pipe, and bulk fertilizer.  We completed the build over the winter and kept it under budget.

The "Butler Cabin" -  Our old tool barn that doubled as a raccoon nursery

Site prep

First poles going in in January

Hustle while there's no snow

Starting to look like something

Almost there

Ball marks & divots

They're the bane of heavily played golf courses.  We ask for cooperation in reducing this damage every year, but without a course marshal or camera watching every green, there's no way to tell who does or doesn't take care of the course. What we can tell is there's more than a normal amount of unfixed ball marks on all greens and they seem to be generated in the late afternoons to early evening.  All we can ask is to police yourselves and please fix your ball marks.  If your family plays, mention it to them. The Pro Shop will have more on how they'd like ballmarks repaired in a future update.

Weeds Never Sleep

It's time to gear up for seasonal weed applications on your home lawns (if you go in for that kind of thing).  Soil temperatures will be nearing the magical 50 degree mark where Crabgrass can germinate and dandelions will soon be in full bloom.  We've completed a wall-to-wall application of a crabgrass preventative herbicide at Tuscarora. We'll be making applications on dandelions and clover throughout the next couple weeks as weather and play allow. 
If you see something in your lawns or on the course right now that you think is annual crabgrass, it's not. At this time of year, that grass is a perennial weedy grass called Orchard Grass that becomes less noticeable as the season progresses due to it's finer texture. We don't treat for Orchard Grass as it requires round-up which comes with it's own set of problems.

Orchard Grass

Crabgrass

We will be making an application to reduce the seed production of certain grass species in the fairways and greens. This is something we do every year that helps the plants conserve energy for the summer months. This control will regulate(slow) growth and produce a pale orange tinge to the turf.  The tinge wears off in a few weeks. 

Coming Up

For the months of April and May look for the following maintenance happenings out on the course as the weather improves: 
- Greens aerifying (complete 4/21)
- Weed control
- Cart path repairs
- Clubhouse & Tee sodding
- Bridge area clean-up and seeding
- Irrigation installation near new tees
- Weekly topdressing


Course bathrooms will be useable when night time temperatures get warmer.  As in years past, we won't charge the irrigation system to outside bathrooms until we leave freezing night time temperatures behind, we've broken pipes in past years by opening the course bathrooms too early -  Porta-johns until then.

   

  

Catching Up

Into the New Year
Happy new year from the grounds department!  For our new members, this is a periodic blog that the Superintendent tries to get out monthly through the season. It's primary purpose is to inform and update everyone on course-related happenings.

Winter makes an appearance
The uncommon weather we've been having has allowed all of the construction crews to stay active on the course and has let the clubhouse renovation project make some significant headway.  I'll just touch on the golf related projects as there's so much happening at the course.
Greens are in good health. We've been monitoring them for surface ice formation and removing any excess water when it accumulates.  The lack of snow cover, at this point, seems to have had little effect on their condition.  I expect them to come into spring with no problems.

Bridges
If you've driven up Munro Rd recently you'll notice a set of new bridges spanning the creek on holes 12, 11, and 10.  Slate Hill Construction was hired last fall to engineer and head this project.  The 15 year old bridges that were in place were narrow and deteriorating from settling and cart wheel impacts.

11 bridge damage

Old 10 bridge 

SHC have done a masterful job at holding back the pond through rain, snow, and ice to complete their work. The bridges are built wide enough with safety and good looks in mind.  They'll be in good shape for many years to come.  There will be a fourth bridge going in on the maintenance road.  The foot bridge on 10 will also be upgraded to allow more water to pass underneath.   All bridges will share the same stone work treatment as the clubhouse when complete.

Equipment Storage
We've slowly been outgrowing our storage capabilities at the maintenance shop.  Over the years we've added different operations and processes on the course.  This requires a need for more storage of equipment and materials.  Keeping our machines and tools dry and out of the weather is our goal. To remedy this we'll be building our own 100'x40' pole barn which will give us room to grow without taking up too much space in the maintenance area.  It will be big enough to double as a handtool and irrigation parts storage area.  Framing will start as weather allows. We hope to have the siding and roof on by Mid march.

Tools and Irrigation -- aka "The Butler Cabin"

Clearing and grading

 

 Ready to start 

Upgrades
I'll be doing another entry when we take delivery, but for now, it's enough to say that Tuscarora Golf Club will be finely outfitted, from an equipment standpoint, for the best care of their fairways, tees, greens, and surrounds. We were in a perfect position with the age and condition of our mower fleet to benefit from an across the board replacement of cutting and traction units.  When weighing our options, we saw a greater benefit to the golfer and golf course by choosing replacement rather than trying to patch together equipment that was increasingly costing us time and money.    
Here's a couple teaser videos of some things you'll be seeing this summer.
Jacobsen GP400 - Ventrac - Truckster XD

Summer Recap

We had some nice curve balls thrown our way this year.  If you're close to the grounds department you'll know our crew foreman fell seriously ill during men's MG. He made a full recovery, but blog updates, as you can imagine, took a deserved backseat after that. 
I'm going to try to catch all the main events of the season broken down by month. Thanks for bearing with me.

June
In a word: Washout.  With 11 inches of rain, June broke records for Central New York and made for a dismal, soggy month.  The only upside was the course didn't see a lot of play so divots and ballmarks were less than if we'd been full to the gills with tee times.

Flooded again #6

We had some excitement down at the shop when the skid loader lost power to its hydraulics and sat on the maintenance road for a week.  When parts arrived, we made a plywood sled under the loader and with enough horsepower, were able to drag it close to the shop for the repairs to be made.

Physics for the win

Major surgery

In spite of the rain, the pavement job around the first tee and entry and exit roads went off without a hitch. It was a badly needed improvement to the clubhouse area.  As the dust continues to settle up there, and season winds down, we'll revisit the area between the cart staging area and the 9th green to plan for some visual and strategic flair.  So far, the ideas range from a gigantic flower bed to a mounded area with a few trees. More to come!

Waiting for asphalt

Much improved

 July
The first half of July was wet like the month of June except there was one difference - heat.  Unfortunately the few areas on the course that had no relief from standing water ended up essentially being par-boiled.  The turf literally suffocates from sitting in warm water on a daily basis when rainfall is too high and drainage can't move water off fast enough.

Water damage

The second half of the month was super.  Men's 3-day MG saw great weather, save for one evening, and perfect course conditions. The NYSGA held their Women's Amateur championship here and it was well attended. Course was fantastic and nice to see it hold up to skilled outside players.

#17 Picture perfect

August
With the rain tap turned off and heat in full swing, it was time to get down to some serious golf rounds.  The course saw a record amount of play in August between outings and internal special events. With that comes excitement and new experiences, like driving carts, and filling divots!

Unbelievably no one was injured

FYI - Over-filled divots are worse than not filling at all
as it dulls the blades of the fairway mowers.

Age considers; youth ventures

Hydraulic leak

#3 black tee starting to show potential and spawn more ideas

Water damage in 10 fairway grown back (dark green bits) after overseeding

September
The heat and dryness continue. The operating system upgrade of the irrigation system last spring couldn't have come at a better time.  It allows water to be applied more accurately which makes the system more efficient and less costly to run.

 

 Labor Day weekend has come and gone and the college and high school help have retreated back to their respective schools. The grounds staff, and pro shop staff are back to skeleton crews which require longer hours and a different way of looking at things.

It's been another busy, and great season. To quote Bill Moore's comment from this picture posted to facebook: "This place gets it"  Sums it up well.

 

#17

Fall and beyond

Pond algae

Pew

For new members, the reason the pond suffers in the summer with algal bloom is due to several causes

1) Phosphate/nitrate loading resulting in eutrophication. Inflow of manure runoff from the fields upstream during any rain.
2) Shallow bottom of silty organic muck/decomposing manure that heats up in the summer sun.
3) Low oxygen and water circulation through the water column.

The pond likely started out as a farm marsh/pond over 100 years ago before the course was built. At some point, someone decided to dig it deeper and create a water hazard and it's remained relatively unchanged to this day. Unfortunately, they stopped digging when they hit bedrock which, in some places, is only 3 feet deep.  

Tuscarora Proto Pond

Building a functioning pond at a golf course today would require specific parameters.  There are depth minimums, water inflow and outflow rates to be maintained, and a way to control the depth of the pond without adversely affecting surrounding drain pipes that empty into it.

We're giving barley straw another try in the pond to control algae. Decomposing barley straw is thought to give off a substance that inhibits algae.  We'll assess the results this fall and try again next spring.  The idea is to supress the algae before it can get a start each season.  If the Barley straw isn't the answer, the next strategy will be introducing triploid grass carp that eat all aquatic plants including algae.  We hope the type of algae we have is to their liking.

Barley straw caged up and ready to deploy

We'll exhaust all of the least expensive options available to improve the pond before we move on to invest in a permanent solution (which exists).  That will require completely removing the silty manure bottom with a special vacuum dredge as well as adding an additional hi-volume industrial subsurface water mixer/aerator (the same grade used in sewage treatment). This will remove the organic material (and resulting decomposition and nutrient loading that feeds algae) at the same time as making the pond deeper and less prone to algae outbreaks.  Once the pond is cleaned out, biological digestants and grass carp will be added to keep algae and organic buildups in check. 


Into Fall
As fall approaches, the talk of course projects ramps up. The Greens Committee has come up with a list of potential projects and has set a priority for them. There's never-ending potential for improvement of the course as well as work to do down at the shop.  More to come in a future post when projects are under way.
 

Happiest when she's helping

Let it Roll

Six Weeks In

Looking at the calender I see that tomorrow, May 18th, marks only our 6th week out on the course.  This was a later than usual start by two weeks. 

Drainage near 10 green  - April 6th, 2015

 On April 6th we were able to drive on the course for the first time with equipment.  In spite of that, a considerable amount of work has been completed.  It's a relatively short amount of time to take the course from dormancy, to in-shape and playable.  There's a small amount of work to button up but the bulk of construction and course improvements are complete.  It's time to shift gears into our course maintenance mode when we home in on greens conditioning, edging, weed control, and trimming for the remainder of the summer.   The spring grounds crew at Tuscarora is not a large one in number, but they make up for it in experience and efficiency.  I'm proud of my crew for their hard work and dedication to the tasks at hand. 


Change in Plans
Our normal spring aerifying that we accomplish in April was postponed due to the late thaw and subsequent time crunch.  Aerifying with small tines will happen in the normal June time slot.  Expect the holes to be filled with sand and closed up within a few days.  We did aerify 10 green two weeks ago to help the new sod knit together and to better survive the summer months to come.  New sod at greens and tee height tends to struggle under mowing pressure.  Aerifying gives it that little extra room to place roots and hang on.

Weeds, Bugs, and Pesticides
Spring time on golf courses means the use of herbicides and insecticides.  We do the vast majority of our spraying in the early mornings before play and post signs on the first and 10th tees when an application has been made.  This is state law and is also to give people the choice to be on the course that day or not.  Treatments are time sensitive in that they need to be done in favorable weather conditions and done as far away from people as reasonable.  As we are closely monitored by the state of New York, unlike a homeowner, we can't risk making applications unless conditions are perfect and risk to people is low.  This could mean you'll look at a dandelion for a few more days than you'd like, but we're sure you'd rather us be safe and make good decisions than try to spray when conditions are risky.  As always, your patience is appreciated as we try to bring you the best conditions in a responsible way. 

 New Tees
The new tees on 3 and 16 continue to come along nicely.  We have current tee space enough at both sites, and the support of the board, to open these tees when they're mature and can handle the foot traffic. The feeling of the board is to get these tees as healthy and as ready as possible and avoid opening them prematurely.  When asked, I relate their opening to the construction of a new course.  If a new course in Syracuse was seeded in the spring of this year, they probably wouldn't open until fall.   In our situation, it'll be more like a couple of months as I can push such a small area with fertilizer, rollers, and aerifiers.  Expect 3 tee to be in full play in mid-June. Since16 tee was started later I expect it to be playable closer to mens MG week. 

Bluebirds
Andrew Hickey is a member who is also a bird enthusiast and last winter he approached me about a project he wanted to take on.  Andrew was aware that we have a small Bluebird population at Tuscarora that hangs out between 16 green and the woods on 5/6.  Encouraging them to return every year is a good thing as they are ravenous insect eaters.  Here's some information Andrew put together explaining his project.  Thanks, Andrew!

As you may have noticed, pairs of bluebird nest boxes have been added to Tuscarora on holes #3, #4, #7, and #14. There are two main reasons (besides their beautiful craftsmanship, of course) why you will often see bluebird houses on golf courses.

Bluebirds and tree swallows (pictured) nest in natural cavities in trees. Golf courses provide terrific habitat for these species since there is an abundance of insects and open spaces. Many trees on golf courses that would have these cavities are usually removed, often because they are either dying or diseased, so these boxes help provide an attractive alternative.

Bluebird houses have also helped the species rebound after it was severely decimated by the introduction of non-native species, specifically house sparrows and starlings. These European immigrants are voracious competitors for food and nesting space, often killing bluebirds while fighting over nesting sites. Luckily we don't have too many house sparrows and the holes in the nest boxes are just large enough for bluebirds, but too small for starlings.

It is my hope that members of Tuscarora will enjoy observing these birds while they court, build their nests, and raise their young.  I will be going around and monitoring the boxes once a week to maintain and record any nesting activities for The Cornell Lab or Ornithology's NestWatch (http://nestwatch.org). If anyone is interested in learning more, including children, I would be happy to take you along to learn more about the process and peer inside the boxes.

Zoom in -- each box has a bird perched on it already.

     

On the Horizon
Over the next month here's what you'll be seeing relating to grounds work:

• Tees aerified and overseeded, especially ones that took winter damage 
• Greens aerified after Memorial Day
• Fairway divot filling crew
• More irrigation work on older pipe sections
• Flower bed addition and improvement
• New plantings to replace winter damaged ones around clubhouse
• Pavement work around the club and 1st tee

Spring, Sprang, Sprung

Sprung

This picture was taken 2 weeks ago.  April 6th was the first day we could get a cart on the course and move around.  My hat is off to our grounds crew for a quick clean up and some long days working around rains and inclement weather.

Course Conditions

From a grass growing perspective, we had a perfect winter with a deep freeze that came and never went away. There was never a chance for winter injury like we saw in 2014.  The difference between the two years, simply, was staying frozen in 2015 and repeated freeze/thaws in 2014.  Whenever we thaw out in mid winter, to the extent we did in 2014, the risk on poa annua greens (our grass type) skyrockets.  It's a dice roll when those conditions persist.
Other than some snow mold disease we see on some of the tees, the course came through the winter looking healthy.  
Worms/castings will soon be an issue in fairways and will be managed when they appear to be causing quality issues.  Over the next 2 weeks crabgrass control is being applied from tee through green. We'll do our best to avoid play, but we'd appreciate, and recommend, steering wide of the tractor spreader if you find yourself in the same area.

Projects

Tees and trees were/are the big work projects this winter and spring.  3 tee has been finished and 16 is ready but for a final coat of topsoil and seeding. Tree work was done mostly over winter and early this spring.  
Trees removed were either in poor health or creating thin turf and a poor growing environment for adjacent tees and greens.  
The mess down around the creek on 10 and 11 started with dredging the creek over winter.  Cleaning up such a wet area is slow work.  We made some progress on it over the weekend and added a new catch basin and another drainage ditch (and did the same on the 11 tee side). The drier it gets, the sooner we can get in there and finish what we began.  
The large pile of logs between 6 and 7 are being stored there until we have the time to dispose of them.  This will likely be when the college kids arrive and we have more hands on deck. 
Any trees we removed had the stumps pulled out as well.  These holes will be filled as weather and dry topsoil allows.  

We'll see you out there.

Winter Update

Happy New Year from the Grounds Department! We're well into the freeze here which means the grinders are sparking away down at the shop and every machine that's let out on the course is being serviced and outfitted for the upcoming golfing season.  We'll be busy right up to the snow melt with rebuilding and servicing the mower fleet.  

The daily grind - 30 to go

 Irrigation upgrade
We will be updating our computerized irrigation system this winter with a new operating system and new software and hardware from Rainbird.  Our old system was 16 years old and support for both the OS and irrigation software had been discontinued.  We'll be using Atlantic Irrigation, our new Rainbird distributor.  In preparation, we're making a "clean room" to house the electronics to mitigate the dust and dirt that is inherent with the grounds building.  

Pete Jacobs putting on the finishing touch

Fall/Winter Projects
Since the last blog update we've been busy on the golf course.  The Greens Committee and BOD met in the fall and decided new tees on 3 and 16 would be added. Tree removal was also on the project list with take-downs focusing on diseased Ash trees, storm damaged trees or dangerous/rotting trees, dying Austrian Pines, and trees that were either casting shade onto tees and greens or causing growth problems due to root encroachment.  
In total, we've removed over 50 trees this winter. 

3 tee before reconstruction

 

half way there

final grade

16 tee looking to 10 green

16 final grade

 Memorial Trees
6 trees went in this fall around the course.  We hope this trend continues as it's a great way to repopulate the course with species that thrive in our soils.  It's a positive and timeless way to add beauty to the property.  If you're interested in purchasing a memorial tree, contact the Superintendent, Steve Kurta, at the shop or by email through this blog.

American Beech on #10

 Ski tracks
We've groomed the ski track just once this winter with our new snowmobile that Scott Lewis generously supplied.  All we need is more snow!  Thanks, Scott.  It runs like a beast!

Running a track down 1 fairway

 

440 Panther - groomer duty

Course conditions
After last winter, all Superintendents are a little jumpy when it comes to watching their grass go under snow cover.  Happily, we're having an uneventful winter.  We haven't had any major melting events, no rain or subzero temps for longer than a few days.  Temperatures have been stable and we've avoided the freeze/thaw cycles that played havoc with the greens last year.  Fingers are crossed for the rest of the season.