Following are some photos to show how far we have come to recover from winter damage. This was not easy to deal with but we did and are doing the best we can to get back.
Number 16
Number 5
Number 17
Number 1
Following are some photos to show how far we have come to recover from winter damage. This was not easy to deal with but we did and are doing the best we can to get back. Number 16 Number 5 Number 17 Number 1
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Recently the board had asked if Dr. John Kaminiski could come in to look at the damage to greens and to give us an independent opinion. Dr. Kaminski is the head of the 2 year Turfgass management program at Penn State. On Monday June 6th we viewed a few greens. Number 17 is where we spent most of our time. We spoke about my winter practices including fertility, growth regulators, late aerification, snow cover, snow removal, ice, ice removal. Dr. Kaminiski agreed that all of my winter prep practices were sound and correct and there is only one factor that caused this, mother nature. Dr. Kaminski told us that there is no silver bullet with winter kill on Poa. Poa is a weed that has taken over our greens in the past 50 years.
After speaking with Dr. Kaminski we will be tweaking our practices so that we will be able to allow the turf to go into winter with the best chance of survival. This means aerification, augering holes in greens, stripping turf off of greens to create channels for water to drain off and reduced mowing to allow the plant to build up its natural defenses. Some of this is extreme but if that is what it takes that is what we will do. Another topic we spoke about is bentgrass vs poa, always a hot topic with members. The question was asked that if we had bentgrass would we have had the damage and Dr. Kaminski’s answer is no. Bentgrass is much hardier plant than Poa and can withstand the temperature shifts in our area. If you had any question about that just look at the collars that we installed last year. The sustained no damage what so ever and they are Penn Trio, a cultivar of bentgrass. For that reason, I am working on a conversion plan for the future of Glen Oak. Nothing has been decided yet but I'm sure a decision will be forthcoming. I think the visit was a great help in reaffirming that the USGA, Dr. Kaminski, all other local superintendents and myself all agree that winter was the cause of all of the issues we had. We all also agree that the only 100% way to make sure that it would never happen again is to convert to bentgrass greens. http://www.turfnet.com/page/news.html/_/effects-of-winter-still-lingering-r506?fb_action_ids=10205087413083096&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%5B821448947966256%5D&action_type_map=%5B%22og.likes%22%5D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D
Here is a great article about winter kill of 2015. Glen Oak and many courses in the area are doing everything they can to get turf back on damaged areas. Sadly, by the time the greens are perfect we will be getting into the winter months and this could happen all over again. So what are we doing to protect your asset? The first thing we are doing is making a huge nursery where the old one was. This will be 3 to 4 times the size of our old one. I want to have enough sod to replace 3 to 4 entire greens if I had too. This will be our insurance policy. When I first got to Glen Oak, Mack Saunders said we need to build up our nursery. At that time we may of had 1000 sq/ft. That grew to 7000 sq/ft which is what we used this year. Next year I hope to have 20000 sq/ft. This will ensure that we will be prepared for a winter like the one we just had. This sod will be predominately bentgrass. This will ensure that damaged areas will be protected from future winters. I would like to thank the entire membership for their support this year. My crew appreciates the thanks they are receive for their hard work while on the course. They put a lot of time and effort in and I could not have gotten through this without them. 17 when covers were pulled 17 today 16 when covers were pulled 16 today 1 when covers were pulled 1 today All 18 greens are open. They still need some minor work with seeding, plugging and inside out cup cutting. I attribute the fast turn around to being able to install sod from our nursery, which was completely depleted. We will be making the nursery bigger and reseeding within a few weeks. I hope to have lots of sod ready for 2016 because 8000 sq/ft wasn't enough. I hope to triple that number for years to come. Some pictures of number 3 green. The turf care team did a great job getting greens playable again. We still have more work to do to get them to 100%. Our main pump to fill the irrigation pond needed to be replaced after 17 years of service. Anyone that has been playing golf the past few days may have seen us watering with pull behind tanks. They are rental hydro seeders which with only water in them are great for watering greens and sod. This is the only way we could have kept the greens alive through this set back. Today the new pump was installed and we are currently filling the irrigation pond. Hopefully we can use the system by the end of the day. New pump being bolted in. Pipe being installed. Irrigation pond pretty much empty. Hyde seeder used to water. We have waited as long as we can for grass to come back. It's time for us to make a change. These areas will be resoded by the end of the day. I have been receiving questions about late season Aerification that we do at Glen oak. This is not a new practice. In fact, this was done at the end of the year since I have been at Glen Oak. The reason that we have done this practice since 2005 was to leave areas for water to channel off the surface of the green. This is a practice that was suggested by the USGA and has work well. This was not the reason why we had winter kill. If that was the case we would have had damage on 4, 11, 12 and 14. Those are all flat greens that the water sat on all winter. The reason we had winter kill is because we have Poa greens that do not like extremely cold temperatures. The past two years have been abnormal compared to the previous 8 that I have witnessed. 2013 and 2014 have recorded average temperatures 10 degrees colder than 2011 and 2012. Poa is a winter annual weed. This is the reason you cannot find Poa seed anywhere. This is the reason you never see a new course with Poa greens, it is not a strong varitey of turf. I hope this helps explain this issue. Poa can last 40 days under ice compared to bentgras which can survive at least 120 under ice. Bentgras is a much stronger variety of Turfgrass and the proof is on the greens this year. Within the dead areas are patches of bentgras that have no damage what so ever. We have gone through a very good warm spell but now we will be back into cooler temperatures. I feel that we can not wait anymore on re growth. All of the spots would heal them selves but it will take too long for that too happen. So we will start plugging and sodding all areas on greens. We will start in the centers of all greens and work our way out. Areas on the outside of the greens will be seeded to use all sod on the centers of greens. We hope to have all of this work completed by the end of the week to give it time to knit in to the existing soil. I will post pictures as the process is completed. Thank you again for your patience. Key Facts about golf to share as part of Earth Day (April 22)
Lawrence, Kan. (April 17, 2015) - When American writer Mark Twain pronounced that a round of golf was “a good walk spoiled,” he clearly didn’t have all the facts. Today, we know that walking a round of golf can burn more than 2,000 calories. Here are 5 facts about golf that promote the sport and the environment as part of Earth Day April 22. Earth Week is April 20-24. 1. Golf courses are professionally managed landscapes where environmental stewardship is important – from using water and nutrients efficiently to implementing better methods of erosion control. 2. In general, the golf industry is striving to deliver firm and fast playing surfaces that are better for everyone and improve the bottom line. More than two-thirds of golf courses report that they are keeping turfgrass drier than in the past. 3. The golf industry is continually investing in research to identify drought-tolerant grasses, promote water conservation and improve best management practices. 4. Golf courses provide habitats for wildlife, including protected species. 5. Many golf courses have recycling programs to reduce and reuse. |
Superintendent
Gino Marchetti Assistant Superintendent
Les Lear Assistant Superintendent
Brandon Wisnosky Assistant-in-Training
Melinda Wesley Foreman
Bill Noll Mechanic Jim Saslo Past Employees
Drew White - Superintendent of south course at Westchester Country Club Patrick Moran - Superintendent Berwick Country Club Josh Dixon - LA Country Club Related Links
GCSAA Pocono Turfgrass Association USGA Glen Oak Country Club Penn State Turfgrass Science Penn State Turf Management Mark Mungeam - GOCC Archeitect Total Turf - 10 &18 Tee Project 2013 White Construction - Bunker Project 2013 Maintenance Calender
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