Rain Day Work

When we have the opportunity, we pressure wash all the equipment. If the weather is favorable we have most of the equipment on the course, but on rain days we go through the equipment thoroughly. We try to maintain and protect your investment.

Nursery Reseed

We ordered 80 tons of 90/10 sand and peat moss mix to refill the surface of the nursery. When we resurfaced #5 green we removed two inch sod from the surface. A lot of time is spent grading the area and constantly watering the surface to help settle the loose sand.
















This is a picture of A-4 bent grass seed. We apply three pounds of bent grass seed per one thousand square feet. The nursery square footage is approximately 7,100 square feet.















The bent grass seed is so fine that we have to mix the seed with a carrier fertilizer so the seed doesn't get completely blown away and we get a consistent application. We apply the mix at a very low rate and spread the seed in multiple directions to insure that every inch of the nursery is covered.















After the surface has been graded and the mix has been applied we track or "dimple" the seed in with the bunker rakes tires to further prepare the seed bed. This practice improves sand to seed contact and increases the percent of germinated seed. The dimples and constant irrigation keeps the seed from blowing away and drying out. If an area or streak does not get dimpled, the bent will not germinate.















This is the finished nursery. We raise the fence around the new green to keep animals like the resident deer from walking over the surface. The green will take a few weeks to germinate. If everything goes well we will be resurfacing another green by next spring.

Overseed Program

We are scalping the borders of the tees to keep the edges where they should be for the fall overseed. The areas will grow in with a little time and this fall we will seed the perimeters with turf type tall fescue.
















This is a picture of #16 tee after three years of overseeded fescue.
















This is a picture of #7 tee. The perimeter of this tee has been overseeded for two seasons.

#5 tee has been overseeded for the first time last fall. Over the next few seasons the overseeding program will help bring detail around the tees and green surrounds. Also, we will be able to spray the fescue overseed areas with growth regulator to control poa annua from spreading to undesired areas.

Moss Removal from Greens

Moss has taken hold on a few areas of the greens. On the back left of #7 green, moss is thriving with the aid of the wet weather. We are painting the moss in the mornings so we don't loose track of it and plug the areas in the afternoon. There are chemical controls for the moss, but the chemicals slow the growth of the greens and most of the time the controls don't prevent the moss from spreading. We will stay on top of the moss and eventually we will not have any moss issues.

Recycling Program

We have started a recycling program at the maintenance facility. We fill the truck up about once a month, which we take to the recycling center on rain days. We accumulate a lot of boxes from equipment parts and course supply. The trash cans are filled with glass bottles, paper and plastic that we collect from the trash cans around the golf course. The recyclable load in the truck isn't even a big collection compared to what we have in the summer time when more rounds go through the course. At the maintenance facility, we are trying to do our part in lowering the golf course's carbon footprint and because of the program we are removing twelve truck loads of recyclables out of the landfill.

Course Update

Poa has started to seed out on the greens. Trimmit is a very aggressive growth regulator that we apply to the greens keeping the poa in check. When the warmer weather is in the forecast we switch to Primo, another regulator. The regulators tend to yellow the poa a little, but the regulators keep the poa from spreading throughout the green.















The bermuda is still taking its time coming out of dormancy. The areas will begin growing once we hit warmer weather and get an organic fertilizer application down.















#5 green is very healthy and we will open the green sometime in May. We still need some time to get the green smooth enough for play. I am very excited about how this green turned out. This was a great project and we are still continuing to make forward momentum on the golf course.

We are topdressing the green as much as the turf can tolerate. We have topdressed the green three times with 4-5 tons of sand every application. It takes a lot of work to get the green smooth and to get the turf acclimated to all the extra maintenance.

Green Root Comparison

The seasonal health of the greens depends on the depth and overall health of the roots. The plug on the right of the picture is a plug taken from our USGA spec nursery seeded with A-4 bent grass. The plug on the left is a plug from #4 green. The greens have the same fertility and fungicide program and the greens all receive the same amount of irrigation. St. Clair is a very difficult course to maintain due to the inconsistent subsurface composition, different turf varieties and the unreliable drainage and irrigation system.

















From left to right, #4 green, #8 green and the nursery, these plugs represent the different generations of the newer greens. It is popular in the golf industry, to reconstruct subsurfaces and establish an A-4 bent grass surface due to the nature of the turf. We have made a little headway on renovating a greens surface to A-4. #5 was the first green we have resurfaced with A-4 and it should be a more playable and manageable green.

Golf Course Update

The course is really coming along. We have had great weather for growing turf. The green resurface on #5 went very well and we will have the green playable shortly. After all the heavy equipment on the greens from the verti-drain, I believe the greens have finally smoothed up. For the most part, the fairways have come out of dormancy. The few off color areas you see in the fairways is the bermuda that will take a few more weeks to wake up. The Ladies Opener is in the morning and the Mens Opener is on Saturday. I am confident that we will have a good showing for the two events.

#5 Green Resurface

We stripped the old surface off of #5 green and removed the poa annua infested sod.
















We keep the sod cutter level the same to insure that we are installing the same depth as the original green. We also use a 2 x 4 screwed to a broom handle to keep the sod seams as tight as possible.

The A-4 bent grass nursery takes a year to grow in and we will be able to continue resurfacing a different green every year.
















The A-4 bent grass nursery is stripped and installed at #5 green.
















This is what #5 green looks like after the resurface. We will sand all of the seams as much as possible to get the green playable. As soon as the sod cutters are cutting warm season turf, we will install two strips of zoysia around the green to create a buffer to catch any loose poa seeds. Once we start mowing #5 green, we will have a dedicated mower to again help keep poa from spreading to this green.

Vert-drain Stats

Greens square footage, 3.2 acres or 139,392 square feet.

Six staff members shoveling 80 tons of sand.
27,000 pounds of sand per staff member.

7.75 hours to complete aerification and sand application.

Eight staff members brooming sand into holes.
Eight staff members broomed an average 17,424 square feet.
280 man hours to complete.

We roll the greens three times to level out depressions from tractor tires and the suction of the verti-drain tines.

We are mowing with the triplex right now to remove any excess sand that may still be present and we will be walk mowing the greens next week.

Verti-drain Process

The verti-drain process is very labor intensive and requires a lot of time. We start by having five members of the staff hand loading sand into a hopper that spreads a thin layer of sand over the greens surface. Then, a another tractor comes behind the sand spreading tractor to put 8-10 inch holes into the greens surface.















This is what the greens look like the next morning with deep holes and wet sand from the morning dew.















We use the buffalo turbine blower to dry the sand so we can broom it into the holes. We did everything possible to get the sand dry to get the job done as soon as we could.















Every person on the staff worked very hard to get the verti-drain finished. If we left the sand sitting on the surface any longer we could have had a lot of problems.















This is the end result of the verti-drain. This process has never been completed so quickly or been this detailed.

Herbicide Results

Spraying herbicide in the fairways removes unwanted cool season turf such as poa annua and the pre-emergent controls new stands from establishing.















The herbicide is sprayed on all warm season turf to create clean borders around the green and green surrounds.















This is the result around #15 green when using the board to control where the chemical is being applied.

Herbicide Detail Around Greens

When we spray the herbicide and pre-emergent, we use a board to make a more precise border around the greens. This application keeps the loose bentgrass and poa in check.

Verti-Drain

2010 Verti-Drain

St. Clair Membership,

The staff and I will be starting the verti-drain process on Monday, March 8th. Depending on the weather, the process could be moved to the following Monday. Deep tine aerification is very essential for the seasonal health of the greens. We will add 80 tons of sand to the subsurface of the greens. The sand is drug and swept into ¾ inch holes that range from 8-10 inches deep which helps with air transfer, drainage and it keeps the greens from creating a thatch layer below the surface. Again, this procedure is vital to the green’s yearly health and the holes will heal with a little time. Please check the St. Clair blog later for further details and course conditions.

Thank you for your continued support.

Jeremy Klotz
Superintendent

Calibrating Product for Season and Herbicide Spray

Herbicide and pre-emergent are being sprayed on the warm season turf through the course. The herbicide kills the existing poa in the fairways and the pre-emergent takes care of any poa or weed seeds that try to germinate after the herbicide spray.
















The verti-drain is two weeks away and we are calibrating products that will be spread and incorporated into the greens.

Another Winter Weekend

Most of the course is still covered in snow. It may be a few more days until we are open. We haven't had much thaw because the daytime temps barely get above freezing.

Spray Rig Calibration

Spray Rig Calibration










This is the most important job we do in the winter. Before we spray fertilizers, fungicides and herbicides, we calibrate the rate the rig sprays. We have different rates for the greens, fairways and the spray hawk that sprays the steep banks. The rig will be calibrated three times yearly to insure proper application rates.

Reel Maintenance, Progression

A lot of time is spent tearing down the reel for maintenance.







A reel being ground, completely taken out of the case.






A completed reel with new seals and bearings.

U.S.G.A. Record Article

I found a great article that explains what golf courses around the country have been doing to deal with the erratic weather. If you have the opportunity check out the site, it is very informative. http://www.usga.org/uploadedFiles/USGAHome/course_care/green_section_record/2010/jan_feb/rain_check.pdf?n=7840

Wind Burn #17, Frost Damage #4.

Wind burn on #17 green from winter temperatures and wind.




Turf damage from walking on turf with frost.

#2 Bridge at the End of the Day.

#2 rotten supports.

The supports fell when we were pulling the top beams with a small winch. The rotten supports fell by themselves. The bridge demo was needed due to liability.

#2 Bridge Demo, Day 3.

#2 bridge demo.








Removing the decking and center supports has shown alot of rot on sections of the bridges structure.

#2 Bridge Demo, Day 2.

#2 Bridge Demo











The bridge demo is coming along even though the weather hasn't been favorable. The course is still sporatically covered in snow. Hopefully, we will be able to open soon.

Staff Prepping for the Next Season

Rich grinding reels for next season.

Billy and Sherry cleaning and painting ballwashers.







It takes a lot of time to get the course supply prepped for the coming season. We have a lot of painting, which includes, ball washers, cups, enter and exit stakes, hazard stakes, match sticks, trash cans, etc. In a day we are all spread out finishing different tasks such as, course supply, equipment, scrounging for hickory to make new tee blocks and trying to get everything finished by the first tourney. Rich, the mechanic, has done a great job grinding the reels for the coming season. Every winter we grind the reels to keep a more precise edge on the cutting units.