Indian Hills Golf Course Maintenance

New Cart Path Policy

2012-01-24T07:59:00.004-06:00

We have had a ton of rain lately. I'm hoping that we will be able to get the carts off the path in about a week or so. There are a few more chances for rain this week and we are already soaked.

We will be changing our cart path policy soon. We will be deviating from the standard 90 degree rule. We are switching to a new policy that will help us protect our roughs. Instead of being 90 degree, we will have a fairways only rule. There will be a green banded post at the start of the fairway, which will be the entrance point to the fairway. There will be a set of red banded stakes at the end of the fairway, which will be the exit point of the fairway. If you hit your ball close to the boundaries than you still have the option to drive down the cart path, but you may not drive in the roughs.

The reason for the change is milti-fold. Our agronomic practices have changed in the past few years. We have aerified the fairways twice in the last two years, which has created better soil conditions for the turf in the fairways. We have gotten more irrigation heads to work in the fairways in the last two years. I have seen this policy enforced at other courses with good success. The main reason is that roughs are not as recuperative as the fairways. We fertilize our fairways with at least 2 lbs of nitrogen fertilizer per year. Our roughs get 0 lbs of nitrogen fertilizer per year. I try to get 15 minutes of water per irrigation head in the fairways 3 times per week. Our roughs only get 10 minutes of water per irrigation head, when they are present, 2 times per week. So, put simply the roughs are not as healthy as the fairways.

I think that the new policy will benefit the course greatly. It's not that bad to have to walk from the edge of the fairway to the ball within 20 yards. Please check up in the golf shop the new rules will be posted there. The golf shop staff or myself will be happy to answer any questions you may have about the change.

Aububon Projects

2012-01-20T11:23:00.004-06:00

We have been working on some Audubon International related projects here lately. When the weather gets bad, and we have a chance to work inside, we have been making Wood Duck houses. As of today we have 5 of them out on the course. Two of them on #7 pond, two of them on #18 pond and one on #12 pond.

They were built at virtually no cost of materials. We got the plans from an online source. We got the lumber from my family farm, where we cut fallen trees for reuse in our saw mill. We went to a local metal recycling place and found some old 1.5" X 12' fence posts for $1.83 each. The mounting brackets cost $0.50 each at the local box store. I have some installation pictures below.

If you or someone you know would be interested in a project of this nature, please don't hesitate to give me a call. I'll be happy to help.

This is the finished product on #12 pond.

Here we have Neil and Spencer trying not to fall out of the boat while mounting this Wood Duck house.

This is the mounting pole going into the pond on #12. There is A LOT of rock in the bottom of this pond we found out. It took a while to find a place where they could drive the posts into the pond floor.

Tree Removal

2011-12-12T13:42:00.004-06:00

Tree removal can be a touchy subject with some people, and I am gradually becoming one of those people. I used to not have a problem cutting down a tree if it would give me the ability to grow grass better. After a while I started looking into environmental programs. I have since partnered the golf course with the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program (ACSP). We are not a Certified Cooperative Sanctuary yet. Hopefully with some effort we will get there some day. I am getting a little off topic though.

I am making an effort not to fully remove trees unless there is no alternative. The rule for me is if the tree may pose bodily harm or harm to personal property it must be removed. Live trees serve a function as well as dead trees. Dead trees have a function? Yes, they are a food source to insects, and the insects are a food source to birds and bats. Dead trees also serve as shelter to animals and insects such as honey bees. Now I have to really judge the situation before we decide to remove a tree.

Unfortunately, I had to remove a tree on #14 Friday. The tree had been losing many large limbs in high winds. Upon further investigation the tree was about 90% rotten. The tree was to the point where it had to be removed. When we cut the tree down a opossum came running out of it. Unfortunately we removed the opossum's home but we also removed a risk for our patrons and neighbors. Below are some pictures of how far gone the tree was.

If you would like more information about the ACSP please visit www.auduboninternational.org.

Bunker Removal

2011-12-12T13:13:00.002-06:00

We have begun working on bunkers again this winter. A few of the bunkers did not make the cut to be rebuilt. Two of the bunkers that we are removing are #12 fairway bunker and #14 right side fairway bunker. We are removing some others also but these two are different. In the past we have converted bunkers to Fescue grass bunkers and some we have back filled and sodded with Bermuda. With these two we are using a different method.

I decided to create playable space where there used to be a hazard. We took a tractor with a six foot tiller on the back of it and thoroughly tilled up the lower end of the bunker. We could then use the front end loader to fold the lower end into the upper end of the bunker to create a burm. we then came out with a box blade and did some shaping and smoothing before seeding it with Rye for the winter. The Rye is primarily to prevent erosion in the winter months. Next year we will kill out the Rye and sod with Bermuda and keep it mown at primary rough height.

My thinking is that the burm will still stop a ball that may be headed for trouble and create an off balanced lie for the golfer, while maybe being able to expand the fairway in some cases. Below is a picture of #14 shaped and seeded. I hope that some of these areas will help the higher handicapper while still leaving a little challenge for the scratch golfer.

State of the Union Address

2011-09-22T11:59:00.004-05:00

It's been a while since I posted any information on here this year. I apologize for the delay. We have had a really busy year on the golf course, the season is by no means over but it is on the decline. We have had many things going on with the course this season, both good and bad. We also have some changes that are still in progress.

The new bunkers that we built last winter were finally opened this spring. It is so nice to hit out of some actual sand when you get in a bunker. We have had nothing but compliments on them. We are getting ready to start working on some more of the problem bunkers on the course by either removing them or rebuilding them. I hope to redo 3-4 bunkers this winter and remove about 5 more. Hopefully one day we will finally finfsh the bunker project.

Irrigation has been a large headache this season. If you have ever spoken to me concerning our system, I probably said," It's our system and it is what it is". This is not a negative statement, we have a 25+ year old irrigation system, and that's what we have. It is not going to work like a brand new one, but it will get the job done for now. I spent the majority of the first part of the summer chasing heads around the course trying to get them to shut down or come on. I ended up replacing about 22 old sprinkler heads this season with new ones. We still have a few to go (850 heads on the course, replaced about 115 = about 15%).

The ponds on #11 and 12 have been an issue again. The fountains have been turned off. They are too small to operate in water that dirty. I wish they were the answer but they are not. There is a question to ask, why does #12 look so bad and #13 look so good? The answer is pond construction. The ponds are attached and #13 is filled with water from #12. #12 Pond is about 4 feet deep and #13 pond is at least 10 feet deep. In the deeper a pond it is less likely that sunlight will reach the bottom floor of the pond, and create breeding grounds for algae. I do not know if we will be able to fix the problem with #11 and 12 without starting over with new ponds.

We are in the middle of creating new natural areas. We have about 6 acres of new natural areas in the initial growth stage on #'s 8,9,10,11,12,13 and 18. The seedlings are just emerging from the seed, and we are getting ready to fertilize these areas. Most of the areas are irrigated. We are running programs with our irrigation system to make sure that these areas are watered thoroughly and have plenty of moisture for grow in. The bulk of these areas are on #11-13. When these areas have matured this area of the course will not play much differently, but will be more vsually appealing from the tee. Please keep all traffic out of these areas, and play them as ground under repair for the time being untill we establish a hazard ruling on these areas.

We have just finished aerifying the greens for the fall. I am really happy about the sand application that we made. I believe that it was the perfect amount. I played 9 holes the day after we finished, and truthfully thay are not bad to play on. Putts were not jumping around and breaks are minimal. Remember that aerified greens make your short game much better. We are already mowing the greens for the first time since punching them. I think we will get a great heal out of them.

I know this was a lot of information for one post, and there weren't a bunch of happy pictures to look at. I will do my best to get some pictures next time. And I will do my best to get more information back out to you the golfer.

Bunker Renovation

2011-04-13T19:54:00.003-05:00

Well, it's starting to warm up out there. The Bermuda is starting to break dormancy. The practice tee is now open for use. We have one big project that we need to finish before we really get into the heat of the year, finish rebuilding the 4 bunkers on our list. I know it has seemed slow, but there was some visual progress made today. The green side bunker on #10 got drainage, liners and sand installed today.

Getting back to the slow part. The reason it seems like it is very slow is that the drainage and the floor sub grade is the most important part of a bunker. The floor of the bunker dictates the contour of the sand in the bottom of the bunker. If it is pitted we end up with pockets of heavy sand versus areas of thin sand, which will hold moisture differently and in turn play differently. The drainage is the most important part of the bunker. Inadequate drainage is not an option. However, I am trying a new type of drainage system. By new I mean new to me. Typically I would use 4" corrugated pipe covered with 6" of washed aggregate stone. In this run I am going to try using a prefabricated drainage system. The principal is the same it just replaces the aggregate with foam packing peanuts. I am very hopeful that it will work equally compared to the old method. This process takes a while to get right doing it "in house". I do appreciate everyone being patient. We are moving as fast as we can with the project and will finish it soon.

I have added some pictures to better show the subgrade and drainage system.

Why We Apply Roundup

2011-01-31T12:32:00.004-06:00

Every winter we have a period of time where we spray almost the entire course with herbicides. What we are trying to achieve with this practice is the removal of all unwanted grass species, weeds. The definition of a weed is, any grass that is not desired in a certain area. In our case we want 419 Bermudagrass and Meyer Zoysiagrass as our two higher cut grasses. In order to maintain the two main types of desirable grasses we have to apply pre emergent and post emergent herbicides. Typically a stand of turf should have a pre emergent herbicide applied in the Spring and the Fall. Each one of these applications should last about 6 months. They prevent any new seeds from germinating in the soil. Unfortunately we only apply one pre emerge application per year. We couple this with a "Round Up" application in the dead of winter when the Bermuda and Zoysia are completely dormant. This way we can kill any weeds in the Bermuda and Zoysia without harming the desired turf. This year we are focusing on removing any of the existing over seeding from last year that may still be hanging around. I have a few pictures below to illustrate the timeline of damage.

This is the Chipping Area. It has not been sprayed with "Round Up" at this time. You can see the Ryegrass is nice and green.

This is the right edge of the Putting Green Collar. If you look carefully you can see the defined line in the middle of the picture where the "Round Up" has been sprayed 27 days ago. The right side of the line is Bentgrass in the collar that is starting to yellow out.

This is the front left corner of the Driving Range Tee. We sprayed the Range Tee with "Round Up" 33 days ago. You can see the Ryegrass that has yellowed and is very close to death.

It's Winter

2011-01-18T07:40:00.008-06:00

Well it appears that the almanac was wrong. All I heard this fall was how the winter was supposed to be mild this year. That appears to be a load of hogwash. Between some of the bitter cold temperatures we have had and the last snow fall that lasted for 8 days we really haven't been able to accomplish much outside. We are supposed to be spraying roundup and a pre emergent herbicide on the course right now. Usually I start this practice on Jan. 1st, but, thankfully, I had our Chemical Technician start spraying Tees and Fairways back in December. since January we have only had 2 days that we have really been able to spray. For those two days we spent our time cutting in the greens edges, slopes and other tight areas on the course with roundup. Below is a picture of us cutting in #1 Green.

We have also had the chance back in December to start working on the Bunker Elimination Project. We have back filled the following bunkers; #2 green side, All of #3 fairway bunkers, the front right and back green side bunkers on #10. We have also started to define the bunkers that we are going to rebuild;#7 #10 front left green side, #12 green side, #13 green side.

Jim Mcelyea and I have created a kind of "Storyboard" that shows the projects and improvements that we would like to make to the course over the next few years. Hopefully this is a helpful communication tool for us both. It is located in the Golf Shop by the counter for anyone who would like to view it.

I have a few pictures posted below of the work we have been doing lately.

The future shape of # 7 Bunker.

The future shape of # 10 front left Bunker.

The future shape of # 12 green side Bunker.

The future shape of # 13 Bunker.

This is the result of our fescue natural areas that we planted back in September on # 3 and #4.

Bunker Renovation

2010-11-29T09:55:00.001-06:00

I want to address one of the biggest complaints that I receive about the golf course. “When are you going to do something about those bunkers?” Well the time has come. I have proposed a “master plan” to rebuild and remove bunkers on the course. Some of the bunkers on the course are no longer a real hazard. Many fairway bunkers are too short off of the tee. If they drained well and didn’t have rocks in them it would be a moot point, but they are in poor shape and either need to be fixed or removed. Removed is the more practical option for this situation. For those bunkers that are still integral to the design of the golf course, the “master plan” calls for a phase rebuild project. What this means is that over a period of 4-5 years we hope to renovate all of our bunkers, that will remain, that are not in good shape. The order to this work will be the worst bunkers get fixed first and the most playable will be fixed last. I have; #10 front left green side, #12 green side, #13 green side, #7 green side on the list for renovation in February of 2011. These bunkers are scheduled for elimination in December of 2010; #2, all of #3 fairway bunkers, #10 front right and back green side bunkers, #11 right fairway bunker, #17 back green side bunker.

The process of fixing a bunker is not as easy as most people think. I often get the question, “Can’t you just put some sand in the bunkers?” Simple answer, No. Full answer, we can’t do that because the pretty, expensive, playable sand that we put in the bunker will integrate with the soil like sand that we have in our bunkers now and be ruined in the first heavy rainfall we get. There are steps to properly rebuilding a bunker. The first step I take is finding the drainage out fall area. Without proper drainage bunkers become ponds quickly. After the outfall area is found we will redefine the edges of the bunker. We will have no more steep sloped faces on our bunkers. The steep faces are too labor intensive. The next step is creating the drain system; there are many different methods to drainage. I am going to go with the tried and true method of herring bone drainage. It is the same style that we used on # 11 fairway bunker and it has preformed beautifully. After the drainage is cut and cleaned the liners can be installed. Liners are a method of diverting water without diverting sand with it, and they are a barrier between sand and soil to prevent contamination of the sand.

The elimination process will consist of filling the existing bunker with topsoil to conform to the existing topography. Then in the spring we will come back with bermudagrass sod and cover the topsoil areas.

This project will be a major improvement to the golf course and will also greatly enhance play.

I can't wait to get started on it!

Frost Delays

2010-10-28T13:59:00.003-05:00

Unfortunatly, the cold weather is uppon us, and the number of days with good weather for golfing are diminishing rappidly. We have had great weather to this point though. we have had an unseasonably warm October so far. We are expecting a hard frost this weekend. I wanted to get some information out to our golfers to let you know that I don't allow you to play golf in the frost for good reasons. I thought I'd let an outside source do the talking this time. So here's an article from the GCSAA (Golf Course Superintendents Association of America) about Frost Delays.

How can a footprint be a killer?

When it's a footprint made on a putting surface that's covered with frost. It's hard to believe that simply walking across a golf green covered with frost can cause so much damage, but the proof will be there in a few days as the turfgrass dies and leaves a trail of brown footprints. That's why most courses will delay starting times until the frost has melted. And it's also why golfers who appreciate a quality putting surface will be patient during frost delays.

Why does frost cause problems?

Greens are fragile. The putting surface, or green, is an extremely fragile environment that must be managed carefully and professionally. Remember that every green is a collection of millions of individual grass plants, each of which is a delicate living thing. Obviously, Mother Nature never meant for these plants to be maintained at 3/16 or even 1/8 of an inch for prolonged periods. This stress makes greens constantly vulnerable to attacks from insects, disease, heat, drought, cold -- and frost.

Frost is essentially frozen dew. It can form when the temperature (or wind chill) is near or below the freezing point. The ice crystals that form on the outside of the plant can also harden or even freeze the cell structure of the plant. When frosted, the normally resilient plant cells become brittle and are easily crushed. When the cell membranes are damaged, the plant loses its ability to function normally. It's not much different than cracking an egg. Once the shell is broken, you can't put it back together.

The proof is in the prints

Although you won't see any immediate damage if you walk on frosted turf, the proof will emerge within 48 to 72 hours as the leaves die and turn brown. And, since just one foursome can leave several hundred footprints on each green, the damage can be very extensive.

Thanks for understanding

The damage isn't just unsightly -- putting quality will also be reduced until repairs are made. Those repairs are expensive and, in some cases, the green may have to be kept out of play for days or weeks until the new turfgrass is established. A short delay while the frost melts can preserve the quality of the greens, prevent needless repairs and may even save you a few strokes the next time you play.

Aerification

2010-09-30T06:35:00.000-05:00

Anyone who has played at the course in the last week knows that we have aerified the greens last Monday. They have been healing in great. Unfortunately on the day that we had planned to start the temperatures reached a scorching 96 degrees and caused a slight degree of damage to 4 greens. It is not severe damage, as I look through the damaged canopy area I could see green leaves trying to emerge within 3 days of aerifying.
I am trying some different methods this time, and so far I have been pleased with the results. I have increased the fertilizer levels by 25%. I have changed the type of initial fertilizer that I use also; the jury is still out on that one. I have also decided not to increase the height of cut drastically this year during the grow-in process. I am hoping that a tighter mowing practice through this time will encourage more lateral movement by the plant. I am happy with this process so far.
I know that nobody likes playing on greens that have holes and sand all over them. Keep this in mind, Tom Watson shot his personal best record low round on aerified greens. So, remember to hit it firm and at the back of the cup. We should be healed within the next 2 weeks.
Thanks for bearing with us.

Native Areas

2010-09-30T06:32:00.001-05:00

It is finally Fall! Temperatures are falling, as the leaves start to also. This has been the hottest summer season that I can remember going through in the last ten years of working on golf courses in the middle Tennessee area. Thankfully, that is all over for now. Now is also the time to plant any cool season grasses that you might have been contemplating in your yard if you have bluegrass or fescue. I am taking advantage of this time of year to plant some natural areas in some wasted space on the golf course.
I am sure that most of you have noticed the dead tilled areas on the course where we have been working, sometimes creating a dust bowl. All of these areas have been seeded or will be seeded with a 3-way blend of tall fescue. After seeding we will do everything that we can to get as much water on the seed as possible, with a little help from Mother Nature hopefully. So if there is water running close to these areas please don’t call it in to the golf shop. After we see some seedlings emerging from the soil we will apply a starter fertilizer to really get the plant some food after it uses up its own reserves. We will continue watering throughout the whole grow in process.
When this project is complete we should have some areas that create a certain amount of separation between holes, provide barriers for homeowners, provide a natural habitat for animals, redirect cart traffic in the correct direction, and reduce some maintenance time so that we can work in other areas of the course. I have been approached by a few homeowners that have referred to these areas as weed areas. This is not correct. A weed is defined as any plant that is growing in an area that it is not desired. They are Native areas that serve many purposes. When they are all complete they should be about 3-4 foot tall large expanses of seed heads. It may take one growing season to get the plant to maturity. So, please bear with me on these areas I think that in time they will benefit the course greatly.
And, please, please, please don’t drive in these areas.

August Again

2010-08-03T10:17:00.002-05:00

Well, were back in the thick of it again. August is here and feels as if its been here for the last 2 months. This summer has not been very kind as far as the weather has been concerned, but it is what it is and we will deal with it to the best of our ability.

I would like to thank all of you who have been comming out and playing over the last 2 months. It has not been the most comfortable weather in which to play, but thanks none the less for comming out.

I have been watching people carefully here in the last month or so to try to determine some of our ball mark problems, and other areas that we could get batter. I have noticed that most people do not know how to properly repair a ball mark on the Green. Most people are sticking the repair tool in the ground at a 45 degree angle, and proceeding to lift the injured center of the mark up until level. This is incorrect. I would prefer that you stick the repair tool in the ground at a 90 degree angle on the outside edge of the mark and push the good grass to the center of the mark. Twisting the mark to get the grass to the center is also an acceptable method.

I have people tell me all the time that they fix theirs and any more they see while their out there. I greatly apprecieate their efforts, and I wish that everyone did this. But, we have to make sure that we are repairing the marks properly or it will not heal for quite some time. If they are repaired properly they should heal in about one week.

We are also dealing with soft greens right now, due to shallow roots under the surface. This makes it very easy to leave big ball marks. which is all the more reason to repair yours and someone elses.

I do have a video posted on the blog in the archives of how to properly fix a mark. Please if your not sure on my description, check it out.

Thanks

Brad

Water

2010-06-24T14:05:00.002-05:00

For those of you who don't know, as of last year we started accepting reclaimed water from the General Mills plant across the river. They were kind enough to want to help a small business such as ours rather than send it back to the city for treatment. They invested a lot of money into getting us the water, which they want us to use. For those of you who already knew this, I have been trying to put out as much water as I possibly can in our 8-10 hour watering window. Unfortunately we have a lot of electrical issues on the course that kind of hamper our ability to put out water. We have 12 satellites on the course that control all of the heads on the course. each controller governs from 1-3 holes (up to 68 Stations). A Station is a wire path from the Satellite to the Sprinkler Head(there may be up to 3 heads per station). The heads and the wire paths are where our problems lie. The wires have been nicked or broken in many places which will cause what we call a ground fault. Some of the heads just have prior damage to them in the form of a blown solenoid, or have been manually shut off. of the 850 heads that we have on the course I would say that 50% of them operate on a programmable basis. Many of these heads will come on if I go out and manually turn them on, but I do not have the time in a week to operate all of the missing heads manually, and I doubt that you as a golfer enjoy coming up to a fairway with 12 heads running in the landing area. Believe me, I wish that I could push a magic button and make this place nice and soft and green all of the time, but the reality is there is no quick fix. I have purchased a piece of equipment called a ground fault locator. Hopefully this will help me track down some of the shortcomings of the irrigation system this winter. The other issue with putting out water is the fact that we do not have a central control unit to run our irrigation system. A central control unit is a computer that maximize and prioritize the amount and location of water that goes out overnight. Now I am programming by the satellites. This means that I have 12 satellites fighting for program time, essentially competing with each other. The central control would coordinate the programing to where the satellite stops the program because it knows that another needs the water.

This is not a lobby for new equipment. I am simply trying to have something out there for the member or other patron who might wonder why we have so many dry spots on our course.

Fishing

2010-05-27T12:37:00.003-05:00

I would like to take a moment to remind everyone that there is NO FISHING in the ponds. I know there are a few homeowners that like to catch and release in the ponds on the course, unfortunately I cannot allow this anymore. Due to the reclaimed water source that we are using I cannot risk the legal repercussions of something happening. Now that we have fountains back in the ponds on # 12 and #13 we have to pull them out occasionally for maintenance. Last time I got an old hook in my hand that someone hung on the anchor rope for the fountain. On the positive side the fountains and the chemical applications that we are making in #11-13 ponds seem to be having good effect on the plant life that is targeted for removal. Unfortunately, I cannot make the same chemical applications in the pond on #18 due to the fact that it is the pond that we draw water for irrigation. Chemical label restrictions will not allow me to apply certain chemicals in this pond at certain times. I am constantly looking for a solution for the problem to the duckweed on #18. Just to solve the issue the lime green stuff floating on the surface is Duckweed, The plant like material that puts out a yellow flower is Primrose, pretty at times but a weed none the less.

Finally Green

2010-05-27T12:08:00.002-05:00

Thankfully we made it out of the brutal winter that we had, and we're seeing green grass now. Unfortunately, some of the tighter mown areas (below 0.75") are having trouble making it into the new season. You may have noticed that we are in the process of re sodding the collars around the greens where the current turf is weak or non-existent. We are re sodding the collar with Zoysia Grass, which will benefit us in many ways. It will create a border to keep back encroaching Bermudagrass, It will also come out of dormancy earlier than Bermuda will, and hopefully it will provide a better playing surface for a collar mown at about 0.300".

You may have noticed that some of the areas in the fairways look a little sparse. Most of these areas are the same areas that We had trouble with two years ago. They seem pretty confined to landing areas and north facing slopes. Fortunately we have ryegrass out in these areas to fill in the gap for now. Unfortunately, the Ryegrass can help contribute to the fairways coming in slower than normal. The rye and bermuda are competing for food, water and sunlight. the bermuda will win the competition once the temperature gets high enough, and whatever can't stand the heat will be sprayed out by us to give the bermuda full reign of the tees and fairways.

Spring Green Up

2010-04-22T10:18:00.005-05:00

Spring came early this year. I can't remember an April this hot and dry. The golf course is reflecting the weather we are going through. Club selection can be a little harder when your ball will get 20 yards more roll due to the firm fairways. Thankfully we are seeing temperatures that are below the 80 degree mark again. I think we actually hit 90 for a day or two around the middle of the month.

You may have noticed that our collars have some areas that do not want to grow in this spring. Some of these areas were weak last season but some areas were good and just don't seem to want to come back. I am attributing this to lack of fertility, traffic, and tighter mowing heights during an unseasonably cold winter (one that I am glad we are out of). We will start sodding some of theses areas in the next few weeks.

You may have also noticed the areas in the fairway and the rough, that are high traffic areas, that are not wanting to come back very well. Well, the only way I know to put it is that this is why we have cart path rules. Please follow the cart path rules. It's not a free-for-all after you hit the tee ball. I'll leave you with a image or two of what I'm speaking about.

Spring Aerification

2010-03-03T10:51:00.002-06:00

Well it's that time of year, time to poke holes in the greens again.

I thought I'd take a minute and explain the process and why we do it. I know everyone hates playing on aerified greens, myself included, so why not give an explanation to why.

There are several reasons why we do this; to increase the oxygen available to the plant, relieve compaction, remove excess thatch in the soil, create a firm playing surface for the upcoming season.

First off, by removing cores of old soil from the greens we remove a percentage of thatch, dead organic material in the soil structure. The dead organic material, plant roots, clog up macro pores in the soil structure no longer allowing them them to hold oxygen. Once these macro pores have the dead material in them they are referred to as micro pores, which will really only hold water and will not allow the soil to become firm. We are replacing the old soil with sand. The sand has no thatch and lots of macro pores. This creates new channels for roots to grow freely down through the soil where they can still receive proper amounts of oxygen. Another benefit to these deep channels of macro pores is increased drainage. These large pores don't really hold water that well, they give surface water a better route to escape to the subsurface drainage.

I hope this gives anyone who's interested a better idea of why we go through this process every six months or so. We are scheduled to start on March 15th weather permitting. hopefully we will be grown in about 3 weeks later with a little help from Mother Nature.

New Items on the Course

2010-02-06T09:59:00.003-06:00

With the extremely cold and wet weather we have had so far this year, we have had plenty of time to work inside on some items to make the course look a little better.

We made new O.B. stakes for the front 9 out of the old range net posts. They are clearly visible at 3' tall and 4" wide. They will be much more durable than the old 1" PVC and painted Grade Stakes. The Idea is to have the course marked more clearly with a product that we do not have to intensely maintain. I am hoping that we will be able to get to work on the back 9 stakes soon.

We have also made new Tee Markers. I wanted something that would reflect the course at every Tee. The old 4X4 blocks did not. We cut out an arrow head shape out of recycled plastic decking material, painted them and put a stake in the base. Hopefully, this will add to the character of the course.

We have also been working on new water cooler stations that we will put out in the spring. The old ones were permanently fixed on the course. They were rotting and falling apart from the continued exposure to the elements. The new ones are less intrusive, and movable. We can take them off the course and store them inside when they are not needed to prolong their lifespan.

Roundup Application

2010-01-18T07:52:00.003-06:00

Finally, the cold weather broke last week. Now we can go out and start spraying roundup on all of the dormant Bermuda grass on the course. We do this every winter to kill any existing weeds from last year. We started spraying out around the Tees late last week when the temperatures broke the freezing mark. Today we will begin cutting in around the Greens. We will have to divert traffic on the course for about an hour or so to allow the chemical time to dry on the plant. If we have premature traffic, we could see transfer of the roundup onto the Greens surface. This should only take us one or two afternoons to complete.

Driving Range

2009-12-20T18:45:00.004-06:00

On Monday, Dec 21st, we will begin the process of raising the height of the Driving Range nets. We are going to do this in stages. We are going to start on the left side of the netting. If you are planning on using the range and we are out there working, please use irons only off the practice mats. It will be really hard for us to do our job if we are dodging golf balls the whole time.

We are extending the netting because our range area is too small to fully accommodate our golfers. We loose a ton of golf balls to the river. Right now the tallest points of the netting are 9 to 12 feet tall. Through this process we should reach heights of 23 to 25 feet. This is a new project for my staff and I, but we have thought long and hard about it and think we have come up with the best possible solution for an in house project.

Hopefully this first part of the netting will only take us 2-3 days to complete. I apologize for any inconvenience.

UPDATE:

Unfortunately, the net that we installed on the range did not hold up to the 40 mph winds that we received over the Christmas holiday. The winds snapped all of the posts about 5 feet above ground, just above the rear supports that we put on every vertical member. We are currently looking into other methods of support for the nets. Hopefully we will have something in place soon. Until then we will be irons only on the range.

Frost Delay

2009-12-13T14:35:00.003-06:00

We are at that time of year where the temperatures will reach below the freezing mark frequently overnight. When this happens we will typically have a frost on the ground, or a frozen playing surface as a result. On these days we will have to delay play for a few hours to allow the frost to burn off or the playing surface to thaw.

We do this for one reason, to protect the turf. When the plant is in a thawed state traffic will cause the leaf blade to lay over. When the plant is in a frozen state traffic will injure of break the frozen leaf blade causing death to the plant. This is the reason that we have to restrict play from the Greens and Over seeded areas during frost or freeze conditions.

Also to the homeowners on the course, we are close to the Christmas break for schools and I know that a lot of the children like to play on the course during the day, especially in the snow. Please remember that these delays apply to everyone not just the golfers. If you have children that want to play on the course, please remind them to stay away from the greens complexes.

Cleaning Up The Stones River

2009-12-08T08:08:00.004-06:00

December has arrived with a vengeance. It's hard to believe that the first weekend in December brought us a snowfall with actual accumulation. When the weather reaches our current conditions the grass has pretty much stopped growing for the year. This gives us some time to go out and work on parts of the course that would normally get neglected.

Currently we have begun working on cleaning up the Stones River banks, which have been overgrown with Privot, Osage and other woody plants. The goal is to get all of #8 cleaned to a point that we can maintain it with mowers and string trimmers. Also, we will be limbing up trees with low hanging limbs that shade the turf and make horrible conditions to grow grass. No, we will not be cutting down the limb that overhangs #8 fairway, it is a very important part of the hole. After we finish #8 we will keep working down the river as far as we can get this winter. I hope to get back to #18 Teeing area.

Here's a few pictures to show the progress of the first days work.

The above picture is a section that he cleaned up Monday.
The above picture is the next section that we have to clean up.

Ball Mark Repair

2009-11-14T15:06:00.003-06:00

One of the biggest questions that I get year round is, "What are we going to do about all of the ballmarks on the greens?". The simple answer is that each golfer is responsible for fixing their own ballmark. Now, realistically that's not going to happen, but I do encourage everyone at the club to fix theirs plus one more. I started having the greens mowers take ballmark repair tools with them each morning so they could walk the entire green fixing marks before they mowed. I have been very happy with the results of this process. The problem is that we only have the staff to do this in the peak months of the season. So, please remember to fix your ballmarks. The video below is an example of how to properly repair a ballmark.

Notice the guy in the video was using a golf tee. You don't have to have a divot repair tool to fix the ballmarks (I use my pocket knife). Also, he just pulls the surface turf back to the center of the mark, he does not lift the center, this is textbook repair practice.

If your out there playing and you see someone in your group not fixing their ballmarks, ask them kindly if they have a tool, know how to, or just to please fix them. Thanks for your help.

Our New Water Source

2009-11-04T13:19:00.006-06:00

I'm sure almost all of our membership knows that we are now accepting reclaimed water from the Pillsbury plant across the river. The main comment that I get from our golfers is something along the lines of, you won't have any problems putting out water now. In some respects this is true, but using reclaimed water has its draw backs too.

Reclaimed water sources typically have elements in it at unwanted levels. Typically the problem sources are pH, Bicarbonates, and Sodium. They are present in natural water sources also, but usually at an acceptable level. I have some numbers to show acceptable levels, our previous water source and our new water source below.

Acceptable Levels

pH- 6.5-7.0

Bicarbonate- 0-111 ppm

Sodium- 0-70 ppm

Calcium- greater than Sodium

Old Source

pH- 7.2

Bicarbonate- 144 ppm

Sodium - 13 ppm

Calcium - 42 ppm

New Source

pH- 7.5

Bicarbonate- 451.4 ppm

Sodium- 259.17 ppm

Calcium- 50.91 ppm

As you can see the numbers drastically increased in every category with the exception of Calcium. Unfortunately Calcium is the only part of that list that we want to be really high. What this means is that we will have to make more chemical applications and Calcium applications to combat the higher numbers of pH, Bicarbonate and Sodium.

So, yes we will be able to put out more water, and get water to areas on the course that haven't seen anything but rainfall in a long time. At the same time we have to monitor the levels of water that we put out. Sometimes too much of a good thing can turn bad. Hopefully as we can get more of our irrigation system operational, we will be able to get ample amounts of water to the turf within the scope of the irrigation system.

Also, we were able to get some national exposure for the club with the reclaimed water project. Golf Course Industry Magazine used our project as a case study in water management practices in its September 2009 issue. Here is the link for anyone who is interested in reading it.

http://golfcourseindustry.texterity.com/golfcourseindustry/200907#pg38

Cart Path Policies

2009-10-29T14:43:00.003-05:00

I would like to take a minute and refresh every one's memory on cart path rules. There are only two possibilities, 90 degree rule and cart path only. When the course is 90 degree please drive on the cart path until you reach the area where your ball came to rest. At that point you may drive off the path directly to your ball and then back to the cart path. When the course is marked cart path only you may not drive off of the path. There is an area about 30 yards short of the greens that we try to protect on every hole to make sure that you have the best playing surface possible. You will see signs notifying you to return your cart to the path at these points.
We do offer handicapped flags to golfers with disabilities who are driving carts. This is not a drive anywhere you want flag. The flag allows you to drive in areas that other golfers are not allowed to when conditions allow it. Golfers with a flag on their cart may drive closer to the greens complex than other golfers. Golfers with a flag on their cart must obey the 90 degree and cart path only policies.
We do have two holes, #3 and #4, that are cart path only at all times. I hope that you have noticed the improvement on these two holes since we made them cart path only. The fairways have a much better playing surface, and the roughs were actually rough this summer. As opposed to last summer when you couldn't tell where the fairway stopped and the rough began.
Please keep all four wheels on the path when you park at a teeing area or a green. We have a few areas that we are trying to repair that are prone to this. Some good examples are the #6 Green and #7 Tee areas. It seems that most people like to pull just off the path in these areas. It makes it really hard to grow grass in that much traffic.
We do not post cart path only to punish golfers. We do it to protect the golf course from unnecessary stresses. So, please help us create the best playing surface possible for you and follow the cart path policies.

Changing Hazards

2009-10-27T13:35:00.007-05:00

Most everyone has seen the conversion of the bunkers on #1 from Sand Traps to fescue Grass Bunkers. The reason for the change is because of the amount of work that some of our bunkers take to to become "playable". Even when our bunkers are in a "playable" state many of them have sand that has been contaminated by the subsoil and the rocks in it that have migrated upwards from years of mechanical raking and out of date construction techniques.

The reason that grassing them over was chosen was due to several factors. First off, we do not want to remove the hazards from play. By converting to fescue we can retain the shape and placement of the hazard while maintaining a stand of grass that can vary from a height of 4-8 inches. This still encourages golfers to hit the fairway, or they will face a very difficult shot. Secondly, the ability to do this in a minimally invasive fashion came into play. The three bunkers that we just converted on #10 fairway took us one afternoon to complete with no evidence that we were ever there. Renovating these sand traps would take a considerable amount of earth moving, drainage, sodding, and irrigation system rerouting. The process I just mentioned would have taken 2-3 weeks with heavy equipment traffic to add to the mess.

We have completed 5 bunkers so far. I hope to have 2 more done by the end of the week. The list of bunkers to change over is; #1 fairway, #8 fairway, #10 fairway, #12 fairway, #17 fairway.

Here are some pictures the day after #10 was completed.

The above picture is a view from #10 Tee. The above picture is the 3rd fairway bunker on #10.

The above picture are the two fairway bunkers on the first half of #10.

Respect The Course

2009-10-21T09:57:00.007-05:00

As I was walking the greens the other morning I came across some points of damage on #14 green. I thought this would be a good time and place to address this. There was a divot taken out of the green where someone swung at it with a wedge, and a drag mark where it appears that someone gouged a putter into the playing surface. These actions are inexcusable. Yes, it is legal to pitch the ball off of the putting surface if it is necessary, but we have very few greens where that play is called for and definitely not on #14.

When this type of damage occurs we have to spend time repairing these areas. This is lost time for us, time we could be spending working on other areas of the course as planned.

This is not the first time this has happened, and I seriously doubt that it will be the last. My hope is that with effort and good etiquette we can great a good playing surface for all of our golfers. Just rember to leave an area as you found it, if not better than you found it.

Aerification

2009-10-21T08:48:00.001-05:00

We are 15 days out of aerification of the greens, and they are healing well despite back to back frosts last weekend. The greens are still being cut higher than normal. We do this to allow the plant to be a little more tolerant of the stress, and as to not pick up any of the layer of sand that we put down on the surface of the green. We will start dropping the height of cut to the seasonal standard next week as long as the heal in stays on this path.

Here is a picture of the middle of the putting green surface I took this morning to let you know what to expect.

I know that aerifing is a headache that comes at some of the best points of the year in golfing standards. It is something that needs to be done though. Every growing season we accumulate thatch in the soil from decomposing organic material. We have to go in and physically remove a certain amount of this material and replace it with clean sand. If the thatch layer is allowed to continually increase it will result in a poor surface throughout the season.

Over seeding

2009-10-21T07:58:00.003-05:00

I'm sure everyone has noticed the rye grass coming up in the fairways and tees. The tees were seeded on the 28th of September. Unfortunately the fairways had to wait until the 7th of October to be seeded. The traditional seeding dates for this area is usually the second week of September, but we got backed up due to a shipping mix up and a scheduling conflict. I am hoping that we can get enough warm weather for the remainder of the fall to get the rye properly established.

Over seeded tees and fairways, while nice to play off and have a good visual reference off of the tee, also have drawbacks. We will have to be a little more strict with the cart path policies during frost periods. There will be times when the greens are ready for play but the frost has not yet burned off of the fairways yet, and this will require us to remain cart path only. What happens is the leaf blade actually freezes and any heavy traffic will damage or kill the plant. So, there will be some days that we will be cart path only until 10:00 or 11:00 due to frost. I apologize for the inconvenience, but it is a necessary evil.

Welcome

2009-10-21T07:39:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the new Indian Hills Golf Club Maintenance information area.

I have created this forum to increase the communication between the golf club and the membership and golfers around the area. I will be able to inform our golfing community about projects that we are taking on, cultural practices being performed, and any other information that could be helpful to you.

I would just like to say thanks in advance to anyone who views this forum.