Thursday, March 24, 2011

On Course Projects

 
  The recent arrival of the sun, along with the longer days have began to awaken the grass from its winter slumber.  While the rough is still far to wet to get to, we were able to mow and clean-up the fairways this week, and boy, did they need it.  Before to long, it will be a non stop challenge trying to keep up with all the mowing, and clean-up that comes with it, but until then we'll continue to mow what we can, when we can, and work on other projects as we continue to prep for the upcoming season.
  On the North Course, we've completed two small drain lines and continue to work on another.  The finished drain lines are at #1 and #13 greens as you walk from the cart path to the green.  The drain line that is currently being worked on is to the right side of #9 fairway in an area that is very wet and messy throughout the winter and spring.  On the South, we have began the process of trimming the trees throughout the course.  This will help to make the trees look more aesthetically pleasing as well as help to speed up play by eliminating the need to lift branches to look under trees  for errant golf shots.  In the parking lot, Francisco has finished trimming the Yew's, which I think turned out looking great. 
  These are just some of the projects that we have been working on, and as always, your feedback is encouraged and appreciated! 

Thursday, March 17, 2011

From the Desk of Mike Turner, Golf Course Superintendent

Aerification


            Here we are at the doorstep of another aerification season at The Reserve.  We’ve had a lot of precipitation this winter, but we feel that the proactive approach with our greens program is paying dividends now.  The greens are as healthy as we can remember and they’ve just been subjected to a cool, wet winter!  Leading up to aerification, we sometime have people ask, “Why do have to punch the greens when they are playing so great?” We thought this would be a good opportunity to give a little insight as to why aerification is important.
            Core aeration (actually removing plant material) and sand topdressing are two of the “necessary evils” that promote long-term plant health;  they allow for proper air movement within the soil profile,  improve drainage capacity that is compromised due to daily cultural practices (mowing, rolling, foot traffic, etc.), and provide new growth medium for the tightly growing bentgrass/poa.  We want the greens to be as healthy as possible heading into aerification for a number of reasons. 
            The health of the turf prior to aerification determines how much damage will occur throughout the process.  Also, when the turf is healthy before aerification, it recovers faster, which is critical as we begin a new golf season.  Aerification is a very labor-intensive process that creates a lot of headaches in the short-term.  The process is a traumatic experience for the members, the grounds crew, and of course, the turf.  We wouldn’t invest the time and energy doing these things if we didn’t believe that they are absolutely necessary! 
            This email briefly touches on the benefits of core aeration. If anyone would like to discuss this or anything other topic, at length, feel free to contact me!

Thank You,

Mike Turner, Superintendent

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Drainage Work

  The fact that scores are now being posted, and The Reserve hosted its annual Pro-Am this past Monday, means that Spring is just around the corner.  The weather turned out to be very nice for the tournament Monday, but just like a typical Winter in Oregon, it turned on us very quick.  The golf courses are saturated at this point, and the 10-day forecast doesn't look good for much drying time.  The soft and muddy soil conditions prevent us from doing any kind of mowing outside of greens, collections/approaches, and tees.  Although we'd love to be able to get out there and mow the rough and fairways, doing so would make a mess that no one wants to see. 
  It's not easy to put a positive spin on this dreary weather, but without mowers running, we can use the extra manpower to get some more drainage in on the courses.  This past week we were able to get two drain projects done on the South Course.  The first was on #13, on the right side of the fairway about 125 yards out from the green.  It was a fairly small project, but it will help to dry up an area that is always wet.  The other drain project was on #16 South.  This was a more tedious undertaking, but I have no doubt the results are well worth the effort.  This one is located on the left half of the fairway just past the left fairway bunker, and goes out into the rough towards the pump house.  This will help to dry up a landing area for those who like to risk it and hit a driver off the tee on that hole.  
  Once Spring gets here and the mowers start running non stop, projects like this won't be easy to fit in.  In the mean time, we'll take what mother nature gives us and do our best to continue to improve the playability of the golf courses.  Again, we are happy to hear any suggestions you may have regarding areas you feel could use a little drying out!