#11 South Update

  Barring any major changes in weather or health, #11 South green will be open for play beginning Saturday morning, 1-22-2011.  Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Hazard Markers

Due to a number of factors, we've decided to try something a little different with our hazard markers for the upcoming golf season.  Instead of purchasing new composite stakes to replace broken, damaged, and missing markers, we are building our own markers out of PVC piping.  One of the main reasons for this change is the rising cost of our current markers.  A new stake made from composite material can run roughly seven dollars per stake!  It is inevitable that each season there will be stakes that are ruined by mowers, golfers, and Mother Nature, not to mention that fact that it seems like some just grow legs and walk away.  To maintain a supply on hand as well as ensure that there is an adequate number of markers on the course can become a very costly venture.  Another problem we have with our current system is the fact that markers are moved by both golfers and maintenance crew members and then not returned to their proper location.  This can become a bigger problem in the winter when we do not paint the hazards and golfers rely on a stake to stake line of sight to define hazard boundaries.

The new markers that we're making will be very similar to the 100 and 150 yard markers in the fairways, except they are made from plastic instead of metal.  To make our concrete form, we use the leftover one gallon pots from last year's annual flowers that would otherwise be disposed of.  Once we've filled the pot, we place a seven inch long piece of 1 1/4 inch PVC in the concrete and let it dry over night, this will be our sleeve.  For the markers themselves, we use 1 inch PVC cut in 30 inch long pieces.  We place a cap on top of the pipe and then paint it the appropriate color.  The major benefit we see with this new system, besides cost savings, is that the markers can only be put back in one spot and they won't be moved all over.  We've began the process of transitioning to the new system in order to have it fully in place by the beginning of the golf season.  In the coming months, we would like to hear your comments, both good and bad, as we move forward with this transition. 

Goose Control

After a long course closure due to weather and frozen conditions in the past weeks, we were finally back on the course Sunday morning for some winter golf.  For those of you who have played since then, you surely noticed that there is a lot of "Goose Debris" around the collections and in the fairways.  With the extremely low temperatures this time of year, the geese that haven't flown south are just looking for any place to land.  When the course is closed like it has been and there are no golfers out there deterring them from landing, The Reserve looks like a 350 acre park to them.  Recently, we lost one of our best weapons in goose control, agricultural fireworks or bird bangers as they're commonly called.  The State Fire Marshall determined that the State Police didn't have the authority to issue agricultural firework permits to golf courses and thus, all permits expired on December 31, 2010.  There will be a bill in the 2011 legislative session that will give authority to the State Police but until it passes we will have to come up with other ways to control geese.  We continue to do our best to scare the geese away but they are very persistent this time of year.  Until conditions permit and we can get our blowers out in the fairways without causing major damage, we will clean -up the debris the best we can. 

In other course news, we have been keeping a close eye on #11 South this winter and have decided that it is in the best interests of the green to switch to a temporary on that hole.  Currently, there is no time line for re-opening the green, but as weather conditions improve we will continue to assess and move forward from there. 

Winter Damage

 We have reached the point of the year where frost delays are becoming a common occurrence.  In previous Reserve Reminders we've discussed the negative effects of frost, but for those of you who did not see that information, here is a brief overview.


Picture A



  Plants are comprised mostly of water and when that water freezes, the ice crystals in the turf puncture the cell walls and cause damage to the turf.  When the crown of the plant is frozen and then crushed under foot or cart traffic, the result can be death of the plant.  With the lack of plant growth during the winter months, damaged turf will be an eye sore and cause problems until we get to the spring and the growing season.   

   To the left, Picture A shows potential damage from foot traffic on frost covered turf.  The frozen water in the plants doesn't allow it to "Bounce Back" and cells within have now been damaged or destroyed.  Pictures B and C show damage resulting from cart traffic on frosty turf.

Picture B

Picture C



Picture D

Besides frost, we are now experiencing another cause of winter damage and that is frozen soil.  Some of the worst turf damage can be caused by concentrated foot traffic during the thawing out phase after a long freeze. When this occurs, the top inch of the soil starts to thaw and becomes very soft while the soil beneath is still frozen solid.  Foot traffic at this time causes a shearing action of the roots, in much the same way a sod cutter removes turf from the underlying soil.  The damage caused by root shearing can be devastating and result in the loss of a green for months.  Also, the softness of the green surface during the thawing phase will just accentuate wear and foot printing from golf traffic.  Picture D shows the results of concentrated foot traffic during a previous thawing out phase.  



   I hope that this sheds some light on the issues we are dealing with during these cold months.  Our number one priority is ensuring the long term health of the greens.  We hope to get everyone back on the courses as soon as they are ready.  Happy New Year!