Course Update - March 31

March is always a difficult month weather-wise with conditions all over the map from warm to cold and wet to dry, this season has been no different with snow and heavy rain conditions. The crew has been out on the course daily working on spring clean-up, placement of course accessories, and filling divots. We have also been able to mow the greens three times along with tees, approaches and certain fairways receiving their first mowing. Our bunker project on 17 is continuing to move forward even with the poor weather, 6,000 feet of sod was installed this week with the remaining sod and bunker sand to be completed next week. Our sand replacement program is moving along as well, currently working on 11 fairway bunkers, once those are completed we will move across the street for the final stretch of the program.

A very important spring practice that we completed this week is our soil testing program on tees, greens and fairways. These tests allow us to monitor changes in the chemical make-up of the soil allowing us to tailor our fertilizer program accordingly focusing on deficiencies in certain nutrients.

Collecting soil samples

USGA Update - March 2017

COURSE CARE

So This Is Spring March 17, 2017 By David A. Oatis, regional director, Northeast Region

Cold weather and snow are likely to wreak havoc with flowering plants this spring.

A mild winter and warm February temperatures have been tantalizing golfers with the prospect of an early spring. Bulbs are blooming, trees are budding, and courses in the southern part of the region have already applied preemergence herbicides and annual bluegrass seedhead suppression treatments. However, Mother Nature has reasserted herself in typical fashion. Cold March temperatures chilled bermudagrass back into dormancy and slowed pest development while single-digit temperatures and brisk winds bring an uneasy feeling to turf managers in northern locations. The recent nor'easter brought heavy snowfall, which all but slammed the door on plant growth and pest development. So, what does all this mean for golf courses?

• Bermudagrass was off to a fast start this year, but the recent cold temperatures have stopped it in its tracks. No damage is suspected at this point, but it will take plenty of warm weather and sunshine to get it growing again.
• Northern courses that had nondormant putting green turf and experienced single-digit temperatures should remove and incubate a few plugs from greens to check for winter injury. Widespread damage is not suspected at this point, but some injury may have occurred. Incubating plugs is the most effective way to gauge whether winter injury has occurred.
• Timing seedhead suppression treatments and preemergence herbicide applications has been difficult this year due to fluctuating temperatures; it is not going to get any easier going forward. Courses that made early seedhead suppression treatments may need to make additional applications because the seedhead production window will likely expand.
• Annual bluegrass weevils were active on many southern courses before the last two weeks of cold temperatures. Hopefully the cold will knock back their populations, but that may be hoping for too much. Turf managers should resume monitoring for annual bluegrass weevils once the snow melts.
• Recent high winds combined with heavy snowfall, ice and sleet will undoubtedly leave many courses covered with a layer of debris. More spring cleaning is in order for many.
• Temperatures always fluctuate during spring, but some years are worse than others. Late-winter and early spring temperature fluctuations result in a “start and stop” pattern for turf growth as well as pest and weed development. This makes timing control applications very difficult. It also produces inconsistent turf growth and makes turf more susceptible to wear problems. Don't overdo maintenance practices when turfgrass growth resumes. This is especially important with creeping bentgrass, because it is very susceptible to wear injury during spring.

The return of winter throughout much of the region is having impacts well beyond a deep layer of snow in many areas. Hopefully most courses will come through the cold snap unscathed and spring maintenance will soon fall into a normal routine. However, golfers may see a few more seedheads this spring, and perhaps a little more crabgrass and goosegrass this summer. For now, we will just have to wait out the cold weather and watch our college basketball tournament brackets.

Northeast Region Agronomists:

David A. Oatis, regional director – doatis@usga.org
Adam Moeller, director, Green Section Education – amoeller@usga.org
James E. Skorulski, agronomist – jskorulski@usga.org

Renovation of the 17th green bunker complex

The first week of March started with the renovation of the 17th green, bunker complex under the direction of Robert McNeil, principal architect at Northeast Golf Company . Over the past few months many of the bunkers have had the sand replaced, drainage corrected, and areas of weak turf replaced but the bunkers on 17 are being totally over hauled. We are constructing this project completely in-house using our own staff and equipment. Our assistant Nick Kelly is masterfully implementing the design from paper to reality utilizing our excavator out-fitted with a specialized knuckle-bucket. The finished bunkers on 17 witl have a new design, drainage, sand, and sod when completed.

Shaping and moving dirt on 17

Right-side bunkers rough shaped waiting architect approval

Left-side bunker being roughed in