'Old Man Winter' Not Welcome Anymore!

I guess it's hard to complain since it is still February, but this time last year we were hosting the Winter Olympics in shorts!

'Old Man Winter' delivered a cruel reminder that he's not ready to leave yet...

  

Existing Greens Drainage

Our drainage contractor, TDS, will be on-site next week to install slit drainage on our 18th green.  This green has remained closed throughout the winter due to severe drainage problems.  We are experiencing drainage issues on other greens as well that must be addressed in the near future.  The slit drainage process is completed in only 2 days and the green is typically reopened immediately and ready for play.  Other than the visible drainage trench lines, there is very little affect on the playability of the green.  For more information and photos of the process of slit draining greens, please visit here: http://www.tdsdrainage.com/existing.html

With regards to our greens and their drainage issues, I’d like to pass along some info to help you better understand what we are experiencing and why.

We often hear from members that “our greens already have drainage”.  Yes, this is true.  To my knowledge, our greens were renovated approximately 30 years ago and were constructed with materials that DID NOT meet proper greens mix specifications.  That being said, even precisely built putting greens have a typical lifespan of 20 years that is affected by many environmental, cultural and mechanical factors.  The major factors include climate, aerification and construction. 

A putting green’s infrastructure will change over time from weathering, particularly due to excessive moisture and/or constant freezing and thawing.  Obviously excessive moisture, particularly from October thru mid-April, is our main concern.  When greens are saturated due to excessive rains, they are easily compacted by traffic.  The resulting compaction greatly reduces the drainage capability of the greens.  We must restrict equipment and golfer traffic from the greens under these conditions to prevent unnecessary compaction.  Unfortunately, in the past our greens not only remained open for play when saturated, they were even mowed with heavy equipment under these conditions.  This has caused a great deal of compaction.

Aerification practices and frequency also play a key role in how putting green drainage will perform.  Core aerification is the single most important tool to maintain acceptable thatch levels.  Thatch retains a great deal of moisture which also results in saturated greens.  Core aerification physically removes thatch allowing moisture to better seek out the drainage channels.  We are making significant progress on reducing the thatch levels of our greens, but this does not entirely make up for compaction caused the during the time period when core aerification was abandoned.

Construction greatly impacts drainage, especially when there aren’t any efforts to immediately fix any drainage affected by it.  New irrigation was installed throughout the course in 2007/08.  Part of the installation process involves slicing in new control wire.  Many of our greens drainage outlets were compromised by this process and were not immediately corrected.  That being said, it is very difficult to even know that the outlet has been sliced due to the fact that this process does not involve an open trench.  The impact on the drainage would not be evident until experiencing heavy rainfall.  One very inexpensive way of preventing this is to install tracer wires with the greens drainage outlet pipes to easily locate and mark the drainage lines prior to any construction.  We will be installing tracer wire with all new greens drainage outlets.  

Proper drainage greatly affects the playability of the greens, but more importantly the health of the greens.  Saturated greens are very susceptible to excessive ball-marking, mower scalping, severe compaction and disease.  We currently have 5 greens that have serious drainage issues (#1, 12, 14, 15 and 18).  Of these 5, #18 is certainly the worst and requires immediate action.  The other 15 greens (13 regular and 2 putting greens) are beginning to show signs of drainage failure as well.  

The long range plan is to certainly slit drain all the greens to have consistent, properly drained healthy greens that can remain open 12 months a year.  I believe the best approach for accomplishing this project would be to spread it out over no more than 3 years.  We have 20 greens in total, including the putting greens, so we'd be looking at doing 6-7 greens each of those 3 years.

May 21, 1923

I found this to be quite humorous...

Advice to Players

From the Bulletin of the USGA Green Section - May 21, 1923
 

The author of "The Golfer's Rain Jacket" is evidently a golfer (ed. note: this is apparently a reference to another article or publication of the time). There is much feeling embodied in his set of "Don'ts'." We pass along his advice. 

"Don't move, talk, whistle, cough, sneeze, groan, grunt or even think out loud while a stroke is being played. Don't stand close to, in front of, behind or cast shadows across the player's line-while he is addressing a 'putt.' If the ball 'rims' the cup it then becomes your duty to restrain the player from any acts of violence."

"Don't play from a tee until the party in front have all played their second strokes, replaced their divots, relighted their pipes, concluded their golf stories, collected their caddies, selected their next clubs and are well out of range."

"Don't play up to a putting green until the party in front have all holed out, practiced their missed putts, replaced the flag, fixed up the score cards, exchanged the putters for drivers and all players and caddies are off the green."

"Don't be vexed if the players in front can't find their lost ball. Should they, eventually, signal you to 'play through' (and then play along with you), show your appreciation by giving each of them a cigar. The 'Flor de Killdead' is made for this purpose, and is sold by all fireworks stores."

"Don't fail to fill up and to smooth over neatly all footprints in the bunker sand. If you carry in your bag a small garden rake, a bricklayer's trowel and a wire broom, the operation will require only about half an hour."

"Don't neglect immediately and properly to replace the turf. A small sprinkling can, a canteen of water, an ordinary rolling pin, a package of grass seeds and one pound of 'dehydrated ostrich manure, added to your equipment, will reduce this obligation to a mere pleasure!"

What a view!

This pic doesn't do it justice, but here is our newly opened up view from #4 green.  Soon we will be finishing the regrading and cart path relocation on the right side of the green complex.

Come out and enjoy the sunshine!

It's still a bit chilly, but it's a beautiful sunny day here at the Q.  Whistler was dumped on with tons of snow the past couple days and parts of Vancouver got some too.  As you can see below, Mother Nature spared us this time around and we are open for play!  Heck, we mowed the greens yesterday and today we're  mowing the fairways - not bad for February 18th!

Politics, Religion and Play on Winter Greens

The winter course closures once again dominated the discussion at last evening's Golf Committee meeting.  After much discussion the committee determined that our current frost delay policy is only in need of some minor tweaking.  From now on, shortly after the frost has completely lifted from the course we will open for play.  Our Turf Care team only requires about a 15-20 head-start in front of the first group to setup the course.  There may still be a 9-hole shotgun start in conjunction with the immediate tee times to accommodate more players getting onto the course ASAP.

Here is another very telling article from the USGA about the repercussions of play on frosty and/or frozen turf (thanks to Jim McGarvey, Superintendent, from Seymour Golf and Country Club for passing it along):

http://www.usga.org/course_care/articles/other/winter_play/Politics-Religion-and-Winter-Play-on-Greens/?sms_ss=email&at_xt=4d5ad84b34943435,0

On a lighter note, here is a comical take on a discussion between the Superintendent and a Golf League Captain regarding frost delays:

Enjoy!

Frost Delays are the HOT Topic...

So there has been much discussion of late about the course closures this winter due to frost and/or frozen conditions.  Some feel that we are being too overprotective of the golf course and close it way too often.  In fact, other than a 10-day closure from November 20th - 29th due to snow cover, we have only closed the course 12 days out of a possible 107 days - that's only 11.2% of the time.  Yes, we do have delays for the lighter frost that does not hang around all day which may affect whether or not you may play on those given days, but even those days do not come as often as you may think.  Here are some figures that may surprise some of you:

• Course Closed ALL DAY due to heavy frost and/or frozen conditions:
• 12 days out of a possible 107 days (11.2%)

• Frost Delays (60 mins or less)
• 2 days (1.8%)

• Frost Delays (11:30am or later shotgun starts)
• 8 days (7.5%)

We have also been closed 6 days this year due to extremely wet conditions, but it's hard to play golf in these conditions:

Perception is Everything

Well, I returned yesterday from the 2011 Golf Industry Show and to no surprise it was raining!  The course was pretty well flooded when I arrived yesterday afternoon, but upon initial inspections this morning the drainage has caught up and we will be open for play.  That being said, there will likely be some temp greens and cart restrictions due to very saturated and soft conditions.

Attendance was down at the GIS this year and the trade show was the smallest I've seen it, but the educational seminars were outstanding.  Once again, one of the main "hot topics" was how golf clubs are dealing with today's troubled economy, but leading the charge was how golf course maintenance practices are impacting the environment.  There is a great misconception within the general public that golf course chemicals and fertilizers are having a negative impact on the environment.  This could not be further from the truth.  Trained, qualified and licensed personnel apply chemicals and fertilizers on golf courses.  We follow all the label guidelines for these applications and only apply them as necessary.

Here is a link to a very extensive article from the May 2008 Golf Digest Issue that discusses not only how golf courses impact the environment, but also the perception from both golfers and non-golfers: http://www.golfdigest.com/magazine/environment

"Let the Good Times Roll"

Recent research at OSU proves that raising mowing heights and increasing rolling frequency provides a fast and true putting surface.  We have been rolling quite frequently the past couple years and will be doing so even more this season.  We mow our greens at approximately .125" (1/8") and we are pleased with the results and have no reason to raise it as they are not "dangerously low".

CLICK HERE to read the article.

2010 State of the Golf Industry

Here is an article from TurfNet that is definitely worth a read...

Survival of the Fittest

The writing has been on the wall for some time now – succeeding in the golf business has become an exercise in survival. And some of those that are struggling financially and manage to survive these turbulent times will have to deviate from the accepted business practices that, until now, have been the norm.

“The fittest will survive in 2011, and those survivors will be creating a playbook with which the industry is not familiar.”

That was the take-home message during the 2010 State of the Golf Industry presentation at this year’s PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla. Entitled “Industry Darwinism” the report was produced jointly by Jim Koppenhaver of Pellucid Corp. and Stuart Lindsay of Edgehill Golf Advisors.

“The best thing I can say about 2010 is it’s over,” Lindsay said. “It wasn’t bad, it wasn’t great, and it was not the turnaround we all were hoping for.”

On Feb. 2, Golf Datatech reported that year-over-year rounds played dropped by 2.3 percent to 475 million rounds. The following day, the National Golf Foundation released this year’s edition of its Golf Facilities in the U.S. report. Contained therein is the fact that for the sixth straight year more golf courses closed than were opened. In fact, only 46 courses (in 18-hole equivalents) opened nationwide last year, compared with 107 closures for a net loss of 61 facilities. That means there has been a net loss of 220 golf course properties since this downward trend began in 2006. The total number of facilities nationwide has dipped below 16,000 to 15,890. To illustrate how tough things are nowadays in the new construction business, of those 46 new courses built last year, all are located in just 29 states. Economic bad times were far less discriminating, with closures occurring in 39 states.

None of this should come as a surprise, considering Koppenhaver reports that the overall number of golfers dropped by 3 percent in 2010 to 26.6 million players, and the number of rounds played this year is the fewest since 441 million in 1995 – the all-time high mark is 518 million 2000 and again in 2001.

What is somewhat of a surprise to Koppenhaver and Lindsay was that the number of net losses in 2010 is 33 percent fewer than in 2009 when there was a net loss of 90 facilities.

Koppenhaver believes that the banks holding the notes on properties that have been foreclosed upon as well as operators teetering on the edge of disaster are betting that the economy in general and the golf business specifically will improve before it gets any worse. For those people Koppenhaver has two words.

“Good luck,” he said.

Although each golf course that closes represents jobs and real, living and breathing people in a negative manner, officials from Pellucid as well as NGF agree that negative growth over an extended period is necessary for the industry so long as the number of golfers and rounds played continue to decline.

“This change in supply is too little, too slow,” Koppenhaver said. “It never ceases to amaze me how many courses are in foreclosure and the banks are hanging onto them in this current cycle. That says they think it is going to get better quickly.”

What should be especially troublesome is from where some of these losses are coming. Those aged 55-64 represent 16.6 percent of all rounds played, but their participation rated dropped by 7.3 percent. Seniors, those age 65 and older, represent 20 percent of all rounds played, yet the rate of play in that age group dropped by 3.8 percent.

At the facility level, play was down by 3.2 percent at private facilities and 2 percent at public-access properties, including 3.6 percent at university, military and municipal courses. Those facilities are among the most affordable and seen as critical in attracting new players into the game.

“They are the people who really took it in the shorts,” Koppenhaver said of the affordable golf properties.

If there was a glimmer of hope, said Koppenhaver, it is that utilization rate, with courses overall operating at about 53 percent of capacity, is unchanged from last year and rounds played among those in the 18-34 age bracket, who comprise 21 percent of the market, rose by 8 percent.

Of course, the $64,000 question has been how to adjust to a shrinking market and avoid becoming a statistic. Those who are able to do so will have drafted a whole new playbook for survival in the process.

“There will not be any winners,” Koppenhaver said. “There will only be survivors and former colleagues.”

2011 Golf Industry Show

Brett and I will be away in Orlando from February 5th-12th attending the GCSAA Education Conference and Trade Show.  This is the leading event in the golf industry, and the one that provides education opportunities that are innovative, relevant and immediately applicable to our club.  The education courses offered are specifically tailored to focus on the biggest challenges facing superintendents and facilities today, including the economy and environment.

For more information, please visit: http://www.gcsaa.org/conference/

We are looking forward to sharing what we learn at this show!

Frost Delay at the Phoenix Open

Looks like they even have frost delays down south!

http://www.fox11az.com/news/local/115185639.html

Temp Greens

Unfortunately, the last couple of days we've been having to use our temp greens for play.  Reason being is that with the below freezing temperatures the greens themselves are freezing, but not deep enough to allow play on them.  They must freeze at least 4" below the surface to avoid damage.  If they are frozen less than 4", traffic on them will cause the frozen turf to shift above the unfrozen subsurface layer which literally results in shearing of the root system killing the turf.

Here is a well-written article to help you better understand why it is necessary to restrict play on frosty or frozen turf:

  Decisions Regarding Winter Play on Greens Never Easy 

By Patrick O’Brien and Christopher Hartwiger, USGA Green Section

  

Some golfers are always in the mood to play golf it seems – even on the coldest days of the winter months.   Each year our office receives numerous inquiries from golfers and Green Committees on why the putting greens are closed or the opening delayed due to frost or freezing conditions.  

Most superintendents and course officials do a good job communicating the agronomic reasons for doing this. Science and experience shows that foot traffic on greens when frozen and then thaw and refreeze damages the plant. The resulting injury to the turf may not be noticeable until the hot weather arrives.  

Even with science on their side and an armful of letters and articles, a certain segment of the golfing population is reluctant accept the superintendent’s decision.  This scenario places the golf course superintendent in a difficult position.  This is a classic case of agronomics, economics, and politics clashing.   

Golf course superintendents have excellent agronomic information regarding play on frozen or frosted putting greens. What is missing in most cases is strong leadership to support the superintendent regarding their daily decisions to open or close the course.  There is a reason why superintendents are left with the important decision on whether to close the golf course due to cold temperatures, frost, etc.  They are trained in agronomy and know the infrastructure of the golf course better than anyone else.  Additionally, they also understand the financial impact that a frost delay or course closing can have on the golf course.   

Superintendents realize that frost delays and course closings are not the way to make friends in the short term.  However, superintendents also carry the responsibility of making sound agronomic decisions so that playing conditions will be maximized over the long term. 

We encourage course officials and golfers to accept the decision of the superintendent.  It doesn't matter whether the course down the street is open or closed.  Every site is different.  We are fortunate to play golf 12 months of the year.  Cold weather is sure to interrupt play from time to time, but keep the faith; another golfing day is just around the corner!

Morning Symphony...

No doubt, one of the best perks of my job!