August Course Update

 Recent Rains

Both courses have experienced significant rainfall over the past three weeks with a total of more than 14 inches of rain.  With that much moisture course conditions have not been quite up to par.  The health of the Irving Park Bentgrass greens has diminished throughout this time frame, going from a nearly perfect root system to a very weak root system and some corresponding thinning of the surface canopy in just a matter of a few weeks.  Throughout this same time period precautions were taken, such as pencil tine aerification of the greens, to allow for improved surface drainage and more surface aeration.  Mowing heights have also been raised from .110 to .130 in inches.  With these conditions also comes a spike in disease activity resulting in an above normal amount of disease treatment applications. This week's more moderate temperatures, especially nighttime temperatures, should provide some very needed relief. With that said, the greens will be fine going forward with a few bruises here and there, but green speeds will be slightly below normal for the remaining part of August.as we continue to manage these delicate playing surfaces

Bentgrass Thinning from Over Moisture and Disease Commonly referred to as Bentgrass Summer Decline

Pencil Tine Aerification

Ponds

 One of the positive aspects of all the rainfall has been to recharge all our ponds on the Farm course.  The pond on #4 was significantly lowered earlier this year to make repairs.  Those repairs were made in late June and the recent tropical depression quickly refilled the pond, All the other ponds were also down significantly as well due to irrigation usage in June and early July, but all ponds on the course are now once again completely full.

Bunkers

The bunkers have also taken a beating with all the recent rains.  The Farm bunkers were built in a way to minimize sand washing down the faces during heavy rains, but the washing we experienced during the tropical depression was some of the worst we've seen since their reconstruction in 2009.  The Irving Park bunkers have always been subject to washing during heavy rain events.  We estimate they have an average of 10-12 bad washing events per year.  Each time these bunkers wash the sand becomes more and more contaminated.  Also, each time they wash it takes approximately 50 manhours to get them back to where they are re-playable.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to quickly see how many man hours we have spent over these past two decades fixing washouts on these bunkers and how helpless we are in protecting the quality of the sand during heavy rain events.  Thursday's tropical depression had the entire staff working on Friday in an effort to get them playable on Saturday only to come in Saturday morning to bunkers that were washed even worse due to the rate at which the rain came down Friday night.

Poor Drainage due to poor sand quality

Guardrails

A new set of guardrails was installed in late June on the Farm course on hole #4.  Guardrails were also proposed on the Irving Park course on hole #16 at the tee box, but meetings with the Greensboro DOT resulted in that set of rails not being approved within the city's right of way, which closely borders the tee box itself.

Farm Ultradwarf Spring Flush and Spillway Repair

 

FARM GREENS SPRING FLUSH EARLIER THAN NORMAL

It's only early March and due to the recent moderate weather we have been experiencing, the Ultradrawf greens on the Farm course are now coming out of dormancy.  This is 2-3 weeks earlier than we see in a normal year.  In the images below you will see on the first one taken late last week where some new growth is showing up where the leaves are light green.  The darker green grass is the older leaves with green pigment.  One week later you can see where the new growth is nearly 100%.  The bottom picture is a green after a mowing showing stripes.  Bermudagrass greens are a little different from Bentgrass.  Typically, when you see stripes on Bermuda greens it means the leaves are growing and laying over and rarely ever will you see a Bermuda green that shows stripes and has fast green speeds.  Many know by now, but the spring flush regardless of when it occurs is a time of very rapid growth and a succulent leaf tissue.  During this phase we attempt to account for this growth spurt with additional mowings, lowered mowing heights and chemical growth regulation.  Despite our efforts it is nearly impossible to maintain green speeds to our typical standards.  We also have to be careful not to over stimulate or overwork the grass because we still have another 4 weeks where we can experience freezing temperatures.  In the event we do experience freezing temperatures you may see us covering greens at a higher temperature threshold than you would expect during the heart of the winter seasonal.  Right now, the plant is using up a lot of its stored energy from the fall to come out of dormancy.  If they experience too harsh of temperatures and are forced back into dormancy, they will be much slower to come out the second time.  With all that said golfers can expect slower roll speeds on the greens for the next few weeks or more depending on the weather cycle over the next 4 weeks.

3/1/24 Light Green New Growth

3/8 100% New Growth

Striped Greens from New Growth 

Farm Lake #4/#8

During one of the heavy rains we experienced in January, the riser cap on the spillway vault structure was damaged.  The damage affected the top 20 inches of the structure, which has resulted in the lake level being down by that same 20-inch height.  We are currently getting bids on repairing the top of the structure to get it back to full pond level.  Until this work is completed the lake level will remain lower than normal.

Winter 2024 Update

January 18, 2024 Course Update

To date the winter of 2024 could be defined as wetter than normal with near normal temperatures.  With that said, this week we are experiencing our first real bought of cold artic air with temperatures forecasted to be below 15 degrees for several nights this week.  

Farm Ultradwarf Covers

Thus far we have only covered two times, but the cold air this week had us working overtime on Sunday and Monday to not only pull covers, but we decided to add some extra protection by adding a layer of pine straw beneath the covers.  Based on the current forecast we expect to pull covers and remove straw next Monday and Tuesday (1/22-1/23) and have the course reopened by Wednesday, January 24.  As we have done in the past when we have used pine straw, the straw will be pushed off the greens to the sides and we will relocate the straw to our landscape beds over the next few weeks.  We pine straw these areas each year in late winter and early spring, so there is no additional cost for the straw itself, but there is a lot of extra work that goes into this process.

Shaking the Straw

Hydrating the Green

Pulling the Covers

Finished Product

Too Much Rain

The rains have been constant and as of late they have been heavy.  We recently had 2 inches of rain followed by three inches the very next week.  The forecast next week, once it warms up, is for 6 consecutive days of rain.  Above normal rains like the ones we've been experiencing make not only for soggy playing conditions, but they create a lot of extra work for the staff in the way of picking up sticks and debris and working on washed out bunkers.  The bunkers on the Irving Park course have always been prone to washing in heavy rain events and a lot of work goes into fixing them up and making them playable again.  When bunkers at Irving Park wash the staff has to go out and shovel off the silt and organic layer, which you never get all of because some mixes with the sand as it is washing.  Once the sand is cleaned off it must then be pushed and shoveled back to the edges and large rakes are needed to smooth the slopes.  The faces will need to be packed firmly to prevent plugged lies.  Lastly, raking and smoothing the bottom is never easy after all the shoveling and gouging that occurs to move the sand back to the edges.  The Farm bunkers have a newer style of construction that helps to minimize washout and more importantly prevents the subsoil from eroding into the bunker sand.  We occasionally get complaints on the quality of the bunker sand at Irving Park but after 24 years of washouts with no subbase protection the quality of the sand eventually deteriorates to what we see in the bunkers today despite our best-case efforts over the past many years.

Righthand Bunker on 6 Erosion and Contamination After Rainstorm

Front Bunker on 6 After Recent Rainstorm

Tennis Court Improvements

There have been numerous improvements to the Irving Park tennis facility over the past year including new fencing, wind screens, adding a new patio area and a significant amount of landscaping to the pickleball court area are just a few of the things worth mentioning.  The latest improvement included making repairs to the brick walkway between the upper and lower courts as well as adding access to the pickleball courts by adding a new set of steps.

New Access Steps

Tree Work

The winter is also a time where we do a lot of tree work.  This year we will remove nearly 20 trees that are all dying, already dead or present a safety risk to the golfers.  A good example of a safety risk was the split tree we removed last summer on #8 at Irving Park.  That tree generated a huge crack after a moderate windstorm and posed a huge risk to golfers due to its immense size.  Another similar tree was recently removed on #6 at the Farm course, which had a large amount of lean, was dead at the base and had a large crack forming in the main trunk.

Dead at the Base with a Strong Lean

#6 Farm Tree Removal Short of Green

Indoor Work

On cold and rainy days, which we have a lot of throughout the winter months, the staff has plenty to do inside.  The number of course accessories definitely adds up on any given golf course and each year all those accessories such as, tee markers, water cooler housing, trash cans, and hazard stakes all have to be gone through and refurbished for the new year.  So, there is a lot of sanding, painting and woodwork that goes on behind the scenes each year to keep everything looking new.

Sanding Tee Markers

Benches and Hazard Stakes

Water Cooler Housing