Beginning Repairs And Setting The Schedule

As we enter this final week of May the picture for what needs to be accomplished over the next several months is much clearer.  While the two courses have shown slight improvement, the amount of damage the original plan laid out for repairs has not changed much.  The plan is a two part equation.  The first part of the equation is to continue laying sod on each of the two courses in areas where sprigs are not practical.  The installation of sod will likely continue until the middle part of August.  The second part of the equation will involve sprigging large portions of the Irving Park fairways in addition to the Farm driving range and chipping fairway.  

On the Irving Park course we have estimated we have close to 8 acres (1/3 of the total fairways) that will require sprigs to be planted in order for them to fully recover by late summer.  Sprigging the Irving Park course will require the course to be closed for approximately 3 weeks.  Closing is necessary because the sprigged areas will require significant cultivation prior to planting and significant watering following planting.  The 3 week minimum period is necessary in order to allow for frequent daily watering and to keep all traffic off these areas while they are extremely soft to the point of being nothing more than deep muddy areas.

The repair to the Farm Practice facilities will begin the week following the Carolina Amateur. This will require a combination of sprigs and sod work and will therefore require the practice hitting facilities be closed starting July 15 and will remain closed until establishment is far enough along to allow the staff to hand pick the practice balls. The practice putting green will not be closed throughout this time frame. 

Schedule

June 15 - Close Irving Park for Sprigs

July 13 - Close Farm Driving Range and Chipping Fairway


Farm Course Update

The initial stages of work on the Farm course have centered around repairs to the thin areas of Zoysia, the practice tee and the chipping fairway.  In the first few weeks the staff worked to replace turf along the edges of the greens. Due to the fact that sod comes in from the sod farms at a high height of cut the staff made the extra effort of cutting sod off the 18th fairway to use on damaged areas around green surrounds. The sod that was removed from the fairway was then replaced with new sod from the sod farm.  Zoysia is very finicky when it comes to lowering the height of cut.  If the height is lowered too quickly it will scalp and thin out.  Therefore time must be spent to slowly lower the height in small increments. So by removing grass from an existing fairway you not only have instantly playable grass in an important playing area of the course but you also make it much easier logistically for the staff to get from sod farm height (.8 inch) to fairway height (.475 inch) by having all the high cut sod in one place. 

Once the worst areas around the greens were repaired the staff focused on course conditioning throughout the course for approximately 2 weeks in order to get the course in the best possible condition for the Men's and Women's Member-Guest.  The week after the Men's Member-Guest the staff began working on a few small drainage projects where Zoysia had declined due to excessive wetness.  This will give these areas a much better chance of survival when the new grass is eventually put back in these areas.

New Drainage

At the same time the staff also began removing the dead grass from the back 1/3 of the practice tee and a short area of the chipping fairway.  Both of these areas will be replaced with the same Zeon Zoysia that exist throughout the short cut areas of the course.  The idea on the chipping fairway is to give members an area to hit short chip shots and bump and runs off the same grass that exist around the greens on the course.  By converting the back portion of the driving range we hope to achieve a hitting surface that is consistent with the fairways on the course and is more cold hardy than the existing Bermudagrass that makes up the hitting surface of the tee. As the divots on Zoysia are slower to recover than the existing Bermudagrass this portion of the tee will be managed so as not to allow excessive wear.  The remaining front 2/3's of the tee that is covered in Ryegrass will be repaired in July once the entire range is closed for repairs.

Dead Turf on Farm Range Tee

Turf Removed for New Zoysia

Preparing for New Zoysia Approach at Chipping Green

Once the above mentioned areas are repaired the staff will begin to move out onto the course to begin sodding damaged areas in the rough.  Our goal is to repair approximately 2 acres of damaged turf by the early Part of July.  Anything left unrepaired prior to the Carolina Amatuer will be dealt with in the middle part of July or the early part of August.

Irving Park

To date we have put out approximately 20,000 sf of sod on the Irving Park course, which consist of a combination of Meyer Zoysia, Tall Fescue and Bermuda.  Areas we have made repairs to include the 13th green surround, 15th green surround, and the number 6 green surround.

#6 IP Sod Prep

#6 New Meyer Zoysia

The next areas on the list will include the green surrounds on holes 2 and 10, which is slated to go out May 28.

Damaged Grass Ready for Removal #10 

Damaged Grass Ready for Removal #10

Going Forward 

To sum it all up, it will be an extremely busy summer going forward. Every week the members should see a slight improvement over the previous week. Every week the staff will be busy laying sod or planting sprigs.  Every week extra man hours will be spent hand watering and fertilizing new sod.  But despite the extra workload placed on the staff every week the staff will be committed to making course conditions outside the damaged areas as playable as possible so that the members and their guest can enjoy their time spent on the two courses.  While we know course conditions are not what everyone expects or would like to see we would ask for your understanding as we work hard to get the courses back into their best possible condition.

Substantial Cold Weather Damage

Most golfers who have lived here for long know Greensboro sits right in the middle of the transition zone.  The simple definition of the transition zone as it relates to grasses is the fact that neither warm season or cool season grasses seem to thrive except for a few months out of the year.  A clear illustration of this condition has become very noticeable this year with large stands of the warm season Bermudagrass showing significant signs of cold weather damage at courses all throughout Greensboro and surrounding counties,  Every course has it own unique site characteristics but a few of the ones that have the biggest impact on cold tolerance of warm season grasses are as follows:

Warm Season Grass Type and Variety Cold Tolerance Ratings
Zoysia - High
Common Bermuda - Moderately High
Common Bermuda Improved Varieties (Vamont, Latitude 36, etc.) - Moderately High
Covered Ultra Dwarf Bermuda - Moderate to moderately high
Hybrid Bermudas (419, Tifsport, etc.) - Moderate
Non-covered Ultra Dwarf Bermuda - Moderately low
Centipede - Low
St Augustine - Low
Paspalam - Low

Other Site Conditions - An excessive amount of any of the following conditions will result in a weaker plant with a shorter root system, which will have a negative effect on the plants ability to withstand very cold conditions:
Poor Drainage
Excessive Shade
Compaction from High Traffic
Winter Traffic
North Facing Exposures
Short Mowing Heights

Cold Weather Symptoms on #13 Irving Park Course

With the small amount of information listed above put together with the month of February, 2015 being 10 degrees below average, a late freeze on March 28 with temperatures dropping to 24 degrees and a very cool month of April it is not hard to understand why large areas of our Bermudagrass this year have either succumbed to Mother Nature or in the very least are extremely slow to come out of dormancy.

What We Are Seeing - April 28,2015
It has become quite apparent large portions of our shortly mown Bermuda are showing signs of damage ranging from complete kill to just the top portion portion of the plant showing damage to healthy plants that just have not greened up due to cold soil temperatures.  The Irving Park course is showing signs of damage on approximately 9 acres of Bermuda turf.  The Farm course has fared much better than Irving Park as a large percentage of the shortly mown areas are planted in Zoysia. Where there is Bermuda and it falls into one of the site conditions listed above there is some damage. The amount of damage on the Farm course measures out to be approximately 1 acre. Unfortunately, this does not include the practice facilities.  The practice tee, the range landing area and the chipping fairway are all showing signs of damage ranging from significant down to just a delayed green-up.  The amount of damaged turf currently showing signs of damage within the practice facilities measures out to be approximately 7 acres.

What Are We Doing In Response To What We Are Seeing
1) The first step has been to closely observe areas showing signs of damage in an effort to begin to formulate a repair plan. The next step has been to measure the affected areas.  Based on those measurements we have began to formulate early cost estimates and are in conversations with our sod supplier to ensure they can meet our needs.  This is especially important in a year with widespread damage that will result in critically low sod and sprig inventories.

2) The second step is to begin applying cultural management techniques that will assist the grass wherever possible to come out of dormancy and to begin to fill in and effectively shrink as many damaged areas as possible.  The will include fertilizing a little earlier than normal, aerifying earlier than normal and keeping soil moisture at an optimal level.  Beyond that we just need soil temperatures to increase to allow the warm season plants to take advantage of improved growing conditions.

3) We then plan to begin sodding some of the worst areas in the next few weeks that are in the most important areas of play, such as around greens.  From there we will try to remain patient and wait for the warmer weather to arrive and give us a better understanding of exactly how we need to prioritize our repair efforts.

4) Finally, if the worst does come to be true and areas too large to sod remain in place we will develop a schedule to sprig certain parts of the courses during the middle part of summer to take advantage of peak warm season growing conditions. If and when a formal schedule is produced the members of the club will be notified.

Summary
Unfortunately for everyone Mother Nature has dealt us a tough hand on the golf courses and golfers at courses all throughout the Piedmont will experience less than optimal playing conditions for the early part of the year up and to the point the plant can recover or the repairs are made.  Going forward we will work closely with the leaders of the club and other involved parties to develop an ongoing strategy that will return the course to conditions the members of Greensboro Country Club have come to expect over the past many years.

Concluding A Few Small Projects ...... Douglas Lowe, CGCS

With the onset of spring the crew is back on the course in an effort to finish up a few small projects before the grass once again begins to grow.

Bunkers

The staff on both courses has been working hard to fine tune the bunkers.  The first step has been to probe the bunkers looking for areas where the sand depth is either too thin or too thick.

Where the bunker was deemed too thin new sand was brought in to bring the depth to an appropriate level (4 inches on faces and 6 inches at the bottom).  When new sand was added to the face of the bunkers that sand was moistened and tamped to reduce the potential for plugged lies in the face of the bunker. Lastly, the bunkers are now being raked with a slightly different method referred to as the Australian Method of raking bunkers. The faces are raked by leveling and/or brushing the surface to create a smooth finish.  The bottoms of the bunkers and slightly up the slopes are then hand raked in a tradition manner.  By not loosening the slopes of the bunkers each time we rake bunkers these areas are allowed to firm up to further reduce the potential for plugged lies in the faces.

Wetting Slope Prior to Compacting

Compacting Slope 

Australian Finish

DRT Pavilion 

New plants were recently added to the backside of the Donald Ross Terrace in an effort to soften the view of the large white painted brick wall.  The plantings included Mary Nell Hollies, Drift roses and Daylillies.  This area was especially difficult to plant due to the large amount of infrastructure below ground in this area.  The first hole that was dug resulted in the discovery of a large concrete slab that had long been abandoned and buried beneath the soil.  The next three holes resulted in the discovery of various electrical cables that had to be cut, redirected around the hole and lastly re-spliced.

Relocating Electrical Wires

Digging Up Abandoned Concrete Slab

New Planting

Additional Screening Material on Hole #6 / US 220 widening 

As the construction continues on Hwy 220 it has become clear additional screening material will be needed to reduce both the view of the traffic and noise from the expanding four laned highway, which is in effect moving closer to the course.  Nearly 40 additional plants were added to this area. The new plantings included numerous evergreen species such as Osmanthus sp., Cryptomeria sp., Aborvitae sp., Ilex sp. and Loblolly Pines.

Carlson Dairy Road Crossing

The cart path intersection at Carlson Dairy road was recently marked in high visibility thermoplastic stripping as an additional precautionary measure for vehicular traffic.

Ballmarks - Setting the Example

Did anyone see either of the hole-in-ones shown below at this year's Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship?  If so, did anyone notice the etiquette displayed by both these professionals when going to retrieve their balls.  Many of us would easily lose site of the need to locate our ballmarks and properly fix them and might find ourselves rushing to retrieve our glorious hole-in-one ball. Not so with Rory McIlory and Miguel Jimenez.  As the television coverage clearly showed they both calmly strolled towards the green and when they approached the hole the first thing each of them did was to seek out their ballmark and repair it for the players following behind them. 

Miguel Jimenez Repairing Ballmark after Hole-in-One

It's pretty clear tour players understand the importance of properly repairing their ballmark every time. But repairing ballmarks is not only for the professionals.  All golfers should understand the importance of seeking out their ballmarks each and every time they walk onto the green.  Repairing your ballmark is Course Etiquette 101 and it stands to benefit all those who follow behind you.  A properly repaired ballmark leaves a smooth surface and heals in much less time than one that has been left unrepaired.  As we approach the robust playing season of 2015 let's all make it a goal and a priority to fix our ballmarks (and one more) each and every time we walk onto the green.

"Off" Season Chores

Outdoor Work

January is obviously not a great month to be outdoors. Regardless of whether you are debating going outside to possibly enjoy a round of golf or maybe you have some chores to do around the house neither are fun when it is 42 degrees outside and breezy.  The mornings are especially brutal when the overnight temperatures have fallen well below freezing. While going outside may be a voluntary decision for some, the golf course maintenance staff is not quite so lucky.  Of course some mornings are colder than others but if the sun is out and the temperatures are anywhere close to freezing the staff knows to suit up and head onto the course.  On a property as big as a golf course there are always things that can be done if it is not too wet and there is no snow cover. This year we will remove close to 30 trees between the two courses that are either dead or undesirable. Undesirable trees might include trees that were severely damaged last year in the ice storm, trees that are over crowded, and select undesirable species like Sweet Gums that drop liter in the form of gumballs year round. Once trees are cut down the debris is separated into three categories.  Some will be hauled to the local debris landfill, some will be taken to a local saw mill and some will be saved for firewood.

Firewood

Debris for Removal

Logs for Sawmill

In addition to tree work there is a long extensive list of jobs that need to be completed before the season begins anew.  We now have an extensive planting of ornamental grasses that have to be cut back each winter.  We have dams on the majority of the ponds and lakes at the Farm that have to be cut back each year to prevent trees from establishing themselves and weakening the integrity of the dam itself.  Leaves continue to blow from the wooded areas and falling limbs are a constant nuisance this time of the year, all of which have to be removed to keep the course neat and clean. 

In addition to some of the routine maintenance work we do we will also engage in a couple of small landscape projects at each course.  The area behind #6 green at the Farm is a little more open towards Hwy US 220 as a result of the recent clearing and road work.  Therefore we will be adding approximately 30 new evergreen trees and shrubs in this area to create more privacy for the course.  On the Irving Park course we will attempt to soften the view of the backside of the pool and DRT pavilion by adding a combination of evergreen and flowering shrubs.  We hope to have these projects completed by the end of February.

Indoor Work

Of course there are always going to be days during this time of the year where it just doesn't make sense to go outside.  On those days we still have a lot to keep everyone busy.  There are a long list of golf course accessories that have to be refurbished for the next season. That list would include but not be limited to tee markers, hazard stakes, cart signs, trash receptacles, water stations, range accessories, and benches just to include a few of the more common ones.  Along those same lines the equipment technicians have a healthy list of jobs to do on the equipment to get it ready for another long mowing season.

The aforementioned is just a brief glimpse into a few of the things the staff focuses on during the winter months in an effort to have everything ready once spring rolls back around.  

Bruce Beuchler Memorial Bench Starts off a New Program ... Douglas Lowe CGCS

The Club has now gone away from its Memorial Tree Program on the Irving Park course and transitioned into a new opportunity for remembrance.  Approved by the Board of Directors late last year, the new golf course Memorial Bench Program will allow a limited number of individuals the opportunity to remember deceased members with benches located at select sites throughout the Irving Park Course.

Bruce Beuchler 17 Tee

Our first bench placement for the new program, which is dedicated solely for the Irving Park golf course, was for Bruce Beuchler who joined the club in August of 1979.  The donation was made by his long time friends in the "Golf Group".  The bench now rest to the right of 17 tee at the corner of Granville and Country Club.

While the Irving Park course has transitioned away from the Tree Program due to limited site opportunities and the ongoing study involving the creation of a new Master Plan for the entirety of the Irving Park property that same program still continues on the Farm Course.

FITNESS / TENNIS
A separate but similar program also exist for the areas in and around the fitness building and tennis courts. The first bench included in that program was placed at the entrance of the fitness building in remembrance of David F. Flynt during the fall of 2013.

David F. Flynt Fitness Entrance

For more information pertaining to either the Bench or the Tree Program contact Doug Lowe at Greensboro Country Club.

The Arrival of a New Year .... Douglas Lowe, CGCS

A New Year has arrived... 

A New Year has arrived upon us like a new born child experiencing the world.  Unknowing, eye opening, mysterious, bewildering, amazing, enlightening, and yes at times just plain frustrating as we lie on our back looking out upon the world/new year.

Little by little we figure out how to move our legs/arms, make sounds, roll over, get on our knees, get up to our feet and then walk with help.  The day comes where we take our first steps on our own and then begin running and we never stop.  So goes the life of our country club starting anew in 2015, just as a newborn child, we are preparing to get on our feet and begin running for the upcoming year.

As I was going through my Twitter feed the other night, I saw a tweet from Chris Brogan who provides leadership development and business strategies for individuals and organizations.  He made a blog post/tweet regarding my 3 words for 2015 and asked his followers to join in the fun in what could be a thought provoking experience for the beginning of the new year.

A lot of great suggestions, business buzz words of all types but my three words were pretty simple as a golf course superintendent/manager at Greensboro Country Club:

Sell  |  Service  |  Satisfaction

Allow me a few moments to give my thoughts why I chose the three that I did.

SELL

As a manager, I must sell the product I'm producing not only to my existing membership and guests but to future members and guests.  It is important that I use my influence to explain what our staff is doing to contribute to your positive experiences at the club.  Positive experiences mean a continued use of the club.

 Every time you are out with friends or business associates and Greensboro Country Club is mentioned in some form or fashion, it is my hope that a smile comes to your face and your thoughts go to your next potential experience that you have at the club and that it is shared with all that will listen.  Yes, selling in my department that has no revenues, directly tied to it, does exist and selling in my department is of vital importance to the overall experience one has on any given day here at GCC.

SERVICE

Very simply put, it is my hope that we provide a level of hospitality and service that will allow you to relax and enjoy the time that you and your family spend at our club.  In 2014, we began the process of constructing a detailed master Plan for the Irving Park facilities.  The year 2015 will see the Management of the Club, Board and Strategic Planning Committee continuing the evaluation of these detailed plans to ensure the future success of the club.  Additional discussions with membership will be taking place in the near future.   Lastly, it is important that the members know that we (The GCC Team) want to meet or exceed every one of your expectations and provide great service in whatever area of the club you are utilizing.

SATISFACTION

Our members will not be satisfied if we have not first sold a great experience through our efforts as well as providing great service.  Hospitality, which is the backbone of our business is defined as being cordial and generous in our treatment of our members/guests.  I know you have many choices on how to spend your discretionary income and I appreciate the fact that you have chosen us.  Of course we must also be trained in proper techniques, dedicated and highly motivated so that our members/guests are completely satisfied.  Laughing and being cheerful/friendly is just a part of being Santa Claus, if you can't deliver the packages to the right houses you will have disappointed many people.

Over the next few months as we begin to make our plans (move our legs), implement our plans (start crawling and standing) evaluate our progress and make necessary changes/improvements (pick ourselves up after we have fallen), I hope each of you will be encouraged to spend more time with us because you have received the type of hospitality that you deserve from our staff and this great golf and country club.

Great Health and Prosperity to you and your family this year!"