Where is Winter?

Are we going to experience winter this year?  Or better yet, when are we going to experience it?  Today is January 9, 2012 and again we break 40 degrees which seems to be the norm over the last few months.  I hate saying this but we need some snow and then some cold.  As of now the mild weather hasn't hurt us but if we get a sudden cold then there may be a different story.  Turf or should I say bentgrass looks like it should this time of year, brownish/tan but the Poa is bright succulent green as you can see in the two photos below:

Beginning of 12 fairway.  Here you can see a variety of colors each signifying a different species, cultivar of turf.  The bright green is Poa Annua, which should not be in such condition on Jan 9th.



This is a photo of the blue tee on 9.  The red circles highlight some areas of Poa Annua and like the photo above this Poa looks very happy and healthy right now.

Our big fear as of now is getting a sudden blast of cold "normal" weather without having any sort of insulation to protect this Poa.  By now the Poa should have been hardened off and dormant making it stronger for survival over the winter months, this doesn't seem to be the case this year.  My other concern is if this means a late spring?  If winter extends into March and April that only sets back what we still need to do to get these new greens and approaches ready for play. 

A great deal of talk has been among Superintendents over the last few weeks of not only how healthy Poa looks but also concern for effectiveness of our winter fungicide applications.  Normally by this time of the year we've had a frozen ground, some healthy snows, etc...  The last few months to me have felt like early March rather than December and January.  Has there been some photodegradation done with the fungicides?  The challenge here is the cost that is involved to respray "just in case" the effectiveness of the fungicides have worn off due to warmth and large amounts of sunshine.  One really can't pinpoint either, whether the turf is still protected or not.  These are the times Superintendents are uncomfortable because it is out of our control and it is more a wait and see game.  So we'll wait and see.

Other than concern over the weather and how things are we continue to push along with our winter tasks.  Today Nels Johnson Tree Service is on property beginning our annual pruning.  This has been taking place over the last 4 winters and we are making great headway.  Previous years the tree pruning had fallen off a little so we needed to get caught up.  Since early 2009 we've completed all around the clubhouse and all through holes 1 to 7.  This year I'm anticipating completion of the front 9 as well as getting 2-3 holes done on the back.  I hope within the next 3 years the course will be completely done and then the process will be much quicker as there will be less to prune and less to clean up.  Pruning is a necessary task to help keep trees healthy but also you and our employees safe as throughout years branches die off and become a hazard.  The crew will be here at Briarwood for the next couple of weeks doing the pruning as well as removing select hazardous trees.  Here is a photo of the guys working on the two large Willows between 1 and 9:

The crew climbs all trees instead of using large machinery.  Notice the large amount of material below these trees.

Our crew continues with equipment maintenance and refinishing course accessories.  With the mild weather we've also spent some time outside freeing drain tile of roots so that water can flow freely through. 

Winter Tasks

As we enter into the Holiday season the winter work continues.  Weather has been somewhat mild throughout December as well as through November, quite unusual for the Chicagoland area.  Usually by this time of year we've had some substantial snows as well as some very cool days.  Turf seems to be dormant but these warmer days have me wondering what the turf physiology is doing, if it's thinking that wake up should be initiated or stay asleep.  Mr. Strauss called me the other day and asked what the mild weathers impact was on the course, good or bad.  As I told him my concern would be if the turf actually did start to initiate wake up and then we were hit with freezing cold temperatures that would create some shock.  This time of year we usually have frost in the ground and soil temperatures are quite low, yesterday I measured temperatures under the covers on the greens and we still had soil temps in the mid 40's.  My hope is that we'll get a bit of a blanket of snow down on the ground before we get into the single digit temperatures so there is more of an insulation over the golf course before a hard freeze.

Anyway, as the weather continues so does our work.  We have been outside doing some work as the temperatures have been mild.  The last few days we've been out doing some drainage work as we had some areas holding water and not draining through the tile that was there.  Using our root rodder we pulled a great deal of roots from the pipes we ran it through, again one complication trees create on a golf course.  We continue to find more and more pipe that is damaged or compromised by roots from trees thus inhibiting the drainage that should be taking place.  Maintenance on equipment continues and is moving along.  Haven't gotten into to big of jobs yet but we have some ahead of us.  We recently just went through our small greens sprayer and revamped it to hopefully get it through this season before a new one is requested.  This is probably one the most important pieces of equipment in our fleet which is now 10 years old.  Each piece of equipment has been washed and soon to be detailed as we wrap up the tee and green accessory refinishing.  Refinishing tasks are going great.  Our hopes of reducing the amount of detail and time has panned out.  Prior years a great deal of time was placed painting the wooden yardage and maps for the holes, benches, ballwashers, trash cans, and tee markers.  Since my arrival we've replaced alot of the accesorries that are made from a type of durable material call Rinowood.  So far we've replaced the wood on the benches, tee markers, and trash cans with this material and it has cut the time needed to refinish substantially.  All that is needed now is a quick sanding and then wipe with some oil/varnish to protect and make look good.  They also give a more natural look.  We've also replaced the old wooden hole markers with the bronze plaques that are placed in the tees and those take little to no time at all to refinish. 
Guys are taking the earned and much needed vacations.  Over the winter we keep 7 guys on staff including myself, Moe, and Nathan.  We all pitch in to get all winter tasks complete but also with snow removal at the clubhouse.  At all times we have 2 bodies available for snow detail if needed, and so far that has been very limited this winter.  I'm sure at some point we'll have to make up for that.  We'll continue to push along through our winter maintenance tasks but also get some work done outside on days that allow.  Hope everyone is well and enjoying the winter.  Here are some photos of some work that was being done today:

Moe doing maintenance on one of the utility carts.  Normal maintenance includes changing all filters, lubricants, and greasing moving parts.  We've also been checking all bolts etc... as BCC has some rough terrain and things get shaken loose or broken over the years and some of these carts are pushing 8-10 years old.

Cuco and Nathan refinishing tee markers.  First they have been lightly sanding them down, painting the tee color designation, then a quick application of oil/varnish.

Photo shows in the foreground a tee marker after it has been sanded lightly and in the background ones that have been oiled/varnished.

Tee markers having the color designation painted on them.

Winter Duties

Now that we've wrapped up putting the course to bed we are on to our winter duties.  Over the last week or so we've hit equipment maintenance full steam ahead.  First with each piece of equipment we spray it down with an industrial degreaser then use our pressure washer to clean from head to toe.  Keep equipment clean is a pet peeve of mine and I'm always on our guys about such a task.  By keep the equipment clean not only can you prolong the body life but also helps us to notice if there are any leaks or issues with the machinery.  Junior, Moe, and Antionio are all working together on getting oil, filters, and other things changed as well as going through each piece to inspect for preventative maintenance or find any other issues. 
Nathan, Jorge, and Cuco have all begun working on refinishing our tee and green supplies.  They've inventoried bunker rakes to see what we need, whether it's replacement handles, heads, or just the end rubber grips.  They've already sanded down all the cups and repainted them.  This is a task that is done every winter but we also do it throughout the season.  2 sets of cups are in our possession so that every other week we can bring the one set in to refinish while the other set is then used on the course.  Benches have all been stained and put away for the winter and now they have begun to sand down all the CDGA plates from the tees so that way they are ready to be repainted. 
Next week there are to be a few nicer days so we'll get outside to get some work done, but for the most part it is the inside work that will accompany the majority of our time.