Skip to main content

Survey results on Fairways and landing areas


One of the sections of our member survey was regarding the condition of our fairways and landing areas. Overall the comments were very positive. Most of our members have noticed that we have been mowing our fairways shorter than in previous years. This provides a tighter, more dense surface for ball roll and to hit off of.
There was a comment about some areas that are thin and require some attention. On a clay based golf course you often run into issues with heavy compaction and wear areas. Particularly during the height of the season when golf carts are heavily used (including tournaments, etc). Turfgrass has a hard time growing in these areas of heavy compaction because roots cannot navigate through the soil when it is rock hard, etc. We are beginning a new era of fairway maintenance at HCC. We have recently purchased a fairway aerator and a fairway verticutting unit. We are going to be using this aerator (which slices into the root zone) to relieve compaction. I posted some pictures of this machine back in the fall, as you can see there is very little disruption to play.
Another issue that we have at HCC is worm castings on fairways. Although worms are beneficial for soil, the worms create a maintenance nightmare for mowers (and golfer's shoes). The accumulation of castings causes a poor cut and dulls the mowers very quickly. We drag our fairways prior to mowing to help alleviate the issue, but this is a band aid, not a solution. The USGA has done research on the effect of fairway topdressing to help reduce worm castings. This has proven to be true, however it is a process and does take a few years of application to see the benefits. This issue presents some questions for myself and the Green Committee to address in the near future. As I had mentioned, overall the comments on our fairways were very positive. As always, there is always room for improvement.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Practice Range Tee

Last fall we utilized a “new to us” method of revitilization for our practice tee. Our contractor TDS,  fraize mowed the surface of the tee to remove organic matter as well at to aid in leveling. The tee was then aerified and seeded to a new variety of creeping rye grass. We chose this type of turf grass as research  shows rapid recovery and a low growth habit. We were able to get some great growth in the fall, but the tee is still not ready for traffic and full use. The plan is to utilize the mats until growth has filled in some of the voids etc. We will then begin to slowly set up hitting areas on the grass tee. For a while we will alternate between grass and the mats with a 50/50 ratio of use. Once the grass tee is established and is in adequate recovery mode, the practice areas will be back to normal. As always our membership’s patience is appreciated as we try to improve these areas for use.
Post a Comment
Read more

Winter is here...

Happy New Year! The winter weather has certainly arrived with sub zero temperatures and snowfall  accumulating...We were very fortunate this fall with a balmy forecast, work continued right up to the Christmas break is steady fashion. Our most recent phase of drainage work was completed in due time. Dry and warm conditions made for clean and quick work. Areas of focus this fall were the rough, fairway and green on the 14th, some smaller rough areas on 11, 17 and the upper landing area of the 3rd fairway. Our tree management plan is in full swing with the removals of some dead Ash trees. An important part of our tree plan is to re-plant a more desirable species in these key areas. The trees have been tagged for delivery as soon as possible in the spring. Our winter greens preparation plan was completed in due time as well. We have performed all of our fall cultural practices and winter prep tasks to give our greens the optimal chance of winter survival. In addition to our ann...
Post a Comment
Read more

Golf Course & Grounds Department Update

During the winter months our department keeps busy with a number of tasks required to help ensure the upcoming golf season goes smoothly. Through the course of the winter myself, our Assistant Superintendent (Paul) and our Equipment Manager (Alan) attend a number of professional development opportunities to further our knowledge, techniques and practices. We are also required to submit all of our Chemical application and Fertility data to the Ministry of the Environment to conform to the Integrated Pest Management Council. Another substantial task is the complete refurbishment of our course accessories, benches and equipment. All of our course accessories are painted, cleaned or replaced to ensure a functional and aesthetically pleasing setting is presented for our membership. Every single piece of equipment is serviced, sharpened and gone over with a fine tooth comb for safety defects, etc. This winter has been far different than the previous two that we experienced. Fortunatel...
Post a Comment
Read more