Winter Weed Application

Now that the weather has cooperated and the course has dried up a bit, we are out dilligently spraying the winter weeds on the course.  Currently we have sprayed over 32 acres in the past few days.

This application is different from our pre emergent app. Our summer weed prevent will begin around January 15.

Also, we have been pruning most of the plant material on the course. We are starting an agressive tree pruning projet that will take place after the first of the year and continue into February.

Hopefully the course will remain dry and the weather will be mild so we can all enjoy being out on the golf course.

Winter Update

Within the next few weeks, our department will be publishing our winter update. This update will detail the projects and progress we anticipate this December through February. We will email this update to the membership and also post it to the blog once its complete.

Over the past few weeks our staff has been completely consumed with leaf clean-up on the course. Heavy winds have brought down the majority of leaves but many more remain on the trees.  We anticipate the leaf cleanup to continue over the next month.

The greens, practice facility, and par three tees have been painted for the winter season. The paint came out wonderful and mimics the rye grass color from the past. We are going to make a second application to the greens in the upcoming weeks and will also be painting some additional areas to the course.

Wesley Michielsen
Golf Course Superintendent

Fall Greens Prep

As the temperatures start to wind down we have to keep in mind that our greens need to prepare themselves for winter. During the next month, we will be raising the greens heights in order to provide the greens with a longer leaf blade to help provide a decent surface during dormancy.

We will be appliying topdressing to help smooth the greens out, along with raising the heights, so as a whole you should expect them to slow down a bit over the coming weeks. The greens will speed.up throughout the winter as the leaf blade shrinks through dormancy.

Many people have asked why we didn't continue with the aggressive topdressing schedule after Member Guest and the answer is fairly simple. With the amount of events we had stacked on top of us after opening,  such high volumes of sand  would not have allowed us to keep the tournament speeds in the greens for all the events.

Tomorrow we will be applying more sand, now that we have a small gap in the events, and the greens should have time to recover even though the air and soil temps are starting to drop dramatically. We will continue to hand topdress small areas also throughout this time.

Contact me if you have any questions and I will see you on the course!

Wesley Michielsen

Bunker Sand Redistribution

We are working on the course redistributing sand in the bunkers. With all the rain this past summer, we had a difficult time keeping the sand at the correct playing depths.  This is normal maintenance we do throughout the playing season and we appreciate your patience as we make our way around the golf course.

Men's Member Guest

First round of the Men's Member Guest is underway. The course is playing very well and the greens are rolling true. What great weather for such a great tournament at our club!

Prep for this tournament is such a great time for our crew. We work long hours and well into the night for days but the smiles, handshakes, and accolades make it all worthwhile. There is nothing better than seeing members and their friends enjoying themselves on the course!

Course Care and Appreciation

I wanted to take a moment to thank one of our members, Randy Holmes, for using his valuable "off time" to help us on the course. Randy came to the course, last week, and hand topdressed all twenty greens in order to fill in the small areas on the greens that were still slightly depressed. We really appreciate Mr. Holmes donating his time to help us on the course. Help like this saves us so much time as a crew.

On a related note, many members have asked about the proper protocol in repairing ball marks... It's the same procedure as with the bentgrass greens, pull all material towards the center of the ball mark and tap down with a putter. The finished product should look like the greens surface. Unrepaired ball marks can take a month to heal. By properly repairing them, they recover in 24 hours. Amazing, isn't it!

Thanks for everything and I'll see you on the course!

Wesley Michielsen

Opening Day

Saturday morning, I stood out on the patio of the club, talked with a few guys that passed by,  and wore the biggest grin on my face. To see everyone back out and excited to play is such a great feeling. As the day closed, I could have hung out all night listening to the stories of who shot what, what putts were missed and made, and all of the wonderful comments that were showered on myself and my staff.

Thank you all for making this club such a great place to be a part of. I can't wait to continue to move forward with the greens and the course over the next few weeks and months.

I hope everyone is enjoying themselves and I'll see you on the course! 

#13 Lake Bank

A lot of players have complimented us on the trimming of #13 lake but many have asked why we left some plant material in certain areas.  Trust me, this was not by design.  The areas of tall grass still left on the lake banks are due to large populations of yellow jackets residing in the ground.  The crew members performing the work were stung several times in the process of trying to remove the material.  We have treated the areas several times but the bee presence is still very high.  Once the bees are exterminated then we will finished the work that was started.

The Importance of Temperature

While we have made great strides with the Mini Verde greens throughout the unusual cool temps and heavy rain, nothing compares to what a 90 degree day with full sun can do. 

The greens have responded amazingly well through the past week of high 80's-low 90's temperatures. Based off of this summers weather pattern, I couldn't have asked for a better scenario going into the reopening.  Higher air temps do so much for turf grass types like Bermuda. Higher air temperatures are directly related to higher soil temperatures and this is why the grass thrives.  When the canopy of the plant and the subsurface reach higher temps, this creates a perfect platform for all areas of plant growth.  Roots begin to search deeper for water and the stolon of the plant starts to aggressively grow laterally.

Temperature and sunlight are critical in growing and maintaining a healthy and vibrant sports turf.  As the temperatures increased over the past week, this allowed the plant to photosynthesize more, thus creating a need for more food to grow.  We have been fertilizing the greens with a formulated plan that gave the grass an opportunity to explode once the higher temps set in.

As you can see from the pics below, taken this morning, we have made tremendous strides over the past week.  I think I speak for all the GCM staff when I say, we are very excited to be on the verge of opening the course greens for member play.

Wesley Michielsen

 

#6 Green

 

#7 Green

 

#8 Green

Groundhog Day

Flood from last night.  Not as severe as May but still just as daunting of a clean up.

The picture above is what the golf course has looked like five times since the first of July.  Amazing

Flood from 5-19-13 a week and a half before Club Championship

August 19th flood

From Saturday to Monday morning we have received another 3.5" of rain here at the course.  The golf course has received this type of substantial flooding, twice this year since May and overall the golf course has received flood bearing moisture on five occasions.  This coupled with the regular rain every four to five days has kept of from accomplishing most anything that we have wanted to.  

The repair work involved in this type of situation is daunting.  It will take us the remainder of the week to not only clean the slit off the greens, pick up the storm debris, but to also get the bunkers back together and get the course back in general playing conditions.   Unbelievable...

Weather, Weeds, and Tree Work

As you all know, our staff has struggled greatly with the weather pattern we have been dealt.  Since the first of March, the golf course has flooded a total of three times, the bunkers have washed during every heavy rain event, and mowing has become virtually impossible at times.  All of this, coupled with a greens renovation, has been the utmost challenge we have faced as a crew.

Areas of the course have suffered due to the massive amounts of rain we have received, over 30 inches since March with 20 of those inches falling in the month of July.  Outer areas have become virtually untouched because of the constant scramble we are faced with to get the course back in playable condition.  Weeds have, of course, exploded over the past three weeks and we are working diligently to get them under control.  I personally have sprayed 20 acres of fairways and rough with another 20 being sprayed today. During the month of July, the areas we sprayed just washed away as rain event after rain event continued to plague us.  Our preemegent we applied in February has all but broken down and disappeared.

Our outer have become an extreme challenge for us to maintain, also.  Areas that were scheduled to be cut back and sprayed have fallen wayside to flood repair, course maintenance, and bunker repair.  If the bunkers wash it takes four men, two days, to repair them.  That equates to over 64 man hours just to repair the bunkers every 4 days.  Imagine the amount of weed eating and detail work that could be accomplished if we weren't in the bunkers every week.

The tree work that was planned to help get sunlight to the greens was scheduled as a three week project.  Instead of quickly being able to move through the course the task took an unbelievable three months.  Every area the worked in was completely destroyed to some extent.  12, 8, 10 and other areas suffered major damage from trying to get the logs out.  This repair work to these areas has severely hampered us from the other projects we had planned during the renovation i.e.: sodding of traffic areas and cleaning of outer areas. 

Below are some pictures from Wednesdays rain event.  I can't tell you how disheartening it is to see this constantly. Our staff is working diligently to get the golf course back in shape so we can have the type of grand re-opening that members, guests, and our staff anticipated when this much needed and welcome project was announced. 

If you ever have a question or comment about the course, please feel free to contact me at any point in time. 

Wesley Michielsen

Wesley.michielsen@ourclub.com
404-886-3627 cell
770-888-4928 office

Damage from tree company on number 8 attempting to remove trees

#18 bridge on Wednesday

#6 green during the rain event Wednesday

#1 creek out of its banks Wednesday

New Greens Aerification

10 days of sunny weather, with only .5" of rain, gave us the opportunity to aerify the new greens.  This aerification will not only help stimulate new growth but will also give us the opportunity to smooth the greens out with aggressive rolling.  The holes are left open in order to give the subsurface the ability to compress and become firmer while also improving our mowing capabilities.

Greens Renovation Update

    

      Now that we have started receiving sunshine during the day, the sprigs are taking off and looking great.  While during the heavy rain events, we applied a heavy amount of sand,  the sprigs are moving through the sand and establishing themselves very well.   We began mowing the new greens today and we will continue to push the greens through the next few weeks by lowering the heights, continuous rolling, and heavy fertilization.  Pike Creek Turf (MiniVerde supplier) and our team of agronomists are very pleased with the amount of growth on the greens.  We are on track to have great greens come September 1st!

First mowing at 6am this morning. 

Two weeks after sprigging. What a huge difference!

Rolling the greens after sprigging

Rain, Rain, and more Rain

During our sprigging and grow in of the new greens we have received an unprecedented amount of rain.  There are many more pics like the ones below and the repair work was extensive.  All is good now and the greens are growing in very well!

Here is a pic of number 8 green after the rains, in the early part of the month, two days after sprigging.

Preparing the greens for Fumigation

Preparing the greens for Fumigation



Preparing the greens for fumigation is an arduous process.  Rain was in the area during the first part of the week and impacted things quite a bit.  Despite the rain, we were able to keep things on schedule by working as late as possible.  All of us are pretty worn out but the end result will be well worth it.  All of us are really excited about the future of the club!

Heavy verticutting was performed to remove the thatch layer from the old surface.  This allows the Bermuda to tack into the greens at a much faster rate.  All of the old turf is not removed so that the organic matter in the green can be used to help retain moisture and keep the sprigs wet.

Spraying the Greens for our MiniVerde conversion

Spraying the greens for our MiniVerde conversion

I'm sorry it has taken so long to post these pics but we have been diligently working to prepare the greens for our conversion.  On June 10th we sprayed the greens with a combination of Roundup (kills everything) and Fusilade II (kills bermuda). After the greens were sprayed we waited a week and then started the process of removing the dead bentgrass and preparing the greens for Fumigation.

May Flooding Update

May 19th storm and flood update

The massive storm that took place on the 19th of May, deluged the golf course with trash and debris of epic proportions.  I have been the superintendent at Laurel Springs since 2003 and I have never seen the golf course flood at this level.  We have worked tirelessly over the past week and a half to not only get the course playable for normal levels of play but also for the Club Championship this weekend. 

Just to give you an idea of the extent of flooding we received, number seven green was under water by about five feet and number sixteen green saw at least two feet of water over its surface.  The water receded quickly, yet left tons of debris on the course. Fortunately, none of our infrastructure was damaged in regards to bridges so the golf course was reopened fairly quickly.

Number 16 fwy landing area

Number 7 from 150 yards out

16 green

18 fwy with two feet of silt and trash

16 fwy cleanup

18 bridge



Greens Project Update



As most of you know, the tree removal for the greens project was scheduled to start on May 1st.  Due to the inclement weather we have been dealt, the project start date has been pushed back to this Wednesday.  We will start removing trees in areas that are the driest available so we have minimal impact on the golf course turf.

Spring Dead Spot

Spring Dead Spot Update



Every year, with the onset of course green up, we encounter Spring Dead Spot or SDS as its called in the golf industry.  SDS is a turf disease that attacks the turf during the fall and is near impossible to detect. The timing of chemical applications seems to be critical in stopping the disease.  Without being to detect the problem then most chemical applications are needlessly wasted.  Also. the chemicals available are not cost effective when it comes to spraying acres of fairways. 

University professors have worked extensively to understand the problems associated with the onset of this disease.  One tactic, which we have employed for the past four years, is to apply at least one extra pound of potassium to the fairways in the fall.  This helps protect and invigorate the roots through the attack of the pathogen and helps build the plants resistance over the years.  Although we still contract the disease, it has become much less prevent throughout the course.

Wildlife Series: Red Tail Hawk

Red Tail Hawk

 

 

 

One of our many birds we see throughout the course is our resident Red Tail Hawks.  These birds can be seen throughout the golf course at any given time of day.  Early in the morning or late in the afternoon, you can hear their cries as they hunt.  Evan Collins, our assistant superintendent and National ClubCorp Super Star award winner, snapped this series of pictures during a late afternoon on the course.  Stunning photos of the course in is natural state.

 

 

 

 

 

Practice Facility Drainage

 

Practice Facility Drainage

 

 

 

 

We just finished a project at the Practice Facility to help dry up the walk on area next to the cart path.  This area historically stays wet, and with the addition of the new tee has taken on more water than the low area collected in the past.  We added a drain basin to catch the majority of the water next to the cart path and also installed lateral lines to catch the runoff from the slopes.  These additions should keep the area in a drier state, allowing our members to better navigate the area.  

Clubhouse Parking Lot

      Before and During

  After the application

 

 

We are in the process of re-striping the clubhouse parking lot spaces.  The painting will be completed over the course of the next few weeks since the parking lot has to be empty in order for us to perform the work.  Mondays are the best days for us to accomplish this.  

Bunker Rake Renovation

Another one of our projects this winter was to renovate our bunker rakes.  We found a high quality, shrink wrap material that is UV resistant.  This material will eliminate the problem we experienced with the bunker rakes exposing their fiberglass lining.  The Shrink Wrap is a great solution and will  keep the bunker rakes looking great for years to come.

Water Coolers

We are almost complete with our water cooler renovation.  We only have a few left on the front nine of the golf course.  Our talented staff is completely tearing down the old stands, replacing the wood, and adding the stone inserts ourselves.  We think they have turned out great!



Spring Forward

Spring Forward

 

 



Winter Weed Update:

As we move toward Spring, there are cultural practices we must perform on the golf course every Winter.  These practices set us us to have a wonderful Winter to Spring transition with our turf grass.  Every year, around the first of January, we spray the entire golf course, except greens, with a pre-emergent/ post emergent mix of chemicals.  This weed prevent/kill application has to be performed when the Bermuda grass is dormant and temperatures are close to freezing.  The application of these chemicals ensures us a weed free year going forward.  As of this post, we only have about 20 acres left to spray on the course.  The visible weeds are dying and future weeds are being held at bay.

Tree Removal Update:

We were making great progress with our dead tree removal around tee complexes until all of the rain settled in.  We basically have stalled out because of the huge mess we would make.  Our crew is continuing with other projects on the course that are less of an impact on playing conditions. 

Water Cooler Renovation:

We are in the middle of reconstructing our Water Cooler stands on the golf course.  Every year, these coolers receive a new coat of paint but this year we noticed many had rotting wood throughout the structure.  The first cooler to get a makeover will be the largest one at the putting green.   We should have it back on the course with in the next week.