Course Update 5-28-14

Yesterday the course was closed and our staff worked from daylight to near dark, getting the course ready for the week, after a busy Thursday-Monday Memorial Day weekend. So many people were out playing and it's great to drive around talking to people four days in a row.

We have been fertilizing, topdressing, and mowing as much as possible over the past few weeks now the course is in full growing mode. It's been a busy time for our staff and I know we are all happy to start seeing the results of warm weather.

The pic below was taken late afternoon as we were watering in the topdressing along with a fertilizer application.

Tight shot and such a beautiful view.

Golf's winter woes reach into Georgia

Great article on the winter of 2013/2014

Golf's winter woes reach into Georgia

For those thinking that the troubles related to the severe winter of 2013-14 have been limited to golf courses in the northern U.S. and Canada, think again.

Courses as far south as Georgia and Florida have experienced varying degrees of turf loss this spring because of the unusual spells of cold weather that stretched into these areas. And now, according to a news release from the Georgia GCSA, superintendent's ability to quickly repair these areas of dead turf is being hampered by a critical shortage of sod, which means golfers emerging from hibernation are finding straw-colored blotches littering their fairways and green surrounds.

“It really has been a perfect storm,” says Ken Mangum, CGCS at Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, which hosts the U.S. Amateur Championship in August.

A significant number of sod farms in the Southeast closed during the recession and most others reduced their acreage. For those survivors, golf is generally a sideline behind demand from the commercial and residential sectors. As the economy recovered and construction resumed, golf’s supply was already being squeezed.
“But we also had cool, cloudy and wet conditions last summer that extended into the fall,” Mangum adds. “So a lot of farms weren’t able to establish new sod after their harvest last year. Now we have all these golf courses that suffered badly because of the winter. And even if you do find some sod, good luck trying to secure a truck to deliver it.”

Mangum, who has prepared the golf course for two PGA Championships and a U.S. Women’s Open at Atlanta Athletic Club, will be inducted into the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame in January. He says the past winter was the worst he could recall since 1977 when “we stayed frozen for six weeks straight and it killed a lot of grass everywhere.”

The most susceptible areas on a course are north facing slopes, persistently shaded areas and areas with poor drainage.

The good news is that the greens at most facilities came through mostly unscathed. Bentgrass is relatively cold tolerant and most courses with warm-season bermudagrass greens now use covers when temperatures plummet. But on fairways, around the greens and in rough areas which are grassed almost exclusively with warm-season turf in Georgia, superintendents can do little but cross their fingers.

Officials from the Georgia GCSA have asked for patience from golfers while their courses recover, which will happen, eventually. But without sod at the ready, recovery will require consistently warm temperatures and clear skies with plenty of sunlight. Sub 50-degree nighttime temperatures, like those experienced this week, do not help.

“Still, the situation is getting better every day,” Mangum says, wryly. “It’s just that the days go by too slow.”

Course Conditions May 2014

It's nice to start seeing the golf course respond, finally, to the warm weather. As most of you know, winter in Atlanta has brought some less than desired conditions to many courses in the area. If you've had an opportunity to play outside of Laurel Springs then you have probably seen acres upon acres of Bermuda at area courses did not make it. This is due to the extremely low temperatures that seemed to linger for weeks. We faired much better than other area courses that I have either personally seen or have heard about and we all should be thankful that our course came through the winter with very little damage. My initial estimate is about 3000 sq ft of sod that needs replacing. Sod availability in Atlanta is incredibly low and virtually non existent at the current time but we will take care of this as soon as possible.

The greens are doing very well and the health is a directly related to the covers being applied this winter. The covers raised the ground temperature just enough to keep them from detrimental turf loss. I know of one course whose cover blew partially off a green during one of the coldest nights and the turf that was exposed did not make it. As young as our greens are, I'm very satisfied with their health.

The spring dead spot that we deal with year after year is recoving and we should see marked improvements to our fairways if the temperatures stay where they are. Mid to upper 80's are certainly our friend. 

Our Champions Invitational is this weekend and I look forward to seeing everyone out on the course.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at

wesley.michielsen@ourclub.com

Slit Aerification of Fairways

This week we are aerifying fairways on the course. After this is completed all areas of the course will be fertilized again to promote heavier growth. The aerification is performed by a slit aerifier that pushes a large blade into the soil to open the turf canopy, reduce compaction, and stimulate growth. This process is very effective and doesn't impact play as much as a traditional core style aerification would.

The task will be finished by Friday of this week and then we will start on the same process for the tees.

Spring News

We have been really busy over the past couple of weeks... It's been great to be out on the golf course and hitting a stride in a work week without rain.

Leading up to member /member the golf course has been mowed, the landscape area behind #12 green is getting close to completion, pinestraw is also going down around the clubhouse and some areas on the course. All lake banks, creek banks, grass hills have been sprayed to reduce broadleaf weeds and we cleaned out the weedy area behind #8 green. This area is going to be a big focus for us regarding keeping the natural area weed free.

Next week we will begin our slit aerification of the fwys to help promote new growth. This year we saw a resurgence of spring dead spot in the fwys. Unfortunately, this disease attacks in the fall and is not visible until the spring. Spring dead spot has plaugued plant pathologists for years and as of now there is not a reliable preventative fungicide. This aerification, along with a kick of fertilizer to the fwys, will help to jump start new growth in these spots and we should recover quickly, just like years past.

Tee aerification will follow once the soil temperature gets up a bit more and the Bermuda is actively growing. We are fertilizing all Bermuda turf next week and will start a more aggressive plan on par three and range tee tops over the next few weeks. Any area that doesn't show signs of aggressive grow-in will be resodded.

The weather has been super over the past few weeks and I hope you are out enjoying the course.

As always , if you have any questions or concerns about the course please send me an email.

wesley.michielsen@ourclub.com

Spring Has Arrived

Barring any curve balls from mother nature, I would have to assume that spring has sprung and the 2014 golfing season is well underway. The weather is absolutely wonderful today.

You might have noticed we are leaving the bunker rakes inside the bunkers now. The rakes are placed in the lower entry points to allow ease of access to the rakes. We ask that all players enter and exit through the lower end to keep the upper lips fresh and without foot prints.

Remember: it is every players responsibilty to aid in the enjoyment of the course, regarding your fellow players behind you.

Enjoy the weather and I'll see you on the course!

Pre emergent 2014

Its been a crazy year for weather and the course has really taken a beating thanks to the snow, ice, and rain. Its been difficult to find a dry day on the course to get out pre emergent application out but this week has proven to be a stellar one.

With the January thaw coming a month late and temps in the high 60's, its been a perfect combination of weather conditions for us to get out on the course spraying and next week looks great as well. We have currently sprayed all of our fairways, collars and greens surrounds and will be moving onto the rough and tee complexes. To date we have applied around 60 acres of our roundup/pre emergent mix over this past week. A huge accomplishment considering the past months worth of weather.

We are also adding additional sand to the bunkers on the course. We selected and started with the green side bunkers that lacked the most sand and will continue through the course once our sand orders arrive over the next week.

Winter Update January 2014

    

     Although we have moved forward into 2014, we are still experiencing the same weather pattern that kept us from achieving so much this past year.  Throughout 2013, most of our time was spent pushing sand back up in the bunkers and cleaning up debris from course flooding.  Since the beginning of January we have experienced temperature swings of 50 degrees in one day, 56 total hours below freezing, -15 degree wind chills, and only 3 days of golf on the course in 11 days.   Not exactly the start to the year we were hoping for.  The covers on the greens have been quite the learning curve but we have, seemingly, got the placement and removal down to a science.  Our trigger to place the tarps on the greens is a nighttime temperature below 24 degrees.  If you see that the temperature is dipping that low then please call the golf shop regarding play for the next day. 

Because of the many rain events throughout last year and the first part of January, we have been in a constant state of bunker repair.  Our staff has spent countless hours in the bunkers redistributing sand.  While this is a daunting task in itself, it has given us the opportunity to identify bunkers that are shallow and need sand.  Originally, our winter plan was to start a heavy pruning project on the golf course. With the saturation level of the course due to rain, we haven't been able to start. Our plan of action now, is to start the bunker sand replenishment project.  This project will start this week and continue as the weather permits.  I have identified the bunkers that need additional sand and we will move through the course as quickly as possible.  Along with additional sand replacement, we are also training our employees on the proper way to rake and maintain the slopes of the bunkers. We go through this training every year in order to keep our team's mind focused on the quality that we all expect. The golf shop will be alerted as to what hole we are on in case the bunkers are "ground under repair".



Bunker at #1 after our new training session



      Last year, for one of our winter projects, we reconstructed the water cooler stations on the course to upgrade their appearance.  Our staff is very talented when it comes to woodworking projects and we have used these talents on the course for many small projects.  This year we have taken on the task of creating new tee markers for the golf course.  As you all know, our current tee markers are rocks with one face painted to signify tee placement.  Our new tee markers will be a wooden marker that will be stained, have our logo in place, and will upgrade the tee experience.  The new markers will be rolled out over the next few weeks as we complete them.  We are also refurbishing our sand boxes and exit posts during this time.  These will be back on the course very soon. 

Our new tee markers being constucted

 

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