What a great Run !!

December 31st marks my last official day as Property Manager of the greatest country club around. My 39 year run at the club has been terrific. I got a chance to work with and train some of the finest young men around. They all were a major key to my success over the years and just saying thank you will never be enough.
I was blessed with a terrific membership that allowed me to run the show my way and gave me all I needed to provide the conditions they deserved.
The club has hired a terrific young superintendent, Bill Cygan who I'm sure will continue the fine traditions and conditions the club has had in the past and will take the club to the next level in the near future.
To all my friends in the turf industry; I'll miss you all. Be well and God Bless
Peter

Fall Aerification Schedule

Fairway aerification

Green aerification

Fairway topdressing

The green and fairway aerification schedule for the fall is as follows;
Greens- September 6 & 7 - course closed September 6th.
Fairway Aerification and Topdressing- Sept 8,12,13,19, - Course closed September 12th.
Greens are also scheduled to be dryjected on October 18th.
All dates are weather permitting.

A great 2016 Member Guest Tournament

Head Golf pro Gene Mulak and me scoreboard watching

The A team- Assistants Ken Welzien and Tanner Collins

The 2016 Member was a huge success thanks to all the hard work of the Silver Spring Golf and Ground staffs. The weather was hot and dry and conditions were pushed to the max providing firm and fast playing surfaces.

The surfaces were so firm not even water will penetrate.

Member Guest 2016

All the prep work is completed. My staff has been fantastic getting the golf course dialed in. Dry, firm and fast!!
Let the games begin.

USGA Tree Survey

USGA Senior Agronomist Jim Skorulski

Jim checking the sun angle at mid day on 14 green

On Wednesday May 4th USGA Senior Agronomist Jim Skorulski, Green Committee member Mike Grenert and myself examined the golf course from the ground up. The focus of the tour was to evaluated the condition of our many trees and the affect the tress have on the health of the turf and the playability of each golf hole. 

Each green and tee complex was studied using a compass and an app developed for iphones and android devices called"sun-seeker". This app will show what the sun angles are at each location during all four seasons. Using the graphics on the screen you are able to see how all the trees around each feature affect sunlight to each location. The key times of the year we really worry about are spring and summer when the plants are actively growing and require the most daily sunlight. It is important to note the amount of sunlight on each feature during the winter months. Minimal sunlight can be critical during the winter months affecting temperature, ice formation and ice melt, all key elements in the battle against winter injury.

The health of the trees between all our fairways and along the perimeters of each hole were also examined during the visit.

Utilizing Jim's many years of experience dealing with golf and trees, the final report from the USGA will be a valuable tool in our tree maintenance program. Turf health,( sunlight, air movement and root encroachment), playability, safety and aesthetics will be the priority moving forward with tree care at Silver Spring.

Welcome to the 2016 Season

The golf course and practice range are open!

Welcome to the 2016 season!

Spring Update

Around the Course   March 2016

 

What a difference a year makes. Last season at this time the golf and grounds staff was gearing up to remove over a foot of snow and ice from our greens. Once cleared the severe winter kill we experienced last spring was revealed, which lead to many hours of reseeding, sodding and pampering new seedlings which carried throughout the 2015 growing season.

Fast forward to March 2016; the golf course is completely free of snow and ice. The greens that were covered for the winter season will have the covers removed this week, and all greens will be treated with an early spring fungicide and desiccation (protection from wind burn) treatment. Our initial examination of the putting surfaces shows some small areas of winter disease, but nothing that I am too concerned about at this time. The grass is still in dormancy and there are some areas of frost still under the playing surfaces. The warmer weather will trigger a growth response on the surfaces and if there is any winter injury, it will appear at that time.

Traditionally we open the greens the first week in April. The earliest we have opened in my 38 prior seasons has been March 16^th.  Weather permitting, I will be opening 15 holes and the short game as a par 3 Friday March 11th (4, 5, &6 will remain closed because of the construction last fall).  Greens will be lightly top-dressed, brushed and rolled before we open them and when indications of growth are present the first mowing will start. There will be no carts until the ground firms up enough to withstand traffic. It is important to realize that conditions change quickly in the spring and if the weather does not cooperate we may be forced to recover greens and close some of the putting surfaces.

We will post any changes and frost delays on the website daily. We ask for your patience and cooperation as we move on through the spring. I will be sending weekly updates as the spring progresses.

Staffing

There is a change to the makeup of my staff for 2016. Casey Sheehy who has served as our Assistant Superintendent for the past two years has moved on to a Lead Assistant position at Bryn Mare Country Club in the Chicago area. We wish Casey all the best and thank him for his time with us. Tanner Collins, who has served as our Second Assistant the past year will move into Casey’s position . Ken Welzien will continue his role as Senior Assistant.

Peter Rappoccio,CGCS