Happy Holidays

The Golf and Grounds Department wish you all a Merry Christmas and a safe and healthy New Year

October Snow Storm Damage

On the heals of the cleanup from Irene the October snow storm that dumped 16 inches of snow on the golf course has caused an enormous amount of tree damage. All our ornamental trees including some of our memorial trees were severely damaged and a number of them will have to be removed. The golf and grounds staff has been making progress tackling the massive amount of branches and small tree that were damaged. A tree company has been working with our staff for the last 9 days to remove all hanging branches and large trees that were damaged in the storm. Cleanup will continue for the next two weeks. Our normal winter prep work of fertilization and winter fungicide applications on greens, tees and fairways is also taking place.
A busy fall for the staff.

Improving Drainage

Vertiquake Unit

Groves are cut on 1 foot centers

Finished surface is playable immediately after the process is complete

The machine pictured is a Vetiquake aerifier that is designed to penetrate through the turf canopy to a depth of 12 to 14 inches. The slicing action of the machine cuts a deep grove and at the same time shatters the soil beneath the surface. The slicing and shattering action loosens the soil so water can penetrate below the playing surface to improve surface drainage. The loosened soil also makes it easier for the root systems of the fairway turf to deepen and improve.

Golf Course Aerification Schedule

The schedule for aerification is as follows;
Greens, tees, collars and approaches - September 12, 13, and 14. The golf course will be closed Monday the 12th.
Fairway aerification and topdressing will start on Thursday September 15th, and continue on Monday 19th, 20th, 21st, and 22nd. The golf course will be closed on Monday the 19th.
The schedule is subject to change depending on the weather.

Post Irene Maintenance

Hand Watering Greens with a Spray tank after Irene

Hand Watering Tennis Courts

Damage From Irene

 Tropical storm Irene has caused severe damage to many large trees throughout the course. Sixteen trees had to be removed as a result of the heavy winds and rain associated with the storm. Utility poles, wires and transformers are still down on the property. Restoration of power has been extremely slow and as of Labor Day power has still not been restored to our clubhouse. The golf course greens were watered using a 300 gallons spray tank until a 400kw generator was located to restore power to the pump station last Saturday morning.
Over 700 man hours by the golf and grounds crew were spent getting the course clean and ready for Club Championships on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  .

The Art of Syringing Turf

Throughout the season you often see sprinkler heads popping up and down as well as people with hoses applying water on the greens, tees, and fairways.  While this is often perceived as us ‘watering’ it is actually a very common and necessary practice called syringing.  During syringing a light mist of water is applied to the leaf blades in order to cool them down and supplement oxygen the plant needs in order to survive the heat and stress it undergoes throughout the day. Syringing does not add water to the root zone or soil profile, the mist is quickly taken up by the plant in order to help it survive the stressful periods. Areas that require syringing are those that are wilting.  Wilt occurs during high stress periods because of heat, wind, sun, or the combination of all three.  Often you can see the wilted areas of turf because the plant turns purple, black, or gray.  If these areas are not treated quickly by syringing, turf loss can occur in as little as a couple of hours.    

Often after rain events syringing is still needed.  This can lead to confusion but is easily explained.  Throughout the hotter, more stressful months of the year the root zones of the plant get shorter and shorter.  So while rain may have occurred the night before, high skies and wind can easily dry up the top ½ inch to 1 inch of turf where most the roots are located in less than a day.  The ground below the root zones is still moist, but since the roots are located above the available moisture, wilt occurs quickly and syringing is needed.

A good example is number 16 fairway about 125 yards from the green.  There is a mound in the fairway that transitions into a low spot where you can often see water puddle after a rain event.  The mound right next to the low spot dries out quickly and wilts easily as do most high areas throughout the golf course, so you can actually see wilt about ten feet from a puddle.  When a situation like this occurs a hose is used to syringe only the stressed area in order to avoid adding water to where it is not needed.   However, throughout the year syringing in the fairways is often done with sprinklers because we have 27 acres of fairways to look after with only limited time and personnel.  Each sprinkler is on for about one and a half to two minutes which applies approximately 22.5 gallons of water per minute to an area 60 feet in diameter.

Once consistent cooler temperatures arrive, root zones begin to deepen, less and more infrequent water is needed, and healthier and more importantly stronger turf enables syringing practices to be unnecessary.  

Ken Welzien

Assistant Superintendent

USGA Turf Advisory Visit

Senior USGA Agronomist Jim Skorulski, And Green Committee Chair Dewey McNamara

Senior USGA Agronomist Jim Skorulski visited Silver Spring on Thursday August 17th and toured the course with Dewey McNamara and Property Manager Peter Rappoccio. The visit is a service the USGA Green Section provides to clubs that subscribe to The Green Section Turf grass Advisory Service. During the visit turf management programs are reviewed; future project are discussed, and a in depth analysis of current course conditions is provided. The visiting agronomists are a valuable resource for clubs. During each growing season they visit clubs throughout the Northeast and can provide information on what is working /or not working in all aspects of turf management. They are also in constant touch with turf research programs that are taking place throughout the country.

Venting Greens

Aerifier with Tine setup

 Venting greens is one of the many aerification procedures that Superintendents use throughout the growing season to help promote water and oxygen movement into the soils that become compacted during the season. Small 1/4 inch needle tines punch over 100 tiny holes per square foot up to 4 inches deep. The surfaces are mowed after this aerifcation process leaving a smooth playable surface. The tiny holes will disappear after 2 to 3 days.

Two machines complete all 21 greens in 6 hours

Putting surface after Venting

Tools of the Trade

Digital Soil moisture meters are a extremely useful tolls for measuring and maintaining the proper amount of soil moisture in high maintenance areas of the golf course,( greens, tees, fairways).
The Golf and Grounds staff will take daily readings in key areas of each green to determine if the proper amount of hand watering or overhead irrigation has been applied. This meter will also help in determining when grass is at the wilting point and a light application of water, (syringing) needs to take place to maintain the grass plant on those hot and steamy days. Each green is tested to determine a baseline for survival. The use of this meters will help prevent the over watering of key areas to maintain maximum playability and water conservation.

Practice Tee Irrigation Repair

 Occasionally a irrigation fitting like the one pictured will fail. This 2 inch fitting was under full pressure when it failed during the early morning hours and ran for 90 minutes before the leak was spotted during our morning rounds.

The water line the fitting was on was shut down; the pipes were exposed, and a new fitting is installed.

Failures like this one are not common but will happen over time. Most 2 inch lines are glue joint fittings and through normal use and winter freeze thaw cycles occasionally the glue joints will give out. This fitting was installed in 2000.

Member Guest 2011 Prep

Heavy rains hit on Thursday prior to the scheduled practice round of the 2011 Member Guest Tournament. Almost 2 inches of rain fell in a 90 minute span making the golf course unplayable; forcing the cancellation of all practice rounds. The Golf and Grounds crew hit the ground running at 5 AM on Friday pumping bunkers; fixing washouts restoring the playability of our 70 bunkers. Greens were mowed,  cup positions were changed and the course was open for play for the scheduled 27 holes of golf by 7:45 AM.

Annual Bluegrass Weevil

Annual Bluegrass Weevil (ABW) Damage on the 16th fairway

ABW Larvae

 The Annual Bluegrass Weevil is again causing problems for turf professionals throughout the Tri-State area. These tiny insects feed on Poa Annua, (annual bluegrass), and also have been known to attach bentgrass when the supply of annual bluegrass has been depleted. Controlling this insect has become extremely difficult the past several seasons. Multi-generations; resistance to recommended chemicals; and changing weather patterns have change the standard treatment indicators, making it extremely difficult to predict treatment timing and what control chemicals to use.
Silver Spring is presently using three different programs to treat these pests. On our greens and tees we are using a program developed by Dupont; The Dow chemical company has developed the program being used on our back 9 fairways and the traditional program of attacking the insects during their egg laying time is being used on our front 9 fairways. All these programs have been developed from years of trails at the University level.

Tracking Blue Bird Populations

For the past several years, Hank and Collette Huidekoper have installed over 15 blue bird houses; checking and cleaning them on a regular basis and tracking the increasing Blue Bird population at Silver Spring. The spring of 2011 marks the highest number of Blue Bird families ever on our property, ( 9 families). The houses that are not occupied by Blue Birds often become homes to other species of birds.
The increasing population is a direct result of the Huidekopers efforts along with the environmentally friendly turf management programs the club has implemented over the last 5 years.

Winter Injury Recovery Update

This picture shows the extent of winter injury to the 7th green after the snow and ice melt.

After aerification and slit seeding the damaged area was covered and the picture shows the amount of regrowth that has taken place.

Winter Recovery Program Continued

Verticutting the green surface

Aerified and Verticut

Organic matter cleanup

Surface is seeded with A4 bent grass

Finished surface

Nutrient package to aid germination and establishment application

The damaged areas will be covered to warm the soil temps to speed the germination and establishment process.

Winter Injury Recovery Program

First Cut on 7 green @ 5/32 " to clean up surface

 

Aerification with small tines to produce 100 hole per square foot

Surface after aerification

Ready to be verticut

Winter Injury 7th Green

These pictures show the winter damage on our 7th green. The damage is in the lower areas of the green where ice formed and several freeze thaw cycles took place. The constant freezing and thawing causes the cells of the grass plant to rupture, killing the plant.
An aggressive aerification and slit seeding will take place next week along with a nutrient application program designed to nurse the new seedlings to germinate and develop. The  affected areas will be covered until the turf can withstand foot traffic.

Tracking Insect movements

Tracking the early spring movement of harmful turf insects, Annual Bluegrass Weevils,  is essential in determining treatment applications. We have installed two pitfall traps on the course; ( the rough on 14 and 18), to determine when insect start to move. The traps are checked daily and when the weevils appear a treatment is made usually 7 to 10 days after capture.

Clearing Greens

The Golf and Grounds crew cleared off 15 greens to expose the ice levels under the snow. A melting agent was spread on the ice to help Mother Nature melt the ice away. On Poa/bent greens most turf manager will start the removal process after 30 to 45 days of snow and ice coverage. Snow cover alone in most cases is not harmful to the turf. When a thick layer of ice develops under the snow damage to the turf can occur.