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.