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.