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

Master Plan and Golf Course Update

Master Plan and Golf Course Update

 

4th Green Complex



View from the new Black Tee on 5

 

 

Master plan

The Master Plan work on holes 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9 is almost completed. As of December 1^st the only work left to be completed are the new forward tees on 7 and 9.  We have been lucky that the weather has been mild enough the last few weeks to enable the construction crew to continue to install sod and shape the remaining features.

To date over 23,000 square feet of bunkers have been built; 15,000 square feet of tees have been rebuilt and 40,000 square feet of fairway turf has been added. When the project is completed, (hopefully by December 15^th), over 340,000 square feet of new sod will be installed throughout the construction area.

Holes 4 and 5 have a terrific new look and will provide some interesting options for all levels of play. The goal is to open holes 4, and 5 by mid- April 2016 and hole 6 and the forward tees on 7 & 9 by early May. No winter play will be allowed on holes 4, 5, &6. The rest of the course will have winter temporary greens and tees available.

Golf Course

The lengthy process of getting the golf course prepared for a long cold winter is well underway. To date all greens, tees, and fairways have been treated with a winter fungicide application. A protective coat of sand topdressing has been applied and we are in the process of covering certain greens and tees. Covers are used to help modify soil temperatures throughout the winter as well as protecting certain greens that are in open areas from the steady northwest winds that blow across the course during the winter months. Greens and tees were closed on December 1^st. Temporary tee markers have been placed in the walkways leading to the fairways and temporary cups have been placed in the fairways. Please do not walk on or play to the regular greens and tees.

Prior to the winter prep, the golf and grounds crew performed an additional aerification to greens and fairways in late November. This additional aerification is designed to make 8 inch deep channels in the turf that act as a drainage aid that help remove surface water from the turf throughout the winter and especially during the time of snow and ice melt.

The golf and grounds staff would like to thanks the membership for a great season and wish you all a safe and happy holiday season.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Peter R Rappoccio, CGCS

Property Manager

Why we delay play on frosty mornings.

This is a great video by the USGA on the dangers of playing on frost covered surfaces.

Master Plan Update

The work continues on the 4th hole. The 5 greenside bunkers have been rebuilt and the green surrounds have been sodded. Next week we will complete the 3 fairway bunkers on the left side of the hole and drainage on the right side of the hole. The new tees on 5 will also start to take shape.

The completed green complex on hole 4

Master Plan Work 2015 - Hole 4

Grading the approach to 4 green

Cutting in the left green side bunkers

Right green bunker- shaped, liner installed and ready for sand

View from the expanded fairway area on the right of 4

Removal of the left fairway bunker



New green complex taking shape

The Master Plan work  is moving along nicely.  The new green bunkers on hole 4 are shaped, and ready for drainage and the liner installation. The approach will be graded and new bentgrass will be installed to the green surface. This week the new landing area on the right side of the fairway will be established and the three new fairway bunkers on the left side of the hole will be shaped.

Fall Aerification and Project Schedule

The fall aerification schedule has been modified slightly to accommodate the efficient
use of our staff before the Master plan projects starts on September 14th.
Originally green aerification was to take place on September 28 & 29. Those dates have been moved to September 8 and 9. This will allow the  entire staff to be available to complete the process before the master plan starts. Fairway aerification and topdressing will start September 10th and continue on September 14th. The course will be closed for all play on September 8th and 14th.
Tees will be aerified in August.

AERIFICATION SCHEDULE:
TEES- AUGUST 24TH AND 31TH
GREENS- SEPTEMBER 8TH AND 9TH- COURSE CLOSED ON SEPT. 8TH AND 9 HOLES CLOSED ON SEPT.9TH
FAIRWAYS- SEPT.10TH, 14TH, 15TH, 16TH.- COURSE CLOSED ON SEPTEMBER 14TH

Happy July 4th Weekend

Early morning prep for the weekend. Fireworks tonight on what is a perfect day. Enjoy the weekend

Snack Bar Project

The old Snack Shack

The new lay out

Ready to be landscaped

Construction of the new Snack Bar is almost completed. Landscaping and paving the walkways will be completed this week and the building should be operational by the weekend.
A great upgrade for the club.

Open for business

Winter Damage Recovery

6 th Green on April 5th

6 th Green on May 5th

Our winter damage recovery program is showing some great results. There is still some work to do on a few greens but  the warmer weather were are experiencing will help to accelerate the new growth necessary to get the remaining two greens  ,(1&8),  back into play.

Winter Damage

The pictures below shown the Crown Hydration damage to the POA on 4 of our greens. The severe winter has caused widespread damage to putting surfaces throughout the Met section. I spoke to 10 area superintendents that are all battling the results of prolonged snow and ice cover and extremely low temperatures.
We have aerified, double verticut and seeded all of our affected greens and have used turf covers to modify the soil temperatures in an effort to speed up the germination process. The greens most severely affected will remain closed until the new seedlings can withstand foot traffic.

8 green

1 green

6 green

15 green

April 1, 2015 Golf Course Update

Golf Course Update                                                                                                                 April 1, 2015

 

                There has not been a significant amount of melting since the last update. The golf course has several hole that still have an 80% snow cover. The golf and grounds crew has cleared all the greens of snow and ice and after examining the 10 greens that we do not put turf covers on and there are some signs of winter injury on several of those greens, (1, 6, 8, & 18). We are hoping that once the soil temperatures warm that the damaged areas will grow out of the injury. The damaged areas will be aerified and seeded. The damaged areas will be put on a recovery program which will include weekly foliar fertilization and light topdressing. The areas affected will be covered with turf covers and if necessary those greens may remain closed until the turf has recovered enough to survive foot traffic. The remaining greens that have covers on them will be examined next week to assess the health of the turf.

There are early indications that some areas of our fairway turf also has winter injury. Pockets of ice that formed in early January and have been coved with snow for the last 60 plus days has deprived the turf of the necessary oxygen to survive. Aerification and seeding will also be performed on the damaged areas.

The practice tee mat system has also sustained some damage from the winter winds, snow and ice. The supporting structure for the mats has shifted and several mats have been moved from the structure. Presently the mats are still under snow and ice. The company that installed the mat system has been notified and we are on their schedule to fix the problem as soon as the snow and ice are melted and the ground is workable.

Unfortunately with the amount of snow still present on the course it will be some time before we can safely open the course for play. Trying to predict an opening date is difficult, but I am guessing sometime in the third week of April. The weather will obviously be the determining factor if that date is viable.

I will continue to keep you updated on the changing conditions.

Peter Rappoccio, CGCS

Course Update

 

 

Spring 2015 Golf Course Update:

 

The seasonal temperatures this past week has begun to melt the heavy snow cover on the course.  The Golf and Grounds crew has been able to open some roads around the course to get to the greens that do not have covers on them and do an assessment of the conditions under the snow. Several greens have a one to three inch ice layer on them and those green had the snow removed so the warmer temps could help melt the ice. Presently greens 3, 6, 8, 1, 9, 10, 12, 16, 18, and the practice green have been cleared of snow.  The ice levels on greens 3, 6, 18 & half of 12 are completely gone and we are hoping within the next week the remaining greens that were cleared will also be devoid of any ice.

The green surfaces with the exception of #6 look ok. There are several areas on #6 that are discolored and appear damaged. We removed plugs from those areas and have them inside at the maintenance facility trying to “push” the turf out of the winter dormancy to assess any damage. When temperatures rise and the turf comes out of dormancy a better assessment can be made.

The greens with covers appear to be ice free under the covers so at this time we have decided to let Mother Nature do her thing and melt the snow off the covers.

When the snow does melt off,  the turf will be super saturated and will need several days under normal temps to firm up to be safe to walk on without doing damage to the grass plants and soil structure. The 2.5 feet of snow we have had equates to 605,000 cubic yards of snow on the acreage we maintain at the club. That is a lot of frozen water

I would say at this time, our normal opening date of the first week of April is definitely in jeopardy.

I will continue to keep you updated during the next few weeks.

Peter

FROM JANUARY USGA RECORD

What Do You Do All Winter?

By Dave Oatis, regional director, Northeast Region
January 20, 2015


Just about every year, turf professionals everywhere get the same question: “what do you do in the winter?” The answer to this question may surprise you. Understandably, golfers sometimes assume that winter is “kick back time” for golf course superintendents. After all, not much golf is being played in the northern half of the country. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Winter in the northern half of the country usually brings a change of schedule – and some relief – from the day-to-day grind of the golf season, but there still is much work to be done. Often, winter  is “project time,” allowing superintendents to focus more resources on accomplishing bigger, more disruptive projects at a time when grass doesn’t require mowing and golfers won’t be bothered. Tree work, drainage work, bunker construction, and myriad other projects all can be done in the late fall and winter – provided the weather cooperates. When the weather doesn’t cooperate, there may also be snow to plow and parking lots and sidewalks to treat. Just as it does in the summer, the weather presents its own set of challenges during winter and outside work on the course can be a battle against the elements. Additionally, course accessories like ball washers, tee markers, and benches need to be cleaned and painted, future projects planned, equipment maintained, etc.
In addition to on-course projects, several opportunities for continuing education take place during winter. The turfgrass management profession is dynamic and the development of new products, techniques and research constantly occurs. Therefore, it is important to continually learn about new advancements within the industry. The USGA annually funds turfgrass research projects at universities across the nation. The information developed from research is published and presented at turf conferences and meetings, so attendance is critical. There are many education opportunities during the year, but the winter turf conferences are among the most important for turf professionals. Furthermore, educational conferences provide time to obtain certification credits and allow superintendents to network.
Hopefully you get the idea; a superintendent’s work is never done. So, while the occasional winter vacation may take place, winter still is definitely not “kick back time” for golf course superintendents. Winter means changing schedules and shifting priorities while always striving to improve professionally so the job can be done more effectively.

Greens Aerification

 

Greens Aerifier at work