HOW SOON CAN THE NORTH GREENS OPEN IN THE SPRING?
A frost (frozen) layer in the greens causes water above that layer to sit, creating a "bathtub" effect. This condition leads to soft surfaces and foot-printing under traffic. As soon as the frost layer leaves and the water can release through the profile, creating a dry and firm surface, we will open the greens to traffic.
HOW CAN FROST FORM WHEN THE AIR TEMPERATURE IS ABOVE FREEZING, SAY WHEN IT'S 37 DEGREES?
Frost can easily form on lawns or other objects when the air temperature is a few degrees above freezing. It occurs when the sky is clear and the wind is light or calm.
There are two main causes. Objects such as blades of grass cool by radiative cooling, in which radiant heat is emitted into the air and eventually into space. Air temperatures immediately surrounding or a little above these efficient heat radiators can remain in the mid- or upper 30s during this process.
Secondly, thermometers are usually placed 4-6 feet above the ground. On clear, calm nights, cool, dense air sinks to ground level and can easily drop to 32 degrees or lower, while the temperature at thermometer level remains above freezing.
A local study done on frost formation relating temperature to dew point has these guidelines for frost: temperatures from 38 to 42 F can lead to patchy frost, 33 to 37 areas of frost, and 32 and below widespread frost/freeze. Note that the study did not factor in other considerations to frost, such as sky cover and wind speeds.
A local study done on frost formation relating temperature to dew point has these guidelines for frost: temperatures from 38 to 42 F can lead to patchy frost, 33 to 37 areas of frost, and 32 and below widespread frost/freeze. Note that the study did not factor in other considerations to frost, such as sky cover and wind speeds.
WHY DO WE TOPDRESS GREENS AT THE END OF THE SEASON?
Applying a heavy coat of sand topdressing prior to winter protects the turf from some of the extreme winter weather. Covering the grass plant to a level just above the growing point but below the leaf tip, protects it from drying winter winds (dessication) and to a certain extent, from extreme low temperatures.
More importantly, sand topdressing provides a smoother playing surface early in the spring when it is typically too wet to access the greens with equipment. Late fall into early winter is also an opportunity to get a higher quantity of sand applied when it otherwise might be difficult to do during the playing season.
Conditions must be near perfect for this 3-day operation to occur: dry, firm and not frozen. It is not advisable to drive heavy equipment on greens when it is soft from rain or when the surface is slightly frozen. So as you can imagine, the window for this scenario in late November is very narrow.
WHY DO I SEE COYOTES ON THE COURSE IN THE WINTER?
Eastern Coyote Canis latrans
You will see coyotes on the golf courses in the winter. I’m not quite sure why they are more prevalent in the winter but it’s most likely due to the absence of humans and this is also their breeding period so they may be more active. Most of the sightings have been around holes 4, 2 and 7 on the South Course.
The following is taken from the MiDNR website where you can find more information on coyotes:
There is wide variation in the coyote's color, but generally their upper body is yellowish gray, and the fur covering the throat and belly is white to cream color. The coyote's ears are pointed and stand erect, unlike the ears of domestic dogs that often droop. When observed running, coyotes carry their bushy, black tipped tail below the level of their back.
Coyotes are opportunistic and will eat almost anything available. They will also prey on unattended small dogs and cats, if opportunities exist. Some coyotes learn to kill smaller livestock, such as sheep, goats, calves, and poultry. Larger animals are almost always consumed as carrion. Coyotes are active day and night; however, peaks in activity occur at sunrise and sunset. Coyotes generally feed at night.
Their presence in subdivisions and urban or suburban areas, while surprising to many folks, is a result of increasing populations (both coyote and human) and encroachment of human environments into their natural habitat (from development of rural areas).
WHAT'S UP WITH MOLES?
Moles live underground and surface only occasionally. Their cylindrical bodies and powerful front claws are ideal for digging. Moles create a complex network of interconnected chambers by burrowing both deep and close to the surface, where they often leave visible ridges. Mole hills are places where the mole has pushed up earth above the surface. They have very poor sight and feed on worms and insect larvae that they find by the sense of touch and smell.
Moles primary food source is earthworms but they also eat other insects like grubs. Because moles have high energy requirements, they have large appetites. They can eat 70 to 80 percent of their weight daily. They actively feed day and night at all times of the year. Applying a "grub treatment" to your yard may help in mole control, but is no guarantee against these pests.
How do you control moles? It's really hard and persistence is key. There are several methods that may work. Spring loaded traps and poisons are examples, but since moles normally do not consume grain, seeds or nuts, poison baits are seldom effective. One poison is federally registered for use against moles. The toxicant is zinc phosphide. Traps are probably the most effective control, but again, patience is key.
The most effective way we have found is simply to wait until we see the mole moving in a burrow, grab a pitchfork or other sharp object ... and then do what comes natural.
WHY DOES THE GOLF COURSE CLOSE NOW AND WHY CAN'T WE USE THE GRASS TEE AT THE RANGE?
At the end of the growing season just prior to dormancy, tufgrass needs to maximize it's ability to survive the extremes of winter. We can help that process by employing practices that enhances the reserve carbohydrate (food) level and general health of the turf. Practices like: limiting mechanical damage from play and cart traffic, applying small amounts of nutrients and raising mowing heights to relieve stress.
In the fall, when the grass stops growing, it cannot recover from damage by carts, foot traffic and mowing equipment. We close the golf courses so they have the best chance of avoiding winter damage and allowing the golfer good playing conditions the following spring.
The Range Tee stops growing too, in mid-October. It's too cold for seed to germinate and any damage incurred now will remain through next spring. By using the matts only, we are insuring a better playing surface next April.
WHAT IS FROST AND WHY DO WE HAVE TO WAIT TO PLAY?
Frost is basically frozen dew that has crystallized on the grass, making it hard and brittle. A grass blade is actually 90 percent water, therefore it also freezes. Because of the short mowing height (sometimes as low as 1/8 inch) and fragile nature of the turf, putting greens are most affected by frost. Walking on frost-covered greens causes the plant to break and cell walls to rupture, thereby losing its ability to function normally. When the membrane is broken, much like an egg, it cannot be put back together.
Golfers who ignore frost delays will not see immediate damage. The proof generally comes 48-72 hours later as the plant leaves turn brown and die. The result is a thinning of the putting surface and a weakening of the plant. The greens in turn become more susceptible to disease and weeds. While it may not appear to be much of an issue if a foursome begins play early on frost covered greens, consider the number of footprints that may occur on any given hole by one person is approximately 60. Multiply that by 18 holes with an average of 200 rounds per day and the result is 216,000 footprints on greens in a day or 6,480,000 in a month.
As golf enthusiasts superintendents do not like to delay play, but they are more concerned about turf damage and the quality of conditions for the golfer. Frost also creates a hardship on a golf facility's staff as all course preparations are put to a halt until thawing occurs. Golf carts can cause considerable damage, therefore personnel cannot maneuver around the course to mow, change cup positions, collect range balls, etc.
You may see the grounds staff working on the course before play is allowed. The staff must get ahead of play to prepare the course by at least 30 minutes to avoid getting caught by the lead groups.
WHY AERIFY?
CORE AERATION is one of the “dirty” words of golf course maintenance. With a golf season of seven months, many would question the necessity of disrupting play each spring and fall.
An important purpose behind core aerification is the removal of unwanted organic matter, allowing roots to grow. With a healthier root system heading into the golf season, the grass plant is better able to withstand the stress of traffic. Aeration also relieves compaction, promotes air exchange and helps with water infiltration.
How much aerification is enough?
There is no rule of thumb for what percentage of surface area should be impacted each year. It would be safe to say however that it is difficult to “over aerify”. The USGA suggests that 15-20% of the surface should be aerified each year. This would dictate a larger hole size – and closer spacing between holes during the aerification process – both spring and fall. Changing from a 1/4” tine to a 1/2” tine increases the surface area impacted by four times. Using a 5/8” tine versus a 1/2” tine increases the surface area impacted by approximately 50%.
How long after aerification before the greens are back to normal?
With cooperative weather, the healing process will take 10 - 14 days. Extra fertilizer and water are applied at this time to expedite recovery.
WHAT IS A STIMPMETER?
Watch the Video: Use of the Stimpmeter
The Stimpmeter is a 36-inch long, aluminum tool used to make a standard measurement of the relative speed and uniformity of our greens. A Stimpmeter reading is actually a distance measurement in feet and inches.
At one end is a ball release notch that is designed so that a golf ball will always be released and start to roll when the Stimpmeter is raised to an angle of approximately 20 degrees to horizontal. The basic steps to measure green speed start by rolling three golf balls in one direction on a level area of the green. The three distances are measured and averaged. Using the average stopping point of the first three golf balls, this step is repeated along the same line, but in the opposite direction. The distances obtained in steps one and two are averaged, resulting in the Stimpmeter reading for the green. The longer the distance, the faster the green. A reading of 8 - 9 feet is considered a medium to fast speed for day-to-day play.
The Stimpmeter is a helpful management tool in providing smooth, consistent putting surfaces, but is not intended for course-to course comparisons by golfers.
WHY CAN'T WE HAVE CARTS ON THE NORTH COURSE EARLIER IN THE SPRING?
Turfgrass still in winter dormancy has difficulty recovering from mechanical damage like cart traffic. Until the turf is showing signs of growth - and thus the ability to recover - we prefer to keep carts off the golf courses.
Our opportunity to provide excellent conditions later in the season will be enhanced if we limit the traffic damage incurred in the spring. We will allow carts as soon as possible. We are all anxious to get outside and enjoy the weather.
WHY ARE THERE SO MANY BEES IN THE BUNKERS?
There are many common species of solitary bees that nest in the ground. Solitary bees construct individual nest tubes, each with its own opening.
They often nest in large congregations with many nesting holes arranged very closely together.
Ground nesting bees generally prefer nesting in areas with morning sun exposure and well drained soils containing little organic matter ... like bunker faces. Tunnels are excavated in areas of bare ground or sparse vegetation and damp soils are avoided.
Solitary bees rarely sting
WHY ARE THE GREENS SO BUMPY IN EARLY MAY?
(With a little help from MSU.)
The South Course greens are composed of a mixture of several varieties of older bentgrass and Annual Bluegrass or "poa annua".
Annual bluegrass is one of the five most widely distributed plants in the world. Annual bluegrass is more prolific and competitive under an ecological regime of close mowing, light frequent irrigation, high fertility, and moist soils. It is a winter annual that germinates in late summer/early fall, once soil temperatures have dropped below 70 degrees F. Seedlings mature in the fall, overwinter in the vegetative state, and produce seed in late spring and early summer. Some germination of annual bluegrass seed also occurs in the spring. The seed may lie dormant in the soil for many years before germinating, resulting in a significant build-up of indigenous seed overtime. It tends to be more prolific during wet seasons. Annual bluegrass often dies in the heat of the summer due to heat and drought stress, disease, and/or insect damage
It is one of the most common weeds of turf, ornamental plantings, and gardens in the United States. It is native to Europe but is distributed worldwide. Commonly referred to as "Poa," it is a particular problem in golf course greens and fairways throughout the world.
Annual Bluegrass is a prolific seed producer in the spring, giving the putting surface a white appearance. This seeding also causes the bumpiness you see and feel.
Annual bluegrass is unique among weeds. There is probably no other weed that is so widely adapted to variations in mowing height, site conditions and cultural practices.
Objections to annual bluegrass are most often related to seed production (which can happen in any month in moderate climates), surface interference, color and disease susceptibility.
SOMETIMES IN THE SUMMER I SEE THE POND ON #16 DRAINED. WHY?
The pond is very shallow - about 4 feet deep. Sunlight easily reaches the bottom of the pond allowing submergent weeds to grow and thrive. The most effective way to eliminate the weeds is to apply an aquatic herbicide and this is most efficacious when we lower the level of the pond thereby creating a more concentrated solution.
This takes about 2 days and because we also irrigate from this pond, we are very careful to "flush" the pond with clean water before pumping it into the irrigation system. Irrigating greens with even a small concentration of herbicide has the potential to have some very bad consequences.
WHY IS THE ROUGH SO DIFFICULT? IS IT GETTING MOWED?
I will let Darin Bevard, Senior Agronomist with the USGA answer this question:
Spring Rough Is Rough! By Darin S. Bevard, Senior Agronomist
June 3, 2010
Right on cue, complaints about thick, difficult rough come with spring weather. Overall, spring growing conditions have been excellent for the turfgrass. The golfers are playing, and, for the most part, they are happy until they hit the ball into the rough. Conversations about the difficulty of the rough have come up in nearly every Turf Advisory Service visit. The good news is if the rough is the biggest complaint, everything else must be going very well. The bad news is aggressive spring growth in cool-season rough generally has to run its course.
Most superintendents are maintaining rough at two to three inches, with the most common height of cut being 2.5 inches for cool-season grasses. As suggested by most golfers, the solution for challenging rough conditions is to lower the height or mow more frequently, but this is easier said than done. The frequency of rough mowing is usually dictated by available equipment and manpower. At this time of year, somebody is mowing rough at the golf course Monday through Friday. There just may not be enough "somebodys" at your golf course to mow the rough frequently enough to keep up with growth rate. If rough is mowed at 2.5 inches on Monday, the same rough may be 3.5 or 4 inches in a couple of days. Height of cut is not the problem, but frequency of cut is.
The bottom line is that rough grows aggressively in the spring, even in the absence of fertilizer applications. The result is difficult playing conditions, and this occurs every year. The only solution is to hit the ball in the fairway, play hard when it is in the rough, and know that the growth rate of the grass will slow down as spring progresses into summer. Be patient and be aware that your superintendent is probably doing everything he or she can to keep up with the growth.
WHY DO THE HOLE LOCATIONS ON THE SOUTH COURSE SEEM DIFFICULT?
As you walk onto the first green it can sometimes seem as though the green keeper has had a bad morning. The hole location is on a 45-degree slope, tucked in behind a bunker. No, we do not have a sadistic nature. There is logic to our madness.
We usually stick to a ‘six easy, six medium and six hard’ philosophy. (Of course, each person can have an opinion on what is hard or what is easy.) On the South Course, finding six easy pins can be a challenge and even the ‘easiest’ pins may seem unreasonable. And of course green speeds have an impact too: many hole locations become unreachable at faster green speeds.
Environmental conditions on any given day also play a role in hole selection. If an area seems weak, we will avoid that spot until the turf recovers. The prevailing wind at OHCC is westerly, so we will take this into consideration when placing tee markers. If the tee markers are set up a little short of the stated yardage to compensate for a head wind, we might use that opportunity to set a more difficult pin.
There are no rules regarding hole locations and there is no such thing as an "illegal" hole location. There are however some basic guidelines.
We try to be fair and allow the player to have fun and yet be challenged and see new and interesting holes. We keep the hole at least 3 paces from the edge, in a level area 5 to 6 feet in radius. This is more challenging on the South Course where every hole location can be considered difficult.
WHAT CAUSES FALL COLOR IN TREES?
One of the nicest things about living in northern climes is the ever changing seasons. For a few weeks, nature puts on one of its most spectacular displays as native trees and shrubs finish out the growing season in a brilliant display of fall colors.
Jack Frost usually gets credit for the beautiful colors, but, in reality, fall color is controlled by both the plant's genetic factors and the environment. Carotene and xanthophyll are yellow pigments produced in foliage all year; along with chlorophyll, the green pigment. In autumn when short days and cool temperatures slow down the production of chlorophyll, the remaining chlorophyll breaks down and disappears. Then the yellow pigments that have been masked by chlorophyll show up. These pigments give the ginkgo its clear yellow color. Redbud, larch, hickory, birch and witch hazel turn hues of yellow and gold.
Some plants produce anthocyanins (red and purple pigments) that may mask the yellow pigments. Some maples, dogwood, black tupelo, oaks and winged euonymous seem to be on fire with red and purple.
Anthocyanin production increases with increased sugars in the leaves. A fall season with sunny days and cool nights increases sugar content of the leaves and intensifies fall reds. This also explains the two-tone effect on green ash which exhibits yellow on leaves inside the tree and purple on the outside leaves where they are exposed to sunlight. It also explains the amelanchier which may be red on top branches and yellow on bottom branches.
The tans and browns of oaks are caused by tannins which accumulate as the chlorophyll disappears.
Fall color starts in September with poison ivy and sumac and ends in November with the larches and weeping willows. Frost and freezing temperatures will stop the coloration process and blacken the leaves.
Source: Barbara Larson, Extension Educator, Horticulture, University of Illinois
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE PILE OF ROCKS IN THE FESCUE AREA ON #6?
When Donald Ross built golf courses at the beginning of the last century, he would often stockpile field stone instead of removing it from the site. He would then cover these stones with dirt creating landforms. So it served 2 purposes: eliminating the need to cart off refuse and also providing character. We found these boulders when we were cleaning the area left of #6. Were they from Donald Ross? Not sure. But they were too big to move so we left them in place as a memorial to him. The bottom 24" or so will be covered when the fescue matures.
HOW MANY STAFF DO WE HAVE IN THE GROUNDS DEPT.?
Full time (year around) staff is 12-13, depending on the year. Tournament years we might have up to 15.
In season we have a total of 56-57, including the 12 full time staff, again depending on the year.
WHY ARE THE HOLE LOCATIONS ALWAYS DIFFICULT?
The moderate/easy hole locations on the South are used for the club events: Piper, Hagen, Ladies and Men's Club Championship etc. That means one week prior and one week post event all the other locations must be used. With so few locations available, it leaves the more difficult ones for every day member play.
No, we do not like to "torture" players, nor are we sadistic. To provide quality playing surfaces with so few available hole locations for regular play means using every square foot of the green surface.
HOW MANY STAFF DO YOU HAVE IN THE WINTER AND WHAT DO THEY DO?
We have about 12-14 people that work all year, the number can fluctuate depending on hiring, tournaments etc. Most of our time from December through February is spent on equipment refurbishment but also we remove snow, projects, plan and budget for the year, education, training ... and of course some down time. We also spend as much time as needed outside removing snow from the South greens.
WHY ARE THE HOLE LOCATIONS ALWAYS DIFFICULT?
The moderate/easy hole locations on the South are used for the club events: Piper, Hagen, Ladies and Men's Club Championship etc. That means one week prior and one week post event all the other locations must be used. With so few locations available, it leaves the more difficult ones for every day member play.
No, we do not like to "torture" players, nor are we sadistic. To provide quality playing surfaces with so few available hole locations for regular play means using every square foot of the green surface.
HOW MANY STAFF DO YOU HAVE IN THE WINTER AND WHAT DO THEY DO?
We have about 12-14 people that work all year, the number can fluctuate depending on hiring, tournaments etc. Most of our time from December through February is spent on equipment refurbishment but also we remove snow, projects, plan and budget for the year, education, training ... and of course some down time. We also spend as much time as needed outside removing snow from the South greens.
