The unseasonably warm weather we have been experiencing is showing on the course. The color of the grass is holding its green later into the year. The soil temperatures, rain and sun have created some growth of the grass also. On a walk today, the fairways have noticeably grown since our last mowing of the year. It is not hard to find patches in the fairways like this patch in the picture. Of all this talk about unseasonably warm weather, last year at this time we had 50 [.....]
The water was off to the clubhouse for a short time yesterday and into today. A leak in the pipe between the well and clubhouse had developed. We noticed something was wrong and had been troubleshooting the problem for several days. The pipe was dug up yesterday when the leak was revealed in a fitting coming out of the well. It has been fixed and the water in the clubhouse is back to normal. [.....]
The frost on the ground this morning looks like all the white Christmas we can hope for. Temperatures in the 40 look like a regular thing over the next week. No news on the ice rink for a few more weeks. We are working on a "year in review" post that I hope to have up by the end of the year. Here are a few pictures of the course this morning. All of us at the Green Department wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New [.....]
Our annual equipment maintenance has been underway for a few weeks now. We started with a thorough cleaning after the equipment is done with its work on the golf course. Once that is completed we bring it inside for greasing, cleaning and changing of filters and fluids, then sharpening the blades. All of the equipment has been cleaned and we are moving on to the detailed maintenance for each piece of equipment. Here, Mario is removing the blades from one of the Sidewinders that we use to mow [.....]
Today we are at the Midwest Golf House in Lemont for the first of 2 days of education. Tim will be part of a panel this morning and Steven will be speaking with a group about using social media to communicate with golfers.
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We have Google Analytics set up for the blog which allows us to watch the traffic that come through the blog. Here is a list of the 5 most popular post that are on the blog.
1. VERTICUTTING - From May 16th, 2010
2. INVITATIONAL PREPARATION - From June 11th, 2011
3. RUMBLE IN THE MAINTENANCE FACILITY - From September 14, 2011
4. CICAGA KILLER WASPS - From July 29th, 2010
5. DISEASE IN THE ROUGH - From August 3rd, 2011 [.....]
The ice rink has been assembled, filled, and is beginning to freeze for the year. We can not speculate yet on when the rink will be ready for use. We just have to play the waiting game at this point.
Our trials and tribulations of our first at-bat with the ice rink last year were well documented.
Ice Rink Is Nearing Completion
Ice Rink Problems
We were much farther through winter before we decided to put one in. Though it was constructed properly, [.....]
We spent this morning removing the first snow from the sidewalks this season. It was not a lot, and with the sun out today, will likely melt off quick. This year doesn't deviate from our usual schedule of 1st-2nd week of Dec. for seeing snow. In 2009 the first snow was Dec. 1st, and 2010 the first snow was Dec. 6th.
Our winter preparation checklist is complete for the year. We are now in the process of beginning our seasonal maintenance on the equipment, starting with a [.....]
The first attempt at burning the ESAs on Friday was unsuccessful. The ESA areas are not far enough into their dormancy for them to burn effectively. The amount of smoke coming from the ESA in this picture shows there is too much moisture in them to burn the way we need them to.
We consult with a company called Pizzo and Associates for all of our management of these areas, and this company also performs the burn. We will continue to monitor these areas to decide when an [.....]
This past weekend was the last weekend for the greens this season. We put the temporary cups in play today, and ask that you avoid traffic on the greens until the spring. During the cold weather, we do not want to subject the turf to any stress that it will not be able to recover from while dormant. Also, traffic on frozen or partially frozen greens can cause significant tissue and/or root damage.
Here is a link to a good article from the USGA Green Section about [.....]
11 fairway is slowing beginning to look like it did before we began throwing soil with the trencher 4 weeks ago. 3 days of rain delayed work the second week into the project, and rain with Thanksgiving last week delayed more progress. Our original projection of 2 weeks turned into 4 weeks.
Other than the weather delays, the project did go as planned. We did add 2 more drainage basins to the originally planned 2 for a total of 4 basins on the main line of the [.....]
We have spent the last 2 weeks working towards closing the course for the winter and our list is about checked off.
irrigation system winterization was started on Wednesday and completed on Friday. our final spray for snow mold was completed yesterday. all benches, ball washers and trash cans are off the course. the Halfway House is winterized and closed for the year. the temporary cups are cut in the approaches, but the greens will remain open for a short while longer. we are still battling a few [.....]
Snow Is Up Next: Weekly Updates Conclude, Winter Conferences and Education Begins and Tim ends by saying "Winter Research Project"
Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -
It's cold. In a week we saw nights drop to 20˚ F, their lowest yet on Sunshine Course. We've now stopped field scouting as the growing season has ended. The basis of the weekly Scouting Report is to keep superintendents abreast of what we see and do. In 2011 we wrote a total of 36 reports which ran from 18 Mar [.....]
We are beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel with the drainage project on 11 fairway. Last week's weather only allowed us a few hours of work on Monday before the rain started. A little under 2 inches of rain forced us to stop work on project until the area was dry again. We were back at it again yesterday, and feared the chance of rain could prevent more progress this week. Luck has been on our side so far this week and we [.....]
Triple 11 is Good Luck Somewhere? First Snow, Few Issues, Hindsight is 20/20, and Tim says Scleropthora macrospora
Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -
It snowed in northern Illinois! It was what we had been waiting for - all around first reports had occurred. In Chicago early November had been cruising along with few periods of frost, but on Thursday all would change when clouds combined with freezing tempertures would deliver a more solid substance. For most Midwesterners it was nothing new and reports of snow had [.....]
We have a heavy frost today, and 28 degrees. This will be a longer frost delay. First tee times could be pushed back towards 10:00. [.....]
The weather had the drainage work on 11 stalled this week, so we turned our efforts towards getting the accessories off the course for the winter. Only a few trash cans and ball washers remain for any late season golfers. All signs, boundary stakes, and tee markers have be brought in for the winter as well. We closed the driving range tee this week and are almost finished filling the divots and having it ready for the winter.
The rain earlier this week has stopped the drainage [.....]
It's November: Earthworms, Morning Frosts, Very Few Issues and Tim says Zoysia japonica
Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -
Weatherwise we've seen it all in 7 days from snow to unseasonable warmth. Last weekend, folks to our east got a sneak preview of winter when a significant storm caused power outages and left a blanket of snow that measured more than a few inches. Meanwhile, Illinois continued to enjoy a relatively normal period and, if you looked up, you could see peak fall color of many decidous [.....]
Just a reminder that today is the last day for the driving range and chipping area. We will begin the winterization of these areas tomorrow. [.....]
We are starting Saturday morning with a frost delay. It is patchy frost at the moment. We will get a better idea about the length of delay after the sun comes up. [.....]
We do have a frost delay for Friday. Look for first tee times to be a little after 9:00am [.....]
I do the posting about the work getting done on the course, but this is the group that gets the work done. We are fortunate to have a group of guys that show up everyday and work through rain and heat to get done what needs to be done. All of our crew returned from last year, and we hired one new employee for the summer months.
Name, years of service; Back row L to R:
Torres, 16 years
Nick,
Antonio, 5 years
Juan, 4 years
[.....]
11 fairway has always been one of the worst areas on the course after rains. The edges of the fairway slope towards the center, and there is significant grade sloping towards the tee. This concentrates the surface drainage into the center of the fairway and to the lower part of the fairway. Though the surface grade is steep enough for water to drain, the size of the water shed is too large. As a result, too much water gets concentrated to too small an area, and wet conditions [.....]