Sunshine Course Hosts iTurf Expo: We String and Sign Turf Research Plots, Dollar Spot Ebbs, and Tim tells of a Multi-State Evaluation
Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -
As I write, today is Friday, but it's not just any Friday. At 4 am it quietly became fall when most of us were still alseep and it was dark out. It means our summer season is offically over and our golf courses now have a look that is not just green. For example, I've begun to notice yellows, [.....]
Aeration will now take place the week of October 10th. The course has received 0.80 inches of rain since yesterday, with more in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow. Because of this, our scheduled aeration will be postponed to our rain date. The aeration is now scheduled for the week of October 10th. [.....]
It was announced this week that Tim won the Leo Feser Award from the GCSAA for his article titled "Shoot The Elephants First" from the June issue of Golf Course Management magazine.
There have been two previous posts about the article:
Tim Contributes To Golf Course Management Magazine
Tim Contributes To On Course Magazine
The Leo Feser Award is given to the author of the best Superintendent written article in the Golf Course Management magazine.
Tim, you just won the Leo Feser award, [.....]
The small pond in front of the tee boxes on 11 will receive a dredging this week. It has completely filled with silt and muck, and is ready to be cleaned out. This will be the first time this pond has received this procedure.
This pond is a silt trap and is doing what it was designed to do. When a drainage line from the adjacent sub-division runs into this pond, the speed of the water slows down and allows the silt and dirt in the water to [.....]
After receiving preliminary recommendations from our tree inventory, we are beginning to remove some tree this week. We have not received the full report from our tree inventory yet, but we have received a list of trees that have been recommended for removal due to safety concerns. Many of the trees on the list have sustained storm damage at some time and have continued to decline. The assessment was none of these trees would ever be in better condition than they are now.
The noticeable trunk wound [.....]
Cog Hill hosts PGA's BMW Championship: We Volunteer, First Frost, Rust Disease, Dollar Spot, and Tim meets PGA's Paul Vermeulen
Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -
Ready or not our fall season is just a week away. I looked it up and fall officially begins on Friday, September 23 at 4:09 am. However, fall seemed to begin this week - an early arrival of cool temperatures came true. For some in northern Illinois, the experience would occur smack dab in the middle of Cog Hill's #4 Dubsdread. [.....]
It is about time to begin our fall aeration. We will begin with the greens on Monday, September 26th. The tees and approaches will follow later in the week. The course will be closed as normal on Monday, and will be open the rest of the week. We will continue this process through the week, so please be mindful of the crew while playing. [.....]
The new seed that was planted a couple of weeks ago is beginning to germinate. You can see the new seed popping up in lines in these areas. The new seed will continue to grow in through the fall, but we do not anticipate full recovery until the spring. The new seedlings are in the areas that were damaged by summer patch this year. (Disease In The Rough) [.....]
Another disease, dollar spot, has been active in the roughs recently. Our green and tee banks have been showing the most symptoms of the disease. We do treat for this disease on our greens, tees and fairways, but do not treat for it in the roughs. We have made a spot application this week to the areas with the most severe infestations. This disease will not cause significant damage in our roughs. Now that these areas have been spayed, we do expect them to grow out of the [.....]
I am finally getting around to post about the lightning strike that has caused us some expected frustration with the irrigation system. The strike happened on the Saturday afternoon of Labor Day weekend (Sept. 3). Lightning hit the tree next to the halfway house and traveled to the roots and into the irrigation wires that are near the tree. The tree was split perfectly down the middle with half falling after being struck and the other half standing. The half that was left standing did have a large [.....]
The maintenance facility hosted it's first event for the members this past Saturday. The first Fight Night at the club also required us to convert the maintenance facility to a boxing venue for the evening. A lot of cleaning and moving around equipment was required, but it was worth it.
Equipment is moved out and tables are moved in.
The buffet takes place of the walk mowers that normally sit here.
The lift turns into a warm-up area for the boxers.
Entrance
Ring being [.....]
Some unfortunate damage has occurred over the last week. This damage is from the fertilizer application that was made to the fairways. We used a contract service to apply the fertilizer as we normally do. This time a different truck and applicator were here for the application. The areas of noticeable damage are around slopes that caused a heavier application. Areas of damage are in 9 fairway, 5 approach, 11 approach, 15 approach and a few other scattered areas.
The applicator truck is equipped with two spinners [.....]
22 Sep Sunshine Course hosts iTurf Expo: Soil Temps Drop to 60s, Poa annua Roots?, Dollar Spot, and Tim says Bewitched!
Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -
It now quickly feels and looks like fall. How do I know? You see I looked out my apartment window this morning and there it was. I found a yellow color decorating a favorite tree of mine. It was thornless honeylocust and it had begun to develop fall color - overnight it seemed. The Chicago nighttime temps must have gotten to it this week - we logged a couple 40-somethings. How do I know? In the human environment; by day our air conditioning is off more than it is on, by night [.....]
September Arrives: Another Hot Holiday Weekend?!?, Anthracnose on Poa Greens, Dollar Spot, Summer Patch, and Tim says Festuca arudinacea
Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -
Having endured a difficult summer again what did we learn? One thing is certain. The difficulty of a humid environment like Chicago should not be underestimated. For the second year it brought turf leafblades to their knees - not to mention us. Unfortunately, Chicago's cool, humid environment can drop a lot of rainfall within one summer. Some seasons we've been lucky and the deluge occurred outside of midsummer or when cooling temperatures were nearby. Last year and this year, thunderstorms have brought horror of horrors so to speak. For example, in this growing season we would achieve [.....]
The tree inventory that was recently completed will give us lots of information regarding the health of our trees. We will not have the full report for a few weeks, but I will share some of the information that we have so far. With this post I will highlight the problem of stem girdling roots. There are many trees on the property that have this problem. Stem girdling roots happen when the roots grow around the trunk of the tree, just below the soil surface, rather than growing [.....]
