8:07 AM

Turf Scouting Report, October 28th

posted by NCC Greensin 0 comments

Coldest Week of Fall Yet: Earthworms Everywhere, Skunk Damage, Rust, and Tim likes Morton Arboretum's 41,000 Species 

Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -

We just survived our first real chilly week of fall (Sunshine Course: 3 of 7 nights below 32˚ F). Most of what I now hear is that final golf course projects are complete or are in the home stretch. No more pest issues are being reported as cool nighttime temperatures are in control. This time of year we've concluded and are summarizing all studies [.....]

Continue reading

7:06 AM

FROST DELAY for Saturday

posted by NCC Greensin 0 comments

We will be dealing with frost again for Saturday.  This looks like our heaviest frost so far this year.  We will keep you updated on when the first tee times will be. [.....]

Continue reading

7:21 AM

FROST DELAY for Friday

posted by NCC Greensin 0 comments

A heavy frost has settled in for Friday morning.  We will keep the pro shop updated on the frost status.  A frost for Saturday morning is likely also.  Early tee time should plan accordingly. [.....]

Continue reading

8:03 AM

A Trip To Our Fertilizer Supplier

posted by NCC Greensin fertilizer2 comments

On Tuesday we took a trip to our fertilizer supplier Masterblend International in Morris, IL.  The company moved into a new facility this spring and they hosted an open house yesterday for their customers to come and see the operation.  We buy nearly all of our fertilizer from this company each year.  They provide specific services that we find very useful.

The facility is over 52,000 square feet and houses their bulk storage, offices, mixing facilities, and bagging facilities.

This is their rail spur where they take [.....]

Continue reading

8:30 AM

Turf Scouting Report, October 21st

posted by NCC Greensin 0 comments

Cold, Windy and Wet: Dollar Spot's Last Dance, Rust Rages, Yellow Tuft, Earthworm Activity, and Tim's Nice Summary of Dollar Spot in 2011 

Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -

It was Thursday and my daily notes said, "Clouds are above and light rain is falling. It all began Wednesday with 0.75 inch recorded on Sunshine Course." As it turned out, Chicago had been enjoying an Indian Summer the first two weeks of October, but by the 20th our high would not cross 50 degrees. Weathermen would tell [.....]

Continue reading

7:09 AM

FROST DELAY for Saturday

posted by NCC Greensin 0 comments

As we expected, frost has set in for Saturday.  This is a heavier frost than yesterday, and will be a lengthy delay. [.....]

Continue reading

7:21 AM

FROST DELAY

posted by NCC Greensin 0 comments

We do have a frost delay for Friday. [.....]

Continue reading

9:43 AM

Frost For Friday?

posted by NCC Greensin weather0 comments

Looking at the weather report for Friday morning shows a possibility of frost in the morning.  The major factors contributing to frost appear to be lining up for it.  We have only seen spots of frost this year, and expect this may be the first wide-spread frost that results in a delay.

Here is a piece from a paper written by D. R. Cook, "Predicting Frost At Your House", Journal of Meteorology, Vol. 15, no. 153, November 1990.



Frost formation is a complex process, and conditions [.....]

Continue reading

1:55 PM

Continuing With Projects This Week

posted by NCC Greensin aeratingapproachesdrainagetopdressing0 comments

Our fall projects are underway this year.  The main concentration this year is a continuation of our drainage list, along with our soil cultivation and fertilizer applications.  The majority of our soil cultivation has been completed.  Greens, Tees, Approaches and Fairways have all been aerated and topdressed.  We are going back through our fairways with a verti-quake now.  This is the machine that slices the soil and leaves the lines.

Here we are adding small drain lines around the catch basins in 8 fairway.  The areas around [.....]

Continue reading

7:45 AM

Turf Scouting Report, October 14th

posted by NCC Greensin 0 comments

It's Cloudy: Goodbye Indian Summer, Dollar Spot Returns, Watching Yellow Tuft, Fall Color and Tim's Tenacity vs Bentgrass Update 

Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -

An interesting week weather-wise. We continued a record pace of completely cloud-free days until Monday, October 8. On that day we saw 95% of full sun and it meant our record 8 days of 100% straight had come to an end. In the interim it was a nice experience. Arguably, we had experienced some of the best fall color ever to be [.....]

Continue reading

7:40 AM

Turf Scouting Report, October 7th

posted by NCC Greensin 0 comments

It's October, It's Cloud-free: Enjoying Fall Colors and Indian Summer, Skunk Damage Means Grubs, Flowers Peak, and Tim says Sclerophthora macrospora 

Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -

So, it looks like I may have been out of town? You would be right and I missed some of the best weather the Chicago environment has seen all year. All I can say is rats! Soil temps are now below 60 degrees and root growth, of say creeping bentgrass, is now unencumbered by "supraoptimal temperatures". Many of our issues related to cool-season turfgrass, and for that matter landscape ornamentals, are root-related. Yet, we still have a poor understanding of roots, root diseases and root growth dynamics. When soil temperatures rise [.....]

Continue reading

11:59 AM

Another Aeration Update

posted by NCC Greensin aeratingfairwaysgreenssoiltees0 comments

The rain held off just long enough for us to complete the areas that we wanted to have done before the rain came.  The greens have been aerated, topdressed (will be topdressed again soon to completely fill the holes), and fertilized.  The tees have been aerated, verticut, topdressed and fertilized.  The approaches have been aerated, but we have not topdressed them yet.  That will likely be done next week.

We did not make any progress on the fairways yesterday.  The machine broke down, and will be a [.....]

Continue reading

7:07 AM

Green And Tee Aeration Completed

posted by NCC Greensin aeratinggreenssoiltees0 comments

We were able to finish the greens aeration yesterday, and the tees have been aerated and cleaned.  We are waiting for the material that we will use to topdress the tees.  We did start on approaches last night, and were able to complete 10 and 17.

We will be topdressing the greens again soon to ensure all holes have been properly filled.  The greens will be bumpy and slow through the week as we work to get them smooth again.

We are continuing the fairway aeration [.....]

Continue reading

7:03 AM

Aeration In Progress

posted by NCC Greensin aeratingsoil0 comments

Aeration that we started yesterday will continue today.  1-14 greens have been completed, and we are finishing 15-18 today.  1-6 fairways have been completed and we are continuing the fairways today also.  The fairway aeration will be taking place all week, so please watch for an employee in the fairways.  We started in on the tee aeration yesterday, an may finish it up today.

The greens will be slow and bumpy this week.  We will not mow the greens until later in the week, and it will [.....]

Continue reading

2:14 PM

Aeration This Monday, October 10

posted by NCC Greensin aerating0 comments

The weather forecast looks like it could cooperate with our aeration schedule this time.  We are planning to begin greens aeration on Monday, and complete the process by Tuesday night.  The approaches and tees will be aerated following the greens. [.....]

Continue reading

2:08 PM

From The Course This Week

posted by NCC Greensin drainagefairwayspondstrees0 comments

The leaves have started to change and the fall color is showing.  It is very nice to see the color, but with that comes the falling leaves.

We try to keep up as best we can, but when a breeze is blowing like it is today, it is a futile effort.

The drain is completed on 14 fairway.  This will eliminate the lagging wet area after rains.  This is the first of several drains that we plan to install this fall.

The bag that is [.....]

Continue reading

12:30 PM

Drain In 14 Fairway

posted by NCC Greensin drainagefairwayssoil0 comments

Yesterday we began trenching lines for a drain in 14 fairway.  This spot is one of the usual suspects when it comes to wet areas after rains.  This valley collects most of the water from the first half of the fairway.

The lines have been trenched and cleaned, and are now ready for gravel and pipe.  We hope to have this done by the end of the day tomorrow, and have it cleaned up for weekend play.  If you are out today or tomorrow, please be mindful [.....]

Continue reading

8:24 AM

Turf Scouting Report, September 30th

posted by NCC Greensin 0 comments

Of 144 Years, We're Record Wet: Enjoying Fall Colors, Yellow Tuft of Bentgrass, Dollar Spot Ends, and Tim Tim says Mesotrione and Kentucky Bluegrass 

Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -

As seasons go, I really like fall. I said that recently to a friend and was then reminded that our favorite season is sometimes just the one in which we currently find ourselves. I said, "Ok! Fall is my favorite!" As far as the seasonal life of plants go, we now have begun to move quickly. More [.....]

Continue reading