Naperville Country Club Green Department

Our weather station is showing 32 degrees this morning. A heavy frost is on the ground, and will be here for a while. We will keep you updated on a start time.

Nice Temps, Needed Rain Arrives, 1st Crabgrass Seedlings, 1st Sod Webworm Injury, Poa annua Seedheads, Microdochium Patch, and Tim says Embark

Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle - DSettle@cdga.org/Weather Blog

As April's go, things feel pretty normal. Did I say that? Daytime temperatures felt comfortable with 60-70° highs and most nights felt chilly - as they should. Our lows were 30 something and most days, a light jacket would do. A more normal pace of temperature accumulation calmed us. Only once out of a span of seven days did we record frost in the north suburbs. Meanwhile, south suburbs saw not one. Nevertheless, new pests did arrive and reminded us that they do have early life this season. 1. Like our first crabgrass seedlings to appear (preemergents are needed earlier in 2012!). 2. Like sod webworm moths and their larvae which spelled the letter V on Sunshine's greens this week (v for victory?). 3. Like pink snow mold's reappearance which for obvious reasons has been renamed Microdochium patch (it's April and it isn't snowing!). 4. Like Poa annua, now shining flower-wise on most courses (Poa seedheads!). 5. Like a disease look-a-like or frost induced reddish creeping bentgrass (not leaf spot of bentgrass!).

Overall in the landscape, I noticed deciduous trees seemed to be leafing out all at once and a couple eye-poping woody ornamentals were done - lilac and crabapple flower gone. Otherwise, most things look really healthy as progression to 'all green' continues. Soon Mother Nature will say "Ta da!"

Click here to view the April 20, 2012 Scouting Report.

Have a nice weekend as we continue to enjoy cooler/normal temps.

Derek Settle, PhD
Director of Turfgrass Program
630-685-2307
dsettle@cdga.org
Weather Blog

Timothy A. Sibicky, MS
Manager of Turfgrass Research
630-685-2310
tsibicky@cdga.org
Research Blog

We have been continuing our normal spring project list this week. Mulch began to arrive on Monday for the clubhouse and halfway house landscaping. A contractor was here yesterday to clear a pile of logs and brush that had accumulated over the past two years.

With sod that was left from the project on hole 18, we sodded a few spots on the course. This is a picture of the back tee on 5. We cut out bentgrass that had crept into the bluegrass.

Our fairway nurseries have been reseeded. The drainage projects last fall used nearly all of our fairway sod.

A contractor was at the club on Wednesday and Thursday this week to repair the cap stones on the back patio. Many of the stones had become cracked or chipped and had been repaired several times before the decision to install new ones.

This is the first time we have seen this bird at the course. It has been hanging out in the pond on 17. It is a Pied-billed Grebe. It has been tough to get a picture of it because it is underwater about as much as it is above. Anytime I try to get close to take a picture it dives and swims away.

I caught a picture of this guy hanging out on the bank of the pond on 13.

Another major drainage project is planned on the heels of the project done in 11 fairway last fall. This project will take place on the hillside on 14 in May (have not scheduled exact dates).

Here is a picture of the hillside during a rain last fall. The hillside is steep enough for water to drain off. The problem is the large area that drains to this hillside creates a large amount of water running over land.

Almost the entire first half of the 13th fairway drains across the hillside and down to 14 approach. This is why the 14th approach stays wet after rain. This project will focus on collecting the water near the 13th fairway in drainage basins and moving it underground to prevent the water from moving over the surface. This will require some large pipe and a backhoe, so a contractor will be helping us for a portion of the project.

Getting this area to dry quicker will allow for better growing conditions for the turf. Since this area is heavily trafficed, a dryer soil will help the turf better withstand the damage from carts.

We also removed the declining pine tree near the cart path this spring. By removing this tree, it opened up the area which allows us to better spread cart traffic.

The temperatures dipped into the 30s last night and have left us with a frost delay for Tuesday. It is not very heavy, so we hope the delay will not be long.

20s at Night! Hard Frosts, Drying Out, Localized Dry Spot, i.d. of Rhizoctonia cerealis, Crabapples and Lilacs Rule the Earth, and Tim says "Poa Control"

Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -

Our jackets were on as mid-April nights repeatedly fell into the 20s for Chicago. Even far southern Illinois would say "hard frost" at least once. The cool temperatures meant color green becomes subdued - creeping bentgrass golf greens will become a patchy red-purple hue. Cool temps slowed golf play but did nothing to interrupt ongoing cultivation - aerification of greens, fairways and tees. Roots. Did I hear someone say roots? Roots so healthy and so deep so early continues to amaze us all. Driven down very early by warmer than usual soil temperatures. However, since the 3rd week of March our soil now reads 10 degrees less or about 50 degrees at 2 inches. That has significance as we time certain preventive applications. Did we apply too early? On Sunshine Course our perspective was... no choice (dollar spot and fairy ring blazing).

Today our superintendent Chris asssisted by Niki were busy completing Sunshine Course's first fertilizer application. Next week they tell me they will say the A-word (aerification). Meantime, Tim finished up a study to explore fungicide effects on roots on a green. I have been on the road to Wisconsin then central Illinois. North helped me see how we can prevent snow molds by fungicides - we still need to learn a lot. South helped me solve a mystery - off-color bentgrass caused by abnormal spring temperatures of 2012? We're now very dry and ready for rain. Hurry!

Click here to view the April 13, 2012 Scouting Report.

Enjoy the return of rain and have a nice weekend,

Derek Settle, PhD
Director of Turfgrass Program
630-685-2307
dsettle@cdga.org
Weather Blog

Timothy A. Sibicky, MS
Manager of Turfgrass Research
630-685-2310
tsibicky@cdga.org
Research Blog

The frost delay on Wednesday morning allowed us to lay the new sod on the 18th hole. We were able to work from the cart path and not disturb the grass while it had frost on it.

I made a short time lapse of the work. It is not a great angle, but I was not able to walk across the grass to get a better one. In the video you can see the aerator run over the area before the sod goes down. This is done to make holes for the root to move into and break up the barrier between the sod and native soil. After the sod is laid, we spread fertilizer, and finally roll the sod to get as much contact with the soil possible.

The wait is over for the practice tee and chipping area. The tee and chipping green will be open for play today. Please take a look at these previous posts for pictures and a video on the preferred divot pattern on the driving range and chipping green:

Practice Tee and Divot Patterns

Practice Like A Pro

A few weeks ago we began bunker work for the season by cleaning the bunkers, checking sand depths, and loosening the sand that had been packed down through the winter. This week we began more detailed maintenance for the season. This round through the bunkers involves cleaning the edges and placing a fresh coat of sand on the top.

Cleaning the edges involves cutting any grass plants that have started growing into the bunker and fixing any edges that have collapsed or been torn up. After the edges have been cleaned and the debris removed, a fresh layer of sand is applied to give a bright white appearance.

The finished product.

The fescue area on the right side of 18 fairway has been the subject of much discussion over the previous two seasons. At the end of last year, the green committee, with input from the rest of the membership, voted to change this area to bluegrass mowed at rough height. We started renovating this area yesterday, and plan to sod by the end of the week.

The start of the renovation process was about 10 days ago when we began by spraying this area with a herbicide to kill all the vegetation. Though we knew we were going to strip the area, we wanted to be sure all unwanted plants were killed before placing sod. If you noticed a blue color in this spot, the color is a blue dye we put in with the herbicide to see what had been sprayed.

We started yesterday by cutting the area with the sod cutter. Once the area had been cut, the stripped sod was piled and removed.

The area is stripped but has a small amount of prep work is left before we start sodding. We are planning to aerate this area with solid tines to provide small holes for the roots to move into once the sod has been laid. We are scheduling sod for the end of the week and hope to have it down before the next forecasted rain.

Here is a good article from a recent USGA Green Section that discusses what challenges may arise from an early spring. Some of the issues of an early spring have been slowed as temperatures have now become more seasonable, but these are issues that many golf courses were faced with last month. March of 2012 has now been identified as the warmest on record after over 7,000 records were set across the country. You can click on the picture or the link below to read the article.

A

Warm Spring Is Good For Golf, But...

30s at Night. A Hard Frost, Issues Slow Down, Dollar Spot, Rhizoctonia sp., Crabapples and Lilacs Bloom, and Tim's Tall Fescue ABC's
Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -

More normal temperatures? Yes, is the answer to that question this week. Since March 26th we've had low temperatures dipping down into the 30s and 40s in Chicago. We didn't complain as it represented a return to normal spring weather - we have written records of these temps! It did mean that sooner or later a hard frost would happen and it did. I would find that out in an email today. This morning news from Sunshine Course came - with a request. It said, "There is frost on the course this morning, please refrain from going out on the course until 10 a.m. this morning." The early activity of emails and phone calls with which I had been involved, especially early this season, went away. The communications dropped off as quickly as our nighttime low temperatures had. Instead, in a week, I was happy to watch lilacs and flowering crabapples begin their bloom. The two combined expanded our color palate beyond the early woodie ornamental display of yellows and whites. As far as applications go, some superintendents would be making their second timed-application to prevent Poa annua seedhead development on golf playing surfaces. On little Sunshine Course in Lemont, as well as others, our first fungicide would be necessary to suppress dollar spot which perhaps enjoyed its earliest development in a given season. What a string of 80s can do for you in March! Next up? Easter!
Click here to view the April 6, 2012 Scouting Report.

Have a great weekend and Happy Easter!

Derek Settle, PhD
Director of Turfgrass Program
630-685-2307 dsettle@cdga.org Weather Blog

Timothy A. Sibicky, MS
Manager of Turfgrass Research
630-685-2310 tsibicky@cdga.org Research Blog

Torres spent this past week moving around the soil that was dredged from the pond on 11 and removed from 11 fairway during the drainage project last fall. The pile was pushed into the side of the existing berm near the maintenance facility. We will work the pile a few more times this spring, then seed it with and oats and annual ryegrass mixture this season for a quick cover. This area will eventually be seeded with the same mixture as our ESAs.

The pond on 11 was dredged by using a pump to move the soil from the pond to this bag. The soil was left to dry over the winter and this spring. This picture is from last fall. The soil removed from 11 fairway was "sorted" as it was removed. The good soil was piled in a bin at the shop to be reused later. The bad soil, which was a heavy clay or very rocky, was piled next to the bag.

Here Torres is beginning to move the dredged soil into a pile so the bag could be removed. The soil from 11 fairway was pushed into the pile first, then the dredged soil was piled on top.

All of the soil has been pushed into the pile. It will sit for a few weeks to allow the soil to dry further before we put a finish grade on. We will then seed it for the season.

Our seasonal weather seems to be back for a few days. We have a frost delay today. The weather forecast shows we will likely have a delay tomorrow as well. Check back here or with the Pro Shop for an update of start times.

Back to Normal? 30s at Night, Dollar spot, Dandelions, Henbit, Chickweed, Ground Ivy, Creeping Speedwell and Tim's Poa annua encroachment dataChicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -

Another week for us to reflect on this season. Here goes. We've returned to more normal temperatures and we caught some needed rainfall. The redbuds continue to flower nicely along with the Korean Spice viburnum. Crabapples have just begun and today I saw my first lilac begin its bloom as well. Another first report of dollar spot, this time a far north suburb. Our March was unlike that of any other spring. - such a rapid warmup so early. So, I have been fielding calls from golf course superintendents as to when to begin applications for you name it - seedhead suppression, prevention of fungal diseases and preemergent applications to prevent annual weeds like crabgrass. The next question is what to do. Same usual interval, or should we try to stretch it and hope normal/cooler weather to smooth out the rest? I usually respond, "Ummm". It turns out, we are all dumbfounded by 2012. How do I know? Most often I have these conversations with the best and brightest who, by their very nature, are most experienced. That says something of superintendents - that a gifted and experienced plantsmen would have no memory of a spring like this ever happening. And that's 147 years worth - weather chroniclers and our landscape continues to see new data (green up and flowering dates). Our pencils need sharpening - already.Click here to view the March 30, 2012 Scouting Report.

Have a nice weekend and enjoy a more normal spring.

Derek Settle, PhD
Director of Turfgrass Program
630-685-2307 dsettle@cdga.org Weather Blog

Timothy A. Sibicky, MS
Manager of Turfgrass Research
630-685-2310 tsibicky@cdga.org Research Blog

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