9:22 AM

Turf Scouting Report, June 27th

posted by NCC Greensin 0 comments

A week of contrasts is the best way to describe this most recent week. Storms early in the week brought much flooding and damage to many courses, while towards the end of the week, conditions cooled off and turned rather comfortable. The lake has been creating its own problems as cold water in the center has led to a clash of temperatures and fronts around the city and mornings were extremely foggy and putting it nicely, cool. Further to that turfgrass canopies were staying very wet for extended [.....]

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10:11 AM

Progress on 1 Tee Project

posted by NCC Greensin clubhouseteestrees1 comments

Changes around 1 tee have been underway since last fall.  Several projects have been done to provide a fresh look to this area.  We are nearing the finishing stages and hope to have it wrapped up before the Fireworks Extravaganza on June 29th.

The project began last fall when 3 spruce trees were removed to highlight a maturing Bur Oak.  Clearing of the overgrown shrubs behind the tee continued last week.  The remaining shrubs that still stand behind the tee will be replaced with this project.  We [.....]

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9:27 AM

Divots and Divot Recovery

posted by NCC Greensin fairwaysplant growthsoil0 comments

Divots, unfortunately, are an unavoidable result of members and their guests enjoying the Club.  Divots will be present at all times, and repairing those divots is a constant effort of the membership, the staff and ..... the golf course!  Yes, the golf course plays the most important role in the recovery of divots.  Once a divot is taken we ask members to replace the divot if it is still in tact.  The Grounds staff then fills any divots that are not able to be replaced.  Once the divot [.....]

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7:46 AM

CDGA Turf Scouting Report, May 2nd

posted by NCC Greensin 0 comments

Hurry up and wait is about the only way to describe the current situation for many courses. Frustration has set in with the climate as the cold, wet, cloudy weather is good for nothing except spending time worrying about it at the bar. Many superintendents who responded to the recent survey sent out by CDGA and MAGCS indicated the most consistent reason as to why they did not have damage was purely down to the fact that they have a strong creeping bentgrass stand on their putting surfaces. I think they might even feel a little bit guilty - if not, they certainly are extremely grateful!

Germination has been slow and while covers will help to warm [.....]

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10:38 AM

Cart Path Project Progressing

posted by NCC Greensin cartspaths0 comments

The major capital project of the off season has been the addition of the cart path on hole 9.  The gravel base has been in and we have been waiting on the availability of asphalt to take the next step.  Well this week may be it.  The contractor will be out tomorrow to do a finish grade and rolling to prep the surface for asphalt.  Our hope is that asphalt will follow on Thursday.

This corner of cart path on hole 13 will be receiving a touch [.....]

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9:41 AM

CDGA Turf Scouting Report, April 18

posted by NCC Greensin 0 comments

Recovery is underway in many sites it seems and covers can be seen dotted all around the city as soil temperatures took another plunge this week. The forecast currently though seems like 70's are a possibility for many of us and even the guys on the north shore should benefit from that in the near to medium term. As I have visited more locations the glorious inconsistency of who did what and how it worked out has been disarmingly frustrating. There are some incredible stories of doing nothing [.....]

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9:32 AM

North-Central Regional Update from the USGA Green Section

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Turf Will Need Time To Heal This Season By Keith Happ, director, North-Central Region
April 16, 2014

Reestablishing plant health above and below ground will be challenging this spring. Recovery can occur and turf performance can be sustained if adequate time is provided to new grass plants. During the winter months a great deal of planning and preparation takes place. The agronomic planning sessions center on growing healthy grass that can present sustainable, consistent playing conditions during the summer months. For many, particularly those in the Northern tier of the [.....]

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10:40 AM

A New Look For 1 Tee

posted by NCC Greensin clubhouseflowerstees0 comments

Big changes will continue to be happening around the 1st tee in the coming weeks.  Last fall three spruce trees were removed to highlight a maturing Bur Oak.  This spring the aging and overgrown junipers and arborvitae behind the tee will be removed to make way for new plantings.

The plantings behind 1 tee have become overgrown and unsightly.  The objective of this project is to maintain the screening between the tee and the circle drive, but improve the aesthetic of the area due to it proximity [.....]

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9:58 AM

Winter Recovery Progress

posted by NCC Greensin annual bluegrassfairwaysgreensweatherwinter0 comments

The winter weather extremes are still the talk of Chicago area courses (especially with another blanket of snow today!), and likely will be for several more weeks while courses tend to the recovery process.  In this week's CDGA Turf Scouting Report posted yesterday, we learned the NOAA has declared this the coldest winter on record for Chicago.  I do not see anybody lining up to dispute that yet!  Several resources from several organizations have been produced over the past month regarding winter damage and the accompanying recovery process. [.....]

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9:57 AM

CDGA Turf Scouting Report, April 11th

posted by NCC Greensin 0 comments

It's a record folks - NOAA has reported that this was the coldest winter on record by 0.4 of a degree for the Chicago area - the last previous record was set in 1903-1904.

I am guaranteeing that nobody was managing golf courses in the area at the time and I am also fairly sure that there are no notes on the recovery process - which means, one day at a time and no panicking. Seeding, watering, fertilizer and covers are the order of the day - [.....]

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3:03 PM

Carts and Practice Tee Available This Weekend

posted by NCC Greensin 0 comments

Carts, Practice Tee, Chipping Green and Halfway House will be added to the amenities available this weekend.  Sunny weather and sunshine have begun to push color onto the grass on the green, tees and fairways, however the rough has a ways to go yet.  Though the grass is green, we have not seen much growth yet.  This weather has been two steps forward, but it looks like one step back next week with high temperatures in the 40s for most of the week.

Some nice weather [.....]

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7:05 AM

CDGA Turf Scouting Report, April 4

posted by NCC Greensin 0 comments

Welcome back everyone - it has been a long winter and while the calendar has officially entered springtime - Im not so sure that we are actually there yet. Snowfall March 24th and lows in the teens March 25th meant that old man winter has not let go of us just yet as far as temperatures go. As far the winter itself went it has been far from quiet from what I observed. Education talks were very well attended whether it was at Mauh-Nah-Tee-See in Rockford or Nashville [.....]

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12:45 PM

Greens Back in Play on Saturday, April 5th

posted by NCC Greensin aeratinggreenssoilwinter0 comments

The primary playing surfaces have been cleaned, bunkers raked, and holes cut.  The greens are back in play on Saturday for the 2014 season.  Though the calendar says April 5th, the weather has not acquiesced.  Early spring conditions prevail on the course.  We have also completed our spring aeration, so greens will be sandy, bumpy and slow for the weekend.  The key phrase is "in play", not necessarily "in shape" yet.  The soil has thawed, the grass has greened and they will safely accept traffic, so get out [.....]

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2:18 PM

Still Waiting On Warmer Weather

posted by NCC Greensin fairwayswinter0 comments

It has been a long time coming, but the course is showing signs of waking from its winter slumber.  It has been a slow start and the forecast is not showing signs of breaking that pattern yet.  Temperatures in the 50s will be hard to come by over the next couple of weeks.  Conditions have only allowed for a short period of time on the golf course to begin cleanup of leaves and branches.  We have not set a date for opening the greens yet.  We will need [.....]

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3:58 PM

Gradually Thawing Out

posted by NCC Greensin annual bluegrassfairwayswinter0 comments

Slowly but surely we are gradually seeing more grass on the course.  A favorable forecast this week looks like that slow and steady melt will continue.  With so much snow left to melt, frozen soil and saturated conditions, we cannot speculate yet on a potential opening date for the course.  One thing we are expecting - once the course is open, it will be a slow spring.

This picture was taken this morning and show how much is left to melt yet.  This picture also shows what [.....]

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5:28 PM

CDGA Winter Update

posted by NCC Greensin plant growthweatherwinter0 comments

The prolonged harsh winter weather has prompted the flow of information regarding implications to playing surfaces this coming spring.  Here is and update from the CDGA:

Winter Turfgrass Update

As we hopefully manage to drag our selves out of winter over the next month we will start to see an uncovering of what the snow and ice has left for many of us. Concern has been rising amongst many of you for many reasons as the thaw begins. The depth of snow has varied of course and [.....]

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9:03 AM

USGA - Fore the Golfer: Golf Cart Etiquette

posted by NCC Greensin cartsetiquettepathssoil0 comments

Along with the post from yesterday, the USGA has been releasing a series of videos "fore the golfer" regarding course etiquette.  Here is a video regarding course etiquette with the golf cart.


[.....]

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9:55 AM

New Cart Path on 9

posted by NCC Greensin 0 comments

One of our capital projects we will have completed before next season is a new cart path on hole 9.  We were able to get a good start this fall before the ground froze.  The soil has been excavated and we were hoping to get a gravel base down, but winter decided to stick around.  We will pick up with the gravel base when the ground thaws in the spring.

The cart path is being installed to relieve the concentrated traffic pattern that occurs in the center [.....]

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9:13 AM

Back At The Blog

posted by NCC Greensin 0 comments

It has been a long time, but we are cleaning the cob webs off the blog.  Lots has happened since the greens have closed.  We will try to bring you up to speed on the winter activities around the course and in the shop.
The course has been frozen and covered in snow for quite some time.  Certainly more of a real winter this season compared to recent winters.  We are back in a cold snap this week with several nights of negative temperatures in the forecast, [.....]

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