Greensuper Blog

Remember blog has moved...

2010-12-08T09:14:00.001-05:00

...new blog address

greensupercgcs.com

frost delay 11/14

2010-11-14T07:28:00.000-05:00

We are currently under a frost delay. Please contact the proshop for further details

William Brown, CGCS

Hartefeld National
1 Hartefeld Drive
Avondale, PA 19311
610.268.7472- Office
610.268.7423 - Fax
484.889.1548 - Mobile
bbrown@hartefeld.com

Greensuper Blog

Frost delay 11/12

2010-11-12T07:42:00.000-05:00

We are under a frost delay. Please contact the proshop for details.

William Brown, CGCS

Sent from my iPhone

The Blog has moved!!

2010-11-09T07:19:00.003-05:00

I have decided to take the plunge to WordPress, in my opinion, a much more powerful blog software. The new blog address is:

http://greensupercgcs.com

Look forward to seeing you all there.

14 & 8 Green sod work

2010-11-08T14:03:00.003-05:00

Today we removed the areas of concern on 8 and 14 greens. These areas are fully prepped and ready for sod. To ensure we received the freshest sod, I have delayed delivery to Wednesday morning. This will allow the sod to be harvest the same day it will be relaid at Hartefeld.

In the meantime, these greens will remain temped. Upon finishing the sodding, these greens will be topdressed to protect the sod from winter desiccation.

Frost Delay 11/7

2010-11-07T06:59:00.000-05:00

We are currently under a frost delay. Please check with the proshop for estimated delay times and updates.

William Brown, CGCS

Hartefeld National
1 Hartefeld Drive
Avondale, PA 19311
610.268.7472- Office
610.268.7423 - Fax
484.889.1548 - Mobile
bbrown@hartefeld.com

Greensuper Blog

Frost Delay 11/6

2010-11-06T07:12:00.000-04:00

We are experiencing a frost delay this morning. Please contact the Proshop for details. We will update the blog when the frost has lifted.

William Brown, CGCS

Hartefeld National
1 Hartefeld Drive
Avondale, PA 19311
610.268.7472- Office
610.268.7423 - Fax
484.889.1548 - Mobile
bbrown@hartefeld.com

Greensuper Blog

A Big Thank You!

2010-10-27T10:50:00.002-04:00

The weather cooperated for all yesterday at the "Bring a Guest for Free" Membership Appreciate Day. A big thank you to all who came out and all who have supported us all year. Hartefeld is truly a special place and the members make a big part of that.

My team and I hope you all enjoyed the golf course yesterday and look forward to warmer weather over the next couple days.

8 and 14 greens

2010-10-25T13:37:00.003-04:00

Over the summer 8 and 14 greens took the worst from the weather. There were many contributing factors and over the next several months we are looking to mitigate these issues in hopes of not seeing a reoccurence in the future. As the USGA stated very clearly, "grass can deal with heat, grass can deal with wet soggy conditions, grass can't deal with both at the same time." The greens simply suffered from wet wilt. The issue is not always a surface issue, but one that begin feet under ground and work itself to the top. During the week of July 12th, we received thunderstorms every morning, dumping over 1" of rain each storm. Daytime temps reached over 100 degrees! These two greens began super heating and roots quickly began to die.

These greens have greatly recovered, but still need some help. On Monday November 8th, we will remove the bad areas of these two greens. This process will take us the entire day, as patching areas like this takes time to ensure it is done properly. Doing this type of sodding without 100% attention will cause the putting surface to remain bumpy AFTER the sod heals. On Tuesday the 9th, we will have the sod delivered to ensure it is a fresh as possible and we will begin resodding these areas. Both of these greens will be temped for at least the 8th, 9th and 10th. Following the completion of the sodding, parts of these greens will be roped off.

I will post additional information as we get closer to the 9th.

Blog posting

2010-10-25T13:20:00.002-04:00

Over the last 2 months, I have been absent from creating any detailed blog posting relating to course information. Without a doubt, this season has bee the most diffiuclt season I have had in my 17 years. Many reasons have put this summer on record for me, some of which was out of our control even beyond weather. There has been communication over the last few weeks from Joe Mackely that has touched on some of our issues. I am not one to over promise and under deliver, so I felt better to only commuincate the most important issues.

Moving forward, I am looking forward to beginning to blog on a regular basis. My team and I have a lot we are looking to accomplish and looking forward to getting started.

Thank you again for your support and patience.

Bunker cleanup videos

2010-10-01T08:44:00.002-04:00

Below are videos of our bunker cleanup from the Tropical Storm that hit on 9/30. We received 6 inches of rain, most coming overnight last night.

Tropical Storm

2010-10-01T06:54:00.001-04:00

Yesterday the following was sent out via Hartefeld newsletter.

As I write this email, the storm total is at almost 2.5" inches of rain. Through the weather forecasting tools available to me, forecasts are showing the worst is still to come. Overnight tonight and ending in the AM tomorrow will be the worst of the storm. Tornado warnings are predicted to move north later this afternoon to cover our area. Earlier this week we received 1.25 inches of rain over Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, the crew and I put a full court press on the course to try to get as much grass cut as we could with the impending weather we are now receiving.

Tomorrow as the storm is finishing our plan beginning at 6:30am (if the weather permits) is to begin course cleanup. We will also complete cup changing, course setup and the arduous task of restoring bunkers. Yes, Hartefeld does drain exceptionally, but the ground is still saturated, there is a difference. With the ground as wet as it will be, we will only be able to mow limited areas tomorrow. We will be putting a long day in tomorrow and will resume mowing on Saturday. Saturday you will see more mowers than usually, as we typically don't like to do heavier maintenance on the weekends because of play.

The timing of this storm makes our normal weekend conditioning difficult, but we will be working hard to provide the best possible conditions.

Update:
The storm total was a hair under 6". Yesterday evening I toured the course and with the exception of some debris we were fairing well. Then we got dumped on. Arriving this morning in the dark and touring the course the bunkers were destroyed. We have major washouts. As I stated above, this a very long and arduous task. We have the entire crew working on this task today. Either late today but definitely tomorrow we will begin mowing the course.

Thank you for your cooperation.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

9/24 green speeds

2010-09-24T08:29:00.001-04:00

Several of the greens were stumped behind our normal cut and roll. Green speeds are at 10' 1". We will be cutting and rolling tomorrow and Sunday as usual.

William Brown, CGCS

Sent from my iPhone

Grass germination in bunkers

2010-09-07T07:34:00.000-04:00

Two weeks ago we aerated and seeded the perimeter cuts around greens. During this operation we had issues keeping seed out of SOME greenside bunkers because of wind. We are seeing a very successful germination in all areas seeded and unfortunately germination of the seed that was blown into the bunkers. We are starting today the removal of this grass.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Overseeding Fairways

2010-09-07T06:02:00.002-04:00

This week we will begin overseeding the fairways. We have been committed to completing this task for the last 3 years, so the areas needing to be overseeded is becoming less and less, even with the summer we had this year.

To remain as efficient as possible, we have created GPS maps of all the areas that are in need of overseeding. These maps are given to the operate, so it is very clear as to where the seed must be placed. As with the other areas of the course, the seed will need to be syringed to ensure a successful establishment. We will post syringe schedules both on here and in the proshop.

I will follow up with some video and additional post of our progress.

USGA Regional Upate 9/3 MUST WATCH

2010-09-03T05:39:00.001-04:00

This weeks USGA Regional Update is a video presented by Darin Bevard. This is a must watch!! Click on the link below

USGA Regional Update Video

A Different Perspective

2010-09-03T05:35:00.003-04:00

The link below is to a video by the USGA that was sent out in their Region Update this week. Although difficult to stomach for any agronomist, it really puts things in perspective. The link to this video is below.

Summer of 2010 Turf Video

Collar Sodding

2010-08-30T05:47:00.002-04:00

Today 8/30, we will begin prepping the areas for sodding. The collars to have some sodding completed on them are 2, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14. There are some collars that have areas of wear, but are healing and we don't want to disturb this. It is far better to not sod and let the grass fill in, by doing so we are creating LESS maintenance.

Late today the sod will be arriving and beginning tomorrow morning, we will begin relaying.

8/28 greenspeeds

2010-08-28T06:26:00.001-04:00

For the first time in a while the greens have been stimped. This past week we also began lightly pushing the greens for speeds. The greens are not quite back to 100% from aerification, but are very close.

This morning the 1st, 7th, 9th and 16th greens were stimped each measured 9'8", just shy of 10 feet. We cut and rolled today, but did not roll the putting green to keep greens as consistent as possible.

William Brown, CGCS

Sent from my iPhone

Certified Superintendent on TiPb

2010-08-24T12:36:00.003-04:00

If any of you follow some of the tech blogs, specifically any relating to Apple you would have seen the post below on TiPb
One night I put together a response to one their blogs and was lucky enough to be selected. Below is the article....enjoy!

iPhone at Work: Certified Golf Course Superintendent
by Leanna Lofte, Wednesday, Aug 11, 2010, 6 Comments

How does a certified golf course superintendent use his iPhone to get the job done and what iPhone apps help get him through his day? TiPb’s iPhone at work contest aims to bring you just such slices of the iPhone life. Here’s greensuper’s answer and as a small token of thanks we’re sending him a $20 iTunes gift certificate. If you want to see your name up on the TiPb home page and get a gift certificate all your own, head on over to the TiPb iPhone Forum and share your story now!
Boy, where do I start. I have been a loyal Apple user since the Apple IIe first came out. When the iPhone first came out, I had just purchased another Blackberry with Verizon, I didn’t want to incur a cancellation fee and the purchase price of the iPhone. 8 months later, when the 1st gen was offered as a refurb, I got my first iphone. I follow Apple/iPhone news as much as I follow the Turfgrass industry. I have always told my wife, if I had the opportunity to do something else, it would be to work for Apple. Now, how do I use my iPhone. To really get the full functionality of the iPhone and some of it’s apps, you really need to subscribe to Apple’s MobileMe service. I will explain why below.
The first app I use religiously is Who is Hot?. It is a great weather app for free. No one in my opinion, beats the animated radar in this app. I haven’t found one that has beat this yet. I am a Regional Agronomist and one thing this app does is gives me the weather for all my contacts. You open the app and click on one of your contacts and you have all the weather and radar right there.
I also use The Weather Channel app. I use the free version, don’t see a big difference in the $4.99 version. I use this app for forecasts and current conditions. This app mirrors the “local on the 8’s” from the Weather Channel. It is a better forecasting tool than Who is hot?
The Turfgrass Management app developed out of the University of Georgia is fantastic!! I have several small travel turfgrass books that allow me to reference diseases, weeds and insects. This app puts all that in the palm of your hand with it’s extensive turfgrass database. It has been communicated that this app will continue to follow with updates as information on any pest becomes available.
We just installed a new RainBird control system at one of my properties. RainBird has recent’y released their MI control system, this program works phenomenal on the iphone. I am able to control the entire system from anywhere. This summer it has proven invaluable with all the late night storms we have had. In concert with Who is Hot, if I see weather is heading to the property late at night, i can use my MI controller on the iPhone and turn off or adjust the irrigation. All this while playing with my kids!!
Toro recently released an official iPhone App, Toro NSN. This is like the MI Controller only this is actually an iPhone App versus a website. This also gives me the ability to control my entire irrigation system from the palm of my hand. I think the neatest part of this is that Toro has developed an iPhone app. If they have done so for irrigation, imagine the possibilities, apps for equipment repair, apps for ordering at your local vendor, it’s endless.
The next program is one that is tied directly to MobileMe without it, you can’t really take full advantage of this program. This app is Quickoffice. Quickoffice allows me to create, edit and email Word and Excel documents. Since you can’t store files on your iPhone like a Blackberry, this app links to your MobileMe idisk as a work around. I have my entire work load on my idisk, everything! I am able to use this program to email anything to my company or Superintendents from the palm of my hand. This program released an update which allows you to email any document you receive directly to your MobileMe idisk, this is a perfect work around to not being able to store documents on your iPhone. When I receive an email with a document I need to edit and respond to, I simple forward the email to a specific address. This sends the attached file to my idisk. I then open my idisk on QuickOffice and there is my document to edit and resend. The whole process over 3G can take 2 minutes, over WiFi much faster.
I also have Documents To Go. Although the UI is much more friendly than Quickoffice, this program falls short in other areas. I am not able to access my work files on my idisk, although DataViz has stated you will be able to do so in the future. You can’t edit Excel files yet, again they (Dataviz) are saying this update will be released soon. If these two updates are released, I will no longer use Quickoffice.
I developed a blog for one of my properties, to communicate information to members. I was finding by the time our weekly news letter was distributed, much of the information I need to pass along would be out of date. The blog has been a huge success at my club. My members love the fact that we use technology like this! The iPhone comes into play because I am able to send an email directly to the blog to make a post. All I do is create an email, the subject line will be the subject of my blog post, create my blog post in the body of the email, hit send and I have just created a new blog post. This has been great for communicating issues like, cart rules and other daily information.
I also use Twitter to communicate with other industry professionals. I do not use this to communicate to any members, it is important to separate the two. I use two apps for Twiiter, Twitter for iPhone and Tweetdeck. They are pretty much the same, except Tweetdeck allows me to create columns for separate categories of people I communicate with. For example, I have a column for PGA Tour tweets, a column for turf professors I follow and a column for other Superintendents. This makes reading tweets easier.
Logmein Ignition was a fantastic app I used prior to Toro releasing their Toro NSN app. Logmein allowed me to login on my iPhone and control the irrigation system. I know a lot of people who use this app to access files on their computer.
Bump is a great app, but in order to be useful you need to be with someone else who has the iPhone and the app. This app allows you to simply bump iPhones together to share pretty much anything you would share on your iphone. I use this with my wife for photos of our kids. Could you imagine walking the Trade Show floor at the GIS with this app. You could arrive at a vendor booth and bump iphones to share contact information. The vendor could use it to send you product information as well. Again, the possibilities are endless.
The camera is another app that is used all the time. I used to carry a camera on my hip, if I needed to take a photo of something I could. I would find myself at times, forgetting my camera at the moment I needed “that” picture. The iphone camera takes care of this. I am also able to send that photo immediately to the GM, members and other workers.
The iPhone for me has become more of a tool than my small multitool. The possibilities are endless as to what Superintendent could use this phone for. I am glad I have a charger of my gator. During those long days, I need that extra boost to get me into the evening. I was actually thinking about starting another blog on exactly this subject. Each day would be a post on how I use my iPhone for my job as a Superintendent and Regional Agronomist.
What about you? Are you a superintendent who uses his iPhone for work? If so, let us know what apps get you through a typical work day!

Aerification and seeding of Perimeter Cuts

2010-08-23T12:47:00.006-04:00

Below is a video of the aerification and seeding of the perimeter cuts around the greens. With the weather forecast favorable for germination, we should see establishment come quickly.

USGA Regional Update 8/20

2010-08-22T08:09:00.001-04:00

Below is the weekly USGA Regional Update. We are headed in the right direction!

The Heat Goes On!
By Darin S. Bevard, Senior Agronomist
August 20, 2010

In parts of the region, the oppressive summer heat is still hanging on and continuing to take its toll on cool-season putting greens. Bermudagrass, however, forges ahead. In our travels, we continue to see damaged turfgrass from the hot summer. Daylight hours are getting shorter, which helps the turfgrass by reducing the number of hours the grass is under stress. It is time to implement programs to promote recovery, but be careful and be flexible.

Traditionally, many golf courses schedule aeration in mid-August, and normally this is just fine. However, after this year’s summer weather patterns, timing may need to be altered or the aeration process should become less abrasive to the grass. If greens are healthy, aeration can proceed as scheduled. Several golf courses have already aerated greens without problem. The key is to limit aggressive dragging that could damage the weakened grass.

If your greens are very weak or have significant damage, delay aeration until after Labor Day. This timing may provide some conflict with the golf schedule, but extreme times call for extreme measures and compromise. Aerated greens are no fun to play on, but they are far better than dead or damaged greens that may result from being too aggressive with aeration and topdressing when the grass is too weak to handle it.

Where significant turfgrass has been lost on greens, incorporate seed in the very near future (if not already). Dimple seeding, Job Saver tines, and spiking are all options to incorporate seed. Vertiseeding is also an option, but be careful, as vertiseeding can disrupt the integrity of the surface and further reduce playability, especially on thin and open turf. If large areas of damaged grass are not present, use less disruptive seeding methods.

Spoon-feed fertilizer with liquid applications in the short term, and perhaps light applications of a high phosphorus starter fertilizer could be used to promote seedling development. Apply extra fertilizer until all of the grass has recovered and no bare ground exists.

Closely monitor mowing strategies. The temptation to limit mowing while the greens are recovering must be carefully balanced with the need to prevent scalping of rapidly growing grass. During some recent visits, recovering greens have actually suffered from scalping because of infrequent mowing. There must be a balance, but once the grass is growing aggressively, routine mowing promotes lateral growth and limits scalping potential.

Growth regulators are another subject. Once the grass has recovered, resume growth regulator applications at light rates. This helps manage excess growth/scalp damage, which could occur.

On another note, the third round of annual bluegrass weevil adults for the season have been on the move. Monitor closely for adult weevils. Contact insecticides provide good control of adults. The goal is to kill the adults before they have an opportunity to lay eggs or possibly kill adults that may be on their way to overwintering. Do not ignore these insects. They have caused severe damage at several courses where their presence was overlooked.

Better weather patterns are emerging. Shorter days and cooler temperatures are promoting more aggressive turfgrass growth. Virtually every golf course that we have seen recently has had some amount of turf injury due to the hot summer. Recovery will require patience, seed, fertilizer, plugging and possibly even resodding the most damaged areas. While the grass may have declined suddenly, it will take some time for recovery to occur. Be patient and give the staff time to complete the work needed to return the golf course to its usual level of conditioning.

The Mid-Atlantic Region agronomists are part of your agronomic support team. If you have a question or concern, give us a call or send an e-mail. Stan Zontek (szontek@usga.org) and Darin Bevard (dbevard@usga.org) at 610/ 558-9066 or Keith Happ (khapp@usga.org) at 412/ 341-5922.

Hartefeld National Flyover

2010-08-19T07:54:00.002-04:00

While posting my aerification videos online, I found this video on YouTube. It is a flyover utilizing Google Earth of Hartefeld. Pretty neat what you can find online!! IMPORTANT TO CHANGE RESOLUTION TO 480p. You can toggle to 480p at the bottom right of the video, it becomes much clearer!!

Aerification Recovery

2010-08-19T07:48:00.002-04:00

Below is a video discussing the recovery of our greens aerification.

8/18 Greens Aerification Video

2010-08-19T07:10:00.008-04:00

Below is a video of our August 18th greens aerifcation. This video explains our entire process from start to finish.

Greens

2010-08-19T06:22:00.000-04:00

The greens aerification has been completed. As discussed in other posts, we completed the aerification utilizing a 1/4" coring tine. We blew all the plugs off, BUT did not apply sand. However we did apply the Ecolite and some organic fertilizer to aid in root recovery. This material is still on the surface of the green and may cause minor putting disruption.

This morning, the day after aerification, we are unable to mow or roll the greens because the surface of the greens are wet from the dew. If we were to attempt to mow or roll, the mower blades would be damaged and/or the roller would pick-up all the material on its' drums. We are going to attempt to mow the greens this afternoon, it is dependent on the amount of play on the course.

The aerification was extremely successful! We are looking forward to a rapid recovery and the ability to begin pushing our greens again.

Weeds

2010-08-17T07:46:00.001-04:00

I made a post several weeks ago about our inability to continue with summer weed control. The summer we had experienced in June and July did not permit the application of herbicides to the turf. A typical three-way herbicide to control broadleaf weeds like chickweed, blackmedic and clover has a warning to not spray in temperatures over 85 degrees or turf death will be experienced. As we all know we didn't experience conditions conducive to spraying.

Spraying for annual grassy weeds like crabgrass and goosegrass is also very difficult to accomplish when we have extreme temps. Most annual grassy weeds we have are southern weeds, the hotter the better if you are spraying EXCEPT when temps are extreme and your excepted turf is stressed. Again, we would have killed everything.

Over the next several weeks we will begin spraying weeds again. We have several other time sensitive issues that must be dealt with first, like greens verification and late summer seeding. When resources are available weed spraying will commence.

William Brown, CGCS

Sent from my iPhone

Greens Aerification and Course Recovery Schedule

2010-08-16T14:06:00.000-04:00

It's about that time! Over the last several weeks, it has been difficult to continually drive the course and see the damage this summer has left and not be able to begin the healing process. Due to the continued weather pattern and steep sun angles, we had to wait to begin the recovery. Each day we are now losing minutes of day light and the sun's angles continue to lower on the horizon. So now we may begin.

Our first step is the greens. On Wednesday 8/18 beginning at 4am, we will aerate the greens, but not our traditional summer aerification. The greens will not be able to handle this aggressive practice. I have heard over the last several weeks and this morning during a conversation with Joe that "...the course looks tired." This is exactly correct. It is exhausted! To keep the greens improving we are going to eliminate the topdressing during this aerification. Attempting to drag the topdressing in will weaken the plant and cause damage. Our process is to pull a 1/4" plug from the green, very similar to what we did in the spring, blow the plugs off and leave the holes open. Our goal in leaving the holes open is to ensure we receive maximum root recovery. Yes, we are green on top, but we are suffering below. Roots are minimal and shallow and this is reason the grass cannot sustain much stress at this time. With the holes open we will apply two products, Ecolite and an organic fertilizer. On Wednesday, we will also spray the greens with some fertilizers to assist in surface recovery. I have consulted with the USGA and they are in full agreement with our program.

On Thursday, as long as the greens aerification goes smoothly, we will be aerating all perimeter cuts around the greens. Immediately behind the aerification, Perennial Ryegrass seed will be spread and a starter fertilizer will be applied. Over the next 10 to 14 days, the perimeter cuts will be syringed by hoses and overhead sprinklers to ensure a proper seed germination.

Next week we will begin the process of sodding many of the collars that were damaged. We will begin on the tenth hole and continue around the course making the worst areas a priority.

Tee and fairway aerifcation will occur following labor day, stay tuned for details. To ensure we provide all the appropriate resources to ensure a rapid recovery on greens and perimeter cuts, these areas must wait. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Whistling Straits local news coverage

2010-08-15T06:35:00.000-04:00

GCSAA posted this video of the local media covering the grounds crew at Whistling Straits, host of the PGA Championship. If you have never been a part or have seen maintenance completed for even the smallest PGA or USGA event, take note of the amount of volunteers and equipment shown in the video.

Whistling Straits media clip

Another USGA Regional Update

2010-08-13T11:25:00.000-04:00

Below is another Regional Update from USGA. I thought this one was particularly good for this blog because it discusses two things. First, the mention of the sporadic storms and rainfall that occurred and how it occurred. Courses just a few miles as the crow flies have received dramatically different weather. I was just at Kennett Square CC this morning meeting with the Superintendent. His Assisants and I were sharing our experiences this summer and it was amazing to hear that on the week of July 12th, the week we received a morning thunderstorm Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with highs breaking over 90 each of those days, Kennett received ZERO rainfall. His Assistant said from their 15th green they could see the storms and rain hitting Hartefeld. Yes, it was that sporadic.

The second issue discussed was drainage. Many of our issues are related to the inability to remove water from key areas. Many collars and first cuts have been greatly affected from the inability of the soil to breathe because it just wouldn't drain. Examples of these areas, back of 6 green, front and right of 8 green, all of 10 green, front and right of 11 green and the list goes on.

I feel necessary to continue to update all of you on the happenings and how this summer has affected us. Knowledge is power and it will also help you to understand where are club is going.

Extreme Conditions Call For Conservative Actions
By Keith Happ, Senior Agronomist, Mid Atlantic Region
August 11, 2010

One of the first questions asked during Turf Advisory Service visits is “What are you seeing out there?” The easy answer is: We are seeing it all. Torrential rain, scorching sun, high humidity, low humidity, saturated soils and drought stress are just a few examples. Throw in golfers’ pleas for green speed, and you have the ingredients for a lot of dead turf.

Courses separated by only a few miles have experienced dramatically different weather this season, reinforcing the need to prepare for the worst case scenario every year. Compromised agronomic practices in the spring, for example, delayed or omitted spring aeration, the result being weak turf health this summer. These dynamic issues require ongoing adjustments. When the weather is difficult, backing off is not a sign of weakness, it is sound judgment.

There is no substitute for sound agronomics. Developing and sustaining a balance between air and water in the soil profile is essential for the turf to survive during extremes. It is no coincidence that turf managers who were allowed to prepare aggressively, using basic and sound agronomic practices in the spring (i.e., timely spring core aeration, topdressing and appropriate fertility), have tolerated the weather much better than those who could not. Courses that have been able to vent the soil using small-diameter solid tine treatments on an as-needed basis are doing well. Venting is an essential procedure when soils are saturated, allowing for gas exchange and stimulating excess moisture evaporation.

It is also no coincidence that courses that installed adequate internal drainage systems have tolerated the precipitation. When it comes to investments in infrastructure, there is no better money spent. Having control of soil moisture is like having an insurance policy, and with that there is a much wider margin for error. The weather can’t be controlled, but we can control how well we prepare for weather extremes.

Turf managers who backed off on mechanical activities by using a single cut, rolling only when necessary, and raising mowing heights have experienced far less turf damage and decline. So far this season, playing a little defense and being conservative has separated those who have experienced turf stress with those who have suffered turf loss.

The Mid-Atlantic Region agronomists are part of your agronomic support team. If you have a question or concern, especially now, contact us. Stan Zontek, (szontek@usga.org) or Darin Bevard (dbevard@usga.org) at (610) 558-9066 or Keith Happ at (khapp@usga.org) at (412) 341-5922.

Is the Stimp meter and Slope rating bad for golf?

2010-08-13T07:41:00.001-04:00

On Twitter this morning, Geoff Shackelford posted a letter on his blog by former USGA Exe Dir. Frank Hannigan. Is new technology good for a game 500 years old? Well below is the link. Let me know what you all think.

Stimp and Slop Bad for Golf?

WSJ Article "The Ugly Summer if 2010

2010-08-09T07:33:00.001-04:00

This weekend I had an overwhelming amount of Hartefeld members email me this article. Great article in the WSJ about the summer. Just an FYI, at Hartefeld we recorded 24 of 31 days in July over 90 degrees.

Here is the article:

AUGUST 7, 2010
The Ugly Summer of 2010
Brutal heat has greenkeepers fighting to save their courses from ruin
By JOHN PAUL NEWPORT
The sustained record-breaking heat across much of the U.S. this summer, combined with high humidity and occasional heavy rain, is killing the greens on many golf courses. A handful of high-profile courses have already had to close, and if the heat continues, others are likely to follow. Golfers themselves deserve part of the blame for insisting that putting surfaces be mown short and fast even in weather conditions in which such practices are almost certain to ruin them.
Huntingdon Valley Country Club outside Philadelphia, which dates from 1897, shut two of its three nines two weeks ago because of serious turf disease caused by the hot, wet weather. The Philadelphia area in July had 17 days of 90-degree-plus weather, six more than average, mixed with flooding thunderstorms of up to 4 inches.
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Members at the Golf Club at Cuscowilla, east of Atlanta, received letters this week that the club's highly regarded Ben Crenshaw-Bill Coore course would be closed for eight to 10 weeks so that the wilted greens can be completely replanted. The Ansley Golf Club broke similar news to members about the club's in-town Atlanta course. "The continued, excessive heat and humidity have put our greens into a critical situation and the possibility of saving many of them is remote," said a letter from the grounds-committee chairman. Even Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, N.Y., the site of five U.S. Opens, is having serious weather-related problems with its turf.
The U.S. Golf Association last week issued a special "turf-loss advisory" to courses in the Mid-Atlantic states, urgently advising greenkeepers to institute "defensive maintenance and management programs" until the weather crisis ends. Most of the danger is to greens planted in creeping bentgrass and annual bluegrass (also known as poa annua).
"Physiologically, these are cool-season grasses that do very well when the air temperature is 60 to 75 degrees," said Clark Throssell, director of research for the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. "They can cope with a few days of 90-degree weather every summer, but when that kind of heat lasts for days at a time, they have extreme difficulty."
Temperatures for weather reports are measured in the shade, but greens baking in the midday sun can reach 120 or 130 degrees. When grass spends too much time in soil that hot, it starts to thin out, turn yellow and wither. Most bentgrass strains will collapse entirely with prolonged exposure to 106-degree soil. The grass doesn't go dormant—it dies.
Grass does have a mechanism to cool itself. It's called evapotranspiration and is analogous to perspiration. The roots draw up water from the soil and it evaporates through the plant's leaves, dissipating heat. But when greens are scalped to a quarter-inch, an eighth of an inch and even shorter, the leaf surface available for transpiration declines.
Prolonged heat causes other problems. One is that root systems shrink, sometimes to within a half-inch of the surface, reducing the amount of water drawn up to the top. Humidity and heavy rain make things even worse. Humidity retards evaporation, while soggy soil stays hot longer than dry soil does. Puddles and saturated soil also create barriers that prevent needed oxygen from getting to the roots.
Even when the combination of these factors doesn't kill bentgrass and poa annua greens outright, it weakens the turf significantly and renders greens more susceptible to fungus and disease.
Bermuda grass, by contrast, thrives in temperatures in the 80s and 90s but cannot survive cold winters. That makes Bermuda the logical choice for courses in the Deep South. High-prestige clubs in the so-called transition zone, which includes parts of Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Texas and the Midwest, have long put a premium on having bentgrass greens because of Bermuda's historic liabilities as a putting surface. Bermuda greens were coarser, bumpier and had problems with excessive "grain," caused by the bristly blades growing in one direction (generally toward the setting sun) instead of vertically and thus unduly influencing the speed and direction of putts. Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, claims to be the first course south of the Mason-Dixon line to install bentgrass greens, in 1936. Hundreds of clubs have followed since.
But they pay the price, even in years with less brutal summers than this one. Colonial, for instance, has five or six fans around every green, stirring up 25-mile-per-hour breezes around the clock to help keep the greens cool. The club in summer has four full-time employees who do nothing but hand-water the hot spots on the greens every day. "Keeping the greens alive till that first cool spell in September is all we hope for," said the club's head pro, Dow Finsterwald Jr.
When hot weather hits bentgrass courses, course superintendents also raise mowing heights. That yields more leaf surface and improves evapotranspiration but can slow down putts by a foot or more on the Stimpmeter, which measures green speed. "Better slow grass than no grass" is a mantra among greenkeepers, but the pressure from golfers to keep the greens rolling fast is relentless.
During the hot summer of 2007, ground crews at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, home of the PGA Tour's Tour Championship, tried every trick in the book to keep the club's bentgrass greens healthy. They hand-watered each green every 30 minutes during the hottest days, just enough to cool off the grass blades but not enough to add moisture to the soil. They ran fans and cut the greens with walk-behind mowers rather than heavy triplex riding machines, to reduce stress.
But nothing did much good. "It's such a helpless feeling. You watch the greens turn yellow and you know they're going to collapse, but there's just nothing more you can do," said Ralph Kepple, East Lake's superintendent.
For the 2008 season, East Lake replanted its greens in one of the new "ultra dwarf" strains of Bermuda that are hard for most golfers to distinguish from bentgrass, in terms of performance. The club is pleased with the decision, Mr. Kepple said—especially this summer.
Augusta National, the home of the Masters 90 miles east of Atlanta, is in an area that is often 10 degrees hotter in the summer, but it easily maintains bentgrass greens. The main reason: The course is closed for play in the summer. That's a luxury very few courses can even consider.
—Email John Paul at golfjournal@wsj.com

William Brown, CGCS

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Why does turf die in summer??? THIS IS A MUST WATCH!

2010-08-06T05:51:00.002-04:00

Great video from PACE discussing the affects of heat and humidity on turf in the summer. THIS IS A MUST SEE!!

Why does turf die video

Not out of the woods yet!!

2010-08-01T07:28:00.002-04:00

Over the last 48 hours we have experienced relief from the extreme weather over the last 60 days, but we are not out of the woods yet! Typically August is the worst month for turf. Although sun intensities have begun to decline, the soil temps are still high, roots are still declining and temperatures remain high into the eveing. We need to view our recovery like an athelete running a marathon. The summer we have been experiencing is much like a 26.2 mile marathon. When the runner has completed the marathon there is a recovery period he or she must go through to allow for muscle recovery. This is done through rest and proper nutrient uptake. Our recovery from this summer is much the same. 48 hours of cooler temps does not mean instant recovery, but every little bit helps. Speaking with the USGA on Wednesday, they felt further turf loss will be experienced by managers feeling this window of weather will allow them to return to normal cultrual practices. The grass is still stressed, and an immediate return to normalcy will stress the turf enough to cause further decline or death. We will continue to apply small amounts of nutrients on a frequent basis along with ventings to allow for respiration. We will also continue with our current cultrual practices, making proper adjustments where needed. Touring the course this morning I am seeing good recovery, but I caution, we need to continue our patience.

Video fo 14 green recovery

2010-08-01T07:24:00.001-04:00

Below is a video taken this morning 8/1 explaining the recovery we are seeing.

USGA issues Alert for Mid-Atlantic Region

2010-07-29T11:06:00.002-04:00

On occasion the USGA will issue alerts when issues golf courses are facing become severe. In my almost 20 years in the golf course industry, they have issued 2; this is the third. The first in my time was during the ice storms in 1996 and the second was for the outbreak of Anthracnose this region was seeing in 2000. As you can see alerts are not sent often so when they are it is of immediate and serious concern.

On Wednesday the senior USGA Agronomist for the Mid-Atlantic region toured the course with me and to specifically look at 10 and 14 greens. He seconded all the programs we have initated to deal with the weather situation. This Agronomist visits nearly 10 different golf courses every week throughout the golf season as well as making emergency visits when asked. Of all the courses he has visited he has rated us a B+, above average for the condition of Hartefeld National during these diffiuclt times.

As I have never want to feel I am succeeding based on others failures, that is not who I am. But to see the many high-end facilites in our area closing due to TOTAL turf loss, confirms that we are on the right track with our programs during this difficult time.

Here is the Alert that was issued:

United States Golf Association July 27, 2010
Mid-Atlantic Green Section
485 Baltimore Pike, Suite 203, Glen Mills, PA 19342
(610) 558-9066 Fax (610) 558-1135

Manor Oak One, Suite 410
1910 Cochran Road, Pittsburgh, Pa 15220
(412) 341-4922 Fax (412) 341-5954

WEATHER ALERT

TURF LOSS ADVISORY

Periodically, the agronomists of the Mid-Atlantic region send letters to USGA member courses on extraordinary weather conditions and turf loss related matters. The weather experienced the summer of 2010 has prompted this letter.

Our goal is to alert golfers and turf managers alike that this extended period of heat and drought followed by heat, humidity and thunderstorms has caused and probably will continue to cause turf stress and turf loss problems throughout the region. No two golf courses are alike. They all have different grasses, soils and golfer expectations. It is important that golf course superintendents use, “defensive golf course maintenance and management programs.” That is, be conservative. Pamper the grass. The turfgrass is under intense weather stress compounded by an increase in disease pressure. Be more concerned about plant health than green speed!!! There is an old adage in our industry, “slow grass is better than no grass.” This is not a joke. It needs to be taken seriously.

Suggested “defensive” management programs include:

• Compress spray programs. With heat, humidity and thunderstorms, fungicides do not last as long and disease pressure is greater. There is no better money spent than to protect the grass from disease.
• Raise mowing heights and use sharp mowers. This can help the grass survive.
• Mow less/roll more. The goal is to reduce mechanical stress to the grass plant.
• Switch from grooved to solid rollers (and protect collars from the turning of mowers).
• Spoonfeed the grass. Weekly sprays are best when applying light rates of fertility, iron (to keep the grass green) and growth regulators. Excessive grass growth depletes carbohydrates.
• Air drainage. On pocketed greens, prune limbs, use fans and generally keep the air moving. When you are hot, you stand in front of a fan. When the grass is stressed, it needs good air movement as well. Drier turf is also less prone to disease.
• DO NOT OVER-WATER. Hand water. Lightly syringe the turf with the nozzle never going past horizontal. Any mid-day watering should be focused on cooling the canopy. If you are wetting the soil, you are not syringing! Remember, you can always add more water but wet, saturated soil damages roots, increases disease and contributes to turf loss via the Wet Wilt Syndrome. If corrective watering needs to be done for dry spots, the extra water should be applied in the early morning or late in the evening. Do not over-water the grass in mid-day heat.
• Surface aerate/vent the greens. This allows the soil to breath, excess moisture to escape and roots to regrow which helps the grass survive.
In summary, be careful. This may be one of our hottest summers in decades. We all share the responsibility of keeping the turf on our golf courses as healthy as possible during this period of extreme weather. Again, be careful and have realistic expectations for golf course playability.

The Mid-Atlantic Region’s agronomists are part of your agronomic support team. If you have a question or concern, do not hesitate to give us a call or send an e-mail.
Glen Mills office: (610) 558-9066
Stan Zontek (szontek@usga.org) and Darin Bevard (dbevard@usga.org)
Pittsburgh office: (412) 341-5922
Keith Happ (khapp@usga.org)

Blog posting this summer

2010-07-27T07:19:00.003-04:00

This summer is most certainly up there on my list of ones I would like to forget and for turf mangers, one that will be talked about for years to come. This summer we are seeing the heat from 2005 and the rain from 2009. One would think if we married our practices from 2005 and 2009 we would be just fine. Doesn't work like that!

The summer of 2010 has been stressful for everyone and has required everyone to stay on top of their game. One small issue or slip and your toast and with this heat you could literally be toast! With everything we have been facing and with some of the issues on the course, it is important for me to continue to communicate to YOU what is happening. However, remaining on top of things literally 24 hours a day has made it very difficult to continue updating the blog. The past few days I have taken some time to update a few of the issues we are facing on the course, but there are more and no doubt that list will get bigger as the weather continues.

What I would encourage all of you to do if you have a question regarding something specific, is to email me, Joe Mackley or Mike Fox. I have conversations with both of these gentlemen daily regarding the course, if they can't answer your question they will contact me. As I have said since day one, I have an open door policy. I am here to manage the course you belong to, if you have a question please contact me. I would be glad to either meet on the course to answer questions or by email.

Thank you all for your patience this summer, it has no doubt been a difficult one.

Weeds

2010-07-27T06:56:00.002-04:00

Many things this year have been extremely frustating and at times just flat out difficult to even stomach this year! One issue particularly for me is the weeds. Normally thorought the summer we are able to periodically touch up our spring weed control to keep weeds to a minimum. In the fall, the best time to approach weed control, we are able to make larger broadcast applications to cleanup any weeds going into winter.

This summer we have not been able to spray a drop of herbicide. Herbicides are classed in two categories, selective and non-selective. Non-selectives are easy, as the name says it all, they kill everything and anything they touch. Round-up is an example of this type. Selective herbicides are used to target a particular species of weed. These can be sprayed over tolerant species of turf and only eliminate your targeted weeds. However, the key words above are "tolerant species". During the weather nothing is tolerant to herbicides. We have had to cease all herbicide applications since June. Normally our turf acts as a natural "herbicide". With a nice thick healthy stand of turfgrass it makes it difficult for any weeds to germinate in the soil, to put it simply there just isn't room. This summer our turf has thinned, giving optimum growing conditions for summer annual broadleaf and grassy weeds.

Two weeds particular we are seeing become very aggressive in this weather, Nutsedge and Crabgrass. Nutsedge is the light lime collar grass we are seeing in the perimeter cuts around greens and in bunker faces. This sedge grows extremely fast. In the perimeter cut, this species stands out like a soar thumb because it can grow quickly to 5 and 6 inches, while the first cut remains at less than an inch. The other annual grassy weed we are seeing is crabgrass. In the spring we made a broadcast application on everything but the greens for crabgrass. The reason we are seeing breakthrough is because of the lack of rain in June. When a pre-emergent is applied, it creates a barrier on the soil surface that does not allow for annual grassy weeds like crabgrass to germinate. However, when the soil becomes very dry and cracks begin to form, the seeds now have an area to germinate through. Many of our hotter and drier areas of the course, like bunker faces, edges of cartpaths and roughs have a higher than usual population of crabgrass. Crabgrass is also classified as a warmseason grass, like bermuda grass. The weather we have been experiencing is perfect for crabgrass to thrive in. Simply, crabgrass is living the good life right now, however, it has no idea what it is about to face next week!

Forecasters are calling for a break in the weather. Temperatures are set to return to seasonable levels which will allow us to begin treating many of these weeds. Next week we will begin spot spraying for both crabgrass and nutsedge across the course. Once we make the application, you will see these grasses turn green, to yellow, then brown. I am very much looking forward to this fall for many many reasons, but one is certainly our broadcast application of herbicides.

Heat Wreaking Havoc on Golf Courses

2010-07-27T06:53:00.002-04:00

Below is an article from the GCSAA discussing the almost Nationwide struggle for all turf managers during this summer's weather conditions.

07/22/2010
Superintendents, facilities pulling out all stops to address the challenge
Heat wreaking havoc on golf courses nationwide

Prolonged periods of high temperatures, and in some cases, excessive rainfall, and high humidity have made life uncomfortable for golfers and golf courses alike, with Mother Nature holding all the cards for true relief.

"The simple fact is the cool-season turfgrasses such as bentgrass, fescue, bluegrass, annual bluegrass (Poa annua) and others are stressed when temperatures climb and humidity is high," Clark Throssell, Ph.D., director of research for the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, said. "Golf courses in many parts of the country experience this every year, however what makes the situation so dire this year are the high levels of extended heat and humidity, and the sizeable part of the country affected (Midwest, Mideast, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic)."

According to Throssell, golf facilities and those entrusted with managing the golf course – golf course superintendents – are not alone in this battle with the elements. However, the nature of their product makes their challenge greater.

"We are certainly seeing homeowners, athletic fields and businesses suffer turfgrass damage brought on by the conditions," Throssell said. "What makes it more difficult for golf facilities are the mowing heights are much lower and traffic is much heavier. That just adds to the stress on the turfgrass."

Throssell indicates that golf course superintendents are addressing the issue with a variety of management practices to make sure turfgrass survives. While there may be some short-term impact on playability of the course, the alternative is the loss of grass, the closure of the course and the additional costs of re-establishing playing surfaces (primarily putting greens).

He also cautioned golfers from thinking that water, whether from rain or irrigation, is the answer to the ills. There is a difference between heat stress and drought stress. Adequate irrigation will alleviate drought stress. Adequate irrigation will not alleviate heat stress. It is not only possible, but likely, for a turfgrass plant to be adequately watered and still suffer from heat stress under extended periods of high temperatures.

Among the practices that superintendents are implementing to manage golf courses include:

Raising the mowing heights of playing areas, most notably putting greens.
Alternating daily practices of mowing and rolling putting greens, with consideration to skipping a day if the schedule of play allows.
Forgoing double mowing, topdressing, verticutting or grooming greens.
Watering to provide adequate soil moisture, but not over watering as saturated soil will cause the turfgrass to decline rapidly.
Hand watering as much as feasible. If a green has a dry spot or two, superintendents will hand water the dry spots only and will not water the entire green. When the entire green shows stress from a lack of water, superintendents use the overhead sprinklers and water the entire green.
Avoid aerifying using large diameter tines that penetrate deeply into soil and remove a core of soil. If a superintendent feels the putting surface is sealed, venting using small diameter solid tines or other similar technique is employed.
If fertilizer is required, small amounts of fertilizer are applied via a sprayer and observation of the response occurs before fertilizing again.
Monitoring and adjusting golf car traffic patterns to minimize stress to turf.
Throssell indicated that during periods such as this, it becomes easy to compare golf course conditions and pressure decision makers into actions that might prove detrimental to the long term health of the playing surface.

"Communication is vital," Throssell said. "Superintendents, golf professionals, owners, managers and others must be in constant contact with golfers to educate them on what is happening at the facility. But golfers must also understand that golf courses are like snowflakes – no two are alike. Some courses may be able to withstand the challenges of Mother Nature better than others because of better drainage and soil conditions, better air flow due to the placement of trees, less traffic or the presence of greater financial resources.

"We know the weather conditions will become more agreeable. What is important right now is to manage the golf course in a manner so that turf can be kept alive until that point."

GCSAA is a leading golf organization and has as its focus golf course management. Since 1926, GCSAA has been the top professional association for the men and women who manage golf courses in the United States and worldwide. From its headquarters in Lawrence, Kan., the association provides education, information and representation to more than 20,000 members in more than 72 countries. GCSAA's mission is to serve its members, advance their profession and enhance the enjoyment, growth and vitality of the game of golf. The association's philanthropic organization, The Environmental Institute for Golf, works to strengthen the compatibility of golf with the natural environment through research grants, support for education programs and outreach efforts. Visit GCSAA at www.gcsaa.org.

10 green issues

2010-07-26T09:13:00.001-04:00

10 green has really struggled through this summers extreme weather. Forecasters are calling this the worst summer in over 9 years. Since June 1st, 55 days ago, we have had 27 days at or above 90 with many days over 100 degree heat index. In the 25 days of July alone, we have had 18 days at or above 90, along with over 7 inches of rain. Turfgrass is far far better off dry when facing heat and humidity than with excessive rain.

There is no one issue with 10 green or we would not be experiencing the problems we have now. The green sitting in a very low pocket and not draining are only a couple of the issues we face. Over the last week the green has really struggled purely because of temperatures.

Bentgrass can tolerate the heat the best of all cool season grasses, but even that has it's limits. At about 85 degree soil temps roots will begin to decline and die. The roots are the lifeline of the turf and without a functioning root system, we have no grass. Over the last week, soil temps on 10 green would only cool during nighttime hours to mid to low 80's; which is already the upper temperature threshold. During the day this green would reach temperatures well over 100 degrees! At this soil temperature the grass cannot survive.

There are many techniques used to cool the soil and every one of these were employed last week, but with the extreme weather especially Friday through Sunday, each had little affect.

On Sunday the green was at it's worst and therefore play had to be removed. We will continue to utilize a temporary until we begin to see improvement.

We are working with Sequoia to correct many of the issues that create an issue for the turf on 10 green. The following is being reviewed:

Removing the entire wicker barrier around the green.

Using sonar to detect drain lines. Once the drain lines are mapped this tool will also be used to find issues we have with the drains.

Continue removal of brush and trees behind the green to allow for proper air movement.

Installation of large turf fans to assist with air movement when Mother Nature can't supply it.

Once we see an extended break in the weather, the collar will be resodded. During our struggles with 10, it was found the greensurface has shrunk significantly. The leftside and front is almost 5 feet shy of the actual constructed dimensions. When the collar is sodded we will be restoring this green to the original size. This will create more of a false front.

William Brown, CGCS

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Severe storms 7/25

2010-07-26T08:47:00.001-04:00

Yesterday afternoon severe storms ripped through Hartefeld. Along with rain falling at a rate of 10" per hour the winds we gusting to 50mph. Several trees fell victim to the winds along with a dozen or so being damaged leaving limbs hanging.

With 2" of rain in approximately 25 mins the bunkers were completely washed out.

Today we are concentrating on course clean-up. There is too much debris on the course to allow us to mow today. Tomorrow we will return to our normal maintenance routine.

William Brown, CGCS

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Course Update 7/15 - Members Please Read

2010-07-15T07:32:00.002-04:00

Below is a letter sent to all members regarding our current weather situation. We went from 100 degree, drought conditions to rainforest type conditions. The situation should not be taken lightly, this is serious. Please read below.

Attention
Hartefeld Members
Prior to July 10th, we went 43 days with only .88 inches of rain. In the last 4 days we have
received 4.25 inches of rain. Along with the rain, the humidity has continued to remain extremely high
and we are now forecasted to begin our 5th heat wave of the year today! Temperatures are forecasted
in the 90ʼs for the next 5 days and with the saturated conditions at Hartefeld, this WILL cause turf loss if
corrective actions are not taken immediately.
Over the last 2 days algae and anaerobic conditions began to build in our greens, they simple
canʼt get any oxygen in them. Yesterday afternoon we received yet more rain and upon arriving to work
early this morning, our situation has worsened. Just as we took corrective action during the spell of 100
plus degree days to keep our course in excellent condition, we must immediately take corrective action
now or we will see significant turf issues. After my evaluation and consultation with the USGA
agronomist this morning, the following is what we are initiating, effective immediately:

- All the greens this morning are receiving a solid tine (bayonet tine) aeration. We need to
release the toxic sulfide gases and allow oxygen to begin moving into the soil. This process
is the most vital of all.

- Several greens on the course are now being handmowed to assist in compaction and
compression issues. The use of a triplex with the greens as wet as they are will create
scalping.

- Oxygen is the most vital element as this time. To keep from compressing the oxygen out of
the greens soil profile, rolling will be suspended until we see the greens dry a bit. I anticipate
the greens being rolled tomorrow and through the weekend.

- We will be applying Zinc to the greens tomorrow. Zinc helps reduce the build-up of surface
algae on the greens. We are seeing algae form on many of the greens very quickly with the
humidity levels so hight. When algae forms on the surface, it inhibits oxygen from moving to
the plant and soil profile. It is the equivalent of a person putting a plastic bag over their head.

As with the weather we faced 1 week ago, our Agronomy programs are strong and will
help us through this time of difficult environmental stresses. For additional updates and
information please look to the Course Maintenance Blog - www.greensuper.blogspot.com

The entire Hartefeld Management and Agronomy team would like to thank you for
your cooperating during these difficult times.

William Brown, CGCS
Superintendent Hartefeld National

Course closed 7/13

2010-07-13T06:28:00.001-04:00

The course will be closed this morning opening at 11:30am. We receives 1.2" of rain in the last 10 hours most falling between 5am and 6am this morning.

William Brown, CGCS

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7/7 irrigation issues

2010-07-08T06:03:00.001-04:00

Last night our irrigation computer locked up in mid cycle. It was imperative this ran last night! Arriving to work at 4 am this was realized and immediately began re cycling the program. The irrigation will run until 10am today. All playing surfaces are going to be soft today due to this issue. The water will not have had adequate soak time to firm surfaces prior to daily play.

William Brown, CGCS

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Great USGA Article - Pebble Beach conditions for US OPEN

2010-06-29T07:37:00.002-04:00

The link below is a FANTASTIC article written by Pat Gross, the USGA Agronomist responsible for oversight of the US Open at Pebble Beach. In my opinion, this article could not have been written any better. Many in the golf industry, USGA, GCSAA, EIFG just to name a few, have continued on a campaign that green is not always what is best for golf. Responsible and sustainable approach to not only golf course management but to all turfgrass management is where all our focus needs to be; from the golf courses to parks, to home lawn care.

Beauty in eye of Beholder

6/25 green speeds

2010-06-25T07:29:00.000-04:00

We faired the storm well yesterday. We received .2" of rain during the event. The greens were stumped this morning behind our usual cut and roll. The greens today are at 10'.

William Brown, CGCS

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6/23 Green Speeds

2010-06-23T07:05:00.002-04:00

Last evening we received a bit of relief from the lack of rain with a hard downpour from a Thunderstorm. Although the total rainfall from that event was only .12", anything will help at this point. Greens were stimped this morning at 10'.

6/20 green speeds

2010-06-20T08:08:00.001-04:00

The 1at and 7th greens were stimped behind normal maintenance at a
speed of 10.2'.

William Brown, CGCS

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6/19 green stimp

2010-06-19T06:40:00.001-04:00

The first green behind our usual cut and roll was stimped at 10.2'.

William Brown, CGCS

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Green speeds 6/18

2010-06-18T07:52:00.001-04:00

This morning at 7:30 am after our usual daily cut and roll, several
greens were stimped at 10.2'.

We had some irrigation heads stick on us last night on both green
banks 3 and 10. These areas will be wet. The bunker on 3 will be
repaired later this morning.

William Brown, CGCS

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Greens Maintenance and green speeds

2010-06-17T09:41:00.002-04:00

With the high percentage chance of rain yesterday, we wanted to take advantage of Mother Nature's opportunities and did some maintenance to our greens. Yesterday the greens received a little heavier than normal light topdressing and were also granular fertilized for summer preparation. With all this being completed early morning yesterday, all we had to do was sit back and wait for Mother Nature to wash it all in.......didn't happen! Late last night, after realizing we weren't getting any precipitation, I ran the irrigation system to irrigate in all we had applied. The greens were irrigated early this morning around 4:30am, so the water has not had a chance to move through the upper profile yet. Stimping the greens this morning they were at 9.8'. A little under 10 because of the irrigation, but should speed up during the day with the water continuing to move through the profile and the winds drying the surfaces out.

The practice of frequent light topdressing is key to having a smooth, true putting surface. This practice also helps us achieve our targeted greens speeds of 9.5 to 10.5'. There are also numerous other benefits to this practice such as disease management, water management, thatch and organic matter management as well as a more true cut. Our goal is to topdress the greens every 14 days with a very light dusting. When Mother Nature allows we will do it more frequently.

The rougher spring rough!!

2010-06-06T09:46:00.002-04:00

Below is a GREAT article by our local USGA senior agronomist Darin Bevard. This article really hits the nail on the head and explains exactly what I have been discussing for several weeks with our GM Mike Fox, Membership Director, Joe Mackley and several members at the club. We are right in line with the USGA!

Spring Rough Is Rough!
By Darin S. Bevard, Senior Agronomist
June 3, 2010

Right on cue, complaints about thick, difficult rough come with spring weather. Overall, spring growing conditions have been excellent for the turfgrass. The golfers are playing, and, for the most part, they are happy until they hit the ball into the rough. Conversations about the difficulty of the rough have come up in nearly every Turf Advisory Service visit. The good news is if the rough is the biggest complaint, everything else must be going very well. The bad news is aggressive spring growth in cool-season rough generally has to run its course.

Most superintendents are maintaining rough at two to three inches, with the most common height of cut being 2.5 inches for cool-season grasses. As suggested by most golfers, the solution for challenging rough conditions is to lower the height or mow more frequently, but this is easier said than done. The frequency of rough mowing is usually dictated by available equipment and manpower. At this time of year, somebody is mowing rough at the golf course Monday through Friday. There just may not be enough "somebodys" at your golf course to mow the rough frequently enough to keep up with growth rate. If rough is mowed at 2.5 inches on Monday, the same rough may be 3.5 or 4 inches in a couple of days. Height of cut is not the problem, but frequency of cut is.

The bottom line is that rough grows aggressively in the spring, even in the absence of fertilizer applications. The result is difficult playing conditions, and this occurs every year. The only solution is to hit the ball in the fairway, play hard when it is in the rough, and know that the growth rate of the grass will slow down as spring progresses into summer. Be patient and be aware that your superintendent is probably doing everything he or she can to keep up with the growth.

Annual bluegrass weevil damage in the region has been modest this spring compared to past years. Awareness of this insect pest as well as better understanding of control options are probably the biggest factors that have reduced problems experienced with this insect pest. Continue to scout for annual bluegrass weevil if it has been a problem in the past.

The Mid-Atlantic Region agronomists are part of your agronomic support team.　 If you have a question or concern, give us a call or send an e-mail.　 Stan Zontek (szontek@usga.org) and Darin Bevard (dbevard@usga.org) at 610/ 558-9066 or Keith Happ (khapp@usga.org) at 412/ 341-5922.

Weekend Weather

2010-06-05T06:24:00.003-04:00

Well things were getting pretty dry. For a few days we were on a consistent nightly irrigation schedule that followed with daily handwatering of greens to keep moisture levels as even as possible. Then came Friday afternoon. Friday AM, the forecasters were only calling for 20% chance of storms for Friday. After Thursday's forecast of 70% which resulted in zero precip, my hopes were dashed for any rain for Friday. After finishing an afternoon syringe on several greens, I came in to check the radar and there was a very small storm heading right for Hartefeld. 40 mins later, we took a direct hit. We received .3" in about 12 mins.

Today and tomorrow very nasty weather is forecasted, hot humid and a very high percentage chance of very strong storms. Despite the rain yesterday, we were able to follow our normal weekend maintenance program which included our usual cut and roll of the greens.

If you are out on the course today, please be careful. If the sirens blow for inclement weather, please take shelter. NOAA is has forecasted a very high percentage of strong storms to include wind and hail. Good luck to all playing in the Hartefeld Cup today.

5/31 Green speeds

2010-05-31T07:07:00.000-04:00

This morning the greens were stimped behind the cut and roll at a
speed of 9.5 feet. We continue to push the greens as aggressively as
resources and Mother Nature will allow. The greens are still wet from
the additional rain on Thursday (.27") and Saturday AM (.25"). The
high dewpoints (upper 60's) is keeping our air at a high humidity
level which makes it difficult for the greens to transpire and
evaporation to take place. Forecasters are calling for this pattern to
continue through today with a possible chance of storms this evening.
This pattern should break in time for aerification.
Our plan is to still aerify the greens with a solid tine on
Wednesday. We will add another very light topdressing and brush into
the process to assist with drying the greens out. Additionally, I have
yet again increased our growth regulator rates on the greens last week
to help aid in speeds. We are currently double the rate than that put
on fairways and tees. We have also continued a daily roll with our
mowing over the last 12 days.

William Brown, CGCS

Sent from my iPhone

Stimp reading 5/28

2010-05-28T09:41:00.002-04:00

This morning I stimped the 9th green behind our cut and roll. The greens are rolling 9.5 feet today. The continued humidity coupled with the .27" of rain last night are causing the greens to be a bit slower today. As you will see in your weekly newsletter, we are needletining the greens on Wednesday to assist in drying the greens out.

Bunker Surrounds

2010-05-26T13:26:00.004-04:00

It was brought to my attention about concern over the height of cut around the bunker banks. Our goal for height of cut around the bunkers ie. bunker banks, is 3.5 to 4 inches. In a previous post titled, Golf Course Maintenance Schedules, the mowing schedule of all surfaces are discussed. The bunker banks are mowed once a week. This time of year, as with all our other grasses, the bunker banks are growing more rapidly and are a bit thicker than they will be in later months of the golf season. Also, a yearly phenomenon that is occurring as we speak, is the production of seedheads by all grasses. Seedheads are produced daily. We have areas of our primary rough and even fairways that after the day it is cut and the existing seedhead is removed, their are additional seedheads the following morning. This phenomenon is creating a perception of the bunker banks to be at a higher height than they actually are. Perception is also skewed due to the height of cut of the 1st cut. The 1st cut is mowed at .75" and having this height of cut in the foreground of the bunker banks, creates the perception of a much higher height of cut for the bunker banks.

Below are two photos. The first is a photo of the 10th bunker from normal eye level. The second photo is at a level that shows the length of seedhead growth versus the lenght or height of grass blades. Seedhead production on the type of grass around our bunkers is nearly finished and we should be back to "normal" shortly.

5/21 stimp reading

2010-05-21T11:33:00.002-04:00

This morning the 1st and 7th greens were stimped. Both were at 10 feet on the stimp meter.

Golf Course Maintenance Schedules

2010-05-20T11:26:00.003-04:00

Over the last several days, I have been approached about our golf course maintenance schedule. Many of the questions/comments have been regarding greens speeds. I have discussed our current greens maintenance in a few prior posts, so I would like to concentrate on the bigger picture. Our course maintenance schedule has always been extremely transparent. I have shared our procedures and goals at several meeting, mix and mingles and even my Open House last fall. Below is a schedule of the major duties. You will see these not only fall inline with several of the best local courses, but they are also inline with the majority of the best courses nationally.

Greens - Mowed 6 days a week, but mostly 7. Our off day will either be a Monday or a Tuesday. Days we do not mow greens, we are providing other maintainance to them such as topdressing, fertilizing, etc. Greens are also brushed several times immediately prior to a mowing. This helps "stand the turf up" and cleans up any leafy material. There is no benefit to brushing everyday, we monitor turf conditions and base our decision to brush on our evaluation.

Roll Greens - 5 sometimes 6 times per week. Always rolled Saturday and Sunday. We only roll the Putting Green 3 times per week because of the amount of traffic it receives daily. If I were to roll the putting green as much as the other greens, the putting green would be much faster than other greens. Sometimes, based on stimp readings we will eliminate rolling the putting green completely because of the speed to inconstant with rest of the course. This is purely because of traffic.

Cups - These are changed 4 times per week.

Tee markers - These are moved every single day, but are moved more drastically on the days we change cups.

Collars - Mowed 3 days a week

Fairways - Mowed 3 days a week

1st Cut or Perimeter Cut - Mowed 3 days a week.

Tees and Approaches - Mowed 3 days a week.

Bunkers - Raked 4 days a week and mowed once a week.

Rough - The rough is mowed every single day. It takes us 3.5 days to mow the entire course once, so we typically mow the course 1.5 times per week

There is much more than just the above schedule that goes into providing our conditions at Hartefeld. The above is just a snap shot based on comments/opinions presented to me of what is completed daily on the course. The weather is the only issue that would cause this schedule to be altered. On occasion, in anticipation of rain we will increase these practices to keep conditions as consistent as possible. If you have any questions regarding these practices, please do not hesitate as always to contact me.

150 marker tops

2010-05-20T08:21:00.001-04:00

The 150 marker tops are being put back out today. We were able to make
the several that were stolen, yesterday afternoon.

William Brown, CGCS

Sent from my iPhone

Green Speeds

2010-05-20T07:50:00.002-04:00

Stimping a few greens today after the cut and roll, they are stimping 9.5 feet. With the .6 inches of rain Friday night and the 1 inch of rain on Tuesday, we are continuing to intensify our management of the greens to help increase speeds despite the wet conditions. We have cut and rolled each day this week, except Tuesday, when it rained and have brushed the greens yesterday to help receive a better cut. We are currently within our intended goal for green speeds, but are continuing to do what we can to speed the greens up. The lack of rain forecasted and the temperatures over the next 10 days will help dry these greens out again, and allow for increased speeds and firmness.

150 yardage marker pin caps

2010-05-18T08:31:00.000-04:00

To date, I am extremely happy with the golf course as a whole. A lot has come together for us to provide a great product. We also seem to be experiencing a nice transition to summer weather, which will help the turf in times of July and August streses.

One issue we have had this year is vadalism. We continue to have tee markers disappear on a regular basis, ropes are continually cut, removed or relocated and now we are advancing to our 150 yardage marker pin location caps. Today, I have instructed my team to remove all caps until we can either replace all or I am hopeful we can create a new system quickly, to eliminate these all together. This recent string of vandalism is not good and only takes us away from being able to continue with other projects.

We will keep you posted with an update on our pin location system.

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Stimp reading

2010-05-17T11:29:00.001-04:00

1 Green stimped at 9 feet 6 inches at 8:45am this morning.

William Brown, CGCS

Sent from my iPhone

Summer Stress Conditioning

2010-05-11T06:48:00.002-04:00

I recently posted an article published in the WSJ regarding "Brown being the new green". I don't agree 100% with everything in the article, but I do strongly believe the color of a golf course should NOT reflect how well the course plays. Last year, it rained and it rained and it rained some more! Hartefeld was thick, lush and green all year round and what did we have? Slow greens, thick rough, disease, insects, algae, restricted carts rules and the list goes on!

If you were on the course over the last few days, you will see we have some off color turf. We are getting dry, but thats okay, our grass is strong and will only get stronger! I am not a believer in "babying" our turf this time of year. We don't want it to become over stressed, but we do want the grass to work! For you movie buffs, from Meet the Focker, I lean more towards the Ferber method than the Focker method. Now is the time you want the grass to work, we want the roots to dig deep. We want the grass to "understand" what it must do when stresses are introduced in the summer months. Keeping the grass lush and green this time of year by overwatering is not the way you do that.

Yesterday morning we were dry and with the weather we experienced we got even drier. The grass did stress yesterday, but it was cool and sun intensities were low. We watched the course very closely to make sure areas didn't stress beyond a recovery point. Evaluating the moisture levels prior to leaving for the day, we decided to apply some water to the course, BUT just enough to get it through the day today just in time for the rain tonight.

Wall Street Journal Article - "Is Brown the New Green?"

Great Article about course watering

2010-05-08T09:42:00.000-04:00

Below is a great article with a conversation with Jim Hyler, USGA President regarding watering and course conditioning pertaining to golf's future.

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748704370704575228253377487596-lMyQjAxMTAwMDAwODEwNDgyWj.html

Been behind

2010-05-04T07:53:00.001-04:00

I have been really behind in blog posting and Twitter for that matter. We have been EXTREMELY busy on the course. This rain pattern has also hurt us from staying on schedule. We have been losing at least one day a week for the last 3 weeks.

I plan on posting several updates this week about the course.

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Go away Geese!!

2010-04-20T08:31:00.003-04:00

Despite our best efforts thus far, the geese just don't want to leave! Someone needs to push for a change, these are not migratory! Last year when the geese issue became a problem, I went to my local nursery and asked for a solution. They pointed me to some reflective tap. Reflective tape? I thought no way would this work. I was wrong! Yesterday, I finally was able to return to the nursery to pick up some additional tape and we have surrounded our 6th hole (Picture below).

The reflection on the tape aggrevates the eyes of not only geese, but most birds. I found many berry growers utilize this tape as well to keep from losing their harvest. We will keep the reflective tape up until I feel our issue with the geese has gone for the season. I have placed most of the stakes with the tape inside the hazard incase a ball comes to rest near one.

We will also begin fertilizing the areas the geese have affected to begin the healing r

4/20 frost delay

2010-04-20T06:34:00.000-04:00

We are under frost delay until 9am.

William Brown, CGCS

Sent from my iPhone

Green'a stimp reading 4/10

2010-04-10T08:18:00.000-04:00

I stimped several greens early this morning, following a cut and roll.
Each green I stimped was at 10 feet.

William Brown, CGCS

Sent from my iPhone

Cart Rule Today 4/9

2010-04-09T07:06:00.000-04:00

We will be utilizing cart paths today until noon. Blue Flags will be permitted this morning.

Thank you.

9 green stimp reading

2010-04-08T07:30:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, the 9th green was stimped at 10'. This was completed at
12:30pm.

William Brown, CGCS

Sent from my iPhone

Seeding

2010-04-06T14:06:00.004-04:00

We have had an extremely busy week so far and it is only Tuesday. Stay tuned for further updates on the happenings this week. Below is a picture of some of the misc seeding we are doing in some of the traffic areas. The stakes will remain until we see adequate germination to allow cart traffic again.

Thank you.

Bunker renovation update

2010-04-05T07:42:00.000-04:00

The rain has caused a delay of the 5 remaining bunkers to be
renovated. The contractor was here all weekend sifting sand in
preparation to finish this week. The weather looks promising for a
Friday or Saturday completion. Once the contractor completes his
portion we will still need to mechanically tamp the 5 remaining
bunkers. Further updates will follow.

William Brown, CGCS

Sent from my iPhone

Survey Results

2010-03-25T14:03:00.004-04:00

Well it took some time, but I finally got through the entire survey. I greatly appreciate all your comments and the time you put in to complete the survey. Reviewing the survey and comments there were 3 somewhat recurring comments/concerns. In no specific order or by emphasis in survey, below are the 3:

- Additional ballwashers
- Expanding some of the front tee boxes
- Green speeds

Additional ballwashers
We recognize the need for additional ballwashers and are looking into possibly purchasing some additional. Along with the concern for additional washers was their placement. Upon my arrival there were many issues I had to tackle. Being my second full season is getting underway, I have been able to chip away at the more important issues and am getting into some of the details that are in need of attention; ballwashers is definitely one of those. Being that we do not have enough washers to place at the every tee box, I feel it is important to one, not be bias in our placement and two, be consistent in the placement so we all know where we can find the ballwasher. Like I said above, we are working on purchasing additional, but to fix the placement issue we have decided to move the placement of each ballwasher to a central location; this will be next to every hole sign. This past week we have cemented a ball washer post and cleat cleaners next to the hole signs on 1,3,5,6,9,10.12.14 and 16. We have not yet put the washers out, we are waiting for the cement to set. This now puts every ballwasher at a central location on each hole.

Expanding some of the front tees
We recognize the need to expand these tees. We are again working on the 1st hole to expand the front tee. It is going to take sometime, but in a few weeks it should be ready. In my opinion, we will be able to slightly expand the tee on #3 as well. The other holes of concern, will need to be placed on our Capital Improvement list. It is important that when we expand these tees we do them correctly and resources are needed to ensure this. Placing these on our CapEx list will ensure the proper resources are provided to accomplish this.

Green Speeds
I would like to reference a past blog post to discuss our green speed situation. Below is the post:

"The recurring theme at every single golf course in 2009 was green speeds. To put some perspective behind the concern, in June and August, it rained for over half the month. In June we had 15 days of all rain and August was 16 days. These weren't days that had afternoon storms or showers, it rained and it rained all day. In 2009, not counting January through March and December we had nearly 57.5" of rain. See chart below.

On the flip side, there were several comments regarding the quality of green speeds this past fall. We received a break from the rain. Once the rain had at least slowed for us, we were able to become more aggressive in our management, cutting and rolling more consistently, topdressing more frequently and brush and cutting more frequently. Each of these practices are in our yearly program, but can't be initiated when we receive this type of precipitation. To help communicate our green speeds, on a daily basis I began posting the stimp reading of a stimped green. We would stimp a different green each day to show the consistency. This also began in the fall and feel this was a success in getting out in front of concerns."

We are currently taking a very aggressive approach to our greens management. We have been able to initiate our program early in the season this year, because we have had the resources to do so. Since aerification we have rolled the greens 9 times and mowed three times. We have also applied a growth regulator and some additional fertilizers to help aid in the recovery. Overall, I am very happy with the performance of the greens this spring.

The rain challenges every course to maintain consistent green speeds. We are hoping the rain begins to cooperate with us so we can continue to remain aggressive on our management of the greens. When the greens have had some additional time to heal, I will begin posting daily stimp readings of the green. I will also provide some management programs we are initiating to achieve our speeds this growing season.

Correction to last post

2010-03-23T08:21:00.000-04:00

We are going to mow the greens today. Evaluating further this morning,
our plan is to spray them tomorrow with a growth regulator to help
slow poa germination and aid in green speed goals.

William Brown, CGCS

Sent from my iPhone

Please not another wet year!!

2010-03-23T08:02:00.000-04:00

Well, with another inch of rain yesterday adding to the already 2" 10 days ago and the 40 plus inches of snow melt, it is like deja vu. I am hoping this rainny wet trend we have been in for the last year breaks soon.

We will be cart path only today allowing the use of blue flags. Our plan was to mow the entire course today including greens, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. The greens are healing nicely and again we will push has hard as we can to achieve targeted green speeds during these wet times.

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Bunker update

2010-03-19T08:03:00.002-04:00

This morning the contractor and I met for a bit and discussed the completion of the final few bunkers. These bunkers are the 3 on number 1 and the 2 on number 12. He will spend most of next week sifting the sand for these bunkers. This is a very slow process so it will take most of next week to complete. Once the sand is sifted he will begin moving the sand back out to the bunkers. I anticipate with some weather cooperation that by the first week of April, our bunker project will be complete.

We are on track to have 90% of the course cleaned by the end of today, Friday. This weekend we will begin the task of cleaning our 60 plus bunkers out and putting an initial rake on them. Several of them have washouts which will be plowed and rolled, this takes time. We plan to have all the bunkers completed with an initial rake by the end of our day on Monday.

Enjoy the nice weekend weather.

Course update 3/18

2010-03-18T08:08:00.005-04:00

The course is still extremely wet. We have had difficulty completing our tasks as well because of this. Yesterday, we mowed about 2/3 of the fairways in preparation for fertilizing. My initial plan, at the beginning of the week, was to fertilize on Tuesday, let the forecasted rain on Saturday and Sunday wash the fert in, then mow monday. The forecast changed and so did the plan. We are mowing the fairways for the first time a head of the fertilizing.

We have fertilized all the roughs and misc areas of the course. Today the tees and perimeters are being mowed also a head of the fertilizing. The tees will be fertilized tomorrow or Friday. We are also planning the first sprays of playable areas either Friday or early next week. The decision to do this is going to be based on daily temps and plant response.

Greens are healing nicely. I don't plan to make the first mow until Monday or Tuesday of next week because of the amount of sand still on the surface. Today, we will try to roll them in the afternoon, but it will depend on the amount of play on the course. We have to roll the greens dry or the sand will stick to the roller and create a maintenance nightmare. We will look to roll the greens tomorrow as well and possibly one day over the weekend.

Frost Delay 3/18

2010-03-18T08:08:00.002-04:00

We are under frost delay today until at least 9:30am. Please contact the Proshop for any further details.

Busy week of course maintenance

2010-03-15T11:58:00.002-04:00

Well, the forecasters are calling for May type weather for the rest of the week which means the course will be packed. Arriving today, after over 2" of rain over the weekend, it is the first day since December with no snow on the course. For those of you coming out to play golf this week, I wanted to give you an idea of what to expect. First, before the schedule of work, a couple things to keep in mind. The snow has only been gone for 4 days now and with 2 plus inches of rain, the course is SOAKED! We are going to utilize cart paths tomorrow without the use of Blue Flags. We may release the use of Blue Flags on Tuesday. Please abide by the cart rules, it is very wet. Also, with the snow only being gone for 4 days now, we have a lot of catching up to do. We are busy cleaning up and fertilizing. To ensure we catchup and make sure we are in shape for the opening of the season, we are going to be pushing hard the next 2 weeks. We apologize now for our aggressive move towards course preparation.

Now for this weeks schedule. Today we are fertilizing all the greens with a granular fertilizer. I am hoping we get a bit more rain tonight to wash the fertilizer in a bit. Our irrigation system is not charged for the season yet, so we have no way to irrigate the fertilizer in. Tomorrow early morning we will aerate the putting and 18th greens. These were unable to be aerified last week due to snow cover. On Wednesday through the end of the week, a few of us will be fertilizing the remainder of the course. On Wednesday the fairways will be fertilized. We are utilizing the Purdue Chicken bio waste material again, so there will be a faint smell on Wednesday and into Thursday. The remainder of the fertilization should not hinder play much at all.

The remainder of the crew, Tuesday through Friday, will be concentrating on course cleanup as we have had a lot of debris fall over the winter.

Course closed today

2010-03-14T08:10:00.001-04:00

We received over 2 inches of rain yesterday and there is more on the way. We will remain closed today.

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GCSAA's New Golf Course Videos

2010-03-11T08:14:00.002-05:00

For a few years now GCSAA has developed some short commercials to promote the golf industry and the Superintendents position within the industry. These have aired over the past 2 years on the Golf Channel. This year GCSAA has released several new videos that will again air on the Golf Channel on Saturdays during televised Tour events. With the environment being in the forefront, it is important to understand all the benefits a golf course brings to the environment and a community. Being that we just finished aerifying the greens, I felt this first video would be appropriate. I will continue to post the new videos, but you can catch them on the Golf Channel on Saturdays.

GCSAA Aeration Video

Aerification Update

2010-03-10T17:51:00.002-05:00

Well, we worked hard over the last 2 days to get the greens completed. We were able to finish all the greens except 18 and the putting green. Despite trying to shovel and hoping the higher temps would remove the snow, we still have significant snow cover on these two greens. Depending on when the rain stops, we will most likely aerate these greens first thing Monday morning. Seeing the long range forecast, after aerating the greens we returned the greens to single cups. No need to rotate the pin position anymore. If you do venture out tomorrow prior to the rain, we are still not allowing carts, some of the paths are still covered and carts are unable to navigate.

Dedication!

2010-03-09T12:58:00.001-05:00

Trying to beat the rain and get the course aerified and opened.

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Finally aerating

2010-03-09T06:48:00.001-05:00

Although there is still snow on the ground and we can't navigate the entire course yet, we are punching holes. We tried yesterday, but greens were still to frozen. Our plan is to work into the night to get the greens aerated, topdressed and fertilized before the rain on Thursday evening. If we are able to accomplish this we will be way ahead of getting the course moving for spring.

I have decided to take the advice of Stan Zontek with this aeration. We will be utilizing 1/4" hollow tines, small holes, BUT we will do it twice. One now and again in June. The disruption is no more than that of a solid tine. You may ask, why not just do one big one and be done? Two smaller aerations will provide a much greater benefit with far less disruption. This will also allow the greens to be playable much sooner this spring IF the weather cooperates.
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USGA Regional Update sent today

2010-03-05T13:43:00.001-05:00

This is a Regional update from Darin Bevard from the USGA.

By Darin S. Bevard, Senior Agronomist
March 3, 2010

Although the snow is melting and the grass is beginning to show, golf courses are a long way from being playable. Once courses do open, expectations should be tempered with the winter that was experienced in mind.
While much of our region remains covered with the white stuff, and will be for some time, areas in Virginia and on the Delmarva Peninsula are now snow free, and the golfers can’t wait to play. In the coming days, as more snow melts, the pressure will increase to open the golf course. With the pent-up demand, golfers will be ready to go, and the golf courses will be glad to have them to begin generating revenue.

When your favorite golf course opens, be reasonable with early season expectations. The grass has been under snow for a significant amount of time, and even though the snow may be gone, warmer temperatures are needed to spur growth and allow golf course superintendents to begin grooming greens to improve playing conditions.

We are already hearing rumblings about skipping aeration or reducing the scope of spring aeration programs. Basically, the feeling is that many golf courses have not been playable since the late December snow storm, so disrupting things now with aeration is not acceptable. The focus is on revenue and member contentment, and not agronomics.

We have heard claims of reducing aeration because there has been little play, so compaction should not be an issue. Aeration on putting greens is about so much more than compaction. Thatch management and water infiltration also are big benefits of the process. Resist the urge to compromise early season agronomic programs, especially aeration. Although skipping aeration may provide some short-term gains, these programs are important for allowing the grass to survive the summer stress season in good condition. We cannot bank on another mild summer in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Another major issue is course cleanup. The heavy snow and high winds caused massive tree damage at many courses. Many facilities operate with a skeleton crew during the off season, to save money, and there may be only three or four employees available to complete golf course cleanup and begin early season turfgrass maintenance. In many instances, access onto the golf course is limited, so cleanup is very slow. Patience will be needed with this process. When seasonal helpers return, cleanup and maintenance can accelerate.

Spring is just around the corner; officially, less than three weeks away. The slow snow melt is maddening to some, but it limits flooding potential. Again, patience will be needed -- first for the snow to melt, and secondly for your maintenance staff to prepare and cleanup the golf course. Be sure that expectations in the early part of the golf season are consistent with the severe winter that we have encountered.

Golf Course Survey

2010-03-02T10:33:00.003-05:00

I want to thank all of you who took the time to complete the evaluation of the golf course. Beginning last evening and today, I have been reviewing all the responses thoroughly, and will continue to do so until completed. I am excited to have finally dealt with our bunker issue. Although, not every bunker was completed on the course, we have completed nearly 85% and the remaining are some fairway and range bunkers.

My plan, once my full evaluation of your responses are complete, is to put together a response describing my teams action plan for each of the concerns. Many of the issues that have been expressed are already being dealt with and will be dealt with if we get a little better cooperation from Mother Nature. In this business, if you are not consistantly evaluating yourself and your programs, you will never succeed. In my 16 year tenure in this business, that is exactly what I have done and I believe it is what has led my teams to be successful.

Although the forecasters are predicting this above normal precipitation pattern to continue into the spring, there are some programs I am evaluating to possibly help with green speeds when we see this type of weather pattern. The recurring theme at every single golf course in 2009 was green speeds. To put some perspective behind the concern, in June and August, it rained for over half the month. In June we had 15 days of all rain and August was 16 days. These weren't days that had afternoon storms or showers, it rained and it rained all day. In 2009, not counting January through March and December we had nearly 57.5" of rain. See chart below.

On the flip side, there were several comments regarding the quality of green speeds this past fall. We received a break from the rain. Once the rain had at least slowed for us, we were able to become more aggressive in our management, cutting and rolling more consistently, topdressing more frequently and brush and cutting more frequently. Each of these practices are in our yearly program, but can't be initiated when we receive this type of precipitation. To help communicate our green speeds on a daily basis, I began posting the stimp reading for the day on different greens. This also began in the fall and feel this was a success in getting out in front of concerns.

We are all looking forward to the 2010 golf season. Once again, when I am able to fully digest the entire survey, I will create an action plan for your concerns and communicate them to you. If you have any further concerns please do not ever hesitate to contact me directly by email at bbrown@hartefeld.com. I would be glad to chat and answer any and all questions.

Storm Cleanup

2010-03-02T10:26:00.002-05:00

Today definitely felt like a new page was turned. The sun was out when I went to work, it wasn't brutally cold and yes, I could see some grass. A few short hours into my day, hearing the sound of a chainsaw ripping through a storm damaged tree got me going a bit; sad what gets us Superintendents excited. I am sure many of you have been suffering from cabin fever and are excited to get back on the course. The five day forecast looks promising and we are very anxious to get moving.

I have called my early spring crew back beginning tomorrow and we have a looooooooonnnnnngggg list of things to get to. We to have been suffering from cabin fever and very much look forward to dirtying the equipment we have been working on all winter.

Today our tree company is in cleaning up several of the trees that suffered damage from the storms. I should be able to navigate the entire course either this afternoon or tomorrow. Hopefully the rest of the course faired okay from a tree standpoint. I will post an update shortly.

Is that green I see?!?!

2010-03-01T09:29:00.003-05:00

We are beginning to see a bit of green on the course, finally!! Thankfully the last storm was not what was forecasted. The two storms back to back in early February, hit us hard from a pine tree standpoint, especially around the clubhouse. I am hoping this storm on Wednesday is just minimal so we can get busy cleaning things up. The pines around the clubhouse will be taken care of shortly, via our tree company. This year I have been able to budget for a good amount of labor in March. All my guys are on call waiting for a bit more snow to melt. I am anticipating bringing the early Spring crew in this Thursday or Friday to begin winter cleanup.

Greens aerification is scheduled for mid to late March, however, if the snow melts over the weekend with the forecasted temperatures, we will aerify the greens on Monday. If we are able to aerify them on Monday, once the temperatures begin to cooperate on a steady basis, we will begin to push the healing process and green up. Spring course fertilization will also begin to be completed as soon as the snow melts. This will include, greens, tees, fairways and roughs.

We are putting the final touches on the new tee markers this week and also finishing painting the ballwashers. We have ordered all new flags for this year as well as additional bunker rakes for some of the larger bunkers. We will not be putting out the new tee markers until April, when the season begins. Please continue to utilize the double cupping system. When we return to single cups, I will make a post and notify the proshop and Joe Mackley.

Thank you and we are looking forward to getting going for the 2010 golf season.

Winter Course Update

2010-02-18T08:14:00.002-05:00

"Be careful what you wish for!" Famous words from the movie Home Alone. Although, none of us have woken up to find our family disappear, we have woken up to something we probably never thought we would see, two blizzards four days apart! I knew it would start soon and I wasn't far off, "are the greens okay with all this snow?" Without hesitation, Yes. We have had a very very cold winter, even before the snow. These temperatures allowed the ground to freeze solid. We also had a very cold first snow which didn't allow any ice to form on the surface of the greens. Having a good snow layer first, really helps protect our turf. The snow provides a "blanket" and will keep the turf free from all we are experiencing, wind, mixes of precipitation and the continued cold. In 1996, courses in our area had major winter kill, especially on greens. This was because of the ice storm we experienced prior to any snow. Ice acts like a plastic bag, it lets no oxygen in and lets no toxic gases out. Result is turf loss.

As we move closer to spring we will monitor additional storms and the melting of the snow. There is a chance that when we begin to see a significant melting of all this snow, we could begin to form ice on the greens. If we feel that this is becoming an issu,e we will take the appropriate steps to remove the ice.

The recent storm that packed heavy winds has no doubt done some damage to our trees. Currently, I have only been able to assess what damage has occurred around the clubhouse. We need a little bit more snow to melt in order for the truck to make its' way around the entire course. Once I am able to make a full assessment, I will post any important information.

I have always been a glass half full kind of person. I believe anyone in this business has to or we wouldn't be here. The snow cover has allowed us to complete some small projects we normally wouldn't be able to complete over the winter. I posted earlier about our new tee markers. We are in full swing and will have all new "homemade" markers completed for opening day. We have also sandblasted all of our ballwashers and stands. This has taken the years of paint layers off. We are in the process of re-priming and painting.

I am definitely looking forward to the snow melting and getting back out there. There are several projects that came to a screeching halt that we need to complete. Native area work and finishing our bunker project are a couple. We are going to do everything in our power to have these completed on time, we just need a little help from Mother Nature.

Check out GIS 2010

2010-02-08T20:03:00.000-05:00

Here is a small preview of GIS 2010.

GCSAA TV

2010-02-08T19:53:00.000-05:00

Well today things started getting interesting in San Diego for the GIS Show. This morning I headed over to the convention center to get the rest of my credentials. I was met by Leslie Renzlemen and her staff and was given a tour of the Test Drive Technology Lab. We sat for lunch and discussed some great new technology ideas for GCSAA and Superintendents. For those of you who haven't taken the leap into some of the technology that is available to us, you need to!! Although, I would have to assume if you are reading this, you already have. Lunch was fantastic and the conversation was great.

After lunch we headed off to the GCSAA media area to film my short clip for GCSAA TV.. I was filmed discussing the great iPhone apps I use as a Superintendent. The clip will be posted tomorrow, I look forward to seeing it. I will have some photos and videos from the Test Drive Technology Lab on Thursday and post on here.

Come back for more information into my trip to GIS or follow me on twitter @greensuper. I am posting quite often on twitter as to happenings in San Diego.

New Tee Markers

2010-01-27T10:22:00.004-05:00

Each winter we bring in all our green and tee equipment (GTE) for it's yearly maintenance. This is a pretty extensive process. In evaluating our tee markers and seeing the sad state many of them were in, we needed to make some changes. Our current fake pine log markers are expensive and with the amount that are damaged, I didn't want to spend the cash replacing them; we have far too many other areas we want to spend the money.

Several courses in the area are completing their winter tree work, so we ventured over to Whitford Country Club to pickup some pine logs to begin making our own markers. They are turning out fantastic!! Our new markers will be the same pine logs, but these will be real and give a new authentic look to our tee boxes. These markers will be significantly larger and short of someone having a chainsaw in their golf bag, will not break. I would hate to see the first club that meets one of these markers. Below are a few pictures from our process. These will be put on the course for the beginning of the season on April 1st.

Article by David Feherty

2010-01-24T07:02:00.003-05:00

David Feherty recently published an article in GOLF Magazine titled, Modern Greenskeepers are the real PGA Tour Magicians Great article! Also, nice to see the notoriety.

I will post some more specifics of these new UGMO sensors. It is important to fully understand how these sensors work and how, why and when to incorporate them. When we don't receive over 65 inches of rain, we keep Hartefeld National dry firm and fast. Nothing in my opinion will ever take the place of a good soil probe.

USGA Regional Update

2010-01-22T14:39:00.001-05:00

Below is the USGA Regional update. This is exactly what I blogged about just about a week ago.

Roots Are Not Elastic!
By Darin S. Bevard, Senior Agronomist
January 15, 2010

WOW! The mercury pushes above the freezing mark for a couple of days in much of the region, and the questions regarding winter play have come rushing into our offices. The negative impacts of winter play are hard to quantify, which is what makes the topic so controversial. However, it is generally accepted that golfer traffic on dormant, frozen greens can create problems, even if only early in the growing season.

A bigger concern is playing on greens during freeze/thaw cycles, which are the conditions that are occurring right now. In recent days, the surfaces of greens have thawed, but underlying soils are still frozen within one or two inches of the surface. Under these conditions, the potential for root shearing is greatest. How much this actually occurs in debatable, but it is best to err on the side of caution and keep greens closed until thawing occurs deeper in the profile. Remember, if the underlying soils are frozen, water infiltration will not occur, thus keeping the greens spongy and more prone to mechanical damage from foot traffic and ball marks. In some instances, the need for revenue may trump caution, but beware of potential problems of subjecting greens to winter play.

Conditions vary greatly throughout the region. Northern portions of the region are still under snow and ice cover, while snow cover has melted in other areas. The bottom line at this point is we simply do not know the probability of potential winterkill. We may get some answers on the northern push of bermudagrasses that have not traditionally been considered winter hardy. Time will tell as winter injury to Poa annua populations in the Pocono Mountains, Pittsburgh, and other areas are a concern as well.

Keep in mind that additional snow mold applications may be needed with the current thaw. At the very least, review your application records and the ten day weather forecast to help determine if another application is necessary before spring.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Open Today on Delay

2010-01-15T07:31:00.001-05:00

We will open today for play at approximately 10:30am. Due to the thawing we will be restricting carts to path only with the use of Blue Flags.

Have a great day of golf!!

Attending the GIS show?

2010-01-14T08:14:00.002-05:00

Since I have several followers of this blog that are fellow industry professionals, I thought I would post this today. If you are attending the GIS Show and don't have any seminars picked yet, consider "Taking Control of Your Career, Make it Magic!" This is held on Tuesday morning from 8am to noon. I was asked by GCSAA to assist in teaching this with Carol Rau, PHR. Carol and I have finished developing the program and it promises to be exciting and informative. Learn to bring value to your current club and utilize technology to advance your career. I am very excited to have this opportunity to teach with the GCSAA.

Not making any seminars, then be sure to stop by the Test Drive Technology Lab on the Trade Show floor. I will be completing a demonstration of the iPhone. Showing Superintendents and other industry professionals how to maximize your daily tasks with the use of this smartphone. Featured iPhone apps will include, Weather Tracking, vewing and editing word and excel email attachments right on your phone and how to maximize your course or properties irrigation with apps from RainBird and Toro. Many other applications will also be demonstrated. Currently, I am unsure what time I will be in the Test Drive Technology Lab, I will post updates on here and Twitter when I have further details.

Last but not least, are you a Twitter user? If not, start now! This years GIS Show will be huge on Twitter!! @BASFTurf_us has already made several announcements via Twitter and most likely during the week of the show via Twitter. @GCM_Magazine discussed creating the hashtag #GIS10 for all communication for the GIS 2010 show. If you are a part of GIS be sure to include this tag on all your posts regarding the show.

Looking forward to seeing you all there....Safe travels!

Looks like the snow will be leaving us!

2010-01-12T20:53:00.002-05:00

Well.....temperatures look promising for the remaining snow to melt. Forecasters are calling for temperatures in the 40's which will surely allow the snow to melt and golf to return. Don't wait too long to get out, snow is forecasted for Sunday! Since we have had temperatures barely reaching 30 degrees over the last several weeks, we have had a hard freeze. We needed it bad!! We haven't had a winter like this in 5 or so years. This hard freeze helps reduce Poa annua populations, reduce some of our insect levels and fungal spores that will survive those mild winters.

When the temperature begins to rise, the ground will begin to thaw and we must protect it. To hep mitigate any damage from play over the next few days, we will be topdressing the greens. This will help with ball mark and foot traffic. One of the biggest concerns for a Superintendent during a thaw after a hard freeze is root shear. When the top part of the rhizosphere or soil begins to thaw, this portion can shift over the deeper frozen layer. When these two surfaces, which contain our ever important root system, shift over one another, root shearing will occur. If we experience excessive shearing, the grass will die. To help with this situation, along with the topdressing, we will be holding off play like a frost delay to allow greens to thaw deeper. It is vital to protect the turf over the winter. Our greens are extremely vulnerable this time of year because it is dormant and not growing. Any damage is irreversible and will cause issues when trying to push green speeds in the spring and summer. This is the reason many private courses will utilize temp greens over the winter. Since we will not be utilizing temp greens, we must take other precautions, like those listed above to protect our most important asset.

New Blog...Check it Out!

2010-01-06T08:20:00.002-05:00

As my experience over the last 8 months in the blogosphere has grown, I got the itch to create an additional blog - iTurf Apps. After I had the privilege of having a feature article done in Golf Course Industry Magazine - Mobile Mileage, I thought about starting another blog. Things were too hectic. Over the last 2 nights I watched 2 specials on CNBC, "Welcome to Macintosh" and "MacHEADS", the itch got stronger and I launched the new blog this morning.

I wanted to make sure my initial objectives with this blog remained. I didn't want to stray. I encourage everyone to follow both, share your thoughts and experiences.

iTurfApps

Happy New Year!!

2010-01-04T13:12:00.003-05:00

Well, Im back!! I thankfully was able to take sometime off over the holidays and spend some much needed time with my family. The first few days were exciting, we were able to take my son sledding for the first time....he loved it!!! We are taking him to Disney in a few weeks and look forward to seeing him on many of the rides.

The golf course is doing well and with each day, continues putting it's "winter coat" on. We have plenty to keep us busy over the winter, tending to the many odds and ends we are unable to do in the heat of the season, no pun intended. This time for us is also a bit slower. It is often difficult to switch gears, but this year was tough and I am very much looking forward to getting to see other industry peers at trade shows and seminars over the next couple months.

With the slower season, my goal is to post more to the blog. It may not always be regarding the conditions at Hartefeld, but it will always be geared toward our great industry.

Happy New Year to all!!

Clubhouse Landscaping

2009-12-17T18:18:00.004-05:00

If you have been able to venture out to the club and enjoy the dry but cold weather, you would have seen all the pruning and removal of landscaping around the clubhouse. Our clubhouse facade offers a wonderful backdrop for photos and for the course, but has been covered by overgrown landscaping. Over the last 2 weeks we have initiated a very aggressive landscape pruning and removal plan. The photos below are of the back patio and the exterior of the restaurant. We have removed the privet hedge along the wall to offer a much more pleasant vista of the course from the bar area. The view from 6 tees is also striking as you can now see the beauty of the clubhouse. We have also completed a rejuvenation pruning of the rhododendrons along the restaurant windows. This pruning allows for views of the course from more of the restaurant and will also give us much better flower crop this coming year.

In the spring we will be adding miscanthus, ecanasia, and shasta daisies to the area where the privet hedge was located. Summer annuals will also be added to compliment the above.