Winter Golf

The greens and tees are now closed for the season.  Temporary greens and tees are in place for winter play.   The greens surfaces are now frozen and snow covered.  Winter play is permitted when there is no frost present.  

Course Opening

We are still shooting for shooting for an April 1st course opening, weather permitting.  The course is open for play from the temporary greens and tees each day once the frost has melted. 
We had 55 inches of snowfall this winter which is about 15 inches more than normal.   Combined with numerous rain days, this resulted in the course being very wet to enter the spring.  This is not unusual for courses on the North Shore. 

You can check the condition line each day or my twitter site   @TommyDWitt for course updates
and information.

See you on the course.

 

Snow cover this winter   55 inches of snowfall

 

 

Bunker Renovation Progress

Below is a scorecard that offers the current progress and status of the bunker renovation.  We began with the red nine and will transfer shortly to the blue nine.  All that is left to do on the red nine is to install the new sand in the bunkers.   The previous steps of edging, removing the old sand, adding gravel, spraying the polymer coating over the gravel have all been completed.  The continued rain days are limiting our ability to get heavier tractors and trailers onto the course to deliver the sand to the bunkers.  As soon as it dries we will continue with the sand work.

We will open the red nine as soon as the last bunker has sand installed.  Hopefully that will be the end of this week (October 20th.)

This is a partial amount of the new sand that will be placed in the renovated red and blue bunkers.

Red nine bunker renovation is now completed.  The reviews are very positive.

Red	Total #	Edged	New	Gravel	Polymer	Sand
Nine	Bunkers		Sod
#1	4	4	4	4	4	4
#2	5	5	5	5	5	5
#3	4	4	4	4	4	4
#4	2	2	2	2	2	2
#5	4	4	4	4	4	4
#6	1	1	1	1	1	1
#7	1	1	1	1	1	1
#8	5	5	4	4	4	4
#9	6	6	6	6	6	6
	32	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
	%	Completed

Bunker Renovation Update

The following photos represent the steps involved in the bunker renovation process.

The new vertical edges of the bunkers are shaped

The old sod is removed from around the bunker

The contaminated sand is removed from the bunkers

The drainage is checked for proper performance

New sod is added around the bunker

New gravel is added to the floor of the bunker 

A polymer is sprayed on top of the gravel

 

Our staff checks the polymer application for proper polymer levels

The new sand is added to the bunkers

Sand depths are checked for proper depth

 

The new sand is compacted to firm the surface

                                                       

                               The finished product

 

Rall Range Schedule

This fall we will be following the same driving range and short game area schedules as we have each fall.   As of October 1st, we will be hitting off the artificial surfaces on the range and the short game area will be closed for the season.

This schedule is implemented in order for us to prepare the surfaces so that they will have time to recover and heal in from the season usage while the temperatures are still warm enough for germination and growth of the heavy divots and wear.   This schedule will insure that these surfaces are ready to go and in top condition to begin the spring season.  

Continuing to use the grass surfaces late into the fall or early winter results in those areas being bare and unsightly in the spring. 

The photo below is look and condition that we want the range to be in.  

 Short game area divots need time to heal

Short game hitting surface at the end of the season needs time to heal

 Short game hitting surface is beginning to heal since traffic has been eliminated

   Range divots need time to be seeded, germinate and heal before the spring

Firmer Approaches

When the weather in the form of excessive rainfall occurs, the course naturally becomes softer until  it  has time to  dry.   When conditions are normal and there is limited rainfall, our agronomic practices of sand topdressing, careful water management, brushing and verticutting the playing conditions exhibit the fruits of our labor.   Now that we have had limited rainfall and sunshine since the flooding of early August, our playing conditions are much firmer and faster.

In the two videos below I am using the bump and run chipping method as well as putting from approximately 50 feet in the red #1 green  approach.  Both methods are giving me a smooth and quick roll-up onto the green.

I hope you like the playing conditions since the excessive and record rainfalls of July.

Fall Practices - Fairway Verticle Mowing

We have started our fall golf course preparation schedule.   We will be implementing a number of agronomic practices and measures to help repair the course from the season long play as well as insuring that it is in quality condition for next season.   Below are just a few of the agronomic practices that we are currently in the process of doing.

One of the keys to firming the fairways is to utilize the practice of verticle mowing.  This practice assists in removing excess thatch from the fairways.   Notice in the second photo how much undesirable material is brought to the surface and removed.   We do this practice each spring and fall.

 

This is what a verticle mowing reel looks like

It is more of a thinning than a cutting process

Notice the amount of grass and thatch that are pulled from the turf

      Verticle cutting results

Topdressing immediately follows the verticle mowing.  Sand is deposited into the verticle mowing lines to help firm the surface of the turf 

                                          
This is the amount of sand that we will put on the white nine fairways
                                                                                 

  This is the result after a week
                                                                           

We are also aerifying the greens, tees, approaches, fairways and roughs over the next few weeks

                                                     

                                                       

Course Opening

When we open the course this spring we will start out playing the north course.  This allows the staff to concentrate on getting 18 holes cleaned, prepared and playable for member play.  Then we will move to preparing the holes south of Clavey as soon as possible. 

Some of our seasonal staff are just beginning to return for the season.   The temperatures are still very cool and I am looking for the first good few days of weather to open the greens.  Below are photos of  just a few of the tasks that the staff does to prepare the course for spring play.

Weather permitting, we will open the course and the range on the matts on Friday March 25th.  There is a chance for snow this week so be sure and check the condition line, my twitter @TommyDWitt, or the rainedout.com site for updates

Fairways are being mowed for the first time

Debris is blown from the greens and fairways for mowing

Greens are rolled to firm the soft surfaces after the freezing and thawing

Greens are mowed for the first time

                        Fallen trees from winter storms are removed from the course

    Accessories are readied for placement on the course

   Refurbished benches are put on the course

Thousand of sticks and branches are collected

                                        

   Bunkers are prepared for play

Red 7 & 8 Lake

The Red #7 and #8 lake overflow structure heaved out of the water and became dysfunctional. 
We will be installing a new structure next week.  The reason the lake is down is because it as at the current level of the pipe that connects the lake with the Skokie Canal to the right of # 8 tee.  

The structure below served two purposes on the Red 7 & 8 lake.  It served as an overflow to lower the lake when flooding occurred and also had a valve we could open to drain the lake when necessary.   For some reason, it just floated up out of the water one Sunday morning.

The photo below is of the entire structure after we lifted it out of the water

                                                
In the photo below, the pipe which controls the level of the lake when the structure is functioning properly. 
                                                    

The photo below shows what the new structure will look like.  It will actually be placed on the land in the bed next to the bald cypress tree behind #8 blue tee.  The pipes at the bottom of the structure will connect the lake to the canal so we can drain the lake in the winter to prevent our rock wall damage.
The lake level will return to normal as soon as the new structure is installed.

Wet Periods - Cart Usage

 

One of our main priorities is for the members to have golf cart access to the course as much as possible.  I recognize there are many members that require a cart to be able play and enjoy the course.   On the other side of the equation is my responsibility to protect Northmoor's valuable asset, the golf course. 

Following a rainfall, I make a determination shortly after daylight as to the course condition.  If it is too wet for carts, I update the course condition line at  10 or 11 am or I send out an immediate change in cart availability via the  "raninedout.com" medium. 

Whether the course is open to carts later in the morning or the afternoon on a particular day depends on the drying conditions.   The course dries the best when the conditions are sunny, windy and warm.

 

The photo below says it all.   It has been a very wet month of June.

 

I am frequently asked why carts are allowed in the fairways and not the roughs following a rainfall

The reasons are: the red and blue fairways have drainage installed, the grass is mowed lower so it dries out faster and the fairways are smoother and more level than the roughs which have longer turf and numerous depressions that hold water long after the rain has stopped.

    Puddles and standing water in the depressions of the rough are one of the reasons we ask carts to stay in the drier fairways following a rainfall.

                                                                

There are many low areas on the course that do not have subsurface drainage installed.  Below, Ramiro is pumping out a depression on Blue # 5  that is still holding water 3 days after a rain.

   The photos below show exactly why we ask carts to stay on the paths certain days.  Golfers may not see or know the wet areas and cart traffic can damage the course.

 

We try to mow the roughs 3 times a week when weather permits.   The roughs are mowed with the large tractors pictured below.  During wet periods there are times when mowing is not possible without damaging the turf or leaving ruts also as shown below.  For this reason the roughs may be taller than normal until we can mow without damaging the turf.

There are days when the course is too wet even for our staff to drive on the turf.   Notice below how the work vehicles are parked on the path so as not to make tracks and ruts on the turf.