Storm Damage

A microburst of wind and a thunderstorm passed through NCC on Friday afternoon leaving a wake of destruction and damage.  Below are some photos of the damage to the course.   Over 20 trees are on the ground and the inch of rain has left the course very wet.

                                     

                                           
                                                                                
                                          
                                         

Summer Flowers

This summer has been a bit on the cool side for many of our annual flowers but the perennials are in full bloom.  Below are a few of the seasonal colors at NCC.

Lorrie Witt, once again, has added her creativity and special touch for flowers on the tees for the Ladies Invitational.

 

Seasonal color abounds at NCC

 

 

 

                                                                   

 

 

Video - Divot Repair

Incorrectly and unrepaired fairway divots are an eyesore to our otherwise pristine bentgrass fairways.  They also diminish the quality of the playing conditions of any quality fairway turf.  Nothing is more unfair for a fellow golfer than to hit a perfect shot right down the middle of the fairway only to have his or her ball come to rest in
an unrepaired divot.  It is the responsibility of every golfer to leave the course in better condition than he or she found it.

Incorrectly repaired divots in the fairway

Unless the replaced divot is pressed firmly back into place, it will dry out and die as exhibited by the dried out brown dead divot in the photo below.

The following video shows the best way to repair or replace fairway divots.  Take a look.

 

Course Wetness

There are times, following heavier rainfalls, when we allow carts on the fairways.  We request that the carts stay in the fairway cut because most of the fairways have some form of subsurface drainage and the shorter cut turf dries faster.  The rough areas have many "birdbaths" and heavily shaded areas where water tends to stand.  Also the areas with higher turf takes longer to dry out.  For these reasons, we ask that golfers not drive in the roughs. 

The wetness of the course not only depends on the amount of rainfall we may have received on a given day but on the following factors:
     The rainfall on previous days
     The amount of sunlight to dry the course
     The amount of wind to dry the course
     The amount of humidity during the day

Below are some photos of the wet areas of the roughs that influence cart access at times.  These are photos taken on a day, following a rainfall,  when carts were permitted on the fairways.  
While the fairways may be drying, the roughs are so wet that carts can damage the course entering and exiting the fairways.   As always, I will get carts out ASAP.  This is your golf course and I will always place a high priority on you being able to enjoy it and have access to it. 

Although carts were running on the fairways following a rainfall, we were still pumping water from standing areas on the course.  You can imagine how carts being driven in the wrong place could cause damage. 
                                         

New Technology - New Equipment

Golf course management is steadily advancing both in playing conditions and the equipment utilized to deliver the new standards in course quality.  Below are some of the fairly new pieces of machinery and technology that we are using at NCC.

Moisture meters are used to check the soil moisture 3 to 4 inches deep in the soil profile.  The readings from the instrument (once we determine a base point for turf wilt) aide us in knowing when to syringe or irrigate the green to provide the proper amount of water to the grass plant.  This device does not preclude us from using other methods of determining optimum water management.  We still probe the rootzone, feel the turf surfaces, look for foot printing of wilting turf and check for visual discolorations of isolated areas of the greens.   The moisture meter is just another tool in our arsenal.
                                                
                                                      
                                               
Vertical Mower to reduce thatch in the fairways for firmer and tighter ball lies
                                                                                                         
Excessive thatch material is removed.  Vertical mowing lines will be visible for a short period

Rolling the greens following daily mowing gives us faster green speeds

We generally roll 3 to 4 times a week.  Any more frequent and it placestoo much stress on the turf.

                                       
   The Verti Quake is a unit with 8 to 10 inch blades that we use along the fairways where tree roots affect the turf quality.  We also will use it in high traffic areas to relieve soil compaction.  In the photo below you will notice the off colored turf on #9 blue (the back tee.)  The Verti Quake blades are relieving compaction and severing the shallow tree roots that are encroaching into the tee.

The Planet Aire machine is an aerification type technology that is used to "vent" the green surfaces.  This practice helps relieve compaction and improve oxygen  availability to the rootzone.

                                        
 Drons are now being used by Golf Course Managers for a variety of functions:  mapping, documenting, photographing, etc. 

 

                                                                  

Hole Locations - Changing the Cupping Location

How do we change the hole locations on the greens?
We do this task each morning.  Here's how.

Aerifying Greens

                  Action today prepares for quality conditions in the months ahead.

We have aerifying  the fairways this week with solid tines.  This process opens the turf surface without pulling out soil cores.  The main purpose of this is to relieve compaction, reduce the thatch layer and provide open channels for oxygen availability and exchange in the turf rootzone.

Fairways are topdressed with sand for thatch reduction

                                      
This sand will be applied to the fairways to make them "tighter and firmer" over a period of time
                                                                      
We are also deeply solid tining the greens for the same reasons.  These areas will all heal very quickly and will not interfere with play but for several days.  These are the tines we use on the greens
                                                    
 The greens are rolled following the aerification to smooth the surface and it also covers the holes

The holes are less than pencil size one they are rolled

 Notice how the aerification holes allow us to work sand into the older white soil and clay based rootzones of the greens.  This allows for better drainage and air oxygen availability

 Notice the healthy, white roots that are growing in the aerification channels.  This is a very healthy grass plant.  These practices in the spring prepare the turf to endure and survive the stressful summer weather conditions.
                                         

Notice the small dark green circles on the green running from top to bottom in the photo below.  Two of the circles are just to the left of the pennies.  These are the aerification holes from the fall.  The circular areas are greener today because of the air channels we made available to the roots