BRRRRRR!!

Looking outside, it's hard to imagine that the golf course only closed two weeks ago. And, after getting into my frozen car this morning, it's even more difficult to remember why exactly I like winter, but I digress.  As the following picture illustrates, the cross-country skiers were out in full force following the 4" of fluffy, white snow that we received from Friday night into Saturday morning.  Even though the calendar says winter doesn't officially begin until December 21, the current conditions and extended forecast beg to differ.

Tracks from cross-country skiers are already visible on 7 fairway.

 As far as how this relates to the golf course, we finished putting up ropes and snow fence on Friday, and our course work is essentially done for the year.  People often wonder what the snow means for the turf, and to break it down in simple terms, snow=good and ice=bad.  So, here's to hoping that the snow sticks around until the course is ready to wake up in spring.

The End is Near

After being open for nearly 8 months (the course opened on March 24 this year), the greens have been tentatively scheduled to close on Monday, November 22.  Forecasted highs for the middle of next week through the foreseeable future have highs in the 20s and 30s, and Monday looks as if it may be our last opportunity to apply a protective layer of heavy sand topdressing.  As was mentioned in the first post, this sand protects the plants from drying out over winter.  Despite ceasing growth, turf plants are still alive through winter, and they require water for respiration.  Accordingly, a lack of water that can be caused by a combination of no snow cover and windy conditions has the potential to result in turf injury and/or loss.  In essence, the sand that we will be applying acts as a windbreak for the plants' growing points.  Some courses cover their greens with a breathable fabric to accomplish the same objective, but research studies have yet to show that they offer any sort of definitive advantage over a sand layer.  Plus, the sand is cheaper, easier to apply, promotes a healthy soil profile, and has been done successfully at Blackhawk for years.

If, for some reason, the forecast changes dramatically, topdressing could be postponed, but that doesn't look likely at this point.  Of course, we will be sure to update you if postponement occurs.  To end on a positive note, if the showers stay away, Sunday looks as if it could be a great day to get in your last round of the year.

Irrigation System Blowout

Yesterday, November 10, we started and finished winterizing the course's irrigation system.  Several steps are taken to complete this task.  First, as much water as possible is drained from the system through the pumphouse that sits on the lake below 16 tee.  With an elevation change of approximately 100' from our pumphouse to 10 tee, gravity provides a nice little assist to the process.  During this draining, the pressure in the system drops from 140 p.s.i. to zero.

Next, a large air compressor is hooked into the irrigation system near the pumphouse, and once air starts to fill the system, we manually remove as much water as possible from the low points on the course, such as 3 and 6 green.  Once the air compressor has built up approximately 70 p.s.i. of pressure, we begin turning on each sprinkler until it no longer shoots a solid stream of water.  We cycle through each sprinkler on an individual satellite twice and move to the next satellite, and once we get through all 18 satellites, the process is repeated once more.  In the end, we are left with an irrigation system that is as dry as it can reasonably be.  If we didn't winterize properly, the water in the system would freeze, expand, and crack the irrigation pipes that circumnavigate the course.

Yesterday, we were also able to remove the plastic intake pipes that extend into Lake Mendota.  These pipes connect to the much heavier cast-iron pipes that connect directly to the pumphouse.  Next Monday, we will be removing the cast-iron pipes as was detailed in a previous post.

Please note that the on-course restrooms also had to be winterized and are no longer open.  The extended forecast is calling for much more seasonable weather, so I hope that you were able to take advantage of this week's pleasant weather.

New Satellites

Sometime around the time that Chief Blackhawk made his way through this area, the limey-green satellites that control our irrigation system were installed.  Ok, this may be an exaggeration, but by next week, the limey-green satellites from 1988 will be replaced by new, forest-green satellites that have all of the latest bells and whistles.

My guess is that most everyone who's been on the course has seen the satellites, and many of you may wonder what purpose they serve.  Essentially, these satellites control the individual sprinklers that line our greens, tees, and fairways.  To run an irrigation program, we use specialized software that's on a computer in our shop to set individual programs for the course.  Generally, we will run separate programs for the following areas during a typical summer day: native soil greens, sand-based greens, native soil tees, sand-based tees, north-side fairways, south-side fairways, east-side fairways, and west-side fairways.  These programs are set-up to run sequentially on the computer.  Once the programs are set-up, they are downloaded to the satellites, which then turn on the irrigation heads automatically during the night.  Each one of our old satellites has the potential to operate 32 individual irrigation heads, and there are 18 satellites dotting the course.

As you can probably imagine, there is a great deal of technology involved and having reliable satellites are absolutely essential to maintaining healthy, playable turf.  And, after 22 years, it would be an understatement to say that the old satellites were beginning to show their age.  Only the mice that took refuge in (and chewed the wires of) the old satellites will be sad to see them go.

This week, the new satellites arrived, and Gabe Lopez from Reinders and members of our crew have been busy getting them installed before winter arrives.  The following photo diary will show you the process by which they are being installed:


Here, Gabe is locating the wires and pipes that run from and around the existing satellites.

Next, a 20' trench is made near the satellite.

Due to all of the interconnected electrical components, damage from lightning strikes is the biggest threat to the satellites.  Inside the trenches, an 8' long copper plate hooked to a wire that's attached to the satellite is used as an electrical ground.  A powdery compound that holds water is dumped around the copper plate to enhance grounding.

Once the grounding mechanism is installed and run into the satellite through the concrete pad, the trench is backfilled and compacted, and the new satellites are ready for installation.

First Post and Winter Preparations

Welcome to the new Blackhawk CC greens and grounds blog.  This blog was created to supplement the "Course Conditions" page on the Blackhawk website and will be used to provide more frequent and more informal updates on the course's maintenance.  Since much of what we do truly is "behind the scenes", this blog will provide a better overview of our day-to-day operations.  Now, onto what's happening on the course as the golf season winds down...

Yesterday, we completed our first preventative application of snow mold plant protectants.  Snow mold can be a very destructive disease that is favored by cool temperatures and extended periods of wetness.  There are actually two kinds of snow mold: pink and grey.  Pink snow mold can occur without snow cover and is active when wet weather combines with temperatures that are 30-65 degrees   Last year, in fact, we had some pink snow mold on the south sides of the most heavily shaded fairways during late September.  Grey snow mold, on the other hand, requires cold (30-40 degrees), wet weather with a long duration of snow cover to become active.  Last winter, the course was under snow cover for the 6th longest duration on record (93 days), and despite applying snow mold protectants, some grey snow mold damage did occur.  Within the next couple of weeks, we'll be making our second snow mold plant protectant application.  Ideally, this will occur as close to the first snowfall as possible, but between frosty mornings, windy conditions, shorter days, and the unpredictability of Wisconsin's weather, we won't cut it too close.

Following snow melt in 2010, a sharp contrast between the rough area that wasn't sprayed for snow mold and the fairway that was could be seen on number 15. 

Next Wednesday, we will be blowing out the irrigation system.  This is done to prevent water that may be in the irrigation system from freezing, expanding, and cracking the irrigation pipes.  To accomplish this, a large air compressor is hooked into the irrigation system at the pumphouse.  Accordingly, the on-course restrooms will be closed for the season by next Wednesday.  Shortly after blowout is completed, we will be removing the irrigation intake pipes from Lake Mendota.

Taking the irrigation pipes out of the lake is a cold, dangerous job that requires a barge to move the heavy, cast-iron pipes into the pumphouse.

After finishing the irrigation system winterizing and snow mold applications, sand topdressing of the greens won't be too far behind.  The sand is applied to protect the crowns, which are the growing points of turf plants, from drying out over winter, and it also benefits the soil profile by diluting organic matter that can be detrimental if not managed.

Five green following last fall's topdressing.

If you've been on the course lately, you've probably already noticed that the on-course equipment (benches, ballwashers, etc.) is slowly disappearing.  Although we will leave some of these items out as long as the course is open, they will be making their way to our shop for winter maintenance and cleaning.

Despite the weather getting colder over the next few days, the long-range forecast has temperatures in the 50s.  Hopefully, you'll be able to play a few more rounds before the course looks like this...