Mowing Week

This week, much of our time was spent trying to keep up with the quickly-growing grass.  The fairways grew so much over the weekend that we had to mow them on Monday and Tuesday to just catch up.  Luckily, with the cooler days and nights that we've had this week, growth has slowed on the fine turf areas (greens, fairways, and tees), but the rough and banks are still growing like crazy.  As we'd hoped, we're starting to see a significant amount of germination from the seeding that Chad did in the rough areas, and the 0.75" rainfall that we received overnight will certainly help them along.

Over the past two weeks, Omar has also been doing quite a bit of filling in and seeding of depressions that had developed in the roughs.  Often times, these dips form from the rotting stumps or roots of trees that were cut down.  So, if you notice random spots in the rough that look as if they were just filled with soil and seed, that's the explanation.

On the 6th hole, the trees make it look like March, but the turf thinks that it's May or June.

Yesterday, Chad and I fertilized the more divot-filled tees.  We really want to get them filled-in and growing as much as possible prior to the heart of the golf season.  I also spent a couple of hours fertilizing heavily-trafficked and/or thin areas in the roughs and banks.  With very few cart paths, keeping these areas healthy is always a challenge.   When possible, we try to fertilize prior to a rain event, and Mother Nature certainly did her part overnight.

It goes without saying that it's been an interesting spring for turf managers.  Many of our spring applications are timed with either soil temperatures or with growing degree days, and due to the unusual stretch of weather that we had from March 14-22, the normally-used thresholds were reached in record time.  For example, once soil temperatures at a 3" depth reach 65 degrees for a stretch of consecutive days, we are supposed to spray for summer patch.  Summer patch is a disease that infects and impairs Poa annua roots once the soil temperatures reach this point, and its effects are not seen until the compromised roots cause the plants to struggle in the summer heat.  In 2011, we made our first summer patch application on May 13, and if we were to have gone by the book, this year's application should have occurred on March 22.  However, we made the decision to not spray.  This decision was made after consulting with both Dr. Jim Kerns, UW-Madison's turfgrass disease pathologist and with local veteran superintendents.  Of course, we also used our own intuition, knowledge, and observations of the slow-to-wake Poa.  Besides treating for summer patch, others have had to wrestle over treating for Take-all patch, for crabgrass, for broadleaf weed pre-emergence, and for Poa annua seedhead control.

One unfortunate side effect of the early warm-up was that we weren't able to apply a pre-emergent herbicide that we were planning on using to control prostrate knotweed, which is our peskiest weed.  Although the herbicide was ordered in November, we weren't even able to get it before the knotweed starting germinating.  As a result, we'll treat it with a post-emergent herbicide, and we'll still use the pre-emergent to prevent any other seeds that are in the soil from germinating later.

It looks as if this weekend is shaping up to be another great one for golf, and we hope that you're able to enjoy a round at Blackhawk. 

How 'Bout the Weather?

Whew!  Sitting at my desk in what seems like the first time in two weeks, "whew" seems to appropriately summarize the days since the snow melted.  Without the luxury of seasonal workers, the crew had to go from 0 to 60 in the blink of an eye, and I hope you'll agree that they did a tremendous job of whipping the course into shape and getting all of the on-course amenities in place.  After opening the restroom near 6 tee on Wednesday, the course was basically fully operational.  Normally when we open, the weather is still kind of questionable, but with the lowest high temperature being 73 degrees since opening, that was certainly not the case this year.  The grass is growing like crazy, and we'll be spending much of our time over the coming weeks walking behind or sitting on mowers. This year's course opening of March 14 was the second earliest on record (since 1973) and was only topped by seven days in 2000.

What month is it?  Not only are the daffodils in full bloom, but the magnolia bush between 1 and 9 is already dropping its flowers.

Besides getting the course cleaned up, mowing, and putting out the course equipment (benches, ballwashers, rakes, etc.), we've also gotten our irrigation system primed, and the big intake pipes are in the lake.  Shredded bark has been added to the landscape beds by the clubhouse.  Select stump holes have been ground, cleaned, and reseeded.   Chad has also spent a significant amount of time seeding areas of the rough that thinned out during last summer's hot, dry weather, and we're cautiously optimistic that the seeding will have a reasonable amount of success.  Since most of the affected areas are heavily-shaded, it's difficult to establish seed due to tree competition for moisture and light.  However, with the warm soil temperatures, good soil moisture, and trees that haven't leafed out, conditions are about as good as they can be for germination to take place.  We're crossing our fingers.

Now that you've hopefully been able to enjoy the weather with a round of golf, you should have seen that the course did indeed fair well over this abnormal winter.  There is a very small amount of winterkill on the back half of 3 green, but it is already recovering very nicely with an assist from Mother Nature.

While it looks as if 80-degree days are going to be disappearing for the meantime, the weather is still forecasted to be more than reasonable for this time of year, and we hope that you'll continue to enjoy this bonus golf.  Although we've finally caught our collective breaths from the chaos of opening, the crew will still be more than busy going forward.  

  

It's Opening...

 ... on Wednesday!!!  I hope that you're as excited as we are about the course opening in two short days.  As was detailed in an email sent out by the club, there will be no restrictions on tee times (mens and ladies days).  Right now, we're not 100% percent sure on the availability of golf carts, and we'll have a better idea as the course dries out tomorrow.  Everything was pretty wet today, but that can change quickly.  Since the back 9 generally slopes towards the north and away from the sun's shallow southern angle, it tends to remain soggier, and there's a chance that carts might be allowed on the front 9 but not on the back 9.

We took the covers off of 11 and 17 greens on Friday, and they look great.  Today, the ropes and snow fences were removed from the perimeters of the greens and tees, and some time was spent resuming the stick and debris pickup that started last week.  Possibly due to the lack of snow, there isn't a tremendous amount of tree material on the ground, but we still have a enough raking to do.  Over the next two days, we'll put out the course equipment, cut new cups, fix the bunkers, get the lift running, and mow the greens (among other jobs).  All in all, the course came out of winter in great shape.

However, some areas in the rough that took a beating last year look a little rough, pun intended.  Due to the hot, dry summer and limited irrigation capabilities, some areas that are heavily shaded, trafficked, or both suffered.  Many of these areas have Poa annua seeds in the soil that will germinate once the soil warms, and we will also be interseeding more desirable, shade-tolerant grasses.  Until the worst of these areas improve, they may be roped off to allow for seedling success and recovery.  Namely, the rough between 3 and 4, by 12 tee, and between 14 and 15 may need a little babying.

We hope that you're able to enjoy the record warmth that is forecasted over the next week with a round or two at Blackhawk.  See you on the course!

Melting Update and a Farewell

Spring appears to be springing earlier than normal this year, and with a high temperature of 65 degrees yesterday, the course quickly went from being covered in four inches of snow to mostly snow-free over the course of our eight-hour workday.  The long range forecast calls for a brief cool down tomorrow and Friday before a sustained warming trend next week.  As of yesterday afternoon, frost could still be found 2.5 inches below the surface of the greens, and the below picture shows just that...

Inevitably, you're probably wondering when the course will be opening.  Unfortunately, at this point, it's hard to say.  Prior to opening, we like to see the following:  no snow, no frost, actively growing turf, and a favorable long-term forecast.  Thus, with minimal snow and frost and a good 10-day forecast, it looks as if it'll be sooner rather than later.

Two green (in the foreground) was nearly clear as of yesterday, and eleven green (in the background) is still covered in not snow but a white, impermeable plastic cover.  The covers on 11 and 17 will likely be coming off shortly.

As of right now, our best guess is that the course will have little to no winter damage, which is fantastic news.  In previous posts, some concern was expressed for the third green, which was still 100% snow covered as of yesterday afternoon.  However, two weeks ago, we pulled two plugs from this green, and they sprung to life very nicely.  Our ice concerns have basically passed, but until it really warms up, damage from crown hydration and snow mold are still possibilities.

In other, unrelated news, we will be saying farewell to a member of our crew, Jake Rath, this Friday.  Jake interned for us during the 2010 and 2011 golf seasons while finishing his Golf Enterprise Management degree at UW-Stout, and he was converted to a full-time employee this past fall.  Last week, he was hired as the assistant superintendent at Bishops Bay, and although we'll be sad to see him go, we're proud to see him advance his career.

Earlier this winter, we were also thrilled to learn that our other intern in '10 and '11, Cody Semingson, was hired as the superintendent at The Valley Golf Course in Mondovi, WI.  Cody grew up near The Valley and is looking forward to the challenge.

In a very competitive job market, it's very rewarding to see former Blackhawk interns, Jake (left) and Cody (right), progress in the industry.