Notice anything missing?

With the end of the golf season approacing, the grounds staff has begun removing course accessories from the golf course. The drinking fountains located at the bathrooms on #6 were disconnected last week to prevent water from freezing in the lines and causing damage. In addition, the water coolers and tee signs were brought in and put away for the winter. The next item to be brought in will most likely be ballwashers. Ballwashers need to be brought in before the liquid inside freezes as this would cause them to crack. Along with course accessories, most of the hitting mats on the driving range tee were brought in and the remainder will be taken in Friday in conjunction with the closing of the range for the season. These tasks are completed once we get caught up blowing and mulching leaves and periodic mowing. All of this work is to prepare the golf course for winter and make sure we are not surprised when the first snow comes. The next few weeks will be busy as we will be blowing out the irrigation system, applying snow mold protection, and preparing to cover greens just to name a few things. Lets hope the weather in November cooperates and we are able to complete everything without any problems.

First frost

Monday morning (10/14) we had the first frost of the fall season. Overnight low temperatures were down in the low 30's and skies were clear which is a combination that will almost always result in frost. However, having temperatures around or below freezing does not neccessarily mean frost will develop. Heavy cloud cover can trap heat given off by living organisms and keep the ground warm enough to avoid frost. Conversely, air temperatures can be in the mid to upper 40's and frost can still develop if skies are clear overnight and there is no wind.

It is important to stay off the turf when frost is present. Frost occurs when the water in the turfs cells freeze. Traffic on this turf can cause the ice to rupture the cells resulting in turf injury.

Greens Topdressing

On Tuesday (9/3) the staff completed topdressing of all 20 greens on the golf course. The practice of sand topdressing has benefits for the player as well as the superintendent. For the player, the benefits of topdressing are that the greens will be smoother, firmer and hold shots better. For the superintendent, the benefit aside from smoother and firmer surfaces is the sand will help minimize the production of thatch, which is the layer of organic matter located just below the turf surface.

The process involves spreading a thin layer of sand over the putting surface. The sand must then be allowed to dry sufficently on the surface before it can be rolled off the turf down to the base of the plant. Once the greens are rolled, most of the sand is cleared from the greens and the remainder gets watered in using overnight irrigation. The greens are mowed and rolled the next day to clean up any remaining sand and the result is a smooth, firmer putting surface.

Introduction...

As the new Assistant Superintendent, I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Pat Bastron and I come to Blackhawk following Assistant stints at clubs in Peoria Illinois and the North Shore of Chicago. I am incredibly excited to join Chad and the entire staff at Blackhawk. As a 2009 graduate of UW-Madison, the opportunity to return to Madison and become part of the Blackhawk Country Club team is indescribable.

I began working on a golf course in 2001 at age 15 for my father who was a Superintendent at Glen Flora Country Club in Waukegan Illinois for 24 years. I learned the basics of turf management at Glen Flora all through high school until 2006. In 2007 I completed my first internship at Old Elm Club in Highland Park Illinois. At Old Elm I continued to perfect the skills I had learned and gain experience in new areas. Then in 2008 I had the exciting opportunity to intern at Interlachen Country Club in Edina Minnesota which hosted the Women’s U.S. Open that summer. Having the chance to be a part of a major Championship was very exhilarating! My final internship in 2009 took place at Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest Illinois. Conway Farms hosted the Western Amateur Championship in 2009 and will host the PGA Tour’s BMW Championship this September. As I mentioned earlier, following graduation from UW-Madison I took a position as Assistant Superintendent at Mt. Hawley Country Club in Peoria Illinois. Working in Central Illinois offered some unique opportunities and challenges that helped shape my career in turf management. After two seasons at Mt. Hawley, I took a position as Assistant Superintendent at Sunset Ridge Country Club in Northfield Illinois. I feel my diverse work experience has well prepared me for the challenges and rewards that Blackhawk Country club offers.

On a more personal note, I am an avid golfer with a 12 handicap. I enjoy bowling, fishing, hunting and watching Badger sports. Also, I have an identical twin brother named Phil. I look forward to meeting each one of you around the golf course and please be patient with me as I begin learning everyone’s names. Once again I wanted to say how excited I am to join the staff at Blackhawk Country Club, and look forward to finishing this golf season strong.

Pat Bastron

The Heat is On

As much as we wish that 90+ degree weather with pea soup humidity would've stayed away this year, we knew that it would arrive at some point.  Thankfully, the weather is forecasted to break with the passage of cold front on Friday night.  Thus far, the course has been holding up quite well, and we've only had to do relatively minor afternoon hand-watering touchups.  Now, we just have to survive the next few days.

This hot, humid weather with persistent dew has been perfect for disease development, and we've seen dollar spot activity in the rough, cosmetic brown patch towards the back of 15 and 17 greens, and the ever-deadly pythium on a very few isolated fairway areas.  Yesterday, plant protectants were applied to all greens, tee, and fairways, and you will most likely not ever notice the diseases that popped up on Tuesday night.  In our minds, just a little bit of disease development means that we are timing our plant protectant applications appropriately and not wasting very expensive products.

Aside from normal maintenance, which has been keeping us very busy, we haven't undertaken any noteworthy products over the past few weeks.  However, the reshaping and sodding project that we completed earlier in the year by 18 green has established and matured very nicely.

For the first time this year, we've had to run the automatic irrigation system for more than three consecutive nights, and despite the moisture that is need to get the turf through this tough stretch of weather, the course has remained quite firm and fast.

In completely unrelated news, some may have noticed that we have a duck nesting at the base of hackberry tree that is to the left of hole 2.  While she doesn't seem to mind the occasional visitor, please be respectful of her nest and eggs.

As we've been telling our employees, be safe in the heat and drink more water than you think you need.