#7 green: An image of things to come...

For any of you who do not know, I have been asking for some time permission to remove the Silver Maples growing behind seven green. My reason for doing so being the constant shade they were providing it's hind section, which was preventing any quality turf from establishing there. With the trees gone, the next phase of our operation was the aerification, seeding, topdressings and fertilization of the struggling area. Now that it can finally receive some proper sunlight, and also dry thoroughly, we have high hopes for it's recovery and it's health in future seasons.

I also wanted to share this picture with you:

 

The entirety of the affected section has been roped off to protect the coming seedlings from any sort of traffic. Even foot traffic could potentially damage the extremely tender plants that will be growing here soon. I wanted to share this image with all of you because our expansions will be given the same treatment once we are done repairing them.  As with this area, any sort of traffic would be detrimental. 

When on number seven, or any of our other greens once we have begun our repair project, we implore you to respect the boundaries we set forth. Any one who does not will be acting in direct opposition to our attempts to improve this course for every members enjoyment.  

See you on the course!

Elliott Dowling

Fail

 

As fall approaches rope and stake are going to become more prevalent around the course.  There is no other way for us to effect repairs.  Areas with new growth or that are as of yet unstable must be protected- which is why pictures like this are so disturbing.

The work that we do is for you, the members. The projects we undertake are meant to improve the course. Actions like this serve only to delay or destroy our attempts to make Cress Creek better for you. This picture is of sod on a fairway, but this sort of blatant disregard would be even more detrimental had these stakes been protecting seedlings, which many of them are. 

With our Greens expansion project beginning after the Member/Member, it will soon be even more crucial that our rope and stake deterrents are respected not just by cart traffic but by play as well. Please do your part to help us help Cress Creek!

See you on the course!

Elliott Dowling

Scouting Report for August 26th

~~The following is the C.D.G.A. scouting report as posted by Derek Settle, PhD~~

August 26, 2011 Scouting Report

August Was Great! One More 90° Day, Summer Patch, Dollar Spot, University of Illinois Turfgrass Research Field Day, and Tim says Kingpin

Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle - DSettle@cdga.org/Weather Blog

So, now are we happy? Happy? At the end of this week, I can honestly say it has been a good month - August. Although we hit 93° in Chicago on Wednesday that will be the last hot day we'll see this month. For the month it was only our third day above 90° on Sunshine Course in Lemont. Was it a hot summer? Yes, very. However, all the action was compressed into the single month of July. On average, it sounds like an 'average summer' because Midway scored 24 days above 90° and the 144 year average is 23 days. When you realize most of those days were compressed into one month you can begin to understand why so many golf courses were unanimous in one issue -turfgrass loss occurred somewhere on fairways or greens.

If you were unable to adjust cultural practices during July you were in big trouble. Worst case scenario was aggressive cultural practices to produce fast greens stayed in place for that Big Tournament and that Big Tournament fell during the third week of July. Well then, hang on for that ride. The ride goes beyond the expectations of golfers and is the reality of accepting the fact that we are never in complete control when it comes to the weather. It is understanding that each season we must watch turf health suffer whenever a volatile summer weather pattern (heat + humidity) gets stuck above our heads at (Insert Name) Country Club. All I can say is that I really appreciated the final summer ride that simply said "August, 2011". I'll gladly wait in a long line for that ride.

Click here to view the August 26, 2011 Scouting Report.

Enjoy the rest of a month called August!

Derek Settle, PhD
Director of Turfgrass Program 

A Work in Progress

Historians believe that the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel took Michelangelo something like four years to complete. Pope Julius II had to wait four years, but for his patience he received a masterpiece that would be revered for centuries.  Luckily, growing healthy grass beneath the twin pines near seven green and eight tee will not take quite so long.  It will take time however, and while you wait we ask that you please not drive through this area as traffic of any sort will stunt or kill our developing seedlings.

Good things come to those who wait- and also to those who are mindful of where they drive their carts.

See you on the course!
Elliott Dowling

Temporary Tee Closures

As of tomorrow (Wednesday August 24th) we will be temporarily closing the rear tees on numbers 1, 11, and 18 for one week. During this week we will be aerifying, seeding and fertilizing these tees. As I'm sure many of you have seen these tees have a fair amount of damage that needs to be addressed.  We will also be closing the rear tee on number 5 for a yet unknown duration as that tee has suffered the most.

We appreciate the sort of inconvenience this puts on our players, but it is a necessary step to get these tees healthy and back into play. We thank you for your cooperation.

See you on the course!
Elliott Dowling

A Letter from Derek Settle

Derek Settle came out for ride around Saturday morning and was kind of enough to share his thoughts on the many persistent issues that have continued since the renovation and in some cases, long before. He sent along his thoughts as a letter that we wanted to share with all of you.

Click this link and a window will open asking what you would like to do with this file. Choose "Save File" and you will be able to download and save it.  If you would simply like to be able to read the letter, click the option  "Open File" and choose your preferred web browser.

Dr. Settle has years of experience and insight, his letter is well worth a read.

See you on the course!
Elliott Dowling

Scouting Report for August 19th

~~The following is the C.D.G.A. scouting report as posted by Derek Settle, PhD~~

August 19, 2011 Scouting Report August Is Nice and Dry: The Unusual, Summer Patch, Pythium Blight, Dollar Spot, Fairy Ring Returns and Tim says Spoon-feeding Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle - DSettle@cdga.org/Weather Blog It's dry and we like it. Maybe we shouldn't so much but you have to understand it distances our memory of July's flood. July was THE month that really challanged us with rain, more rain, and rain. It happened at peak summer heat when kids stay near the pool. Since that time kids are back in school, sorry Nathaniel, and we've begun to notice a change or two. Day length continues to shrink and now lasts about 13.5 hours. For example, today's light began at 6:02 am and ends at 7:47 pm. Our longest summer day saw the sun's rays from 5:15 am to 8:30 pm. It means we continue to cool and at 2 inches the soil temp now reads 73° - down from 85.5° on July 21st. Still there is trouble in the landscape. I continue to make frequent visits to help superintendents identify the strange. Things like Pythium blight where it shouldn't be (triggered by last weekend's storms). Or creeping bentgrass that just won't act right (still on physiological vacation) since it's now over watered by having to baby Poa no-roots annua on the same green. Or summer patch gone wild across much of a fairway or even down the middle of a couple greens. Or type 1 fairy ring causing dead rings on a green. Still, as long as we remain vigilant it's going to be ok because this growing season is cooling. Golfers continue to enjoy a wonderful period without rain - meanwhile, we just have to look after those roots. Dear Roots, please grow. Click here to view the August 19, 2011 Scouting Report. Have a nice August weekend! Derek Settle, PhD Director of Turfgrass Program

Crewmen Hard at Work

 

I snapped this picture and thought I would share it. In the background are our two new fairway mowers, and in the foreground you can see our dedicated crewmen literally wading into the heavy algae in 15 pond. Those two are actually 12 feet tall.

See you on the course!

Elliott Dowling

In defense of Core Aerification

Core aerification. I can't imagine a more divisive term amongst superintendents and golfers. Golfers hate it because of the disruption that it by definition must bring to the playing surface. Superintendents love it because of the very many positive affects it has on turf, not the least of which being increased density and health.

For anyone who may doubt the positives of core aerifictation, I want to share this picture.

This is a perfect example of why aerification is necessary. All of those green circles are areas that grew back stronger and more healthy once the core was pulled. It may look like this green is in bad shape, but compare this picture to the other trouble spots we have after this harsh June and July and you will see there is a major difference. This picture was taken on the our putting green, the only green we were able to aerify this spring- it is also the only green with this sort of healthy new growth in it's struggling areas.

As a reminder, the week of September 26th will bring our fall aerification.  We will be aerifying the entire course. Suffice it to say that these will not be good days to bring guests and/or give first impressions. But remember as you're looking out over a freshly aerified golf course that a little disruption now brings increased health and endurance later.

See you on the course!
Elliott Dowling

Old Wounds

 We've begun to re-sod many fairway expansions from previous years.  These areas were so badly compacted that the roots of the turf could not penetrate. As a result the expansions with any growth at all were attempting to survive on under developed root structures, which left that vulnerable to stress like adverse weather and traffic. Before laying any sod over these areas they were aerified with the deepest tines we have to break up the soil and allow it a chance to "breathe".

We still have a few remaining areas but the majority of the work was completed on this past Monday when the course was free of play and we could really get down to business. Here's to healthy fairway expansions and soil profiles that can support them!

See you on the course!
Elliott Dowling

Scouting Report for August 12th, 2011

~~The following is the C.D.G.A. scouting report as posted by Derek Settle, PhD~~

August 12, 2011 Scouting Report August Continues to Cool: Rootless Turf is Weak, Summer Patch Hurts, Hot Temperature Diseases Halt, Dollar Spot Returns, and Tim is Stressed? Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle It happened. It seems we have survived another difficult summer. Can I really say that? I think I can. We are now almost looking mid-August square in the face and the extended forecast is without 90s for highs and now we can reflect. From the very beginning this growing season was trouble. A very wet spring interfered with our attempts to 'green-up' turfgrass. Then it got really hot during June's first week and that lasted (on and off) until August 2nd. Severe thunderstorms with high winds repeatedly dropped huge trees and we would lose power again. July was intense and it turned out the average dewpoint hadn't been at a higher level since 1980. I visited more golf courses this week than I would have expected - mainly documentation of July's after-effects. It turns out we experienced the Kitchen Sink - in a matter of words. We again saw what midsummer environmental extremes do to plant health and summer 2011 took our ability to manage plant health to the very edge. "...Another week of consistently warm days in the 90s and things would have gotten interesting." In the end we made it through and that's a good thing. We can write another volume or two in Encyclopedia of a Difficult Growing Season. Mine begins, "It began innocently enough after the snow melt when blades of grass..." Click here to view the August 12, 2011 Scouting Report. Have a good weekend and continue to enjoy the terrific weather! Derek Settle, PhD Director of Turfgrass Program

Treating the Condition, Instead of the Symptoms

Pictured above is one the fairway areas that suffered a horrible fate at the hands of last months torrential rainfall. But, even though there is standing water inside the dead area, this is not a picture from last month- this is a picture from this morning. We've been told first hand the spots we are sodding now have been sodded over and over again for years. The reason is simple: the dead grass is only a symptom of the true problem which, believe it or not, is not heavy rainfall. 

The true problem is drainage, or more specifically our lack there of. These areas flood because of heavy rainfall, which is the natural response.  They stay flooded, however, because the water has nowhere to go. This is when standing water truly becomes dangerous; when it remains for hours (or even days) after the rain has ceased and the sun has come out.  Here drowning turf becomes boiling turf as the water is heated by the mid day sun, just as we explained in our earlier post. Either of these outcomes can be avoided if proper drainage is installed to allow the saturated soils more accessible relief. Our intention this fall is to undertake that task.

I am sure most of you have already noticed that the better part of these areas have been seeded or sodded, but it is important that you know the difference between a temporary fix and a true solution. Installing additional drainage is a true solution. If we continue to simply regrow grass on these trouble spots then, like an athlete who takes aspirin for a sprained tendon, eventually our temporary fix will run out and we will be left no better off.

See you on the course!

Elliott Dowling

Scouting Report for August 6th

~~ The following is the C.D.G.A. scouting report as issued by Derek Settle, PhD. Upon reading it you may find pictures and stories sound very familiar... ~~

August Cools: We Catch Our Breath, Flood Injury, Pythium blight, Physiological Decline, Fairy Ring Develops, Tim’s IS-AP18, and Peter says Microclimate

Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle - e DSettle@cdga.org Blog www.cdgaturf.org

It’s now August and this summer now seems a little less ominous?  Not a bad thing if you are a superintendent responsible for acres and acres of green.  This week began hot as ever, but that all changed Tuesday night when cooler air moved temperatures 10 degrees in the right direction – that would be down.  As the calendar page turned, the statisticians went to work. Comparisons of each season help us understand where we are with regard to “average” or “normal”.  Nationwide this summer has already been written in the books as a hot one.  It has broken records that were decades old – wettest July ever!?!  With regard to high temperatures, Chicago has basically achieved its average number of hottest days but remember August hasn’t given us her total yet.  The good news (for now) is the heat has broken and we can now summarize, better understand and assess the damage from a hot, record wet July which had our attention from the beginning. 

In the wake of July we learned that the air was very wet.  In regions of our area, the average dew point value had not been higher in July since 1980.  That can help us understand and explain why turf loss on golf courses has been widespread for the second summer season in a row.  In nearly every case the situation is the same – areas that flood midsummer are unable to survive.  Oh one more thing, the break also allows us to recover.  May you rest well, nights are once again 60s.

Click here to view the August 5, 2011 Scouting Report.

Boy I’m glad it’s August!

Derek

Derek Settle, PhD

Director of Turfgrass Program

Chicago District Golf Association

Recovery

With a few days of milder temperatures in our rear view mirror and more on the way, we should begin to see some recovery in areas of stressed and damaged turf. The fact that many of these areas will effect their own repairs is a testament to the incredible survivability of turf grass as an organism.  However, every organism has it's limits- and no organism has found a way to come back from death. 

Two approaches will be taken with repairing areas of dead turf.  The first will be seeding, which we will begin this coming Monday. Seeded spots will be ones of reduced area, where the surrounding turfgrass should be able to do a fair amount of filling in as the seeds germinate and grow.  The second approach, which will be reserved for only the very worst areas, will be sodding. All sod used in these projects will come from our own nurseries, saving us valuable time and funds. You may already have noticed a few areas that have recently received new sod.

To protect any repaired area from traffic that could kill or stunt new turf, whether seed or sod, we will be staking them. We ask that you please respect our need for these areas to remain untouched by driving or walking around them when you come to them, and taking a drop should your ball land in them.

We cannot avoid the damage mother nature chooses to inflict on our course, but we can make sure that we do not compound it.

See you on the course!
Elliot Dowling

Why are there spots of dying grass on the bunker faces?

I'm sure some of you have already noticed the recent presence of fading or even dead crabgrass on the course- especially the bunker faces.  Of course dead crabgrass is exactly the kind of crabgrass we prefer, but I wanted to make it clear that it's expiration is a purposeful thing.

Weeds you notice fading may have been sprayed weeks ago. So why do you notice them dying today? Many plants -including turfgrass- shut down processes like nutrient uptake in the face of high 90's to 100 degree heat like we have experienced for the last few weeks. Unfortunately, the product we use to destroy crabgrass requires this process to do so. Now that the heat has backed down from those grand highs, the plant has returned to action. With nutrient uptake resumed, our product can now do it's job and eliminate the crabgrass.

The weeds will eventually shuffle off this mortal coil, they have simply been taking the long way around.

See you on the course!
Elliott Dowling

Why are there brown spots in the fairways all of a sudden?

It's hard not to notice the browned out patches in certain areas of our fairways- I myself find it hard to look away. You may notice that all of these areas coincide with wet spots listed in our numerous emails about cart traffic sent out over the last week. Though they may look dry, these spots are actually the calling cards of standing water.

Areas of standing water on a saturated course are to be expected, but it's what happened next that did this turf in. You may have noticed that even on the days that we received rain, the highs were still in the 80's if not 90's. According to the Chicago Sun-Times article I recommended to you earlier, 30 out of the 31 days of July hit a minimum high of 80 degrees.  Which means that all of the standing water on the course was, throughout the day, heated to like temperatures. The next time you come across one of these areas, please take a close look.  What you are seeing is what happens when turf is almost literally boiled.

Though the conditions for such an event are generally rare, I think we can all agree that this has been a rare month.

See you on the course!
Elliott Dowling

Sun-times Reports Dark Days

An article in the Chicago Sun-times this morning detailed the meteorological carnage that July wrought on Chicago and it's neighbors.  Among the many interesting facts the article relays are the not one, but two rainfall records that were set by this past month and a scientific explanation for why the weather has been so temperamental of late. Anyone who doubts just how brutal these last few weeks have been should read the entire article here. Though if you are anything like me you'll be loath to relive those times.

See you on the course!
Elliott Dowling

Scouting Report for July 30th

~~The following is the C.D.G.A. scouting report as issued by Derek Settle, PhD~~ July 29, 2011 Scouting Report Record Wet July: Brown Patch Peaks, Pythium Blight, Physiological Decline of Bentgrass and Poa, Type 1 Fairy Ring Begins, Tim recaps Wisconsin's Turfgrass Field Day, and Peter sees and says Agrostis ipsilon Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle - DSettle@cdga.org/Weather Blog A week of plant health fallout. It was not entirely unexpected because as of last week we had just experienced our hottest air and soil temperatures. But one more thing happened that tipped the balance and on Friday, July 22 it began to rain. When the deluge was over, July 2011 had become Chicago's wettest since 1889. It was almost unbelievable since nearly all precipitation had occurred in just 6 days (9.75 inches at O'Hare). Not surprisingly strange things began to happen in the landscape and certain fungal diseases went wild. For example, brown patch development in fairways went beyond what seasoned superintendents had ever experienced. Then there's why overly wet rootzones are our worst enemy. Midsummer is never a good time for cool-season turfgrass because any additional downward spiral of turfgrass health can be difficult to reverse until cooler weather returns. Root biomass/length are at their lowest levels and what's left root-wise has impaired function because of high soil temperature. Turf plants in physiological decline display abnormal photosynthesis and respiration, yet concentrated wear continues on a daily basis (the life of a golf green). Often the only recourse is a well-timed cultural method such as needle-tine aeration. If it sounds as if I'm exaggerating or blaming the weather too much, guess again. Though today I did learn it could be worse. My colleague Dr. Megan Kennelly relayed Kansas had just experienced 11 of 14 days with highs of 100° or greater. I then checked and saw Wichita, Kansas hit a record high of 107° - even my mom is hot! Click here to view the July 29, 2011 Scouting Report. Hang in there as good news is on the horizon. The extended forecast is showing a slight cool-down (highs in mid-80s) is to begin next Tuesday. Derek Settle, PhD Director of Turfgrass Program