Scouting Report for March 23

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

March 23, 2012 Scouting Report Early Summer? 80°+ Nine In a Row, Dollar spot, Brown patch, Fairy ring, Waitea, Yellow tuft, Dandelions, Poa Seedheads, and Tim says KBG green up Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle This season has begun (an understatement). We are out of the shoots on a racehorse named '2012'. This horse would travel faster than we had ever experienced. The trouble was, in a week we were still participating in golf course superintendent education in places like Elcona Country Club in Bristol, IN and Arrowhead Golf Club in Wheaton, IL. In between symptoms had begun to appear, usually circular and of a color indicative of plant stress (yellow if you are Poa and a red-purple if you are bent). It would be a week of new issues: Rhizoctonia patches on a fairway (but which Rhizoc?), dollar spot beginning on a green and tee, continued development of fairy ring on greens, and yellow tuft flaring up in the usual wet fairway areas. Can you believe that was just on Sunshine Course in Lemont? Never have we seen everything begin all at once. It had something to do with 9 consecutive days of highs that broke every record in the book and, that's 147 years worth! Now it has rained, it has cooled. It's officially spring and every bloom is vying for our attention: star magnolia, pear, redbud, saucer magnolia, forsythia, crabapples and viburnum. When out, take some time and just let it in. In short, enjoy this unprecedented spring! Click here to view the March 23, 2012 Scouting Report. Enjoy Spring 'officially' this first weekend (according to calendar. It even has begun to rain - right on cue! Derek Settle, PhD Director of Turfgrass Program

"What is that man doing to our trees?"

That man is Everado Garcia, a nearly four decade veteran of Cress Creek grounds. What he is doing is spraying our Crabapple trees with a solution that will help prevent many diseases that can occasionally occur in certain species of Crabapple. Some diseases, like the desiccation of fruit, are decoratively benign- while others can be very noticeable. An average spring would see this optional application made in mid to late April- but this has been far from an average spring!

See you on the course!
Elliott Dowling

Scouting Report for March 16, 2012

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

March 16, 2012 Scouting Report Forget Winter, More Like Spring or Summer. Updates Begin, Winter Conferences Over, Chicago's 80° F Highs, Poa seedheads, and Tim Rates Fairy Ring!?! Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle Things have begun early in 2012 and so here goes. So far, within the month of March, we've seen high temperatures (˚F) go from 32 to our most recent of 80, 80 and 82 (March 14-16 on Sunshine Course in Lemont). It has meant rapid green-up of turf and much, much more. New all-time high temperature records for March for one! Golf courses in the upper Midwest have already hosted quite a bit of golf. Much of this is uncharted territory and so it is accompanied with much speculation, but if you are superintendent or crew your first applications have begun -Poa annua seedheads on greens for one. If you like flowers in the landscape then star magnolia, cornelian cherry dogwood, forsythia, witch hazel and daffodils caught your eye this week. If you are a turf specialist your phone began to ring, your email box filled up, and your camera got a workout. For my part, I was amazed in the field; fairy ring, moss sporulation, chickweed bloom, and a Poa annua seedhead or two. I also saw terrific plant health as we've experienced neither winter injury nor snow molds. We're out of the shoots early, we'll just combine art and science (golf turf management) a little earlier and learn new things along the way - 2012 begins! Click here to view the March 16, 2012 Scouting Report. Here goes a new turf season. Welcome aboard and happy Saint Patrick's Day weekend! Derek Settle, PhD Director of Turfgrass Program

"I see skies of blue, and clouds of white."

Maybe Louis Armstrong said it best: "What a wonderful world."

As I write this it is 75 degrees outside with a pair of white, pillowy, clouds in the sky. When was the last season that kicked off on a day this nice? When was the last time we had a day of golf this nice at all? The birds greeted the day with song. The grounds department greeted the day with the roar of mower engines.

As I said before, we will not be mowing the greens everyday until they're giving us something to mow everyday, but this morning they got their first trim in months. Until the mowers come out in force we'll be keeping the roller handy. Either way, swinging the sticks in a golf shirt and shorts on the 14th of March is nothing to sneeze at!

See you on the course!
Elliott Dowling

March Madness

With such a mild winter, and now this unseasonably warm March, the decision has been made to alter the course schedule. As of Wednesday, March 14, the golf course is open to play. With this new opening date fast approaching, I thought I would take a moment to share a few of the things we've been working on to help get the property ready for rounds.

At 7", this is far from the deepest area we've found in our bunkers so far!

Uneven bunker depths were one of many hot topics last year, however, they were far from the most pressing issue. With this "bonus" time comes opportunity and we have seized upon it. Fixing the bunker issues has become our first outdoor project of the new year (plowing doesn't count right?). The USGA suggests a floor (bottom) depth of 4-6 inches for green-side bunkers. Upon inspection, we've found depths of 7-13 inches in certain high traffic areas! If you you've been around the club house this past week you may have looked out the window and noticed bunkers with large piles of sand in them.

Working to make sure that every bunker has the correct depth has meant removing material from many. The sand that comes out will be saved, and used elsewhere on the course. Once brought to a proper depth, players who find themselves in one of our many bunkers should find instances of plugging or the dreaded "fried-egg" lie reduced. While the project is ongoing, much progress has been made in just one short week.

Unlike human beings, turf could care less about daily temperature highs and how unseasonably spring-like these past few days have been, or the coming days will be.  For turf, everything comes down to soil temperature- which requires quite a few warm days to undo months of snow and ice. As such, we would do well not to expect any active growth from our greens, tees, or fairways for sometime. Greens will be cut and rolled for Wednesday's opening, but following that I will hold of on beginning the daily mowing schedule until the turf has shaken off it's winter dormancy.

Finally, a windy end of February and beginning of March has left the course littered with sticks, branches, and the like. The removal of all this, along with the usually "spring" clean-up began last week. The course is quickly coming together. Our opening may seem incredibly early now, but before we know it June will be knocking at the door.  As for now the course will be ready for it's players return on March 14, a full six days before the official start of spring!

See you on the course!
Elliott Dowling