Dog Days of Summer

July Course Update

The ole saying... "Dog Days of Summer"... How did they get me resting in those nicely groomed bunkers on #8.

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Early in July, we had a few windstorms that were pretty intense.  We lost a few giant tree limbs.  The top picture fell within 30 minutes of a Monday golf outing on #1.  Oh boy...

There are 2 "rough" maple trees that fell from high winds and weak tree limbs. Unfortunately, these will have to come out for safety reasons.  

Wow, most of July has been a test for a lot of us Wisconsin turf nerds.  Daily temperatures nearing record highs for almost 2 weeks straight with mid 90's and high humidity levels = pull hair out = stressful time for us...  I must take a hint from these construction workers next time... 

https://funlexia.com/2013/06/07/too-hot-to-work/

Luckily, the course fared reasonably well throughout the intense stretch of weather we had through the beginning to mid July.  Generally, when humidity goes up, green speeds go down slightly due to higher water contents absorbed in the leaf tissues and those plant tissues not being able to "respire" (retaining water inside the leaf blades).  Thankfully, on July 18th we finally got some much overdue rainfall.  Our last good rainfall was on July 1st.  We were due!  Overall, the course held up well and we were able to control the main diseases that affect the turf during these high stressful times.

This is the bad thing with rainstorms.  NOOOO.   The bunkers here at OGC are a known problem with inconsistencies with their construction, design, and composition.  We hope to fix these items in a much larger scale restoration/renovation.  Yuck...

Normal Bunker Washouts with Rainstorms = Soil/Rock/Sand Contamination

We did see a few isolated spots throughout the course whether it be from irrigation sprinkler heads or irrigation controllers not working correctly and a few diseases on the banks of the #10 forward tee.  On Sunday of the Ross Cup, Mike and I were out troubleshooting an irrigation controller between each group.  There were 18 sprinkler heads not working.  Sorry for those on #6 tee that had to dodge a sprinkler when hitting.  This was another problem with that controller that day.  The most affected area on the course happened to be on the #9 forward tee.  We believe the irrigation controller wasn't working properly on the forward tee which caused the tee to become predominantly "moisture stressed" and turn the top of the tee stark brown.  We plan to hand water that tee for the next few weeks to see if we can get it to rebound.  You can even see some small footprints from that..  :)   

Irrigation controller not working correctly on #9 forward tee

Never seen this before... Usually I see cart tracking when moisture stressed, but never from walking.  :(

Odds and Ends...
One item we will be looking at in the foreseeable future is to verticut fairways at OGC.  A sales person from Georgia was in town (beating the heat, I guess) and had his verticutter implement to show off.  We ended up trying it on the range chipping fairway.  Works great but debris collection would be the next concern.  Overall, verticutting helps condition the plants to grow healthier and ultimately firm up playing surfaces.  It removes the unwanted "soft, spongy" thatch/organic matter under the turf's surface.

Nearest Lines = blown off turf from vertuctting. No impact to play on fairways when blown off.

Thanks to our handy mechanic, Smokey, he was able to update the #12 counter to a more presentable surface. 

Our team began auditing our irrigation system and turning on sprinklers to see if they needed repairs, what types of parts were in them, and troubleshoot any not working correctly.  The added bonus for Joel, our assistant, was on those hot days he didn't mind getting close to those sprinklers getting him wet as if he spent his day at Noah's Ark. 

Our team did have a few course tee marker setup mistakes but have since been able to correct those quickly by painting some tee blocks half red/half gold and on #9 half white/gold.

One focus in July was to begin squaring the tee boxes on the course.  We noticed coming out of the winter tee edges were a little wavy and wanted to see if we could straighten them out.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do this in the Spring, given the condition of the irrigation system and lack of an assistant, but we are starting to work on these detail items now. 

Another item completed in July, was bringing in an Arborist for a tree review.  Almost every year, OGC has brought this consultant in to take a look at the trees.  The focus in the past was on infected Imprelis trees.  The Greens and Grounds Committee wanted to get a tree assessment specifically the ash trees.  Unfortunately, all of the ash trees are showing signs of Emerald Ash Borer Infection (~30 trees).  The Arborist recommended these trees could not be saved given the infection of EAB.  We've known about Emerald Ash Borers for at least 6-8 years, but even treated trees are starting to show signs of infection.

Emerald Ash Borer Infection  - Left of #15 - were treated here before my tenure.  Didn't work.

Starting in July, we have had a team member begin to prune some much needed trees on the property.  We will be pruning some limbs that our team cannot cut safely in August by hiring a contractor to come in for a day.  Stay tuned for those.  :)

Pruning to be done in August - Bring on the Tree Climbers

New's Flash...  Don't leave your moon roofs open or windows for that matter. :)

I've seen it all now.  A duck on top of a Car!  Must have been checking out the Moon Roof.

June Course Update

June is in full swing and which is a good time to give some updates.

Wildlife in Full Bloom...


Try attempting to fix an irrigation satellite to almost have a heart attack as you almost stepped on a baby fawn.  Fixing the satellite didn't mean much after seeing the joys of our wildlife here at OGC.  In addition, we have seen so many fury critters all around this season from the Turkey Trotters, the monarch butterfly caterpillars are abundant, to the deer herd/population, to the turtles laying their eggs in fresh sod on #13 (thanks!), the red tail hawks, and i didn't forget you, to the hundreds of frogs in the pond on #13.  We even had our famous cranes strolling the property this Spring too.  Here at OGC, you are never alone with the wildlife that uses the property as their home and sanctuary! 

#10 Landscaping...
Early in June, a landscape company was able to complete the project on #10 which will mature as the plants establish and flourish for years to come.  The crane sculptures will also continue to be accented in this perennial bed.  The outcropping of stones too add a dynamic touch, I just couldn't figure out where the waterfall should have went (Sorry the Legends Clubs...)

Sodding of Tree Areas...
After the first few weeks of June, our team worked hard laying down the rest of the sod and repairing the remaining tree areas and miscellaneous spots to improve the quality of grass in the rough.  In total, we purchased 24 pallets of sod which is around 12,000 sq. ft.  The weather wasn't fully cooperative as our second batch of sod came during a dry spell with very little rain.  With all the sodded areas scattered throughout the course and not concentrated in one area, it has been a challenge to keep these areas wet to allow for the sod to establish smoothly.  Some areas that don't survive, I plan to swap out with some new sod rolls in late June or early July.  Soon, we will be taking off the ropes and stakes and be able to use these areas for normal play.  With some extra rolls of sod, we were also able to fix up the fairway bentgrass areas that needed a few adjustments by utilizing the front part of the 17th fairway.

Look at that completed hillside right of the Green (w/a Magnifying Glass)!!

Range Bushes...
In May's newsletter, I discussed the bushes between the parking lot and the range tee.  With no better reason other than that some survived the brutal winter and some didn't.  Our team held out hope for a few more weeks that the bushes would decide to fill in, but unfortunately, they did not, so we ended up cutting these bushes down to where the growth was and see what will happen with the re-growth.  If the re-growth isn't favorable, we will know what to do towards the end of the season or early next year.

Bunker Work
Here in June, the Greens and Grounds Team has been working on some of the bunkers.  Some members have been edging the bunker faces to give them a crisp clean detailed look while some of the other team members have been working on fixing some of the troublesome bunkers that had a poor liner material or minimal sand amounts.  The most noticeable bunker will be the left green side bunker on #8 where the team carefully removed the white liner from the entire bunker and then added fresh sand to increase the amount of material there and provide better playing conditions.  Right after adding sand to this bunker, it may play a little differently to the other bunkers but will settle down more as the season draws on.

Nice new Edge on the Bunker!

Nice work Sam!

Jake, Jacob, and Sam Working on Peeling the Bad Liner Out.

Jake, Jacob, and Sam Working on Liner Peeling

Removed Bunker Liner Material from #8 Left Green Bunker

Pumpstation/Satellite/Irrigation Work
This Spring and early Summer we have really worked hard on repairing the irrigation system to replace sprinklers that were damaged towards the end of last year and also replacing certain components that have been worn out.  In total, I have replaced around 20 entire sprinklers, 75 internal sprinkler bodies, and about 125 or more retainer rings that are a part of the fairway sprinkler system.  In total, the irrigation system has ~807 sprinkler heads.  Also, I've had a veteran contractor help me from time to time to work on an aging irrigation system that is 25+ years old.  We are starting to see more wear on the entire system and will need to plan accordingly in the future to address this key "heart and artery" infrastructure that keeps this course what we all call OGC.

Those Ugly Green Boxes in the Rough.. This is what the insides look.  ~25yrs ago these were state of art.  Things obviously changed since then....  The pieces inside are not readily available and make watering a challenge without working properly (I brought the only available parts from the company which they call "Refurbished" parts and the part that was supposed to be good was actually worse than the part that needed to be replaced in the satellite).  Sigh  

Remember, when laying sod, the green side goes up!

End of May Updates

The Story of the Month was... Bucks Lost.  :.(   Foursomes  (Fivesomes) with Mr. Webbed Feet.  :) "That's All Folks". The course received just under 5" of rain in May which seemed as though it didn't stop raining.  Typically, June is a great month for golf as rain forecasts tend to be less in June, but the key word is "typically".  Luckily this course was built on a hilly/rocky base and the property overall drains great, thus allowing carts out on the course sooner and faster than most courses in the Greater Milwaukee Area.  I must admit though, I'm not used to players, I mean player, golfing starting at 6:25am and finishing around 7:30-8am.  That's speed golf!

Does a Hole in One in a 5-some count?  Mr. Webbed Feet sure thinks so!

Course Updates

This month we have been able to work on some key projects with one of them being the task of filling in tree stumps with soil, leveling and compacting, and squaring for sodding.  We were lucky this last week of May to get some sod and have begun sodding these tree stump areas.  We will look to finish these areas by next week and then keep them watered to establish them!

Another project our team worked on this Month was to figure out why a light pole wasn't working in the parking lot.  Smokey and I then planned to run a new power line to the pole by renting a trencher and placing conduit to ease any future digging if we'd have to run new lines out to the pole from the cart path by #1 tee.  We did hit a small plastic tube for some irrigation heads but were able to fix that quickly.  

May also was a great month to hold the Club's Opening Day's!  Luckily our team was working that morning prepping the bunkers for the Saturday shotgun and found two rocks in the bunkers.  I have been told since starting here in November that the bunkers have some rocks in them, but I am perplexed how to hit this shot...

I happened to hit my shot in the shop and my Blue Noodle stopped there.  Chuck, I need a lesson!

Thankfully, those "rocks", I may call them boulders, were on the faces of the bunkers on #4 and #10 respectively that morning.  Crazy!!!

May is another great time to start planting annual summer flowers, so Terrie and I went to select this year's plantings.  They should all turn out great if our wildlife doesn't decide to snack on them like they sometimes do!  Think they would obey the "cart signage" that we put out on the course???

Another issue we saw this month was there were certain plants and, in my mind, possibly some trees on the course that were directly impacted by the harsh Winter and early Spring seasons.  We have seen a few trees on the property not leaf out at all and may no longer product leaves on the branches.  We will give these bigger specimens some time this summer to see if they do in fact rebound in some way.   Another strange thing has happened on a certain type of bush called a "Burning Bush".  We have a few of these near the front Club Entrance and also which divide the parking lot to the range tee.   

I reached out to a well known arborist for his input on Burning Bushes and the feedback was that naturally, some species within the Burning Bush family are more tolerant to harsh winters than others.  The arborist believes that these bushes were greatly impacted by the winter and tough spring that we all experienced in 2019.  There are a few recommendations, which the Greens Committee has suggested to cut the "dead" looking bushes down to about 1-2' off of the ground and see if these bushes will "rebound" and grow again into the plants we all knew they looked like years ago.  Naturally, doing this will take time for these plants to fully mature like the bushes that were not affected.

Another item that happened in one of the rainstorms was a cedar tree between #7 green and #8 tee was largely affected by either lightning or straight line winds...

At this point we are looking at options for this area and deciding whether this should be removed, pruned more from the damaged areas, or left alone in its current state.  More to come here...

Lastly, the course has done a good job in keeping up with unpleasant weather patterns in May.  I was able to work on a few May cultural practices for the greens and look to continue some more in June.  We also are looking forward to our 4 high school team members starting in June to help us out in these main golfing months in June, July, and August.  Next week, we also should see some new landscaping by #10 tee.  A landscape company was contracted to do this work and with the May rains, there projects took a back seat and the course was pushed back in their timeline.  I have been really working on them to come in and get this area presentable and look forward to next week for that to happen.

Sequel to Last...  An oldie but goodie...I spent over 11 years growing up on the golf course caddying at Merrill Hills Country Club.  This forward from my Father In Law was one I just had to pass along.  I definitely never said any of these, but wish I could have to Mr. Lacy.  :)

Number :10

Golfer:    "I think I'm going to drown myself in the lake."

Caddy:    "Think you can keep your head down that long?"

 

Number : 9  

Golfer:    "I'd move heaven and earth to break 100 on this course."

Caddy:    "Try heaven, you've already moved most of the earth."

 

Number : 8

Golfer:    "Do you think my game is improving?

Caddy:    "Yes … you miss the ball much closer now."

 

Number : 7  

Golfer:    "Do you think I can get there with a 5 iron?"

Caddy:    "Eventually."

 

Number : 6    Golfer: 

Golfer:    "You've got to be the worst caddy in the world."

Caddy:    "I don't think so … that would be too much of a coincidence."

 

Number : 5

Golfer:    "Please stop checking your watch all the time. It's too much of a distraction."

Caddy:    "It's not a watch - it's a compass."

 

Number : 4  

Golfer:    "How do you like my game?"

Caddy:    "It's very good - personally, I prefer golf."

 

Number : 3   

Golfer:    "Do you think it's a sin to play on Sunday?

Caddy:    "The way you play, it's a sin on any day."

 

Number : 2   

Golfer:    "This is the worst course I've ever played on."

Caddy:    "This isn't the golf course.  We left that an hour ago."

 

And the Number   1   Best Caddy Comment:   

Golfer:    "That can't be my ball, it's too old."

Caddy:    "It's been a long time since we teed off, sir."

 

Bonus

An old favorite about the Golfer who has been slicing off the tee at every hole.  He finally gives up and asks his long suffering caddy:

Golfer:    "Can you see any obvious problems?"

Caddy:    "There's a piece of sh*t on the end of your club."

Golfer:     He picks his club up and cleans the club face.

Caddy:    "       . . . other end."