Arbor Day Plantings

                  Dwarf Burning Bush  (#1 Tee / Driving Range Walkway)

#1 Tee was planted on Monday April 25th.  The new plants are 4'-5' Dwarf Burning Bush which are the same plants that follow the fence line dividing the tee an the driving range.  In the early spring, the older shrubs were pruned lower to force vegetation to grow on the lower branches.  Over time the new and old Burning Bush will match.  Burning Bush are known for brilliant red colored leaves in the fall.  

Coyote Decoys

     We will be experimenting with Coyote Decoys (photo at lakefront) around our water features and other areas on the golf course where geese are present.  We have 3 of these coyotes which will be moved around daily, with the goal of moving the geese out of the areas.  Switching the locations of the coyotes gives the geese an impression of an active predator moving around the golf course. 
     The geese are a smaller problem for us during the spring while they are trying to nest.  During late summer the geese show up in larger numbers, creating maintenance issues.

Verti-cutting

     We have verti-cut all our greens, tees and approaches 2 directions.  The fairways will also be verti-cut over the next 2 weeks.
      This process involves cutting through the lateral growth of the grass plants vertically instead of the traditional horizontal cut that we daily practice.
      The benefits include eliminating thatch and lateral growth (stolons) allowing more energy for the plant to produce upright growth.  The upright growth is much easier to cut/manage which can increase greens speeds, and a truer playing surface.  In longer grass it promotes stronger healthy turf grass plants

Waterfall #6 Tee

The waterfalls on both sides of the dam will be up in running shortly.  During the fall we had to reset the stone slabs which have been shifting over the years. This prevented the water flow from properly going over the waterfall.  Shannon Storey in the photo is doing the final cement work this spring.  The final stage is connecting the waterfall pumps.

Wildlife at FLCC

We discovered a Snapping Turtle slowly crawling through the rough between the 1rst and 2nd holes this past Thursday.  The shell of the turtle was about 16" front to back.  Periodically the turtles will be seen on land coming from the Lake beside #2 Tee or #6 pond.

Equipment Maintenance

 Jose has been working on 1 of our 3150 Triplex mowers.  An oil leak was discovered in the crank cover.  The engine had to be completely removed from the machine (photo top left). The bottom left photo shows the engine separated being prepped for a new crank cover gasket.

Irrigation System

      We have encountered some wear problems in the pump house.  The first problem has been an ongoing concern relating to the salinity levels in the water that we pump out of Forest Lake.  The piping in the pump house of our irrigation system is metal before it transitions into transite and PVC piping in the field of the golf course.  The salinity in the water has caused corrosion to piping (photo top left).  We had to replace the screens to our intake lines in the wet well and we will have to have our intake screen in Forest Lake inspected to determine it's condition.
       The second problem we have encountered is the wear on the piping caused over time by our acid injection (photo middle left).  The acid injection system is a tool to lower the pH of irrigation water and help water penetrate the soil. Impenetrable soils usually contain higher levels of sodium and bicarbonates that are found in high levels in Forest lake.
       The 9' section of pipe containing our acid injection ports and flow meter was replaced last week (photo bottom left) to eliminate a possible pipe failure.

#17 Green

   The top photo shows the shadow that the Spruce in back of #17 casts on the green.  This tree prevents morning sunlight from hitting the greens surface.  The photo on the bottom shows a soil probe reading 45F.  The other greens on the golf course during the same time have soil temperatures from 58-60F. 

        There is noticeably slower growth on #17 starting the season in relation to the rest of the course.  We do expect this green to catch up, but the problems caused by shade should be addressed. 

        

Fertilizer Application

The dark green lines on #9 green are the result of a fertilizer misapplication.  There was a malfunction with a fertilizer spreader shield which prevents material to be broadcast to the right.  The lines are a result of that material deflecting back under the spreader creating an over application. 

The visual appearance of these lines will dissipate over time.  Also products in our greens maintenance program that will be applied, will mask the color contrast.  The growth of the green could be inconsistent initially. We will monitor this green taking steps to balance out any issues.

Arbor Day Plantings



The new plant material has been ordered and will be planted in the next few weeks.  The funds for the trees and shrubs were raised through the Arbor Day Golf event and Arbor Day donations.  #12 Tee arborvitaes were removed because of their age and poor condition.  This site has been prepped for 13 new 10 foot dark green arborvitaes to be planted in their place.  There will also be a Spruce planted behind the back left corner of this green.