 |
| Northern Pin Oak |
This May the greens crew planted 31 new trees on the golf course. One main goal, was to plant trees that would be hardy and add species diversity. Overall the objective was met and the new trees are surviving well in their chosen locations. One concern that we have been monitoring is browning of leaves on the Red Oaks and Pin Oaks. We brought in a nursery tree specialist to help us determine the health of these Oak's. Upon inspecting the trees there is green tissue throughout the tree and signs of new leaf buds developing. It was determined that transplant shock lead to this condition. Some trees will adapt quicker to their new environments while other trees will regress slightly while they struggle to adjust to new conditions. The good news is that most of our Oaks have started to show a significant amount of new growth.
 |
| Red Oak growing new leaves |
Planting trees can produce varying results. There are many factors to consider when planting, such as; mature size of tree, characteristics of the tree, soil conditions where it is being planted. To best ensure success, make sure to ask questions about the planting process. This will give you techniques to make sure the tree ball is planted at the correct level and back filled with out voids. Finally making sure the root systems of newly planted trees have sufficient water, to allow roots to grow out from the root ball into the surrounding soils.
 |
| Tufted Fairway grass |
 |
| Lateral grass on fairway removed |
The summer of 2013 has to rank up there with one of best seasons to grow grass. In a typical year there is usually a period during the peak of the summer where the growth of grass slows down. With plentiful rain and cool overnight temperatures the conditions have remained favorable for aggressive growth. Our roughs seem to grow right in behind the mowers. As well we have dealt with grass clumping during early morning mowing.
Shorter mowed turf (greens,tees and fairways) that are mowed daily have a tendency to lay over and grow laterally across the ground. Picture on the left shows fairway grass that we tufted up. Even though this grass is mowed under 1/2inch high we can pull up plants up to 3 inches long. With the cooler temperatures we verti-cut 5 fairways to remove these runners and to create a playing surface that would have upright grass plants. This process is going to be short term pain for long term gain process. On the fairways that were verti-cut there is mechanical injury to areas that had significant turf laying over. You will notice over the next few weeks these areas recovering, and they will provide a desirable playing surface. We will resume verti-cutting the remaining fairways in the next few weeks.
 |
| Old Lakefront area |
The lake front area has been under renovation for the last few weeks. We have been working hard at reviving the appearance and usefulness of this area. If you have been at the pool and tennis areas or enjoying an afternoon on the patios you have witnessed the transformation. Not yet complete this area will offer sitting areas as well a fire pit. Landscapes including trees, shrubs and mixed perennials will be added this fall and next spring .
 |
| New Lakefront area in progress |
