The Llanerch Grounds Maintenance Staff would like to wish you and your family a Happy New Years! Oh, Zeus the dog too!
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It is normal for poa annual to seed in late April and in late September but NOT late December. This observation is another first for me. The abnormally warm temperatures continue to confuse plant life (and greenkeepers too). We are out mowing fairways and the intermediate cut today because the grass has grown so much in the past week. We are hoping the temperatures go back to normal later this week after what looks like some heavy rain tonight into tomorrow.
So as we prepare for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Mother Nature has given us another unseasonable warm day. It is going up to 72 degrees! Unfortunately, we also received 1.2 inches of rain yesterday. The course is very wet and can not accommodate carts. If the course conditions improve, we will inform the Golf Shop staff on any cart status changes. The Staff of Grounds Maintenance and I would like to wish you and your families a safe and happy Christmas!
As we enter the week of Christmas, the weather keeps making it feel like it is spring! In close to the 30 years of green keeping, I have never needed to mow greens, tees and fairways this late in the season. The next 10 days looks warn and wet. This will keep the grass from going dormant. Hopefully, winter will return in January!
Last week, the staff removed a section of 15 fairway and replaced the grass with bentgrass sod. Over the 11 years since the renovation, the grass had become contaminated with some rye grass and poa annua. To improve the play-ability, the sod was added. It is probably the highest trafficked area on the course and was starting to show some real signs of wear and tear. We are keeping golf cart off it until the spring of 2016.
Yesterday, we had tree contractor Aradar Tree Services remove a large tree form the left side of 10 fairway near 10 tee box. It was a Norway Maple that had some very serve cracking throughout it's trunk and main leading branches. We had grown very concerned that it was just a matter of time until the tree dropped some heavy wood.
Today, we are taking time to sod some areas in the intermediate cut surrounding fairways. Over the years, the bentgrass in the fairways creep into small section of the intermediate cut. In this case, the bentgrass was more than 40% . We prefer to have a stand of bluegrass with some rye grass. Once we are done, it will provide a more consistent lie and be more visually appealing.
Today, we start the process of removing thatch from the tees. We use a machine called a verticutter. It is a series of spinning blades that cuts through the turf canopy. As you can see in the picture, it removes the the thatch layer that lies between the the grass you see and the soil. By removing some of this organic material, the tee surface becomes firmer, smoother and assists getting water into the soil. We than blow the organic material off the tee surface. We are hoping to finish the tees by mid day tomorrow.
On Saturday, the course received 0.2 inches of rain. It was the first measurable rain that course had seen in 16 straight weekends! It is amazing to think it had not rained all summer on the weekends. That being said, we are looking very dry for the next 7-10 days. We are using this week to prepare for the Llanerch Cup. Good luck to all the participants!
After weeks and weeks of dry weather, Llanerch finally got some rain! Between yesterday and last night, the course had 1.5 inches of rain. The course is a little saturated in low areas but overall still firm. This is not enough rain to completely wet the course deep into the ground but a good start!
As we end August, we have had 29 days of 90 degrees temperatures or higher which is two more days than the average summer in Philadelphia. It has not seemed very hot to most people because the humidity is been way below average. I can not remember the humidity being so low for so long in the summer. It feels great but can make for some challenging times for the management of plants. The combination of the current weather pattern and the lack of rain is forcing us to rely on the irrigation system. We are hoping that some rain will fall by Friday!?!? As for the aerification, the greens seem to be healing at a healthy pace. Thanks for your patience.
With some great work from the Golf Shop Staff, you can view what the 1 inch rain that we received on Tuesday looks like on the Practice hole.
Today starts what could be an extended heat wave. We are preparing the turf as best we can for not just high temperatures but for very few clouds and high humidity. We are quietly hoping the weather people are wrong and this heat wave ends way before the beginning of next week. You might notice the greens a bit slower this week. This is because the heat reduces our ability to use the greens roller. Thanks for your patience.
This is a picture from 2 fairway. You can see the foot print in the middle of the brown turf. It is clearly an application of sunscreen mist applied to someone's leg. I am a strong proponent of using sunscreen but please do not apply it when standing on grass. The sunscreen has alcohol in it and it burns the grass. Thanks!
Th first 12 days of July have been an extension of June. Warm, muggy and periods of intense rain. It has not had an adverse effect on the course so far. We have been concentrating our efforts almost completely towards tournament preparation. Between the Finsterwald Cup, Philadelphia Amateur, Ladies and Men's Member Guest, we have been very busy! We are taking today to add sand to greens and approaches, tree trimming and normal course conditioning.
As we prepare the course for play today, we are keeping an eye on the possibility of late day thunderstorms. The course could use a little rain but we prefer just a small amount, if it actually comes. Much of our focus will be getting the rough back to "every day" height of cut. During last week's Philadelphia Amateur, we were severely limited on when we could mow rough. Add some rain and fertilizer and you have thick and long rough. That being said, we are already very close to having the rough at the height that members expect.
Yesterday marked the end of what we think of as a drought! The course received 0.75 inches of rain in the morning and 2.6 inches last night! It is still drizzling on and off today. It washed out some of the bunkers and limited our scheduled mowing but we will take the rain! The staff is concentrating on getting all the green side bunkers back in shape and if the weather improves, we will mow greens in the afternoon.
It seems that rain will not fall in Havertown, In my many years at Llanerch, I can not remember it being this dry since 2003! We are keeping our fingers crossed that we will get some rain later today into tonight. One rain fall will not end this dry period but would go a long way to starting the end of what is becoming a drought like situation.
The golf course continues to be defined by heavy rough a lack of rain. We have not had any substantial rain since April 22! The only break so far was a tiny 0.25 of rain last Saturday night. There are thunderstorms in the forecast today but only 50%. We are keeping are fingers crossed for some rain tonight.
I am glad to say the range fence extension is finished! I appreciate everyone's patience. It is never fun to lose the use of the range any time of the year, especially in early May. As for the golf course, May means thick rough! We are putting as much effort possible to "contain" the height of the grass and blow off the clipping.
This morning, the contractor started the process of adding the poles to increase the height of the fence. As you can see in the picture, a crane is needed to assist in the installation. The crane will be here at least two days. The range will be open during the weekend but closed again for a few days next week to complete the work. Thanks for your patience.
On Monday, we started the process of increasing the height of the range fence. Aradar Tree Service spent the day trimming any of the trees that were over hanging the existing fence. At the same time Cross Country Cowboy Range Fence Inc. was starting the installation of the 20 foot higher netting. We have to close the range for safety reasons while they do the construction. We are hoping the the range will be open by the end of next week. The plan is for the range to be open during the weekend. I am sorry for the inconvenience but it will really improve safety on 17 tee and 10 fairway. Thanks for your patience.
This week, after a 20 day delay, the seasonal staff from the H2B Visa program arrived back at Llanerch. They are the "backbone" of Grounds Maintenance Staff. They and the rest of the team are busy mowing, topdressing, raking and doing all the other tasks to give the membership the best conditions possible. We are excited for the 2015 season. Hope to see you out on the course!
Yesterday, we aerified greens with a very thin tine. That means the holes are very small. We are rolling them today with plans to topdress later this week. The sand will help smooth the surface and help with drainage.
Today, we are aerifying all the fairways. The first pictures show the actual tractors that are doing the "punching". The second picture shows the size of holes the aerifier is making in fairways. We plan to be done all the fairways by the end of the day today. We are also preparing the greens for the first mow of the season.
The course had some very large snow melt today. That being said, we still have about 30% of the course covered in snow. The "winter" night nights are not helping the cause. We are hoping that most of the snow will be gone by the end of the day tomorrow. We are spending our time preparing for sod along the new walkway between the Golf Shop and the putting green. We will also be cleaning up new broken branches that are a result of the new wet snow we received last week.
As of 12:00pm today, we are open for golf with carts. The range is open on the range mat only. Thanks for your patience.
As of today, we still have standing water on at least 6 greens. They are very soft and not capable of holding up to foot traffic. It seems the top 4-6 inches has un-thawed but the frost below it is just staring to thaw. This is pushing water to the surface of the greens. I have no choice but to keep the course closed until the greens completely dry out. Thanks for your patience.
The golf course is soaking wet. We have seen a majority of the snow and ice melt. The ground is very soft in some spots and frozen solid in others. I am still not sure when we can reopen for play. It really depends on the next few days. The forecast is calling for heavy rain starting Friday night into Saturday morning. If that forecast is correct, I think we will have to wait until next week to play. I will continue to post updates on the blog over the next following days.
As of 9:00am, we have 2 inches on the ground and there seems to be no break in sight. The forecast is 5-8 total inches by tonight. The long term forecast leads me to believe that the should be melted by next Thursday. I will keep everyone posted on the status of the course. Remember, only 15 days until Spring!
As I walked the course over the last few days, I see we have a long way to go until we view grass again! We had some melting from Sunday's rain and a sunny day today but it all turns to ice at night. So, we sit and wait until mother natural will let use have some warming temperatures, especially at night. Zeus has been busy running off geese and we continue to prepare the equipment fleet for the season. Oh, did I forget, plow snow and salt ice! Here's to hoping for warm temperatures!
Seems the winter was not too kind to one of the Norway spruces along the right side of #15. As you can see from these pictures, the tree just torn apart at the base. We are spending the morning cleaning up the tree. We will grind the stump in the next couple weeks. I plan to replant another tree near this same area.
I am proud to introduction this video about what we as Golf Course Superintendents do as a profession. It was produced by the Philadelphia Association of Golf Course Superintendents. As a current board member of this 90 year old association, I believe this video is worthy of a view! I hope you enjoy it!
I know a few people are starting to wonder when the course will be open. It is a harder question to answer than some might think. We still have a few greens with ice and snow on them. This is not to say that 20-30 bunkers that still have ice, snow and water in them. The cold nights are really hurting the melting process, also. We have to be 100% free of ice and snow on greens before allowing play. We will continue to update the Golf Shop every morning as of the status of the course. Thanks for your patience.
I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday season. 2014 was a good season for the golf course but now we must move on to 2015. We will be starting out by saying "goodbye" to horticulturalist Dan Bangert. Dan left to supervise a commercial property. We are both very happy for him but sorry to see him leave. I am sure he will do well! We are in the process of looking for a new horticulturist right now.