Golf Course Report

November 2018

November’s Report tends to be one of my favorites to write.  We have finally made it through the summer and all the major projects.  The heat and humidity have or will be replaced by cooler drier air (we hope).  Our seasonal residents are filtering in for their first look at the course and grounds.  Most of our preparations were completed in the days leading up to Men’s Opening Day and Ladies Opening Day.  I would like to recognize the support of all our members, especially the year rounders, for their patience and understanding as we looked to make adjustments and improvements to the course during the summer months. 

Some final touches were completed in the last couple of weeks.  Our new winter annuals were installed just prior to opening day and a fresh coat of Pine Straw was applied.  Each year we monitor the success rate of each type of annual, this year we added a few new varieties in areas that are typically hard to maintain.  We work with the growers throughout the year to find site specific issues and plants that fit our needs.  The newly applied Pine Straw will help provide definition and contrast to the golf course and surrounding grounds.  This product also provides the proper acidity levels, moisture retention and weed barrier that will allow our bedding plants to thrive.  The last bit of pruning and trimming around the course will have the property in prim and proper shape as we head into season. 

I did state earlier that “we were through all the major projects” however we have one more to complete.  The irrigation system that was installed during our last renovation has some “kinks” that need to be ironed out.  Some of you may recall that 2 years after installation our fused fittings began to fail.  Our Irrigation Contractor returned to Stonebridge to replace these joints with a mechanical coupler, the manufacturer supplied the parts and our contractor covered the cost.  These first generation couplers have not performed well, leading to 2 to 4 leaks per week.  The good news is, the manufacturer has developed an upgraded coupler that has proven to hold up in the field.  We actually have quite a few of them throughout the course and have yet to have one fail.  The plan is to replace all of the effected connections with these 2^nd generation couplers.  To accomplish this, our contractor will be supplying the labor to dig up each joint and repair it correctly, again, at no cost to Stonebridge.  Here is the catch; to be the most efficient we need to tackle this project in December.  This allows the contractor to pull all of his available teams to our property in an effort to not prolong our agony.  Their staff is adept at working around golfers and we are in agreement that they will vacate the property before January.  We are not alone; at least 4 other clubs have recently gone through this conversion.  This necessary evil will be a short inconvenience for our club but a welcome sight to our Irrigation Team.  Bob and Lorgio have done a wonderful job of maintaining our system and they are looking forward to giving their shovels a bit of rest.  If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask. 

Golf Course Report

October 2018

Well that was a busy summer!  A stark contrast to what we endured last year, but an eerie reminder of how fickle Mother Nature can be.  Our goal this summer was to enhance the golf course and restore the carnage left behind by Irma.  We still have a long journey to complete restoration but the amount of work and significance of its impact was impressive.

Let’s tackle the re-planting that affects the golf course.  #3 was clearly the hardest hit perimeter buffer.  In the planning process, it was determined that the best course of action would be to remove all non-native plant material and start over with a landscape plan that would be functional, presentable and maintainable.  We accomplished this by densely populating the apex of the berm with a plethora of native plants.  This also allowed us to recapture about a half an acre of playable surface along the right side of #3.  Our second major area of planting occurred along the fence line on #15.  A great deal of damage had opened up sight lines to our neighboring property.  After researching site plans and determining that this area is not a protected preserve, I devised a plan to plant a buffer on the fence line to create a more affective buffer.  This left us with close to ¾ acre of usable turf.  My goal during this restoration project, both accomplished and ongoing, is to enhance, simplify and protect the property’s integrity.  We still have plenty of re-planting to do but we are well on our way to complete recovery. 

We did get to work on the golf course this off season.  A few projects that may or may not be noticed include; new concrete paths on #11, the transition from #13 to #14 and the crossover from #15 to #16.  Our contractor did a wonderful job of coordinating and communicating every detail during the project.  We also incorporated a couple of new agronomic practices that will ensure a better playing surface throughout the season.  We topdressed the fairways 3 times this summer.  The goal is to minimize the effect of heavy traffic during the slow growing months that occur during Season. Our Tee, Fairway and Greens fertility program also experienced a significant change.  Without getting into scientific details, we have morphed into a more Organic product application.  These micro-organisms have a huge effect on the microbial activity in the soil.  This produces a heathier rooting medium and a more sustainable playing surface.  

We have a few environmental challenges with our property.  The goal is to eliminate all undesirable areas.  The trick is to make a grass species grow on a green that receives 4 hours of sunlight when the standard calls for 8 hours of sunlight.  We are slowly eliminating the worst of the worst, I am sure everyone remembers what #17 looked like a few years ago.  We will apply this determination to every issue presented.  My goal is and always has been: Perfection.  You deserve that effort.

#3 new trees

       A Busy August

Our focus every summer is to improve the golf course for all of our Members and Guests.  August always seems to be the month that we tackle the biggest projects of the growing season.  This year provided us with the challenge of replacing and re-landscaping areas that were heavily impacted by Hurricane Irma last year.  Part of this process included a "Risk Assessment" of all remaining plant material.  We spent the last few weeks focusing on two major perimeter buffers that effect both the golf course                                                               play-ability and sight and sound barriers for our residents.  #3                                                               and #15 required massive amounts of new plants that will                                                                       eventually mature into a solid landscape buffer designed to                                                                     accomplish our goals.  I have included a few pictures for those                                                               that have not seen the progress.  With both of these major                                                                       undertakings, my aim was to improve the buffer and to expand                                                               the playable area.  We installed over 150 trees and 700 smaller                                                               plants to create a landscape buffer that will be both maintainable                                                             and functional.  In addition to the foliage, we have planted close                                                             to an acre of new sod.  This new grass will come in handy for                                                                 those that hit the occasional wayward shot. 

#3 New Plantings

   This project will continue throughout the next few months as we pinpoint areas of concern.  We continue to plug in new plants in holes created by removal of plant material identified by our Risk Assessment.  I want to be as thorough  and patient as possible.  The safety and well being of our entire property is paramount in my decision making.  As we scour the golf course for assessed risks and on going removal and replacement, we will also be adding a few more Oak Trees along our "Common Strip" throughout the property.  We lost quite a few trees along Winding Oaks Way.  We will be focusing on key areas around the community to restore a continuous canopy  throughout the development.  

                                                     

#3 Landscape

#3 expanded surrounds

 I would like to throw in a few words about the golf course, where we were, where we are and where we are going.  We have pushed the envelope this year when it comes to cultural practices.  We saw increases in verti cutting, more aggressive aerification, a lot more topdressing and a return to normal timing of weed control.  For the most part, the weather was predictable this summer.  That allows us to increase our productivity by scheduling tasks around Mother Nature.  We have one more course closure to put the finishing touches on a fantastic summer.  I am excited about our progress and I believe it will pay dividends as we move through the busy golfing season.  Our goal is to have an impact everyday and every year.          This Season will be better than last and we are already making          plans for improvements next year. 
                                                       
     I would like to take a moment to thank our wonderful members for their support and patience during this busy time of the year.  My team has excelled this Summer and we will continue to push for perfection.  Exceeding your expectations is the driving force behind what we do.  We have a few more weeks to dot the I's and cross the T's but I am confident that the golf course will be ready.
  

#15 New sod

 dd caption

#3 additional room

#15 New sod

A Quick Update on the Last Stages of Recovery

   I have been hesitant to send out any pictures or updates on the re-planting project that we are in the midst of.  During Irma we lost a significant amount of trees and foliage.  It is my goal to REMOVE and replace these areas with more maintainable and more sustainable plant material.  The two parts of the property that will be re-landscaped extensively are #3 and #15.  We have preserved a buffer on most of the surrounding areas.  These two areas mentioned will receive an abundant amount of plantings that will eventually provide a sight and sound buffer for those residents effected by this project. 

     Thank you for understanding the intense nature of this project.  Me and my entire staff have sacrificed a lot of time to accommodate our contractors.  I will tell you something, I cannot make it without MY GUYS!  We are Family, we are supporters, we are go getters.  

I certainly hope that the entire membership understands and supports the efforts involved in changing the perimeter landscape on a few holes.  As we move into the future, this undertaking will be a thing of the past.  

New Landscape around PG

11 Days of Unbelievable Heat

and Amazing Effort!

As stated previously, our July closure is usually our most aggressive.  Larger tines are employed throughout the course to remove more Organic Matter, verti cutting all short grass areas to remove thatch and improve play-ability, followed by a heavy topdressing to improve porosity and wear tolerance, and finally a healthy dose of fertility to enhance recovery.  This is the "nuts and bolts" of our program and it seems quite simple when you put it on paper.  In reality it takes an Army of heat resistant, fatigue resistant soldiers to accomplish all of this in the proper time frame.  The TEAM we have assembled has once again showed me that they truly are the best in the business.  All of these processes require multiple ancillary tasks to prepare the work space and clean up the mess created, before we can move on to the next step.  On many occasions, our Battle Tested Team has completed the task at hand and voluntarily moved on to the ensuing assignment without command.   They know the importance of taking advantage of favorable weather even if it means staying until nightfall.  This gumption led us to overcome some equipment issues and a few added projects throughout this closure.  I couldn't be more PROUD of our team!

During this closure we added a "new to Stonebridge" cultural practice.  A common affliction with greens in SW Florida is Collar Damming.  This is the build up of years of topdressing and prevents surface run off.  These dams create standing water on the perimeters of greens. causing weak or declining turf.  Collar Stripping removes approximately 1/4 inch of material around the greens allowing proper surface drainage.  Below is a couple of pictures showing the first day post sod cutting and day 7 of recovery.  At first glance, the bare collars are nothing but soil.  However, there is a great population of stolons and rhizomes that eventually shoot up and produce fresh leaf growth.  It will take some time to fully restore a proper playing surface but the long term benefits far outweigh the short term inconvenience.  The other project completed in the last 10 days was the conversion of the cart path on #11 from asphalt to concrete.  This new path is much safer for all of our members and guests.  Our contractor did a wonderful job and will be returning during the last closure to replace the asphalt the connects #13 green to #14 tee.

Although the recovery will be a bit longer than the first closure, we will all reap the rewards of the War on Bermuda Grass.  Thank you all for your patience and understanding.  Great things lay ahead and these are all mere building blocks of a sustainable, maintainable golf course.

Form Boards on #11

Finished Product

Verti Cutting Fairways

Collar Stripping Day 1

Topdressing Fairways

Collar Recovery Day 7

Golf Course Report

July 2018

               

We are On Deck for another round of cultural practices that are aimed at improving the turf conditions throughout the golf course.  On July 17^th we will close down the course for 11 days and employ our most aggressive aerification and verti-cutting scheduled for the summer.  This will all be followed by a heavy dose of topdressing on all of our short grass playing surfaces.              We will begin this closure with another DryJect application to the greens.  This is one of the most effective ways to instantly alter the soil profile.  Dilution of built up Organic Matter is paramount to the long term health of any putting surface.  Following this process, a core aerification will take place with much larger tines than our previous closure.  Removing compressed soil and replacing it with a fresh channel of sand will improve the porosity of the soil, giving the roots a place to thrive. 

As intense as we are about creating and perfecting our greens program, we are also stepping up our approach to tee and fairway management.  This year we are attempting to triple our topdressing efforts on the tees and fairways.  We will also double our aerification totals as part of this plan.  All of these practices, coupled with a quality verti-cutting program, will produce a playing surface that will be more resilient to the rigors of environmental stresses and withstand the heavy traffic of the winter months. 

There are a couple of extra projects that will also take place during this closure.  We will be removing the asphalt on #11 and the transition from #13 to #14 and replacing it with concrete.  This should provide a more seamless, safer and comfortable ride through this area of the golf course.  The second project is a bit more invasive.  We will be stripping the collars around the greens to improve surface drainage.  Years of consistent topdressing tend to build up the collars surrounding the greens.  This creates a “damming” effect.  These dams prevent water from running off the green.  Too much water results in anaerobic soils.  If the soils have no air, the roots have no chance.  In an effort to correct our few remaining imperfections, we will remove the top layer around the greens and allow the regrowth from the residual stolons and rhizomes.  This process is quite aggressive and will take some time to recover.  We thank you for your patience and understanding.  When it comes to the rules of golf, I will defer to Erik.  I am assuming they will be treated as Ground under Repair until they are completely healed.  A good friend of mine wrote an article for the USGA Section Record addressing this issue.  Stuart Bothe, GCS at Vanderbilt Country Club has led this initiative and I am happy to have him as a sounding board.  I fully believe that this is one of the practices that we have been missing.  The first go around will not be the cure, but an annual program will eliminate those pesky weak areas around the edges of certain greens.  One more step in attaining perfection.  I do have plenty of progression pictures and a copy of the USGA article, but I am a farmer not an IT whiz.  I have tried to copy/paste and nothing would stick.  If there is a concerted interest in the project, I can certainly forward the information via e-mail. 

We are certainly enjoying a proper Summer time weather pattern.  High heat, high humidity and afternoon thunderstorms.  Our Bermuda grass is thriving, which means we can beat it up even more to prepare it for Season.  As we lower the height of cut on the tees, fairways and rough; we will be encouraging more prostrate growth.  We have a grand plan to be the best for all our members; the tricky part is to maintain excellence while tearing into the necessities of the summer.

If you have any questions or concerns, regarding anything happening on the property, please feel free to contact me. 

Following this closure, we will be attcking our “Re-planting initiave” throughout the golf course and Common areas.  No rest for the weary! 

  

Golf Course Report

May/June 2018

What a difference a year makes.  The first thing I always do when I write these reports is too re-read the ones from the previous year.  Last year our drought persisted until the last week of May, this year we have had the wettest May on record.  Last year it was dry every day until our closure, then it rain 11 inches in 11 days.  This year it rained 25 out of 31 days in May and was dry for all but one day of our closure.  In stark contrast to last year, I am quite happy with the work completed on the golf course.

Unfortunately I do not have any fancy pictures this year of the high tech machinery used to accomplish our goals, as I found myself on a tractor more often than behind a camera.  I am very excited about the new Fairway aerification process.  The rented machine will pull more material than our previous unit and is a lot more efficient.  We are also scheduled to topdress our fairways 3 times this summer. In previous years that number was always limited to one.  This new summer fairway program will enhance the playability and resiliency of our fairways throughout the entire year.  Close to 20 Dump Truck loads of sand were applied to the fairways during this closure.

The greens were Dryjected on the first day of the closure followed by a core aerification and heavy topdressing.  The ultimate goal with these combined practices is to remove Organic Matter and dilute the profile to create optimum pore space.  This was all followed by multiple application of Calcium based fertility to mediate the soil pH.  This allows the proper exchange of nutrients from soil to root to shoot to leaf.  

The tees underwent a similar battle, aerification, and topdressing and specialty fertility.  As we always try to perfect our putting surfaces sometimes we overlook how we get there.  Last year we added some new grass, this year we will be leveling and expanding some teeing areas.  I am not a status quo type of person, if you are not moving forward, you are getting passed by.  In this regard, I welcome and encourage Member input.  This is your course and I want nothing more than to provide you with the best possible test of your skills.  As a matter of fact, we made a slight change to #1 during this closure specifically because of member input.  I took the suggestion and analyzed the end result, a slight alteration to the original suggestion provided improved playability, traffic dispersion and hopefully member satisfaction.  I am sure we will all hear the good and the bad.

One more agronomic topic to touch on that will persist throughout the summer.  The lowering of the height of cut is a practice that helps reduce grain, improves the effectiveness of verticutting, improves the topressing program and dictates growth habits in the short grass.  The roughs were lowered this week from 1.5” to 1.25” we will hold steady there until we host the PGA Section Tournament on July 6.  Following the tournament we will incrementally lower the height until we reach .6”.  This should take us right into our last closure. From there we will slowly bring them back up to seasonal height.  The tees and Fairways will follow the same program.  They will go from .5” all the down to .25”.  At one point this summer our tees and fairway will be running like greens and our roughs will be sitting up like fairways.  This may be a good time to lower your handicap! 

With a full slate of cultural practices going on and many more tweaks to the course to come, I am looking forward to 2 more closures as successful as this one.  Perfection is only attainable if you are willing to grind. I am blessed with the most amazing team in all of golf maintenance.  I have literally challenged other clubs to a “Crew Olympics” knowing that we would take home all the Gold!  Stonebridge is lucky to have them and I am blessed to be able to call them my friends.  They have bought in to my vision and take a lot of pride in their work.  What they accomplished in the last 11 days is nothing short of miraculous.  My guys are the best guys!

P.S.  The next closure begins on July 17^th. It will encompass many of the same practices employed in this closure.  I will make it a goal to add photos to my next blog post.