Dubsdread

On Monday, my wife and I were fortunate to play one of this country's nicest courses.

While in Chicago for the weekend, we were guests of Joe Jemsek, owner, and played Cog Hill #4 Dubsdread, home of the BMW Championship. About 3 weeks ago, Tiger Woods won on these very grounds on his way to the Fed Ex Cup.

What a treat it was to play this golf course. We certainly struggled a bit. However, Superintendent Ken Lapp and his staff do a phenomenal job maintaining the course.

The course opened in 1964 and nicknamed Dubsdread, from the idea "dub" or poor golfer should beware and it serves as a warning to the challenges ahead. They weren't kidding. It was very difficult. Tiger Woods shot a low round of 62, I shot a 98.

In 2007, Cog Hill finished a renovation with Rees Jones to reposition bunkers and hazards, modify tees and re-build all 18 greens including the installation of the Sub-Air drainage system. The Jemsek family has something to be proud of with this golf course.

The weather was not too particularly favorable, but we played nonetheless. Tight fairways and dense rough demand precise shot-making. The greens are heavily guarded with bunkers and does not provide much room for rolling the ball onto the green. Large deciduous trees surround many of the holes, which made for interesting shots if you were to miss the fairway.

The greens are new bentgrass turf with a real true putting surface. The Sub-Air Drainage system was installed in all 18 greens, which a great tool for the right price. In a nutshell, Sub-Air removes excess moisture in the putting surface to provide a firmer and faster green. It is especially helpful when hosting tournaments through a rainy stretch when greens normally can get soggy and slow.

Wet Conditions

Since there are no golfers on the course because of the weather, why wouldn't you take advantage of the situation and aerify?
I would love to take advantage of the limited golf to do this, however the moisture will only set us back and it makes our goal that much more difficult to achieve when everything is wet.
First off, when soils are saturated, most times cores will not come out of the ground, or at the very least we acheive about half of the desired depth. Then, if they do come out of the ground and the cores are wet, it becomes very difficult to separate the soils from the thatch and plant matter. One of the goals during fairway aerification is to return as much soil back into the root zone and only remove the plant materials.
So we wait for another day. In the meantime, the GCM staff will continue with other projects on the course.

September in the Rockies

This picture was taken today, do I need say more? Reports say the weather is supposed to get better as the week progresses. There were a few brave golfers out today.

Tree Trimming

Due to the inclement weather today, we are postponing fairway aerification. To accomplish aerifcation correctly on fairways, conditions must be dry. Proper cleanup is a must in these areas and the moisture will disturb any goal we have to accomplish this correctly.

Instead of fairways we moved to roughs. These areas need very little clean up due to the wider spacing. This way we can remain productive and prepare for fairways and greens when the weather is right.

We are also able to accomplish a lot of tree trimming throughout the course. We have a team of 8 staff members, cutting, cleaning and hauling away tree debris. We are clearing low limbs to make golf shots under trees possible. We are also removing a lot of dead material within the trees as well. Clearing this material not only provides a better golf shot, it also allows for more air movement, and sun and water exposure to improve growth for turfgrass around and underneath trees.

The weather outside is...

... cold. Pay attention to the weather if you are planning to play this week. Not a great week to aerify fairways and we are postponing today's plan to punch 10 and 18 fairway. With the wet conditions we will be unable to achieve the goal of aerification. We will monitor the weather on a day-to-day basis and make decisions accordingly on aerification.
Instead, today we'll focus on tree trimming and native grass mowing. Mowing the natives is the second step to a better maintained native stand of plantings. In time, with the reduction of over-spray from irrigation, these areas will begin to thin out and actually be left to their natural environment. In the spring these cut plants will grow back stronger and be more competitive against weeds. Pesticide applications will be made to rid any unwanted or noxious weeds surrounding the golf course.
Not only will these areas look more aesthetically pleasing, they will become player friendly. Thinner grassy areas will make it easier to find golf balls, and you may even get a bit of roll out of them.

New System: Dry Course Part 1

(This is a multiple part blog about the future effects of the new irrigation system here in Vail.)

I guess when some people hear about a new irrigation system they expect green and lush fairways. Those people must not golf. The entire purpose of this project was to use water efficiently. So I made sure that the important aspects of an irrigation system were in place. Flow and pressure were a major upgrade, pipe size has doubled and flow has tripled. Spacing of sprinkler heads has been corrected and is consistent throughout the entire golf course. With these factors addressed now I can appropriately irrigate to what the turf actually needs.

Over the years of a weaker system, it is easy to over compensate many areas of the course to achieve that"Augusta Effect" so many golfers wish to have. Superintendents have spoiled golfers over the years giving them an illusion that some areas are greener than what actually may appear! By over compensating with water you can begin a cycle that can become hard to stray from. Water-hungry plants like poa annua can be very intrusive throughout the property and take away from other beneficial plants on the golf course. Over the next few seasons I will be learning how to accurately use the system to provide the right color green on the golf course. Over the next week, I will continue to blog about the differences of the old vs. new system and how the learning process has begun.

Fairway Aerification

Monday we begin aerification on the fairways. Weather permitting of course, which means if it rains or snows (I guess) we will not aerify that day and push it to the next dry day.
Aerification is a very important practice to maintain optimum conditions for a golf course. Some of the benefits of aerification are oxygen exchange and water penetration into the root zone to promote photosynthesis and plant health. It also allows us to relieve compaction and rid thatch that can build up at the surface. Excessive thatch creates a too-soft of a playing surface and it prevents nutrients and water getting to the root systems. Aerification also allows us to topdress with sand to dilute thatch, fill in divots and other imperfections in the fairway for a smoother roll.
The following is the schedule for fairways :
Monday, Sept. 21st: 10 & 18
Tuesday, Sept. 22nd: 11 & 16
Wednesday, Sept. 23rd: 12 & 17
Thursday, Sept. 24th: 13 & 14
Monday, Sept. 28th: 1 & 9
Tuesday, Sept 29th: 2, 7 & 8
Wednesday, Sept 30th: 6
Thursday, Oct 1st: 4 & 5
(#10 will play as the first hole during front nine aerification)

The process of aerification consists of hollow tine cores with a diameter of 5/8ths of an inch at about a 2" x 4" spacing throughout the entire fairway and intermediate cut. The cores are left to dry and then are broken up with pull-behind mats to separate the soil from thatch and plant tissue. The soil can return to the open holes while the plant material remains on the surface. Finally a blower is used to scatter debris into the rough areas. Some of that material is collected and removed off-site. It can take up to 5-6 hours to finish two fairways in one day.