Is winter over??

The extended winter of 2012-2013 seems to be abating this week. Good riddance...and let's be thankful we aren't located in Minnesota where Superintendents don't anticipate opening some golf courses for three more weeks!! Talk about a short season!!

We have had a busy spring. To date we have completed wall to wall application of pre-emergent crabgrass herbicide, spot fertilized thin areas of rough, repaired and sodded the bunker on 16, fine graded and seeded the berm project and the 6 bunker removal areas, started up irrigation, and ground up and filled many tree stump holes! We have also been cleaning a very messy golf course from winter's winds and snows...with thanks for many members' efforts on March 23rd.

The golf course is making slow progress as of today. We are beginning to transition from clean up tasks to everyday maintenance tasks for golf. We also plan on working on a few projects during the next few weeks. These include bunker edging and improving, sprinkler head edging, broadleaf weed control, hyperoides weevil control and seeding thin areas of rough.

BERM PROJECT SUCCESS

The berm project completed last December has helped to solve the poor drainage and unsightly area right of the 17th fairway. This area had been ugly for years and once grass germinates later in spring the improvement will look much better! However the picture isn't complete unless we look at increased water holding in irrigation ponds. The project was designed to help us become less reliant on water purchases from the city of Warwick by allowing us to store more water. Our ponds are holding an extra 700,000 gallons (12-14" increased water level) painting an even better picture of Berm Project success!!

CLUBHOUSE LANDSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS

Since January, a subcommittee of the Greens Committee has met weekly to plan improvements to our clubhouse and golf course plantings. (Mary Bagley, Mark Marcantonio, Rosemary Pariseault and Patrick Gertner) We have surveyed all beds on the golf course, evaluated each bed's needs, defined functions of each area, defined priorities and irrigation capabilities bed by bed, and weighed member expectations to help us plan facility wide improvements. We are working with a prominent Rhode Island landscaper (Dave Renzi of Out In Front Horticulture) who has broad plant knowledge to help us create planting themes that will be present throughout the property. We expect plans will take a few years to complete but believe plantings this spring will make immediate impact.

Plans for spring 2013 include improving the front of the clubhouse, the bed behind the 16th green and 17th tee beds. We will begin by preparing beds for planting a few weeks later. Our aim is to proceed slowly adding plants so beds aren't simply stuffed with plant material. Small plants will be added and will be spaced to allow for their maturity. Each bed will be a work in progress as the Committee will re-evaluate each bed....we reserve the right to make changes after the changes!! Stay tuned as we will report our progress and plans in future emails.

Tidbits....Greens height of cut will be lowered again Friday morning....Intermediate rough was being double mowed yesterday when a hydraulic lift arm failed. If the part arrives Friday, we will complete intermediate rough mowing by Saturday am....The small greens sprayer is also waiting for parts; thankfully we have two sprayers....13 fairway is growing at twice the rate of others because of the many fertilizers applied last fall to hasten growth....Paving contractor has been delayed for a week or two more....Tree Improvement Committee has asked us to grow up rough on the left side of #2 to better challenge par for drives long and left.....Greens aeration is scheduled for the week of May 6. This will not be a full blown aeration process; we will only punch holes with solid tines and is much less disruptive to greens and golfers than the September process....Please thank our wonderful crew for all their spring efforts; best crew ever!!

Patrick M Gertner CGCS

April 3, 2013

Thanks again to members who helped us clean the golf course on March 23rd. Thanks to you, our clean up efforts are progressing quickly despite the heavy workload caused by windy winter storms. Much remains, however and we will continue until complete!  

Turf came out of winter in great shape. We are still waiting (like you) for warmer temperatures for growth and initial green up during a very cold and windy spring.  By Saturday April 6th we plan on applying both a wetting agent to greens (to aid soil water retention) as well as early spring growth regulator that will speed greens up and prevent the emergence of Poa annua seedheads during May and June. We will need a non windy day however.... 

We have begun to fill our irrigation pond at 18 using our well located in the driving range. We are already storing more water than we've been capable during past years because of the pond extension/berm project. We will repair winter erosion on the edges and reestablish turf as quickly as possible.  

Irrigation system has been turned on and is ready for the season! As of April 3rd last year, we had already pumped over a million gallons of irrigation water. As of today in 2013, only 10,000.

Thanks for everyone's patience as we ready and improve your golf course for the season. We have all hands on deck cleaning the golf course as quickly as we can!

Tidbits.....Greens were opened March 14....Cartpath construction begins this month...O/B and hazard stakes, and bunker rakes will go out by Friday....We will get bunkers cleaned and raked next week....A tree trimming crew will be here next week to remove damaged maple at 9 Tee/10 Green, and a few other storm damaged trees....Stump grinding and filling will continue through April...Laser reflectors that are missing have been ordered...Pre-emergent crabgrass control begins next week in roughs....