3" inches of Rain

Below are some photos of today's rain event.

Tee Aerification - Monday August 29th

We will be aerifying all the tees on the championship course on Monday. Aerification is necessary to relieve compaction and manage thatch production in our new tees. We antcipate the whole process to be completed in just one day. Thanks for your understanding.

Course Closure Communication

Below is a communication from club President, Steve Schafer, and Greens Chair, Clark Standish, regarding recent course closures.



August 9, 2011


Dear Fellow Members,

The Summer of 2011 will be remembered for some of the most extreme weather in recorded history. These records, dating to 1896, will show the July heat to be the highest recorded, while also being the third highest in rain precipitation. Obviously, this extreme weather has served as a threat to our newly-renovated golf course.

At Spring meetings to consider the course reopening, the Greens Committee/GCROC, in conjunction with Course Superintendent Bob McCurdy and the Board of Governors, set forth to address potential weather threats with but one mandate: to protect the golf course at all costs. The new turf in our greens and tees, along with the fairways and rough surrounds, is very immature and susceptible to a number of potentials for stress failure. We gave Bob a strong level of authority to act and protect the golf course in this opening season in hopes of maximizing the performance potentials for the turfgrass in the years to come.

Today, after a 1" rain which began in the middle of the night and let up around 8am, we were forced to close the golf course again. The drainage system which was installed in 2001 and 2002 is designed to clear roughly 1" of rain in 4-6 hours. Had last evening's rain occurred earlier we would have been able to get the course readied for play this morning. The drainage system is functioning effectively and maximally; the timing and severity of the downpours have done a lot of the dictating; our grounds crew has worked tirelessly in every instance to get the course cleared of standing water and readied for play.

We will continue to act in a conservative manner in protecting the new turf on our golf course through the current golf season. As the turf matures, the potential exists to allow play after such torrential rains as we have seen this summer.

Thank you for your patience and it is our hope to keep as much play out on the course as Mother Nature will allow!

Sincerely,


Stephen G. Schafer,
President, Board of Governors

J. Clark Standish
GCROC Chairperson

Course Closed 7-28

Mother Nature has once again shown her ugly side this morning. As of 6:00am this morning the course had already received 2 inches of rain overnight and it's pouring again as I type this. The facts being what they are, we have no choice but to close the golf course for the entire day today.

The Streak is Over!

Last evening, we had to make our first fungicide application on tees and fairways in the last 81 days. This is quite a change from previous practices and can be attributed directly to the newly planted bentgrass in the fairways. The old Poa fairways required applications every 21-28 days, generally closer to the 21 day interval. The extreme heat and humidity can be blamed from the presence of the pathogen. Without the weather, i firmly believe the string of days without fungicides would have continued much longer.

I have had a few questions regarding the sprayers out on the course - "If you haven't sprayed the tees and fairways in XX days, how come i see the sprayers?" The answer is simple. You will see the sprayers because we use them to apply fertilizers in liquid form to the turf. The sprayers have been out there, but no fungicides have been in them.

The new grasses are all holding up very well in this latest heat wave. I just checked the updated forecast for next week, and the weather men are now forcasting 90 degrees everyday but one. Let's help their wrong as usual. Anybody ready for fall yet?

WELCOME BACK!

On behalf of the entire Greens Department, I would like to offically welcome all of you home. If you are not in the 1pm shoutgun, please come out to the club this evening and enjoy the festivities. Today is a day of celebration, a day to be proud, and a day to be remembered. Don't miss out on this experience. The Board of Governors and staff and worked tirelessy to plan a fun filled weekend for every segement of the membership. You are all to be commended for your patience and understanding and this entire weekend is a great big THANK YOU to all of you.

I can't wait to hear that siren go off at 1pm sharp!!!


Sidenote: Carts will be available for today's play!

Chipping Green to Close Monday and Tuesday!!

The chipping green complex will be closed to the membership on Monday and Tuesday of next week. We will be removing the old sand and installing the Klingstone liner and new ProAngle bunker sand. We hope to have this project wrapped up by Tuesday evening, but there is a chance it may linger into Wednesday.

As a reminder, these bunkers were not done during the renovation so the membership still had their practice facitilies available during the course closure. Thanks in advance for your understanding.

6 days is all that remains between you and your new golf course!!! I know I can't wait for Friday to arrive.