Introducing the Glenroy Tees

The Glenroy Tees are a new set of tee markers that convert the golf course into a shorter length course with a total of 3,360 yards.  The par for each hole remains the same, but the distance is much shorter.  This course is a great place for the beginning golfer to start, as well as place for higher handicap golfer to find more enjoyment in the game.

Look for the white G that is painted on the cart path.  This will be a good location marker to use when finding the Glenroy tee locations.  This is also a good place to park if we happen to be cart path only.


The Glenroy tees have been rated for handicap and are included on the score card.  Please ask in the Golf Shop if you have additional questions.  I hope everyone gets a chance to try this latest addition to the golf course.

Verticutting and Thatch

Verticutting, also called vertical mowing, was performed on all of the fairways in the last few weeks. This process removed some of the thatch layer so turf can receive more oxygen , better absorb nutrients, and allow moisture to reach the soil instead of getting absorbed in the sponge-like thatch layer.

Thatch is a layer of dead stems and roots that forms between the grass and soil. It isn’t all bad. Small amounts can actually reduce compaction in high-traffic areas. When thatch exceeds a half-inch, all that biomass starts eating up the good stuff that belongs to the turf: air, water and food. Thatch also becomes a barrier for chemicals that need to reach the soil and roots of the turfgrass. Significant thatch can provide excellent nutrition and breeding grounds for a number of disease and insects.

As you can see there are many reasons to combat that thatch layer we have in the fairways here at Kenmure. This Fall we were able to rent an excellent piece of equipment to help us. The Sisis Veemo did a wonderful job and we plan on using it again in the future. The Veemo machine was attached to our tractor and operated by Kenmure employees. This procedure created a good bit of waste material that was removed from the fairways and transported to a composting site up on the mountain.

Verticutting is not a replacement for Aerification. While they both have some similar benefits they do not completely overlap each other. Verticutting is mainly for thatch removal and does not do much to relieve soil compaction. Aerification is the best tool to relieve soil compaction. They are both extremely beneficial processes and we will utilize both procedures. Verticutting of the fairways will take place in the Fall. Traditional core aerification will be performed in the Spring every year.

It should also be noted here that thatch is also becoming a problem in the Greens and Tees. The Greens showed significant scalping over this season. It became especially evident when lower cutting heights were attempted. These issues will also be addressed with Verticutting in the near future.

White Grub Damage

Every year we heavily invest in the preventive treatment of the golf course for white grubs. The chemicals used to  help control the population of white grubs are expensive and much consideration is given to their amount of use and placement.  We cannot afford to treat for grubs wall-to-wall across the entire golf course.  Our strategy is to protect our putting greens first, then tees, followed by the fairways.

Understanding the entire life cycle of the Japanese Beetle is a very important part of this  (The most important actually.)  Timing is everything, the most effective control is having the control ingredient in place right at egg hatch. 

 

From the chart above.

 

A.  Sometime towards the end of June the first Adult beetles will crawl out of the ground and become active, feeding on the leaves of nearby plants.  The picture below was taken on July 1, 2015 in the Kenmure Garden.  It was the first Japanese Beetle sighting of the year. 

 

 

B.  The Adults quickly return to lay there eggs.  The preventive chemical needs to be in place at this point in the life cycle if control is to be achieved.

 

C.  During the months of September and October the grub larvae are very close to the surface feeding on the roots of the grass plants.  This is when wildlife like crows and skunks forage for this great food source.  This is when we see the damage we are seeing now.

 

The effectiveness of the Chemical will vary from year to year.  OUTDOORS is not a controlled environment.  The amount of the Thatch that has built up over the last 30 years is becoming substantial. Thatch layer and very dry conditions are what mostly contributed to an aggresive grub season, although the damage you have seen this fall is by no means even close to damage as seen in a Historic perspective here at the club.  80% of the damage is occuring in the Rough cut, which is the best place for this to happen from a maintenance perspective.

White grubs not controlled by the initial chemical application can show up during dry late summer as the grubs devour the root systems of the grass.  The grass will show stress and we can find them and do a secondary treatment.  If the end of summer is mild and wet it becomes more difficult to spot them.  Frequent rainfall can keep the grass from showing any signs of stress even when the root system is virtually non-existent.

The damage caused is very unsightly, and can be very disruptive to the game of golf depending on the location of the problem.  Obvioiusly damage like this in the middle of a golf green would be totally unexceptable.

No one likes to see this kind of damage on the golf course, I guess the only thing positive about this is if the crows, skunks, and turkeys were not eating the grubs the grass would still not have any roots and would probably die.  The wildlife is actually doing us a favor by removing the grub larvae preventing them from reaching adult stage and laying more eggs.

If we can determine a large grub population is underneath a certain area on the golf course we can and frequently do go into these area and treat with another insecticide application to try to stop more damage from occurring. 

Severely damaged areas will have all the debris removed and be reseeded as quickly as our maintenance schedule will allow.  If you happen to hit into an area such as the one pictured above please take a free drop for Ground Under Repair.

Thank You,
Josh Laughridge
 

Annual Bluegrass Weevil

 

Introducing you to the Annual Bluegrass Weevil

 

Damage is occurring in many areas around the golf course. It can be seen in many fairways and in some collars around greens.  While we typically will see some damage from severe heat during the summer this is not quite what we are dealing with here.  This damaged spots in the turf are caused by an insect called the Annual Bluegrass Weevil.  This insect has been a problem on Northeastern golf course for many years and has only recently become a problem this far south.  The damaged areas will recover quickly after the effected areas have been treated with an insecticide. 

 

It is important to remember that it has been a very hot summer so far this year, luckily the humidity and rainfall have not been out of control.  The turf is receiving some stress from these conditions but keeping the carts on the paths in the afternoons is very helpful.

 

Below are a few pictures of the damage caused by the Annual Bluegrass Weevil :

 

 



 

 



Annual bluegrass weevil [Listronotus maculicollis] larvae and adults were first recovered in North Carolina from a golf course in the Asheville area in May of 2008. Adults were identified by D. Stephan of the Plant Disease and Insect Clinic at North Carolina State University, a new record for the state. Formerly known as the Hyperodes weevil, the annual bluegrass weevil (ABW) is a pest of turfgrass in the northeastern United States and is most prevalent and injurious in low-cut, high maintenance turf such as golf course greens, tees and fairways. ABW larvae and adults feed primarily on annual bluegrass, often considered a weed by golf course superintendents since it is an aggressive invader of newly seeded stands of creeping bentgrass (Agrostis palustris). ABW has an affinity for close-cut P. annua although; it will feed on perennial ryegrass and creeping bentgrass in those same close-cut habitats. As such, home lawns, athletic fields, and turf habitats other than golf courses and tennis courts are not affected, even though ABW and P. annua might be present.

More info if you follow the link below.

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/O&T/lawn/note146/note146.html

 

 

 

Hydraulic Fluid Spill



The occasional hydraulic leak on a fairway or approach mower is not always this bad, but it seems we have a very nice blowout this time in #8 fairway.  There are also multiple spots on the edges of #3-#7 fairways. 

 

 

 

These spots will not survive and will need to be resodded when the weather cools off towards late August.

 





2015 Kenmure Grounds Maintenance Staff

 

2015 Kenmure Grounds Staff

 

Standing Left to Right : Josh Laughridge, Scott Chrisman, Justin Lee, Joe Robinson, Nick Pearson, Tyler Banks, Juan Pineda, Manuel Chipamaponga, Nicky Kilpatrick, Jose Rangel, Demetrio Nunez.

Seated Left to Right: Clyde Forrest, Emma, Rich Kocis

We have a had a very good season this year with a variety of weather conditions, these men have done a very good job at providing a quality playing surface for this golfing season.  We are looking forward to a strong late summer/fall as we continue to improve the conditions of both the golf course and the surrounding landscapes.

Kwanzan Cherry Trees

We had recently lost a few Cherry Trees along the path leading up through the Driving Range.  Last Fall we replaced one with a new tree purchased by Madeline Pennoyer in honor of her late husband Frederick Pennoyer.  There were more spaces to fill so we went ahead and filled up the spot.  Thank you very much Mrs. Pennoyer for helping restore this area.

 

 

Unexpected Repairs

One of the best things about this job is the extra and usually always poorly timed damage from mother nature.

The Monday before the member guest tournament we had a severe thunderstorm on the golf course and received a direct hit on our irrigation system.

 Three holes in the fairway in this location, shattered pipe on the surface of the fairway.

 

 Lighting struck this iron grate and forked out to hit the pipe.

 

Small flooding above and under the turf.

More damage in another location from the same strike.

The cover was blown of the control box, damaging components inside.

 

 

 

 

After surveying all the damage it ended up splitting the irrigation pipe in 3 different areas on hole #6.  Many electronic components inside the control box on #6 were also hit.  The lightning then traveled along the power wires and struck the control box on #2 damaging components inside it as well.  This occurred during our preparation of the golf course for the 2015 Member/Guest tournament.  Great timing!

 

 

Pick a spot and start digging

 Exposing the shattered pipe line. This is 3 inch diameter pipe.

The new section is almost ready to be connected.

Control and power wires are usually run with the pipe.

The plumbing is much more fun than the digging.

The old pipe that was removed from this area of damage.

This sprinkler head and pipe was shattered near the fairway bunker on #6

Another look at this hole, the bad section of pipe has been removed.

This pipe shattered at the tee.

 



Old wires no longer needed from a previous system can sometimes be confusing, but most are a different color thankfully.

Getting closer to being back to normal.

 

 



Horticulture Corner



I have been asked how we take care of our Geraniums here at the club. I would like to share a few important tips.

1.  Geraniums can do well in both containers and in the ground, but they will need to have well drained soil.

2.  Geraniums can handle hot and dry conditions, they will need a minimum of 6 hours of full sun.  They do like some afternoon shade on very hot summer days.

3.  It is important to let the soil dry out completely in between watering.

4.  Use a complete soluble fertilizer like Miracle-Gro, use it at the higher end of the label rate on the package.  Geraniums love fertilizer and need it to produce those huge blooms, so fertilize your geraniums about every third watering.

I have also included a PDF file with more information on this beautiful and popular plant.

The Kenmure Garden : From Seed to Table

The tools and knowledge needed to produce fresh vegetables are something that is readily available to all Golf Course Superintendents .  Having an understanding of soil chemistry, fertilizers, and botany combined with the tools, land, and irrigation that all golf courses possess make it a very simple step to move toward the cultivation of a garden for use by the Country Club.

The Idea

The planning for the Garden began back in early February after watching a very good webcast on the topic of creating a vegetable garden for your golf course.  This webcast was given by Kathy Antaya, a Golf Course Superintendent from Michigan.  It is very informative and well presented.
 

http://www.gcsaa.org/education/webcasts/on-demand/grow-your-own-establishing-a-golf-course-vegetable-garden
 

I just so happen to have a wonderful person in my life who is a very avid gardener, so after talking with her and re-watching the webcast, we began to make plans for the Kenmure Garden.  It was not long after this that Holly Haynes developed the master plan and map for the what would become the garden that we have today.

The Plan

Holly has always sprouted seeds and planted gardens every year for well over a decade, this would be the largest garden that she ever planned.  I suggested using a computer program to help with the planning and mapping and it turned out to be a wonderful tool.

 



http://gardenplanner.kgi.org/garden-plan.aspx?p=640570

 

 

Sprouting The Seeds

 

Seeds were purchased and planted in mid march.

 

One of the mini greenhouses used for seed germination.

 

Seedlings Progress

 

 

Getting Closer

 

 

 

Garden Site Preperation



 

 

A good site was selected near the Tennis Courts, this site had been used as a garden previously 9-10 years ago.  The site was tilled and prepared for use.  This garden will be 4508 square feet. 3 raised beds have also been constructed for growing herbs.

 

 

 

 

Planting the Garden

 

The garden was planted on the Monday after Mother's Day.  It is good to wait till this date to plant to avoid any killing frosts.  This is especially important to us as we will be using delicate seedling when we plant.  Not all the things we planted were pre-germinated.  Many things like the corn, beans, carrots, radish, and other root vegetables were directly sown.  The garden plan map was to exact scale, so we painted in the lines to match the plan.



 

 

Finishing Up

 

After everything was planted we erected a fence to keep out all the varmints!  The garden was then watered and the work will be ongoing.  We mulched all the pathways to create a visually pleasing garden.  The mulch also provides a barrier for weeds and will provide extra organic material to the soil when it is tilled in next year. The plants will get bigger and start growing in and it will become be a very attractive site.  I will continue to update the blog with more posts as the garden progresses.