Goose Report

Maggie - Yellow Labrador Retriever

After a very slow winter, Maggie is reporting increased goose activity over the last month.  Most of the activity has been on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 18th holes around the ponds.  The geese were coming in the evening just before dusk and making themselves comfortable for the night and leaving their usual mess behind.  Maggie was more than happy to add an evening goose run to her schedule.  For now, this seems to be making a significant impact on their activities here.  Maggie will keep you posted as the season progresses.

6th Tee Update

In mid December we finished up the construction and sodding part of the tee on six. To help protect our investment and to improve environmental turf growing condition in this area, the crew worked hard last week to thin out the area just to left of the tee.  

The increased air flow and light, along with the subsurface drainage that was installed on this tee, should make a huge difference in turf health and vigor.  Increased turf health translates into reduced pest and disease problem, which ultimately means fewer insecticide and fungicide inputs.

 

Once we get cleaned up a little better in the wooded area down the left, we will come back and finish sodding the rough around the tee.  For the right handed power slicers out there, we do have plans to trim the those trees down the left side of the fairway next to the marsh.

6th Tee - Divots!

Despite being roped off and having no tee markers on it, the 6th tee proved to be too irresistible to pass up for at least one foursome this past Friday.  Apparently, they were so excited that they forgot to replace or fill their divots.

The tee has benefited from the mild winter and the sod has rooted down better than expected for this time of year. However, the turf is still very tender and is not ready to sustain regular foot traffic and divoting.  Use of the tee at this time will only postpone opening of the tee this spring.

12 - Work in Progress

(Left side of 12 fairway last month)

(Left side of 12 now)

Ball Mark Repair - It's Every Players Responsibility!

(Range balls representing ball marks that are piling up.)

Ball marks, those indentations caused when a ball lands sharply on a green, softened by rain or high humidity, have been ruining good putts since the days of Old Tom Morris. Unrepaired ball marks take two to three weeks to properly heal during the growing season.  During the winter this healing time is much longer.  These ball marks leave behind unsightly, uneven putting surfaces. On the other hand, a repaired ball mark only takes half that time to heal.


Beginner or pro, it is your responsibility as a golfer to fix your own marks. If you're truly a steward of the game, you'll fix any others you see while your partners are putting. There's really not much to it, but there are a few guidelines you should follow when making these repairs. 

How to repair a ball mark

Bonus Golf: Take Note of the Risk

By Darin S. Bevard, senior agronomist, USGA, Mid-Atlantic Region
January 31, 2012

For the past several weeks there have been many opportunities for golfers to get out and enjoy the weather, and their favorite golf course. With the extreme wet conditions of late summer/early fall, this bonus golf has been great for the golfers, and has helped the bottom lines of many golf courses. The mild weather has also rekindled the debate over winter play and the potential agronomic downside of excess traffic, especially on greens.

In the last couple of years, frequent snowfall and cold temperatures have rendered the winter play conversation a moot point. This winter we have been blessed with plenty of days to play golf, and golfers who want to play. The result - the back and forth debate over whether greens should be open or closed. There is no right or wrong answer to this question because of the different needs of individual golf facilities and the different weather conditions.

Common sense dictates that winter play is bad for grass, especially greens. Extra traffic under often marginal conditions causes wear. The difficulty is quantifying the cost of this damage from the perspective of impacts on in-season playing quality in addition to the cost to repair damage that may (or may not) occur with winter play.

Some golf courses simply close completely or close their greens during the winter. If this is an option for your facility, great. Even if only a few greens that are already difficult to manage in season could be closed, the reduction in winter wear will be beneficial. If your course chooses to play golf during the winter, decisions on playability of the golf course should be made on a daily basis. If it is too wet or the greens are partially frozen, the risk for damage is greater. The worst case scenario is thawed conditions at the immediate surface and frozen conditions one or two inches below the surface. The bottom line is, you must weigh the pros and cons for your individual situation and act accordingly.

With the relatively warm weather, there are agronomic concerns too. On Poa annua greens, isolated areas of active anthracnose have been reported this winter. Monitor these conditions for the remainder of the winter and beyond. The other major concern is whether Poa annua has even hardened-off sufficiently to tolerate low temperatures. Warm temperatures reduce hardening in Poa annua, making the grass more susceptible to winterkill. Without snow cover, the grass has less insulation from sudden drops in temperature, which is the primary cause of crown hydration, especially in grass that is not sufficiently hardened. Time will tell, but this is a cause for concern in the northern tier of the region. Enjoy some bonus golf when the opportunity arises, but realize there are still concerns from winter traffic and Mother Nature.

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This article is from the most recent publication of the USGA Green Section Record.  If you would like to subscribe for free to the Green Section Record follow this link. Green Section Record

Since 1921, the USGA Green Section has published information on the proper maintenance and upkeep of golf courses. Published under various titles, the Green Section Record magazine, which many consider the authoritative voice on golf course management, debuted in May 1963. In July 2010, the print publication changed to a weekly digital magazine offering the latest information on golf course management, turfgrass culture, environmental issues, research, and economic sustainability.

Kings Creek - Wetlands

Kings Creek Country Club has three different types of wetlands on or bordering its properties.  The black and white map below shows the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Controls official map, which delineates state regulated wetland areas.  The side note on the bottom right of this map "map change see file" is due to the removal of some regulated areas on this map.  Since the map on record is from 1988, two years before the course opened, I have attached a second photo.  This shows a current picture of our property with the different wetlands areas highlighted.

Due to the sensitive and delicate nature of these areas, we have contacted DnRec in regards to rules and regulations of the wetlands areas.  All of our current work and future planned tree work along the marsh is in compliance with DnRec regulations.  I also spoke with DnRec in regards to the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program which the club has recently initiated.  DnRec said they would be happy to assist us and answer questions we might have in developing our environmental plan and site assessment as required by Audubon International.