Course Opening And Project Work Ahead

The golf course is tentatively scheduled to open around the 9th of May. If the weather cooperates and it dries out more than I anticipate AND we are ready to present the course in the best possible light taking into consideration the late start we may open a few days earlier. Stay tuned.

Its great to start a season on all 18 holes with no major disruptions that will affect playing the golf course. However, as much as it pains me to say it we still have some project work to deal with during the month of May. The following list pretty much sums it up:

• Curbing installed next to the new cart path paving from last October.
• Cart path tie and sodding next to the new asphalt and/or curbing.
• Paving stone installation and landscaping changes beside the 1st tee.
• Installation of new steps to replace rxr ties.
• Removal of bunker boards and all bunkers edged.
• Patio and landscape work at the new Tee House.
• Installation of the new "Legacy Fund" clock next to the Golf Shop
• Haul road repairs (aeration and overseeding) across #9 fairway.

None of this work will affect actual play on the course. It may result in some inconvenience accessing green and tee sites from time to time so please be patient with the Turf Care Team. In addition to this work we have a lot of tasks to attend to on the course to get it in the condition you all expect and deserve. 

Curbing and new steps to be installed, for example, at 12 tee

Paving stone installation and landscaping work at the first tee

Tee House patio and landscaping work required

 

Even though it is snowing as I post this the warm weather will return. Stay positive.

All for now,

Wade

An Update On #6 Green

We removed the ice shield (waterproof plastic cover) and bubble wrap off of the 6th green on Tuesday. As you can see from the picture it's in the same condition as all the others: very good. This method of overwinter protection seems to be the best solution to a changing climate. Fortunately (or unfortunately if you are interested in an "experiment" of sorts) the past winter was a good one for all the greens and tees. After we had cleared the initial snowfall and removed any ice in early November the heavy snows came and never left resulting in excellent natural protection for the greens. Because of this a comparison of results doesn't tell us much this spring.

The 6th green Tuesday afternoon

What can be interpreted though is that a green can be covered and isolated from some extreme environmental pressures. The main one being ice formation. By monitoring the conditions (temperature and air quality) underneath the cover throughout the winter we have a pretty good idea what is happening. The venting system allows us to introduce fresh air to the green surface whether it needs it or not. Here I would definitely error on the side of caution and blow air under the covers more often than not.

Without complicating the topic any further I feel this method holds promise for the future of the overwinter protection of our Poa annua /bentgrass greens. This topic will be discussed at length in our Green Committee meetings. One last point to consider. NOTHING is 100% effective 100% of the time in relation to keeping sensitive turf types alive from November to May. At least in my humble opinion. However its becoming clear to me that if there is a technique that works more often than not it needs to be seriously considered. I'm all about reducing stress in our lives especially during the winter. There will be much more information to present to the membership as next fall approaches but I think we should concentrate on this season for now. A lot of  golf course superintendents and researchers have done the hard work in fine tuning this overwintering plan and I applaud them for creating this option.

The next blog will review the snow mold pressures faced by all Edmonton and area courses this spring, our fungicide use results and what changes, if any, will be implemented in the future.

The 2013 golf season has arrived as the practice facilities will open Friday morning at 9:00. Frost delays may be in effect for the natural turf areas.

Wade

Course Preparations Finally Begin

This past weekend we held our staff orientation meeting that was attended by new and returning employees. In addition to familiar faces we welcomed the newly hired on to the Royal Mayfair Turf Care Team. They toured the clubhouse, golf shop and of course the entire Turf Care Center. They had to process a lot of information over a span of 3 hours but they'll be fine as the weeks go by.

Its been a long time since the staff parking lot was this busy.

The equipment is serviced and ready to go. Our fleet is very large and more additions are on the way in the next few weeks. Ian, our equipment technician, has worked long and hard this winter doing what mechanics do, namely keeping the lifeblood of the course in excellent operating condition. Ian is busy all year long and without his years of expertise and his commitment to the club our success would be limited. My sincere thanks for a job well done Ian.

Some of our equipment all lined up but nowhere to go. 

Tomorrow will mark the beginning of cleanup and preparations for opening the golf course. There is still a lot of snow on the property so our efforts this week will be concentrated on the practice greens, the driving range and the short game practice area. It is our goal to have all these facilities open this Friday assuming the weather cooperates. The driving range will open using the Turf Hound mats for the next few weeks. The grass tee needs time to recover from winter and get to the stage where it can sustain the wear and tear to come.

The greens are nice but the rough has been affected by snow mold. Some care and attention from us in addition to some warm weather and it will recover quickly.

The week ahead looks good so I'm looking forward to some serious melting over the next several days.

Regards,

Wade

Snow Removal Update

As promised in my last blog I have a short update now that all the greens are clear. All except #6 that is. More on that later. When you look at the 2 pictures below you are basically getting a snapshot of all the greens and tees. Speaking in general terms they have wintered well. Even the Poa annua has come through in good condition. Some of it may go backwards slightly but I don't envision any major issues.  

What we do have to deal with is some minor scraping caused by the snow blower work both from this spring and last November. Overall though, the repairs are to be expected and will quickly heal as the temperatures climb and growth begins. It is no easy task to clear that much snow on such delicate surfaces when the operator has limited references to determine contour and shape. A good job by the crew. 

As mentioned in previous blogs the amount of snow mold on any untreated turf is incredible. I can't remember the last time I have seen it to this extent. The fungicide product we used on greens and tees worked incredibly well. We used a different combination of fungicides on the fairways that has worked very well over the previous 2 winters. However with 6+ months of continuous snow cover the effectiveness may be reduced this time around. We'll know more early next week.

We have learned a few important lessons about the new fungicides at educational seminars this past winter that will change the application timing at our course. I'll explain more next fall but I plan on treating secondary turf areas first and then the primary areas afterwards because we don't have to wait until "the last moment" anymore.

Now for #6 green. That's the green that is vented, bubble wrapped and covered with an ice shield. We  removed the snow cover today and will blow some fresh air underneath on Thursday. The plan is to leave the cover on until Monday as it is forecasted to be cool this weekend. Stay tuned.

#8 Green

#1 Green

Clearing snow off #6. Notice the white ice shield Eric is standing on.

Things are beginning to happen now. Have patience.

Regards,

Wade

Back To Reality

What an incredible finish to the 2013 Masters! It was great shotmaking from both Scott and Cabrera and not a red shirt in sight. But putting my personal feelings aside it is now back to reality. The colors of Augusta National are a sight to behold but I'm more concerned with the colors at The Royal Mayfair. White is a predominate theme but as each day goes by more and more turf is beginning to show. As of tonight we have 8 more greens to clear so we should be finished by late Tuesday. Most of the tees will be left to clear on their own and we should be pumping water off the fairways in about 10 days.

The greens that have cleared look good (April 14th) and I'll give you a complete rundown on conditions once they are all exposed. I have a feeling we will be mowing them before the snow is gone as there is very little frost at the surface and in fact many greens are not frozen at all. The insulating value of a deep snow pack cannot be underestimated as many small mammals can attest to.

As expected all activity is delayed in relation to opening the golf course. Early to mid May is my guess unless we see a dramatic improvement in temperatures. The practice facilities will open as soon as conditions dry out. Even our staff orientation meeting will be affected by the late spring. We won't be able to take the usual course tour with the new staff members. 6 full months with snow cover. Enjoy every day from now on.


Some snow removal pictures from #8 and #10 greens:

One of our older rough mowers that is now a permanent snow blower idling at #8.

A Toro Polar Trac loaned to us from Oakcreek Golf and Turf on #10 green. The best machine we've used to clear snow off greens.

A good example why fungicide use is critical in our climate. It's very obvious by the spray pattern where the mold is not controlled.  Its unfortunate that the early snowfall last October stopped us from spraying non primary turf areas such as sidebanks and much of the sod we laid down in the rough last year. Very good results on tees and greens. No fairways are exposed yet but I think they'll be okay as well.

All for now,
Wade

An Update To Take Your Mind Off The Wonderful Weather Today

Early this week we made the decision to remove the snow from the 4 practice greens. The warmup green and the 2 new bentgrass greens were clear on Wednesday and the putting green was about 50% clear. Our plan was to get those areas ready to go as soon as possible while you wait for us to prepare the other 18 greens. The weather forecast has put a full stop to everything. We treated the exposed greens with a spring application of fungicide and we will now wait out the cold conditions. The deep snow cover on the golf course greens will keep surface temperatures at or near zero. The value of an effective fungicide now becomes apparent. It will be over 150 days of continuous snow cover on the greens and by the middle of the month it will be 170+ days of  snow cover on the tees and fairways.

If you recall last October we were fortunate to get all our main turf areas treated with over winter fungicides before the snow  arrived on the 15th of the month. Unfortunately we couldn't treat any of the side banks and susceptible areas of rough that always seem to be affected by snow mold. As well there will likely be some ice damage on fairways due to a few freeze/thaw periods early in the winter. The low spots tend to be comprised mostly of Poa annua and that's where water accumulates. That combination of factors doesn't bode well over a long winter.Time will tell.

Back to the exposed greens. They look pretty good especially at the short game practice area (remember they are new bentgrass). The Poa on the older greens will probably cause us some grief here and there but it is too early to tell. In past years I've seen it look good and then have it go backwards a few days later so I'm being cautious in my assessment. A few pictures and some short comments are all I  can give you until the sun shines again.

Snow mold is severe on the trail we blew off to the greens at the practice area. It looks bad but the turf tends to recover quicker in the rough.

Notice the definition between the treated green/collar and the rough. I think that will be a common look on many golf courses in the Edmonton area.

Snow blower damage. That is why I don't like mechanical removal of snow cover without a solid layer of ice. Unfortunately we will need to blow off some of the greens next week. Proceed with caution and repair as necessary with our nursery turf.

Notice the aeration holes filled with sand. There is still quite a bit of sand on the surface to spread around when we clean up the greens. All good.


It looks like I have one more weekend to reflect on life before we come out of the starting gate. Enjoy yours.
Wade