Trees on a Golf Course

Recently the USGA conducted a tree evaluation report at The Peninsula Club. This report went into great detail about the pluses and minus of every tree on our golf course. They looked at playability, health, rooting masses, turfgrass health and safety of trees among many things. They put this report together and it can be viewed on the Peninsula Club website.

Below are two links to videos produced by the USGA about Trees and their impacts on a golf course.

FORE the Golfer: Trees on the Golf Course

Managing Trees on the Golf Course 

 If you would like to know more about trees and how they impact the golf course here are some more great articles on this topic.

A Guide for Selecting and Planting Trees on a Golf Course

How Trees Impact USGA Course Rating and Slope Rating

Man's Friend or Golf's Enemy?

Employee Break Room Renovated

A mentor of mine always said:

"How can one expect a staff to take pride in the front of the house if there is no pride in the back of the house?" 

In the Peninsula GCM department we believe in this motto. We take pride in our golf course and the conditions we provide on a daily basis. We also take much pride in our facilities that we work out of every day. We strive to maintain a clean, organized and efficient maintenance facility.

Two years ago the employee break room, the management offices and equipment storage area flooded when we received over one inch of rain. This made it difficult to maintain the type of facilitiy we know is needed to do the job up to member's expectations.

The Club graciously decided to allocate funds to repair and clean up the Golf Course Maintenance Compound permanently. We have been working on doing this for the past two years. We have cleaned, organized, instituted more efficient storage techniques and made a much more professional looking department.

The next step in this process was renovating the break room that had been damaged from years of flooding.    

During rainfall events water would build up behind the shop leaving it no place to go but into the maintenance facility.

The first place to flood were the management offices and employee break room.

It did not take much water to make the employee break room uninhabitable.

Flooding of the locker rooms

First we had to divert the water away from the building. Adding over 300 feet of drainage pipe did the trick.

Once we had controlled the water, the next step was to renovate the inside that had been destroyed from year's of flooding.

The HVAC system was serviced to stop leaks from the ceiling and new more energy efficient lights were installed.

The break room was gutted, all cabinets removed, and new hardware was installed.

Club Maintenance Director Brian Frank and Earl Gillon installing the new cabinets. This project could not have been completed without the help of these two individuals.

Staff installing new hardware on the cabinets.

New paint, light fixtures and plumbing were installed.

The final product. A clean environment that staff can feel good about and take pride in.

This project would not have happened without the graciousness of The Peninsula Club, Ray Armini, Brian Frank, Earl Gillon, Ryan Wells and my GCM Staff. They did an amazing job making the break room a place to be proud of! I am proud of what our team accomplished and look forward to moving onto the next step!

Frost...Ugggghhhh!

 It’s that time of year again…

Statement: “We are under a frost delay.”

Responses: 

"Are you kidding me?"

"I have to get my round in before the game starts?" 

"What's it going to hurt"

"What if I am careful?"

"The guy won't let us have any fun!!!!"

I get it, I know! I don't like it anymore than you do!

It’s that annoying email, call, check of the club website or tweet that sends ripples of emotions down your back. You want to get out and play and get on with your day. It’s getting light later and getting darker earlier. The amount of time to get eighteen holes in is small. (Thankfully we have not had any cover days to complicate this situation even more. By the way, by this date last year we had covered the greens five times!)

Frost up close and personal

So why do we institute frost delays? Grass blades can crack and die when traffic is applied to frozen turf.  A more serious concern is damage to the turfgrass crown (the base of the plant that produces new leaves), which kills the entire plant. All species of turf are sensitive to frost damage, including dormant bermudagrass.  The dead turf will persist until temperatures get warm enough in the spring to encourage regrowth.

Cart traffic damage from frost.

Even animals as small as geese can cause significant damage to grass under frosted conditions.

 Unfortunately, the only things that will melt frost are sunlight and warmer temperatures. Under some conditions, the best chance for frost to settle in is just as the sun rises. This can make it difficult to estimate how long the frost delay will need to be to ensure adequate protection of the turf stand.

It is our goal to make the decision on how long a frost delay needs to be 45 minutes to 1 hour before the first tee time. We also delay tee times for 30 minutes after the frost melts to allow the GCM staff to prepare the course for play.

Check out this video from the USGA on Frost!

 Remember to check the Peninsula Website, Penisula Turf Twitter account and with the Pro Shop before you arrive for your scheduled tee time.

Jared Attends 2015 Golfdom Summit

Jared was invited along with 49 other superintendents from across the country to attend the 2015 Golfdom Magzine Summit in Orlando, FL. Superintendents came from all over the country to network, build relationships, learn new advances in technologies that companies are developing, new agronomic practices and learn about the state of the industry. Some of the courses represented were Baltusrol (host of 2016 Open), Oakmont (host of 2016 U.S. Open), Whistling Straits, Chambers Bay, St. James Plantation, TPC Deere Run and Pinehurst to name a few.

Annika Sorenstam, the greatest female golfer of our time, was the keynote speaker for the event. Annika talked about how she started out in the golf industry by working on a golf course grounds crew. She talked about how she was raking bunkers and she ripped the liner out in one of the bunkers right before goflers were teeing off. She raced around trying to fix the liner and realized that maybe playing golf might be more up her alley.

It was a fantastic time and quite an honor to be invited to attend this event. It will be something I will remember for a long time.

Annika was gracious enough to take a picture with @PeninsulaTurf

  

 

Part of the Summit was spent in the "Board Room" learning about new agronomic practices and the business of golf.

Jared being interviewed by Golfdom Magazine

Josh Lewis talks about his experiences at Chambers Bay for the Open.

Lake Norman Enters Stage 1 of Drought Protocol

The Catawba-Wateree Drought Management Advisory Group (CW-DMAG) today announced continued dry weather conditions and above-average temperatures have placed the Catawba-Wateree River Basin in Stage 1 of the Low Inflow Protocol (LIP).

Stage 1 is the second of five drought stages outlined in the LIP and recommends voluntary water conservation by water users across the Basin, in addition to operational adjustments by Duke Energy. The LIP is the drought management plan major water users in the region employ to share responsibility and set priorities to conserve the limited water supply during drought conditions.

"While some areas of the Basin have received scattered rainfall, the lack of widespread precipitation the past several weeks and high temperatures have resulted in increased drought conditions,” said Ed Bruce, P.E., Duke Energy, CW-DMAG coordinator. “We are asking the community to conserve water and energy as we enter the height of the summer season and the typically drier fall period.”

Continued below normal rainfall and very hot temperatures have pushed two of the three LIP drought indicators (triggers) into Stage 1. Water storage in the 11-reservoir Catawba-Wateree Hydroelectric Project continues to decline and streamflows feeding the reservoirs are well below normal. In addition, the U.S. Drought Monitor trigger indicates most of the Basin is experiencing drought conditions.

Earlier this month, the Catawba-Wateree River Basin entered Stage 0 of the LIP which is a drought watch stage and prompted the CW-DMAG to closely monitor conditions.  After observing declining trends in the triggers, the group decided to proactively declare Stage 1 conditions. 

“We wanted to be proactive in making the community aware of increased drought conditions and ask customers to be mindful of water use,” explained Barry McKinnon, Mooresville Public Utilities Director. “The sooner we start conserving, the better for our region as we work together to preserve our shared water resources.”

The Golf Course Maintenance Department has implemented its Water Conservation Plan. At Stage 0 we reduced our water usage by 5%. As we have now entered Stage 1 we are reducing our irrigation by 15%. At this stage we will reduce our run times in the evening and eliminate 1 cycle of rough, 1 time per week. 

Our Water Conservation Plan is as follows for future stages:

Stage 2: 25% Reduction in water usage. Eliminate a cycle per week on high priority areas (Fairways, tees and green surrounds), irrigate low priority areas (roughs) only one time per week. To comply with homeowner restrictions, the clubhouse lawns and grounds will only be watered 2x per week and ornamental plants as needed.

Stage 3: 35% Reduction in water usage. Reduce run times and water no more than 1x per week on high priority areas (tees, fairways, green surrounds). Whatever water is necessary to maintain greens will be reduced from the amount provided for fairways, tees, and green surrounds. 

Stage 4: 85% Reduction in water usage. Watering only necessary zones (greens) for maintenance and survival is allowed.   

As we begin to reduce our water usage to comply with the Catawba-Wateree Drought Management Advisory Group we will begin to expand our handwatering of dry areas. This will enable us to conserve water and put water where it is needed to maintain plant health and survival. 

Handwatering dry spots allows us to put the water where it is needed and conserve water.

(Some excerpts taken from July 20th Catawba-Wateree Drought Management Group News Release)

Peninsula Hosts USGA Ultradwarf Surface Management Field Day

On June 29th The Peninsula Club hosted the 9th Annual USGA Ultradwarf Surface Management Seminar. This event had been hosted by Rodney Lingle at Memphis Country Club for the past 8 years and is considered by many to be the “Godfather” of Ultradwarf Management. Forty superintendents, assistants and club officials, attended the event. Jared and Rodney teamed up to discuss their greens management practices. There was a classroom question and answer session followed by in-field demonstrations on putting greens #5 and #1.

The day was a resounding success. It was a great time to learn, meet new people and share various methods to achieve excellent putting greens surfaces.

For more information on the field day click here for an USGA write-up on the field day.

The Field Day started with a question and answer session in the ballroom.

Jared answers question regarding his putting green management philosophies.

Assistant Drew McRorie demonstrates our topdressing practices.

Arnold Deherra shows how to verti-groom to get just the right amount of grass standing up to achieve a good cut. 

Bradley Furr and Nick McLennan show the last step in the verti-grooming process by brushing and double cutting the green.

Aeration of Greens is Complete

Aeration of the greens is finally complete. The process started on Sunday evening and finished Wednesday afternoon. It was a HUGE effort by the entire staff to get all of the greens punched, cleaned, washed, sanded and broomed. Below is a chronological look at what our aeration process at The Peninsula Club entails.

The greens looked amazing at the start of aeration.

The first step in the aeration process was vertically mowing the greens. This removes undesirable lateral growth in the canopy. 

View of the green after the vertical mow. Slicing into the canopy allows for more sand incorporation into the channels.

After the greens have been vertical mowed they are rolled and mowed.

Dumpe'! Dumpe'! Dumpe'! Aeration begins and the staff immediately catches and removes the cores. This makes for a very clean green after the holes have been punched.

Arnold cleaning the holes and making sure the holes are ready to receive sand!

This is exactly what the goal is. Large, clean and open holes. The bigger and cleaner they are the more sand that can be incorporate into the holes. 

The dry sand was push broomed into the open holes. This entire process decreases the amount of heavy equipment driven on unstable, open holes that can potentially cause shifting and rutting of the green surface.

The final look after the sand has been brushed in. The holes officially have begun the healing process. 

Now the process of healing and repairing the putting green slate begins. The holes will rapidly begin to heal and the greens should be like new in 12-14 days.

This process would not have been successful without the excellent help of the entire GCM Staff. 

Thanks Nick, Drew, Cesar, Jonathan, Paolo, Arnold, Margarito, Bradley, Alberto, Raul, Chayanne, Roberto, Brian, Wilfred, Jose, Milo, Wes, John! You guys rocked it out! 364 days and counting...

Jared Invited to Speak for USGA

Jared Nemitz, Director of Golf & Grounds at The Peninsula Club has been invited to speak at the Annual USGA Southeast Regional Conference being held at Hope Valley Country Club in Durham, NC on March 24th. His speech is titled, "Data Collection Ideas to Assist with Putting Green Management". It will highlight the data collection, organization and scrutinizing of scientific data that helps the agronomy team make sound agronomic decisions. Jared has spoken at various conferences and industry expos across the United States and the world.

Peninsula Bird Project

Over the past 16 years The Peninsula Club has been a participating partner with Dr. Mark Stanback and Davidson University. Dr. Stanback and his graduate students have been studying bluebirds, chickadees and wrens at the Peninsula Golf Course since 1999.

Dr. Stanback and his students have been studying the nesting and breeding behaviors of these birds, documenting their group composition and the competition between nuthatches and chickadees. They have also collected small blood samples from all of the nuthatches for DNA analysis. The Peninsula Club has allowed them to put up over 40 birdhouses across the golf course for this research. The data they have collected has been integral in a variety of studies that have been published in multiple scientific journals. 

Over 40 stands like this can be seen across the golf course. Another stand can be seen in the background.

 If you would like to know more information on the research conducted by Dr. Mark Stanback you can reach him at 704-894-2325.

Root Pruning Has Begun

Root pruning is an integral and necessary part of golf course tree maintenance. The majority of the holes on the course are tree-lined, creating beauty and dimension. Unfortunately, some of the rough adjacent to these tree-lines has performed poorly. When dry weather persists the tree roots out compete the turfgrass for water and nutrients. Perhaps most concerning is the fact that surface roots (see image below) are severe in many areas creating extremely poor playability.

Surface roots cause turfgrass decline, equipment damage and playability issues.

Tree roots can also wreak havoc on cart paths and contribute to increased equipment repair costs. Tree roots are one of the most significant contributors to cart path failure as a course ages.

Tree roots are a significant contributor to cart path decline.

Our root pruning program is accomplished with an Imants Root pruner. The machine cuts two parallel lines ten inches into the ground, suppressing and severing lateral growth by the tree. By only cutting ten inches deep, the roots are severed and turfgrass quality and golfing playability are not affected.  Roots are pruned along the tree's drip line.  After the roots have been cut, a small crew manually removes the root from the playing surface. Soil is then placed in the areas left void from the removal of roots.

Turfgrass quality drastically improves when roots are not competing for water and nutrients.

The Imants (background) severs the roots and the staff pulls them out of the playing ground (foreground).

Arnold pulling up large roots out of the playing area.

Surface roots removed from the first five trees.

The finished product after the Imants has cut through the roots.

We have begun the root pruning program and have completed holes #1 and #2. We will continue this process through March. The process will be repeated every other year to maintain a root free playing surface and increased turfgrass quality.

Shop Drainage Complete

During heavy rain events (>1 inch), the GCM Building used to flood. The equipment bay, shop area, employee lounge and offices would all flood. The maintenance building is located at the bottom of a ravine that receives high amounts of rain from the streets from above. When the water would funnel off the roof it became trapped behind the building in a ditch with nowhere for it to go except into the shop. 

The back of the building, where much of our storage space is located, was also sloped in a way that much of the water was coming back towards the shop instead of deflecting the water towards storm water basins. We created a ditch network with drainage to move all of the water away from the building. We also sloped the back of the shop, cleaned out all of the trash and sealed it with concrete screenings. We are now able to work more efficiently, maintain a dry work environment and be able to get to the golf course.

"If you can't maintain the back of the house, you can't maintain the front of the house!"

Jared's office after a rain storm event.

Over 1 inch of water in the employee break room

Water from the roof and streets above would get trapped in the ditch behind the shop with nowhere to go but inside it.

Drainage pipe and basins were installed every 20 feet.

Surge gravel was installed so we can keep the area free from debris.

Back of maintenance building before.

Back of maintenance building before.

Back of maintenance building before.

Back of maintenance building before.

Back of maintenance building after.

Back of maintenance building after.

Back of maintenance building after.

The landscape in front of the building also received a makeover.

The men showing me how they poured/mixed concrete in their native country.

  

The results of our staff's hard work.