Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Island Improvements at the Nicklaus Clubhouse



As part of the landscape improvements for key areas of Colleton River Plantation, the Community Grounds department has made significant improvements to the island between the Tennis and Conference Center and the Nicklaus Clubhouse.  Working from the design of our resident landscape architect, the crew worked diligently to replace the turf that had existed there.  A good deal of preparation and soil amendments had to be incorporated.  Now the island is landscaped with some of our state trees (Sabal Palmetto), hardy shrubs, and colorful perennials to enhance its look.  With the new ‘Zeon Zoysia’ sod being put in place, it will be necessary to keep the turf and soil moist until it roots well.  Therefore, expect twice daily watering for the next several weeks.

Nicklaus Course Update



With the Nicklaus course opening this Friday, it seems a good time to give an update on how we have fared through this time.  Area courses are recording some of the most challenging transition in recent years.  Several have sodded large portions of greens and fairways as extremely cool weather has provided an extended growing period for the rye and not the Bermuda.  During a recent meeting with a University Professor, he stated the Low Country to Myrtle Beach and much of the Southeast is a minimum of three weeks behind normal transition.  To put this into perspective here are a few facts comparing 2013 to 2012 and 2011 on our property:
· March’s average high was 9 degrees below normal (69 compared to 60)
· April’s average high was 5 degrees below normal (76 to 71)
· May’s average high was 6 degree below normal and only hit the normal 2 times in the entire month being 82 degrees
This type of weather pattern extended the over-seed season an additional month, allowing for deep rooting and a more established plant, outgrowing the Bermuda grass.  Early chemical applications to remove the ryegrass, or poa triv, have shown the Bermuda wasn’t ready to begin aggressively growing.  This is the reason why we postponed the Nicklaus closure by an additional week. This could not be postponed any longer due to the 4th of July week and activities planned.  All of this has been compounded with over nine inches of rain and losing almost an entire weeks’ worth of work during the closure.  It has made it very difficult to keep things on task. 
While the wet/cool springs months made it very conducive for a difficult transition similar to the Dye greens, which has been the hardest we have had in the last decade, we would rate the Nicklaus fairways as average to slightly above average.  The hardest hit areas were on the front nine (specifically 3, 5, 6) with the driving range tee being hit the hardest, while most of the back nine has done fairly well.  There are still several areas throughout the course that are thin or look “pitted” which will continue to grow in.  Because of this, we do encourage “preferred lies” for the next few weeks as the fairways finish their recovery from transition.  Sixteen truckloads of sod were laid throughout the course, but 12 were by choice as we took the opportunity to “square up” and complete entire landing areas of holes with celebration Bermuda grass.  To put this in perspective, 28 loads were laid last summer and the course was closed for an additional week.  Additionally, by being efficient with our selection of areas to sod and the help of a little patience from the membership, over 90% of the grass installed on the fairways will be permanent if it is decided to change grasses next year or in the future.  Overall, the celebration has done quite well and noticeably exceeded the other grasses in its transition ability. (see pic)  Over the next 30 days, we will evaluate the best plan to transition the fairways over to celebration.  Both the financial and membership impact will be part of the evaluation.   

Number 11 - Left Side is Celebration, Right Side is Traditional 419 


Other large projects completed during the closure are as followed:

· If you recall, last year we sprigged the driving range fairway and had solid results.  We attempted to use the services of another company to sprig the back driving range tee, to see their process and provide some competition, but unfortunately they were not able to stay within our time table as weather inhibited them on other projects.  We were able to obtain sprigs (2 weeks later than originally anticipated) from the original company and completed the project ourselves.  This tee will be closed until Mid-July and then a small portion of the back area will be available for lessons only.  Unfortunately, the front tee was hit hardest with transition.  We installed an entire truck load of Celebration on the very front of the front tee to provide a hitting service as the rest of the tee comes in.  We recommend that with the limited teeing area for the next few weeks, serious practice be done at the back of the Dye range.

· The team replaced two concrete trucks worth of cart path panels during the closure.  While we are still working on our “finish” work on the concrete, by performing the project “in-house” we were able to complete this work for .25 cents on the dollar compared to similar quotes.

· Drainage was installed on #2 fairway and rough area along the cart path where you exit the fairway.  This area is notorious for being wet and the new pipe and sand should aide in movement of water out of the area.

· While the word “good” comes to mind when speaking of our tees, rarely does “memorable.”  With this in mind, Tif-Grande was installed on all of the tees on #1 to experiment with a grass that is known for providing superior conditions on tees.  This will be evaluated to see if it’s a direction for Colleton in the future.  Additionally, all but the back tee on seven was grassed with Tif-Grande as it is also known for its shade tolerance.

· The third green on the Borland typically suffers from a difficult transition each year.  We have stripped off the existing grass and organic layer, tilled new greens mix back into the profile, and begun sodding it with one-half Champion and one-half Mini-Verde.  This will allow us to evaluate which is the better grass for the Borland’s future greens.

· Roots from trees have continued to grow into many fairways and greens causing many challenges with quality turf.  We have begun the selective use of root pruning to alleviate this and provide better turf quality.

Things should be back to optimum playing conditions within the next two to three weeks as things continue to fill in.  I hope thing provides some insight into what has been going on while the course is closed.


Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Live to Fly Another Day! One Hawks Adventure



 


On Friday, June 14th, a member of the Nicklaus Golf Maintenance team noticed a Red-tailed Hawk on the ground between #1 and #9 and called for help.   




 



The hawk was being choked by his dinner, a snake that had wrapped himself completely around the hawk and was squeezing for all he was worth.   



 
 

When members of the maintenance team saw the Hawk blink, realizing he was still alive, they began to try to wrestle the snake off of the hawk using whatever tools they had available to them.   





 


 Although they had to kill the 6 + foot snake to free the hawk, he was able to fly to his perch once again.  Thanks to the member of the Nicklaus Golf Maintenance team who, with quick thinking and a little ingenuity, were able to save this beautiful creature!



Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Welcome Dane Alexander!

Please join us in welcoming our newest addition to the Nicklaus Golf Maintenance Team as a 2nd Assistant Superintendent, Dane Alexander.  Dane is a 2013 Graduate from Purdue University with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Turf Science.  He may look familiar to some of you, as he was a summer intern here at the Nicklaus Course in 2012.  In addition, Dane also completed an internship at Ford Plantation. Originally from Hillsboro, Indiana, Dane enjoys the outdoors and can not think of a better place to enjoy them than here in the southeast. 
The next time you see him on the course, stop him and give him a great big Colleton River welcome!

Adjusting the Collar Widths on the Dye Course


Sodded Collar after being mowed at .400"

During the early summer aerification, one of the projects that we’ve already discussed was the replacement of the greens collars that had been encroached by the zoysia grass in the roughs that surround them.  It is now time for phase two of that project.  As the collars are now established and have rooted in very nicely, we have begun mowing them at a height of .400” and they are smoothing out and getting better as we continue to lightly topdress them on a weekly basis.  This week, we will also begin the process of getting the collar width back to a consistent  32” continuous pass around all of the greens.  Some of the green/collar areas that the zoysia had encroached into were farther than the 32” and required that some of the green surface be sodded as well.  We now feel that with the sod having a strong root base, we can begin the process of marking our 32’ width and begin scalping these areas down to greens height.  These areas will appear brown for the next couple of weeks until the turf is trained down to its new height, but they will green up as we continue to topdress and fertilize.  Below are a few pictures from the process’ we use.
Marking the 32" collar width


Scalping the sod down to greens height

Sunscreen and Bug Spray Damage









Did you know you can damage the turf on the golf course by using aerosol sunscreen and bug spray while standing on it?  The photo above is of damage we have had to the turf from either of these products.  One of the larger components in products such as these is alcohol and as a result, the fall out will settle on the turf and burn it, resulting in the pattern you see above.  (The area below the feet was not damaged.)   So we ask if you are going to apply either of these products while on the course or practice areas, please do so on either on the cart paths or while in the cart to avoid the damage seen above.  Thank you for doing your part in helping keep your courses as beautiful as they can possibly be.