August 2013 Newsletter From your Grounds Superintendent, Hello MCC Members. I am pleased to say that your course is in outstanding shape and with autumn only 53 days away, things are looking bright for the golf course. This year’s weather has been more cooperative than in my past 2 years. Along with better weather, proper planning and improved maintenance practices, the quality of turf has come along way in 2 years. Although the course is in such good shape, there are many areas on the course still needing improvement which we at the grounds department will continue to do for MCC Like usual we have been very busy at the grounds department. Completion of leveling green and approach sprinklers is completed. Leveling of fairway heads has started but with over 80 sprinklers this will take some time. So far every sprinkler that we have raised/lowered has been off at least 10 degrees from being level. After completing #1 fairway sprinklers the amount of fairway properly covered with irrigation improved dramatically. Sprinklers were able to reach areas that were not reached before the leveling. Along with leveling, I have been installing new nozzles in the sprinklers, which allows the water to flow properly and provide a proper working sprinkler. This year’s irrigation upgrades and repairs have made a huge difference in the course. Also new are the portable sprinkler water basins. These are used to water areas on the course that the in-ground sprinklers do not reach, such as the clubhouse area, chipping tee area, along the edges of many of our fairways that don’t get water and allows us to continue to plant seed in areas that are bare. With all that good news, the irrigation system is currently shut down because of a main pipe leak in the chipping area. Once repair is completed, we will have accomplished fixing every leak on the course. I’m certain it’s been years since the irrigation has been completely closed with no leaks on the course. Again this improves the way the pump house runs, pipe longevity, and the overall production of the irrigation system. A few projects completed last month are the removal of #9 dead Ash Tree, removal of Icon Rd dead Ash Tree, removal of the #6 wild River Birch, and we have started to trim trees. A noticeable area is the 2 trees next to #6 Lake. After trimming them you can now see the fountain and #6 green while driving up the drive to the clubhouse. This area has been talked about lately and I am currently working on it to improve the look and appeal of it. This fall I will be completing a renovation of this area to plant wild flowers, grasses, and perennial flowers to help this area stand out with lots of color and wild variety of flowers. I have also started to trim dead and low hanging branches from trees on the course. We have completed a few vital areas and will continue to trim throughout the fall. Filling and seeding the edges of the sidewalk at the clubhouse, the ends of #8 and #5 cart paths, and some bad areas has been completed. Green speeds still remain slower than average. Although the weather has been different than my past seasons, the bacteria are very much here, especially the past week with the ground being moist and humid temperatures. Early morning signs are very high which has required a raising of height, less mowing and rolling, and not mowing early mornings but early afternoons. Management practices will be adjusted for faster greens when the weather and bacteria reduce the amount of stress on the turf. Congratulation’s to all the winners in the Women’s Club Championship on July 16th & 23rd, Men’s Club Championship on July 20th & 21st, Men’s Senior Club Championship on July 25th, and The Ladies Scramble on July 26th-28th. I received a lot of compliments from members and guests during those events. Hope everyone enjoyed themselves and again, Congratulation’s. Please take a look at the 2 pictures in the clubhouse near the irrigation map. One picture is a beautiful view of #1 and the second picture is the improvement of #7 green from July 2011. These pictures really show the improvements we have made to have healthy turf. Thanks for everyone using the seed and sand bottles. I notice new grass emerging from divots on a daily basis. We have had an increase in ball marks due to more play. Although a lot of you fix t ball marks, some are not. Please do so because this is as important if not more so than filling fairway divots. It takes a properly fixed ball mark 3 days to recover. A non fixed or improper fixing of a ball mark takes over 2 weeks to recover. A faster recovery time allows for a better putting surface which means you will make more puts. Enjoy your summer and see you on the course! Virgil Range, Course Superintendent
Posted on: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 08:27:38 +0000
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