Throughout the golf season, our Course Superintendent, Chris Andrejicka, will provide updates on course conditions and other items that may be of interest to our golfing members.
Turf Talk May 16th, 2024
As we head into the second half of May I would like to give a few updates regarding the course. Everyone is well aware of how unseasonable wet it has been this spring. I know that when carts are cancelled due to oversaturated conditions some members question the decision. We look at whether or not the weather will be improving, if more wet weather be approaching, and will carts being on the course cause damage or create traffic wear and hurt playing conditions. I assure all members that we will announce a re-assessment of cart cancellation if it looks like the course will dry during that day. We have seen much drier conditions over the past five days and let us hope this trend continues.
A second topic I would like to discuss is bunker etiquette. With the completion of the bunker project last fall, members now have nice new and consistent playing bunkers throughout the course. I have received comments as well as first hand observation of how to enter and exit the bunkers if you hit your ball into a bunker. Below I have included a short video showing where to enter and where not to enter when you need to hit your shot out of a bunker. Following the guidelines will result in better playing conditions for players behind you.
Bunker Etiquette
Turf Talk- May 28th, 2018
Please watch the following 5 quick videos demonstrating proper course care.
Enjoy!
Video 1 - Introduction
https://youtu.be/_wdPJJEuFjg
Video 2 - Ball Mark Repair
https://youtu.be/KHgceEoEBes
Video 3 - Fairway Divot Repair
https://youtu.be/ohXY5TzpHbU
Video 4 - Bunkers
https://youtu.be/jgWXIzd6wXI
Video 5 - Tee Divot Repair
https://youtu.be/IRpRUuKXWAg
Chris
Turf Talk Spring Update April 4th 2018
As I compose the spring 2018 course update, winds are gusting upwards of 70km/hr., and a snow squall has just passed over the course. The transition from winter to spring has been painfully slow to date. The old “Polar Vortex” has once again taken a foothold on our region. Course opening is scheduled for April 11
th. According to forecast models, temperatures begin to approach normal later next week.
To give everyone a sense of comparison, last year at today’s date, we had accumulated 415 on the growing degree day calculator. As of today April 4
th, we have accumulated only 214 on the growing degree day calculator. Bottom line - spring is way behind.
Regardless, these conditions have not hampered course prep over the past 4 weeks. To date, the entire course has been raked of all debris, and 95% has been picked up. Greens, tees, fairways and the range, have been rolled and mowed for the first time. By the end of this week, all the bunkers will have been edged, cleaned of debris, sand depths checked and raked, in preparation for opening.
Of course, every year the old question arises, how do you determine when the course opens? This decision is based on the trending weather; seeing a trend of night time temperatures above freezing, means the ground conditions are capable of handling foot traffic consistently. Having continued freeze-thaw cycles makes ground conditions soft, and susceptible to negative foot printing, damaged turf, and poor playing conditions. Growth starts when day and night time temperatures are above freezing. The optimum soil temperature for growth to really kick in is 11 degrees Celsius. The nice thing about spring, is that we know that weather conditions will improve over time. Opening too early will prolong recovery of foot traffic, cart traffic, ball mark and divot healing. Before opening it is important to have greens, tees and fairways, rolled and mowed to firm up playing surfaces for the start of play.
This winter was at times severe, and we did experience significant snow cover. All playing areas have no disease or damage from this winter’s weather. The turf made out fine, but three weeks ago, a large tree from a neighbouring property fell onto the range net, destroying one entire panel of the netting. New netting has been ordered, and we are waiting its arrival. Once it is received, we will be doing the necessary repairs. The range will remain closed until the netting is repaired - I will update the progress next week.
The irrigation pump station received its usual spring tune up this week. The irrigation system will start up when temperatures stay consistently above freezing. The course washrooms will remain closed until the system is pressurized.
This is the time for everyone to start thinking about their home lawns. The first step is to give your lawn a good rake to clean up any debris, and remove leaves missed form the fall, and to stand up the turf to allow the plants to breathe. I would wait a couple weeks before aerating, to ensure the turf is actively growing, and healing will take place. Your first fertilizer application can go down any time after April 23
rd when soil temps will be more favorable.
Looking forward to seeing everyone on the course next week.
Cheers
Chris
TURF TALK NOVEMBER 17TH 2017
With only 9 days of golf remaining in the 2017 season I think the word that best depicts this season is “extreme”. The 2017 golf season had some of the most extreme weather events experienced in quite awhile.
The season was looking like it would be early, however on March 8
th after the course was completely cleaned of debris, we experienced 110 km per hour winds that left the course with more debris than from the entire winter. Clean up began again and the course opened showing no damage on April 6
th.
During April and May it seemed like the sun would never shine. The course received 202 mm of rain and temperatures hovered 5 to 10 degrees cooler than normal.
Once June hit, the temperatures climbed and the weather was fantastic right through until late August. Course conditions were excellent and your new bentgrass greens were now into year two and providing great playing challenges. The benefits of having firm, fast, true rolling putting surfaces was great to work with. Rounds were up significantly this year and the putting surfaces showed no signs of wear and tear.
With the greens being more mature, ball marks were somewhat improved from year one although there still has to be greater awareness and attention to repairing ball marks for players behind you. Bunker etiquette also is important for those who play behind you.
On August 28
th and 29
th an extreme weather system stalled over our area dumping 190 mm of rain during the Canadian Seniors Golf Association event hosted by the club. Thankfully our good drainage, de-watering system and army of staff with squeegees had the course back up for play with carts in a short period of time.
As we moved into the fall season, our usual fall weather patterns never really happened. We experienced extremely warm and beautiful conditions that were well above average until the beginning of November.
With the great conditions everyone can see that we are about 2 ½ weeks behind normal leaf drop. To date, there has been minimal frost delays or sustained cold temperatures.
Over the course of the year we have added 102 tons of new bunker sand to the 88 bunkers. Only 6 bunker faces required repairing this year as the new mister system does a much better job keeping these areas healthier.
Moving ahead to next year, we will continue with the elimination of granular nitrogen on the putting surfaces. We will continue to apply foliar fed nutrients based on soil testing to ensure the proper requirements of the Pure Distinction Bentgrass. Greens aerification will be done in July as was the practice this year. Tees will be aerified twice and fairway aerification will commence after the Classic in September.
As we head into late November, firewood will once again be available for $50 a pick up load. Just call me or the maintenance building to arrange your request.
Dog walking will start in December once we have completed all of our winter preparation work on the course. A date will be posted to let everyone know.
It has been a great busy season and I’m looking forward to next season with year three of Pure Distinction Bentgrass greens.
Have a safe and enjoyable off season.
Cheers
Chris
Tree Donation Program Information
The “Pride of Essex” is the name of the club’s tree donation program. As mentioned in the inscription, the true character of Essex is its trees and it is the intention of the Board to continue to rejuvenate our single biggest asset - our magnificent trees.
The Grounds Committee has identified the following species of trees that may be purchased as part of this program:
Tulip Red Maple Bur Oak Red Oak
Beech Sugar Maple Pin Oak White Oak
English Oak
The trees are purchased once a year, in the fall, and planted in our tree nursery until they are ready to be permanently placed onto the golf course. Trees can be purchased for $500. In recognition of participants in the program, tree donors will have their names permanently displayed on the “Pride of Essex” board located in the club’s informal entrance outside of the Donald Ross Lounge.
If you are interested in participating in the program or would like further information, please contact Bonnie in the club office at 519-734-1251. Members are encouraged to participate in the “Pride of Essex” tree program. Together we can ensure that the true character of Essex remains for future generations.
TURF TALK June 8th 2017
It has been a real pleasure to finally see a number of days of sunshine strung together over the past week or so. We have had above normal rainfall to kick off the season and temps that were a tad bit on the cool side. The turf was a little off color during the month of April and the beginning of May. However, now that night time temperatures are staying above 50F on a regular basis, there has been a real green up and increase in density of all turf areas on the course.
The new greens are in excellent condition this spring. You can see the increase in their maturity from last year. The greens are much more dense and firm as we head into year two. Ball marks are not as problematic as they were during year one and I expect this to continue as the greens mature. As a result, we are seeing quicker and more consistent green speeds on a daily basis. What has really impressed me the most is how smooth the ball roll is and I think our new mowing and rolling practices have improved the trueness of the greens.
Many of the results we are seeing are due to a new maintenance strategy that I have embraced over the last 18 months. Through new bentgrass research and seminars attended, we have virtually eliminated the use of granular nitrogen sources on all the greens and fairways. Since April 2016 we have applied no granular nitrogen to greens or fairways. Instead we are really looking at what our soils are telling us. With regular soil tests you can determine the natural nitrogen bank in the soil. Typically with our nutrition rich sandy loam soils, the nitrogen bank increases as temperatures increase due to natural microbial activity. Microbes work less in cool weather and more in warmer conditions. That is why we did not apply granular fertilizer this spring. We let mother nature do the work. Also, when applying synthetic fertilizers you have no control when they will kick in.
This spring the weather has been responsible for an extraordinary amount of tree debris scattered around the course including maple keys, oak beards and now the cottonwood tuffs. The bunkers have been a real challenge to keep clean and raked especially with the damage that the squirrels create. Over the last week or so we have had a better handle on the bunker conditions as the debris has been drastically reduced. It is important that everyone rakes their hitting area for the golfers who follow you.
As a reminder, the bunkers here are not your modern lush straight edged style bunkers you see on post 1970’s designed courses. These Ross bunkers were designed in a rough and more wild irregular shaped style. You really see this when you look at the 1976 Canadian Open pictures as well as early day pictures of the course. Ross’s philosophy was that bunkers were meant to be a hazard to be avoided. Here at Essex, the course was designed as a second shot course, where the greenside bunkering and green sites present the greatest challenge. To date we have repaired a number of grass bunker faces and still have a few more to tackle.
One area of the golf course which has seen a considerable increase in usage is the driving range. To date the Matchette Road tee has been used up three weeks earlier than in past years. As the summer continues we will require more available time to restore the turf hitting areas to ensure sufficient grass hitting areas for the entire season. We cannot perform our work if people are hitting from the mats so this is not a viable option. Having high quality turf hitting areas six days a week requires needed maintenance time and having the facilities closed on Mondays will enable us to restore these areas. Essex has the best range facilities anywhere in the region and we are committed to keeping this facility top notch.
Currently the course is in very good condition and with continued good weather, these conditions will only get better.
If anyone has any comments or suggestions please stop myself or Greg while out on the course.
Cheers
Chris
Turf Talk Spring 2017
The start of the 2017 golf season is just around the corner with the official first round of golf on Thursday April 6
th starting at 9:00 a.m., weather permitting of course. The range will also open the same day on the matts. We will transfer to turf once the turf starts to grow.
The winter of 2016 and 2017 was very kind to the golf course. Actually, it was the lack of any real winter weather that proved to be very beneficial for all areas. There is no damage whatsoever on greens, tees and fairways. To date, we have mowed greens and fairways and are currently mowing tees for the first time. Bunker prep has just begun and we hope to have all the greenside bunkers ready for opening day. Fairway bunkers will follow for a week or so after that.
The extreme wind storm we experienced in March deposited an enormous amount of debris throughout the course. We still have a large amount of branches etc. to clean up and you will see the grounds staff finishing this up when the course opens. Your patience is appreciated during this final stage of clean up.
The new bentgrass greens are firm and healthy. As we start the season it is crucial that
BALL MARKS ARE REPAIRED. The greens are more mature and I would like to mention that here at the beginning of the season, the heights of cut are much lower than on the old poa greens. I have taken a few putts and they are rolling nicely. Continued focus on
BALL MARK REPAIR will ensure their smoothness into the summer.
When you come out for your first round be sure to say hi to the grounds staff. Many familiar faces and some new staff are looking forward to seeing you out for the beginning of the season.
Feel free to chat with Greg and myself if you have any questions.
See you on the course!
Chris