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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-10-19-REC-min.attachPINE MEADOWS GOLF CLUB Lexington, Massachusetts Visit Date: September 28, 2016 Present: Mr. John Allen, Jr., Vice President of Operations, New England Golf Corp. Ms. Karen Simmons, Director of Recreation, Town of Lexington Mr. Chris Filadoro, Superintendent of Public Grounds Mr. Tim Harlan, Golf Course Superintendent Mr. William Harrison, President, New England Golf Corp. Mr. Tyler Radicioni, Recreation Supervisor, Town of Lexington Mr. Jim Skorulski, USGA U ited States G if Association Jim Skoruiski, A ronomist 1 Green Section 1 Northeast Region 1500 orth Main Street 1 aimer, MA 10069 413-283-2237 1 413-283-7741 1 jskoruisici usgaorq USGA Green Section Mission The USGA Green Section develops and disseminates sustainable management practices that produce better playing conditions for better golf It was my pleasure to make a half day Course Consulting Service visit to Pine Meadows Golf Club on September 28, 2016. It was good to see and hear that the golf course performed well this season. It was a stressful season with the extreme drought conditions and heat. The dry weather conditions actually are favorable for golf courses where drainage is limited. Having the ability to control the water is helpful in that regard. We are still in an extreme drought condition and hopefully more sporadic rainfall events will begin to reduce that concern into fall. We used our time together to tour the golf course. We examined greens, tees and fairways. The primary agronomic concerns involved some of the turf decline that occurred as a result of the drought and the loss of the irrigation pumps during the summer season. This has led to areas of dormant and damaged turf in roughs and fairways that will have to be recovered. The other area of concern is the tee boxes. The turf there was also damaged from dense shade, higher levels of traffic and the lack of natural precipitation. The following report provides a summary of the observations and recommendations that occurred while we toured the golf course. GREENS General Maintenance I was very impressed with the condition of the greens at this visit. Ball roll was very good as was turf texture. The surfaces were also firm and moisture content in the root zone was good. Well done! I do recommend core aerating the greens with 1/2 inch hollow tines in the weeks following this visit. It is important to use the 1/2 inch hollow tine to remove the organic material that was observed in the upper 1/2 inch of the root zone. Complete that practice on a 2 x 2" spacing and as usual fill the coring holes with your topdressing sand. I would continue to use the normal greens topdressing sand for the aeration practice. Move to the screened 1 millimeter sand for light topdressing during the season. All of the greens will benefit from deep aeration with the Verti -Drain machine later in fall. No. 4 Green The project to rebuild No. 4 green has been delayed for a season. I continue to recommend relocating the green as we discussed in the spring to move it further from the tree line and into a more open environment where the turf will receive sufficient sunlight to perform effectively. This might cost additional money but it is the best long term approach to build and establish a successful green. As mentioned in the past report, the new green should be able to accept golf shots from a longer distance and I would recommend providing an ample approach that will allow shots to the green. Even Page 2 more importantly, the green should provide excellent surface drainage to avoid concerns with water either sheeting over the green or collecting on the surface. This will further reduce the probability of winter damage in the future. The existing green will have to be protected this winter. The impermeable cover together with the use of sand tubes, straw bales, etc., to prevent water from sheeting onto the green surface beneath the cover, offer the best means to protect annual bluegrass. The deep aeration scheduled for late fall will also create more airspace that could benefit the turf beneath the impermeable cover. I do recommend completing the deep aeration with at least a 1/2 inch solid tine and preferably a 5/8 inch solid tine that will create a larger fracture. A more permanent solution to try to protect the green in the winter would have to be considered if the green was not scheduled for reconstruction. That would involve adding internal drainage or even installing dry wells in order to try to reduce water that might collect on the surface beneath the cover. TEES General Maintenance A number of tees have not held up well this year. The problems with the tees have been listed in past reports and include the growing environments in which they are located, the size of the tees, and limited irrigation or no irrigation, The 6th and 7th tees are growing in heavily shaded environments where the turf does not receive sufficient sunlight to maintain a growth rate that will allow it to tolerate the traffic that occurs. Pine trees growing on the right side of the 6111 tee and pine trees growing on the right side of the 7th tee are responsible for morning shade across the surfaces. I strongly recommend thinning the pine trees along the right side of the 6th hole to improve growing conditions and so that the right portion of the tee can be fully utilized. We discussed removing three white pine trees from the back right side of No. 7 tee to create a window for sunlight to reach a portion of the tee at least in the morning hours. This site will continue to be heavily shaded but any additional sunlight will be beneficial. I also recommend root pruning along the left sides of both tees. Selectively removing trees from the left side of both tees would also be beneficial and would provide an opportunity to allow more afternoon sun to reach the turf. The middle tee box on the 8th hole was not a formal tee. The surface is unlevel and the soils are questionable. The tee is also not irrigated, We have discussed the benefits of renovating this tee in the past and I hope that work can be done in the future. It would involve creating an actual elevated tee at the current site and hopefully removing the berm that is located in front of the tee complex, The back tee on this hole is seldom used. That is also in a poor growing environment. Any opportunity to remove more trees from the left side of that tee box and even to expand that tee forward would also be beneficial. The upper tee on the 9th hole is most popular with the golfers. It receives much play and is too small for the traffic that occurs. Any opportunity to utilize the lower tee box to Page 3 reduce some of the traffic would be most beneficial for the tee. We also discussed enlarging the current tee further to the left to gain more teeing area. This would require that two oak trees growing behind No. 8 green be removed as well as several oak trees growing along the left side of the tee box. Removing the trees would make the left third portion of the tee more usable. The additional teeing space there would also be beneficial. There are other opportunities to increase the size of the upper tee box. However, they will require more excavation work along the back of the tee. We did discuss the benefits of adding additional forward tees on several holes as well as a new tee complex on the 4th hole_ Additional forward tees would make the golf course play more enjoyably for higher handicap golfers while freeing up teeing space on the existing tee boxes. Adding a new tee box to the right side of the cart path on the 4th hole will also provide much - needed teeing space. The angle to the hole from the new tee might also help to reduce errant shots towards the 5th hole. The new tee complex there will require the removal of a Scots pine tree and perhaps a deciduous tree. Move the markers more widely over the surfaces to disperse traffic. This is critical on any of the smaller tees and also the more shaded 6th and 7th tee boxes. The golfers might not appreciate some of the tee marker locations (Le. lower 9th tee) but the wider movement of markers is a necessity to reduce concentrated traffic on more heavily used tee boxes. FARIWAYS /ROUGHS Drought Impacts Isolated fairway areas and non-irrigated roughs were impacted most by the extended drought. The loss of the irrigation system for several days in summer further impacted turf on a number of fairways. It was good to see that many of those areas are beginning to recover with the cooler temperatures and sporadic rainfall we have received. The surface soils held some moisture but beneath that the soil profile was dry. Core aerate the fairways and rough areas as soon as possible to help reestablish water infiltration deeper into the root zone. The core aeration will stimulate recovery of the dormant turf in these areas and should also help to re -wet the soils once natural precipitation returns to the area. The core aeration also offers an opportunity to overseed any of the thin areas. It would be most beneficial to slice -seed rough areas were the turf is either dormant or damaged from the dry conditions. The slice- seeding would be done as soon as possible. Turf-type tall fescue or a combination of Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass could be used for the slice- seeding. The use of wetting agents would be beneficial in managing soil moisture in the future. The wetting agents help to re -wet soils that have become dry. Cultivation (solid tine aeration) can also be an effective practice to re -wet soils that are "sealed off' or water Page 4 repellent. The cultivation would be done prior to a heavier rain event or followed by multiple deep cycle irrigation to re-wet the soils. Disease Dollar spot disease was also active in a number of fairways and was causing damage. A fungicide application needs to be made quickly to control the dollar spot. Fertilize the fairways in conjunction with the core aeration practice to help the turf recover from the disease. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS Trees There are two poor quality willow trees that remain on the 2nd and 8th holes, and the 9th hole. The trees are in the advanced stages of decline with significant crown dieback. Plans should be made to remove these trees in the near future. I also recommend root pruning along the right side of the 6th fairway as we discussed in our earlier visit this year. The root pruning will remove surface roots which can be dangerous to play and damaging to equipment. The root pruning will also improve the quality of turf in the primary rough and fairway area where roots are competing with the turf for water. Selectively remove the small cedar and Scots pines that separate the 7th and 8th holes. The trees serve no purpose and are unsightly. Removing the trees would open up the rough area, making it easier to mow in this area. Sand Bunkers It was good to hear that the greenside bunker on the 5th hole will be eliminated and converted into a grass bunker that can be more easily maintained. Sand bunkers on the 6th and 7th holes are also in poor condition. The grass banks have declined and should be renovated and replaced with a more drought tolerant turf-type tall fescue sod. Ideally the work would be done this fall so that the sod would have an opportunity to establish through late fall and early spring, before it is subjected to the dryer and hot summer conditions. Another option is to complete the regrassing project in very early spring. The work would involve removing the existing sod, raking down any excess sand accumulation in the banks and then regressing with a commercial turf-type tall fescue sod. CONCLUSION This concludes my summary of the topics discussed during my visit to Pine Meadows Golf Club. I commend New England Golf Corporation for their work in maintaining the golf course through the drought and the town for providing the resources to maintain the facility. The dry weather provided a great season for golf and I hope that renewed L Page 5 interest can be maintained going forward. Taking steps to improve the 4th green, upgrade the teeing surfaces and maintaining a decent pace of play are all sound objectives to improve the golf experience and to keep the facility successful going forward. Best of luck for the remaining season and please feel free to call at any time if I can be of additional assistance. Sincerely, James E. Skorulski, Agronomist Green Section, Northeast Region JES:sjd cc: Mr. William Harrison, President, New England Golf Corp. Mr. John Allen, Jr., Vice President of Operations, New England Golf Corp. Ms. Karen Simmons, Director of Recreation, Town of Lexington Mr. Chris Filadoro, Superintendent of Public Grounds Reprints: Help Your Bunkers Make the Grade http_: //turf liibw r °sp.edu /199 ®s /199 /9B1101.�df Move Forward, Not Back! htt : //turfi.lib.l df The Rough Dilemma in the Mid- Atlantic Region msu.edu /2®o®s/2®tD7 gzium1.pdf Page 6