Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Aeration Updates

Core aeration of the fairways is complete and most have healed in nicely. There is still some loose soil and a couple of small areas that pulled up turf but overall it went very well. Most areas that pulled up turf are in weak portions of fairways that are mostly made up of Poa annua. These areas are predominately in low, wet areas where Poa thrives. Because Poa is a weak rooted grass it is more susceptible to damage from aeration. It is not uncommon when aerating 25 acres of turf to have a few small areas that lift up and tear sections of fairways. Most of these areas have been repaired or filled with divot sand to allow them to heal.

For the remainder of the week we will be solid tining tees and topdressing with sand. This process is minimally invasive and should have little, if any affect on your round. Thanks!

Monday, October 24, 2011

Irrigation Leak

At some point last night an irrigation pipe burst on the chipping approach. It flooded #10 fairway, the chipping bunker, and parts of the driving range fairway. We are pumping out the bunker, but if you see any standing water try to stay away from the area. Luckily the areas that are affected are not heavy traffic or "in play" areas of the course. Later today we plan to get started on fixing the leak.






Sunday, October 23, 2011

Turf Club

I would like to express sincere thanks to all of the members who took time out of their busy lives to help out with #13 woods project and filling fairway divots. We had 22 members come out to help Saturday October 15th and it really helped us complete these tasks. One of the great things about Ridgeway Country Club is it's members and their willingness to help out the club. Ridgeway's members take pride in their course and this was another example of members going above and beyond!! Here are some pictures of the project on #13.


These people deserve recognition for helping out and thanks for all the hard work!!

Sean Bradley
Boyd Sterling
Dave Battermann
Jeff Tyczkowski
Matt Krenke
Mike Thelen
Ron Armitage
Ron Harder
Steve Bergstrom
Steve Terrien
Todd Baumgartner
Tom Sather
Tom Wroblewski
Tyler Higley
Al Zmyslo
Dave Huculak
Don Winrich
Jim Laus
Kim Johnson
Pat Martenson
Shirley Laus
Stan Martenson

XGD

As many of you know XGD systems completed the drainage project on #9 and #12 greens. They did an incredible job and it only took 2 1/2 days to complete. It is only one week after they have finished and you can hardly tell they were here. Below are some pictures of the construction process.


Sunday, October 16, 2011

XDG is completed

Yesterday the XDG Drainage was completed, both #9 and #12 are now open and ready for play. Both greens will be slightly bumpy over the next few days, but with rolling will smooth right out in no time.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

XGD Update

Today XGD systems was able to complete #9 green. Due to the late afternoon rain they were not able to start #12 green. Tomorrow morning they will get started on #12 and you can expect #12 to be closed all day Friday. Depending on weather we are unsure as to when or how long #12 will be closed. We will keep you updated on when it will be open for play. In the next week I also hope to post some pictures of the entire project. So far the work has been incredible and this will have a positive impact on these two greens for years to come!!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

XGD and Fairway Aerification Update

XGD systems has arrived early from another job and will begin work today on #9 green. Depending on when they get their infrastructure set up, your round today may be impacted on #9. The golf shop and I will keep you informed as to the status of the hole. Appropriate signs will be put on the tee if the hole is closed for play. Thanks.

Here again is a link to XGD systems for more information:

http://www.greensdrainage.com/

The fairway aerification is going well as I have stated in previous posts. There is some soil in some areas along with some small areas of weak turf on #4, #7 swale and right of #18fairway. These areas rose up and have a washboard look to them. When aerating 28 acres of turf it is not uncommon to run into small areas like this from time to time. Those small areas are being repaired today by our staff. We now have 5 holes remaining. Because of the weather forecast we will not be aerating fairways today or tomorrow.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Fairway Aerification Update

A week into the fairway aerification we have made a lot of progress. Holes #1, 5, 7-14, 17, and 18 are completed. Today we are going to be aerating #4 fairway. The projected forecast for the next few days is calling for rain showers. If we have a good chance of rain we will not be aerating fairways on those days. If plugs are laying on the ground and get rained on it can cause a mess and make it nearly impossible to clean up. This will probably push fairway aerification into next week with 5 holes remaining.

The holes that have been aerated are healing in nicely and in some cases completely healed over. The pictures below are taken from #1 fairway, as you can see no aerification holes are present. Some holes however, still have some lose soil at the surface but should disappear with time or wash away during the up coming rains.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Reminders

Just a reminder for next week on October 13-15th, that XGD systems will be at Ridgeway working on greens #12 and #9. Please refer to prior posts regarding this subject and thanks for all of the generous donations.

Also a reminder that the grass portion of the range tee will be closing for the season Monday October 10th. A communication was sent out by the golf shop regarding this closure. Keep in mind the range is not closed but you will be required to hit off mats. The putting and chipping greens however are going to stay open.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

XGD Drainage Dates and Info

Because of the Fall Fling and many generous donations XGD systems will be here October 13-15 to install drainage on #9 and #12 greens. XGD systems is a great company with an impeccable record of installing drainage on troubled greens that are over saturated. This will be a big improvement on the health and playability of these two greens. Here is a link to their website for any additional information.

http://www.greensdrainage.com/

Because of the nature of the project we will need to temporarily close the hole that they are working on to allow them to do their work efficiently. They will be doing one hole at a time and once they finish that hole it will be open for play immediately. So in the 3 days of their visit only one hole will be closed at a time and we will keep informed as to which hole to skip. We are sorry for any inconvenience and we thank everyone for their support of this project!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Root Building

In the final days of the golfing season this autumn we are preparing our putting surfaces for winter and the next golfing season. We core aerated our greens a little over one month ago, which has allowed us to grow a deeper thicker root structure. Timely fertilization with an emphasis on Potassium will provide for better plant and root health. Because top growth starts to decline more and more as fall progresses. the plant instead uses its energy to produce roots. Fertilization throughout fall will help improve root structure and overall plant health. In fall we also tend to water greens less, to allow roots to dig deeper in search for water, instead of over watering which keeps roots at the surface.

And lastly, we will be slowly raising the height of cut on our putting surfaces. In the coming weeks we should expect green speeds to be slower. The higher the height of cut, the better and healthier the root structure. By preparing now we give turfgrasses the opportunity to utilize the nice weather to make itself healthy so that it can better withstand the stresses of winter and summer.

Fairway Aerification

This week and next you will notice that we will be core aerating fairways. The process is very similar to how we aerify greens with the exception that fairways take much longer to complete and because of cost we do not topdress. We will be pulling 5/8" cores from fairways and they will be picked up with our core harvester. By picking up the cores we leave a lot less soil at the surface of the fairway giving them a cleaner, less dirty look. Once we pick up cores we blow or drag any left over material off the fairway and we then start the next fairway. Yesterday we completed #1 fairway and today we are going to complete #9 and #14 fairways. Depending on the amount of play, mechanical breakdowns, and the weather conditions we hope to complete 1 to 2 holes a day. We will not start a fairway until the previous fairway is completed. Once fairways are completed we will aerify the walk paths which will take 2 days to complete. Below are pictures of pulling cores (lower left) and cleaning up cores with our core harvestor (lower right).

You can expect fairways that are completed to have a lot holes and some small areas of soil. Overall the fairways will be very playable and softer than we are used too. On the fairways that are aerified, play lift clean and place, this will allow you to clean any mud you may have picked up on your ball. With good weather and some timely rain the fairways should recover nicely, two weeks after they were completed. Below are pictures of #1 fairway once it was completed. As you can see fairways are clean and from afar (lower right picture) you would hardly know we aerated.

Core aerificaiton is an important process for all turfgrasses. It relieves compaction, helps elongate roots, removes thatch, improves soil gases, and helps with water infiltration. Core aerification is vital to improving the health and playability of our fairways.

Thanks and we apologize for any inconvenience.