Cultural Practices

Why We Aerate:

We aerate to alleviate compaction, facilitate oxygen and nutrient exchange, improve drainage and to control organic matter levels. Aeration is varied in method. Hole size, hole depth and spacing are determined depending on the effect desired. Aeration is a very important tool in turf management even though it is frowned upon by golfers and staff alike. It can be disruptive and is labour intensive if a core is removed. However, the long term positive benefits to the health of our turfgrass

Why We Topdress:

Light frequent topdressing of greens has several important functions. Putting surfaces are kept smoother, drainage can be modified and organic matter levels are controlled by the abrasive nature of the sand. In conjunction with microorganisms in the soil profile organic matter levels can then be maintained within a certain percentage to ensure a healthier, firmer putting surface. Very low mowing heights are determined in part by controlling organic matter.

Why We Verticut:

Instead of a scissor like action these specific cutting heads cut down into the profile and help remove excess turf and organic matter. The depth is adjustable and results can be varied. The turf is then mowed as usual to remove the material. 

Wet Start

Well the season surely has been a slow one to start. With all of Mother Nature's rain and nowhere for it to go, we are having one very damp welcome to spring.

The golf course is still very wet, as many of the areas that have been affected are still very unplayable. We are trying our very best to cut all areas of the course, as well as repair the washed out sections of cartpath that we lost in the rains of only a few weeks ago. As you can imagine we cannot put our large, imposing equipment into the wet areas as they will cause more damage than good.

I have made the decision to allow the carts to roll, however on May 1. If you are a carter please just pay attention to the wet areas and the rules that will be made available to you at the proshop before your round. We are inciting a 90 degree rule in the fairways and a rough and cartpath where available rule until we are able to open the course completely.

I personally thank you for your patience in this long spring and hope we have great weather for you to enjoy right on through until late November.

Enjoy your round.

Weather Change

With the weather heating up, things are getting moving out on "The Links". The greens are opening up, the snow is receding, and they look as though thy are waking up on the right side of the bed.

The fairways are flooded and ice covered but look pretty good as well. Tees are a little worse for wear but look decent seeing as we decided not to treat them with a winter fungicide last fall.

We will start maintenance on the course as water recedes, and the turf firms up, I will not make any promises as to when we are opening, but with fingers crossed and positive thoughts, (and sweet talking to Mother Nature) we should get an early start. Not as early as last year, but that was a freak event and as we saw the weather did turn in April, and we did slow down after an impossibly warm March.

On a positive note we received great accolades from the IPM Council of Canada last fall, as we passed our on site pesticide audit, they were pleased with our efforts at pesticide reductions, and enhanced fertilization practices to reduce our dependency on synthetic pesticides. This aids in preserving the environment by not exposing beneficial organisms in the soil to harsh chemicals not prevalent in nature. These organisms aid in the breakdown of thatch, and use destructive insects for food.

So keep your thoughts warm, pray for sun and wind to dry out, and cross your fingers and toes to get back in the "swing" of things soon.

Groundhogs and Their Inaccuracy

Wiarton Willie says, 6 more weeks.  It has been a few weeks now since the forecast of an early spring, and yet we have received more snow and wind and had 4 snow days for the kids in the last 2 weeks.  The snow cover is albeit good for the golf course, it has insulated during the nights where we have dipped to minus 16 Celsius, as well the wind hasn't had a chance to desiccate the turf under all the snow either.

In another 2 weeks though I will start the process of clearing greens to let them shake off the winter  and see how they have fared over this period of snow cover.  I will also be spraying a heavy blue dye to keep the ice formation from being too heavy.  This dye is food grade and will be used for the sole purpose of using any little bit of sunlight it can pick up to keep the ice from becoming a destructive factor by suffocating the turf and not allowing it to inhale and exhale properly.

That is correct, the greens need to respire the same as we do.  With excessive moisture in the soil mix the greens run the risk of freezing the soil pore spaces together, therefore not allowing for proper venting.  This build up of gases in the sub surface can asphyxiate the turf roots.  They need what is called "gas exchange" to live.  Just as we inhale oxygen, and exhale carbon dioxide, so do the roots of the grass plants.  If there is too much build up of carbon dioxide in the roots they will shrivel and die.  If you loose the roots of the plant, well you know what happens.

There are a couple of ways this can happen:  a deep freeze of surface water forming clear ice, (ice containing no air pockets), unprotected ground having the soil freeze deep, (I am not worried about this one as the snow cover had helped).  The last way is when you have a good blanket of snow cover, and it melts a bit, then the top of the cover gets a crust of ice on top during the next freeze cycle.  This last one is the one that is of top concern to me.  This is why in the next few weeks I am looking to remove the snow down to the ice on the surface of the green, and use the dye to melt that ice and create air pockets in it so we have good gas exchange.

So let's hope that Mr. Willie was right and we are going to have terrific weather in March so we can get out there and start swinging the sticks.

Evan Martin

Winter Weather

With the weather in this part of the country being snowy right now, it is safe to say that the golf courses will be closed for a little while longer anyway.  We are facing deep snow, cold winds and ice that formed with the melt and rain of a week ago.  This makes me a little uneasy as I cannot see what is going on beneath it all.  Just remember that the grass on the course is like you or I, it is susceptible to dehydration when exposed to cold winds, a problem on our site for certain.  Issues such as crown hydration, when the plant, and soil is exposed to moisture through thawing cycles, (rain, warm temps, remember last week's record highs?) and then freezes with lows followed by the thawing.  The cells in the plant are not able to expel the moisture therefore they freeze and burst.  This is a cause for great concern on my part as it is nearly unavoidable and not preventable.  As well there are the typical snow moulds that I have sprayed for in the fall, with hopes that we don't stay under snow cover any longer than the 150 days that the chemicals that I use are sustainable for.

#16 green in 2009 without proper chemical application

So please understand when the snow melts and we are faced with certain issues, myself and my staff are going to work diligently to repair any of winter's spoils, and issues, we may use varying techniques which you as a golfer do not care for, but these are all necessary evils of the industry and we need to do them early so you can enjoy the hotter weather on the best course that we can possibly bring you.