More new trees

It is the time of year again when our annual tree planting takes place. We have been on a regular schedule of planting trees across the property for the last 10 years, and another 13 new trees were just added.

Our tree management program is extensive. We work throughout the season to keep our trees in shape. Over the winter we prune, clean, and remove trees. Especially over the last few years, we have worked hard to remove trees that are negatively impacting the Bermuda grass, and this has shown great results. We remove dead trees, and clean and prune others.

During the summer, we spend time almost daily, limbing up all the trees around the property. Sometimes branches break, or sag, and need to be removed to allow for proper air movement or allow a line of play for a golf shot. Other times branches are taken off to allow golf carts or mowers to more easily and safely fit underneath a particular tree.

But to balance the removals that we make, every spring we also plant many new trees. The keys to our program are proper species selection, but most importantly, proper location. Many of the trees that we must remove were improperly located at planting. It is difficult to imagine a tree 20, 30, or 40 years down the road and visualize how it will impact the turf. Not to mention that when a lot of the old trees were planted, the course looked very different, and those trees may not have affected the turf in the same way they do now. But moving forward, our goal is to always make sure that when we plant a tree, it will not need to be removed because it is in the wrong location.

 

This year we planted new trees on holes 5, 8, and 17. We planted 3 dogwoods and 1 red-horse chestnut on the right side of #5 fairway. We removed some trees very near the new planting location that were casting too much shade on the Bermuda grass. But these new trees are set much further back from the fairway, as well as being much smaller, and less shade producing species.

To the right of #8 fairway, we planted 5 dawn redwoods. At about the mid-point of 8 fairway, on the right side, 2 dawn redwoods were already in place, and the new trees fall right in line and create a great shape to the hole. In this case, these new trees were replacing dead or dying pines that were no longer useful.

On the left side of #17 fairway, we planted 4 new trees as well. 3 sweetbay magnolias and 1 ginkgo were added, starting just after the fairway bunker and working towards the green. In the last couple of years, a few trees have been removed from this location- 1 pine tree was dead, another pine tree broke in half and fell, leaving an unstable piece that needed to be removed, and a large silver maple that was shading the Bermuda grass. The new trees are suited to the location, and crucially, won’t negatively affect the Bermuda grass.

We are excited to plant new trees on the property- introducing new species to the grounds and picking just the right location is fun. The newest additions continue the commitment we have made to planting new trees at Bretton Woods.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please leave bunker rakes inside the bunker once you are finished.

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Golf Cart tips

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

More bridge work

Although we don’t use the alternate tee on #2 very often, when we do, we still want to present the best conditions possible. This goes for the bridge to the tee complex also. We recently made another improvement.

Two years ago, we spent considerable time updating the bridge . It had been several years since any work had been done and it was overdue. Overall, the work we did has held up very well. The bridge is in good condition and looks good as well.

As one could expect, the one aspect that did not fair as well over time was the tread laid down on the bridge, with all the foot traffic walking across the bridge. Bare wood can be slippery, especially when wet, even in golf shoes. Our initial attempt to so
lve these issues was with anti-slip tape. The adhesive on the tape didn’t stick to the wood as great as we hoped, so we also put some tacks in to help hold it in place. The tape also didn’t withstand the elements very good either and it started to tear. The tape really started to deteriorate over this last winter so we knew it would need replacing to start this season.

After laying many rolls of the Traq Matz- a heavy duty, rubber matting- we wondered if a similar product would be a useful as tread across the bridge. We were able to find a product made from recycled tires that checked all the boxes- good traction, heavy duty, tolerant of foot traffic and weather. So, we laid the new mat earlier this spring.

As temperatures continue to rise and the Bermuda grass resumes full growth, we will begin rotating onto the alternate tee and the new mat will be put to the test. We expect it perform better than the old tread and last much longer.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please leave bunker rakes inside the bunker once you are finished.

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Golf Cart tips

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Bunker sand additions

It is hard to believe that the first round of holes completed for the Master Plan are already 10 years old, and the most recently completed are 6 years old. Of all the work done, bunkers are the feature that can age, deteriorate and change the most, and must be properly maintained at a much more frequent interval.

We have already been around the entire course and renovated every bunker since each was built during the Master Plan timeframe. We remove all the old sod, scrape any accumulated sand along the edges, redefine the original shape, and lay fresh sod. You can read and see the process here. We have 69 bunkers on the course, and all have been through this process over the last 10 years, some more than once already.

Part of the issue that forces these renovations is the escape of sand from inside the bunker to the outside. Wind, water, golfers, and the Grounds staff all contribute to sand being lost from the bunker. These are all unavoidable results of bunkers maturing and being used. We replace the sod and reshape the edges to maintain the integrity of the bunker, but we also must work to replace the sand within the bunker itself. This too is an ongoing process- we replace sand every year- more so in greenside bunkers than in fairways. However, with the increased play we have seen over the last few years, as well as the age of the bunkers, we are more aggressively refilling fairway bunkers this season.

Starting last fall, we began working to get the depth of sand back up to a consistent standard across all the fairway bunkers. 2-3 times per year we check all the bunker sand depth in every bunker and adjust accordingly- moving sand around from where there is too much to where more is needed. But we also must simply add more new sand into the entire bunker. This is what we are working on now. Depending on the size of the bunker, we are adding 10-20 cart loads of sand each. It has taken us several months, and 6 truckloads of sand thus far, but we are down to our last handful of bunkers, and last two or three truckloads of sand.

Unfortunately, new sand is never the same firmness as the old sand. The old sand has matured in place, been compacted by equipment and settled over time, and has small amounts of finer material mixed in. So, the fresh sand on top can feel very loose, and can even seem like completely different sand. However, we are using the same sand as what is existing in the bunkers, and the softness is temporary. With time, and more compacting to come from the Grounds department, the new sand will firm up and match the existing sand.

Bunkers have a lifespan. Reshaping and adding sand are two key aspects of maintaining bunkers and making sure that they don’t deteriorate to the point of having to be rebuilt sooner than expected.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please leave bunker rakes inside the bunker once you are finished.

 

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Golf Cart tips

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Spring time

We have had our usual up and down spring season thus far. The golf course is slowly waking up, but we are still in waiting mode for regular maintenance. However, there are several key jobs that must be accomplished over the next few weeks for us to have a successful season. So, despite the lack of regular maintenance, the upcoming weeks are no less busy or important.

During the spring we must treat the greens extensively with plant growth regulators (PGR’s) to prevent seed heads. We also make our initial pesticide application for Annual bluegrass weevils (ABW’s). Our preemergent weed control will be applied to all rough and Bermuda grass. We will also make an herbicide application to the Bermuda grass and rough that will eliminate any remaining weeds from over the winter. Timing is key for all these tasks and without them, the entire season would be an uphill battle to maintain quality conditions.

PGR applications have been ongoing for a few weeks now, but we are entering the most crucial time. Annual bluegrass, the predominant grass type on our greens, will be setting seed over soon, and without the use of PGR’s, these seedheads can adversely affect playing conditions.

Another grass-specific pest that we must deal with is the Annual bluegrass weevil. As the name suggests, this weevil particularly likes to eat Annual bluegrass. Adults hibernate over the winter and in spring move towards shorter cut turf to mate and lay eggs. Targeting these adults as the migrate out is the surest way to lower populations for each successive generation, but missing the timing can lead to infestations throughout the season.

Weeds are a part of our property simply because we have so much area and no need or desire to treat everywhere. However, we do focus on the main playing surfaces of the golf course to keep weed-free. Timing is key again, and just like with everything else, getting the material out now is important. The products we use are pre-emergent, meaning they must be in place before the weeds emerge or they are useless. We will be covering the main sections of rough- about 25-30 yards around fairways, greens, and tees, as well as all the Bermuda grass.

One of the last things we will do is to spray herbicides to kill any weeds that were already present before the pre-emergent applications. These are the “clean-up” applications. We will spray the Bermuda grass as well as the rough, with separate products, that will kill anything that survived the winter, and that we don’t want to still be alive. Eliminating the competition will allow whichever grass we are supporting to grow and thrive through the season.

Even though we aren’t regularly sending out mowers or in full maintenance mode yet, without the above-mentioned tasks taking place, we would be playing catch up all year. Getting spring right allows everything to fall into place.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please leave bunker rakes inside the bunker once you are finished.

 

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Golf Cart tips

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

 

New entrance sign

If you have been out to the club this spring, you may have noticed our new entrance sign. The previous sign was old and deteriorating and an update was necessary.

Before, we had a wooden sign that was built in-house by the Grounds staff many years ago. It was a three-foot square piece of wood that was solid and heavy and lasted for a long time. The lettering was routed in, and the entire sign was hand painted. The old sign was understated and certainly not fancy, but it matched the atmosphere of Bretton Woods very well. The old sign served its purpose, but it was time for an upgrade.

Our new entrance still matches the aesthetic of our club, but with a modern, updated feel. Small stone walls line the edge of the road on each side, ending at two columns just as you pass onto our property. The new sign itself is built onto a nice stone pedestal with matching stonework. Finally, there is lighting accenting all the features.

The weather cooperated nicely earlier this spring and the construction progressed smoothly. Footings were built, followed by cinder blocks and precision stonework. Electrical and lighting were next. Lastly, we graded the area and laid new sod. Once we are past the harshest of cold nights, we will be cutting in a new flower bed and planting many new flowers to enhance the beauty of the whole area. Plants have been selected and once they are in the ground, look for a future post with more details.

Although the old sign hadn’t fallen off the posts yet, it was nearing the end. We spent many hours keeping it in as good of condition as possible, but a new sign was inevitable, and we were able to get the new sign out this spring. It will be here for a long time to come.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please do not climb up the steep face of the bunkers.

 

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Golf Cart tips

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Traq Matz continued

We slowly continue the addition of more Traq Matz around the property. We have been please so far with our test at 17 tee and have selected a couple more locations.

In our March 4^th post, we noted that we had finished a Traq Matz installation at #2 tee  and were headed to #8 tee. The matting is now finished at #8 tee as well. Compared to the work at #17 tee, #8 tee was much easier. The area we were looking to cover with mats was a simpler shape and required much less trimming. Overall, the process went very smoothly- we finished it all in one day- and with the warmer temperatures we have had since then, the new sod has already started to grow through the openings in the mat very nicely.

#8 tee installation

After we finished our work at 8 we had a few extra rolls of matting leftover. Back when we initially did the work at 17 tee and found that it was working as well as we expected, we started a list of additional areas that could possibly benefit from the Traq Matz, like #2 and #8 tees. Further down the list, #12 tee was also included and we had enough to tackle that spot also. Though it is the smallest area that we have repaired to date, it is perennially one of the worst locations for traffic related decline of the turf, which made it a perfect candidate. With enough extra matting as well as just enough leftover sod, later in the same week, we were able to complete work at #12 tee also.

#8 tee

As we continue to see positive results, we will continue to knock other locations off our list. Slowly, we can improve many underperforming areas across the property.

#8 tee

Final touches at #8 tee

Completion of #12 tee

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please do not climb up the steep face of the bunkers.

 

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Golf Cart tips

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

March work

Although it isn’t technically spring yet, we are in “spring cleaning” mode. Waking the course up from winter is a slow process and is our focus in the month of March.

One of the first projects we start in March is to clean out the flower beds on the property. While the style of our course and grounds is not to have large, extensive flower beds, we do have several areas of evergreen and perennial shrubs scattered around. The shrubs receive any necessary pruning, the bed itself is edged and cleaned and the fresh wood chip mulch is applied. We typically do this work over the course of the entire month, often using frost delays and wet days when we can’t accomplish other jobs on the course, to work on the flower beds.

Another of our main March tasks is to recharge the irrigation system. Although the irrigation system is buried deep enough in the soil to likely survive and hard freezing, we still choose to blow all the water out of the system at the end of the fall. Because irrigation is so important to the maintenance of the golf course, it isn’t worth the risk for us to leave it full of water and potentially have a freezing issue. But, come March, and warmer temperatures and near-zero chance of freezing into the soil, we pump water back into the pipes.

We slowly crank the pumps back up and let water fill all the piping across the property. Once the system has reached full pressure and is stable, we start to methodically check every sprinkler on the property. We use our radio control to start and stop every sprinkler, making sure it is operating correctly, and as importantly, making sure it turns off correctly. The whole process of refiling with water and then testing everything takes 3-4 days.

Often, the change from air to water can cause little issues with the functionality of the sprinkler and we want to get all of those potential issues corrected before we get into the season and need to fully relay on the operability of the system. Of course, issues can and do arise during the season as well, but running through everything now, when there is no actual need for water, at least gets us ready for the season with everything in working order.

Most of the turfgrass on the course is still waking up from the winter and has very little need for attention in March. However, there is many other things on which we can focus at this time, allowing the Grounds staff to be ready for the season.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please do not climb up the steep face of the bunkers.

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Golf Cart tips

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Upcoming work- Trees and Traq Matz

It is March. I am sure there will be some days that still remind us of January, but we are noticeably closer to spring than winter. The Grounds department had a busy off-season: drainage work, tree work, mini golf work, and lots of inside work to prepare for this upcoming season. But with the weather getting nicer, we also have lots of upcoming work.

For many years in a row now, we have made it a priority to plant new trees on the property. This year will be no different. We have already met with our supplier, and he will be scouting out good specimen trees for us to plant. Our target locations this year are: right of #5 fairway, right of #8 fairway, and left of #17 fairway. We will discuss species and more specific placement in a later post.

Our most pressing project concerns the installation of more Traq Matz. This the same product we tested at #17 tee walk-on last fall. Through the dry, busy fall golf
season the turf held up well. So, we are moving forward with two more locations: the walk-on at #2 alternate tee and the walk-on at #8 tee. The unique aspect of this rubber matting is that it is installed over the top of new sod. At first it looks as if we are covering the sod too much for the grass to survive. However, the turf settles in, and starts to grow up through the mats, creating a nice turf cover and hiding the rubber mat. Both areas struggle mightily with high foot traffic concentration. We believe these are two ideal locations for the Traq Matz. We finished up #2 alternate tee at the end of last week and we will begin work at #8 tee this week. Getting the matting down now should allow ample time for the sod underneath to establish itself and grow before the heat of summer.

Our list of projects and routine maintenance really starts to stretch at this time of year, and through the whole season. Working now to knock out a couple of projects like this allows healing time for the new grass, as well as allowing the Grounds staff to cross another item of the list.

We are no returning to weekly posts. Thank you

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please do not climb up the steep face of the bunkers.

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Golf Cart tips

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Greens aeration

We are aerating greens this week. It may seem early- and it is very early compared to most courses- but there are a couple of very specific reasons that this timing works for us.

Though the timing is early, this is nothing new for us. We have been aerating greens in this window for several years now and it works for our situation.  But, comparing aeration timing between two courses is not a useful metric because of grass differences, tournament schedules, agronomic programs, and more. So, this schedule is good for our greens and calendar, but it wouldn’t necessarily work at other courses.

Sometimes the mid-winter thaw that we target as our aeration window is also the first nice weather in a few weeks that golfers also aim to get back out and play. It may seem as though we are disrupting everything just at the time when some nice winter golf can be played. However, part of our reasoning behind the early season aeration is so that the greens are healed and ready for spring play when the weather turns nice consistently and golfers want to be out regularly. It also allows the course to be ready for our early season tournaments and outings. By aerating now, we impact the first nice winter weather, not the first nice spring weather.

Our biggest reason for aerating in February has to do with our type of grass, Poa annua, and its life cycle. Each spring the Poa plant produces seeds. We work very hard to minimize the number of seeds produced because they can negatively impact ball roll, as well as deplete the energy of the plant. To stop, or at least slow, seed head production, we must slow and nearly stop all plant growth. But, to get our aeration to heal, we need aggressive growth. Recovery and seed head suppression do not work well together, so we aerate early. This allows 3-5 weeks of healing for the greens before we start our aggressive seed head suppression program.  

Sometimes the weather doesn’t cooperate, and our aeration gets delayed until we are much closer to our first chemical application for seed heads, but we have been lucky that last several years to aerate in February. We are in the midst of this year’s thaw and are hitting the window right on.

 

We will return to weekly posts starting in March. Thank you

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please do not try and remove a flagstick that is frozen into the cup. Turf damage may occur.

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Golf Cart tips

 

 

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Drainage work on hole 18

Typically, in the off-season, one of our main goals is to install more drainage on the course, and this year was no different. Although we have handled most of the immediate drainage concerns, there are always more areas in need of attention. This year we focused on hole #18.

Managing surface water is one of, if not the most important strategy for improving turf health and playability. A myriad of issues arise from water being left on top of the grass and poor conditions follow quickly. Similarly, playability declines rapidly in soggy conditions. The winter months are the perfect time to do this work as we have staff available and no regular maintenance of the turf to perform.

First, we added a drain along the immediate edge of the cart path near 18 green. This was a trouble area for some time, and we were finally able to tackle the issue. Between rain washing down the hill, or irrigation water trickling onto the cart path, a certain area right along the edge is where all this excess water accumulated. Slowly, a muddy section of turf developed. Even though another drain exists just into the fairway from the cart path, we still wanted to catch most, if not all the water before it made it onto the turf. So, we installed a linear drain- like what you might see on a pool deck- right along the edge of the cart oath. Now, water coming down the hill will have an entry into the drainage system before making it onto the grass. In heavy flow situations, the drain in the fairway will still provide backup and catch water also.

From that spot, we moved back down 18 fairway near the 200-yard mark. Here we mapped out 350 linear feet of new subsurface drainage to install. During heavy rainstorms, or just after the rain has stopped, we often drive the course to see where water remains and where it is very slow to drain. These are areas that we then earmark for new drainage, which is exactly what we did on #18. This portion of the fairway is also plagued by very poor soil, with many more rocks than most any other place on the course. Poor drainage (prior to our new installation) and poor soil are two of the greatest contributing factors to the poor turf health in this section of the fairway. This year’s drainage will start to help in this situation.

Although most of our highest priority drains have been installed, every year we still have more areas to capture water. We only focused on hole #18, but we were able to finish two separate trouble areas this winter.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Winter cart path rules are now in effect to protect the dormant Bermuda grass- we will scatter much less and be more restrictive with blue flags.

Here is a link to a recent article regarding bunker maintenance for golfers.

https://golf.com/lifestyle/bunker-care-mistakes-golfers-make/

As part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Golf Cart tips

 

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org