Some additional weather statistics for this season

Month of June

5 record highs for that particular day in June.  Avg for the 5 days was 96.8
5 record low highs for that day in June  Avg for the 5 days was 77.6
I should have known something was up with that type of heat in early June.

Looks like this summer season will pass 2010 as 4th all time record high temperature for the period June/July/Aug summer season by almost .25 degrees per day.  Last season 81.7, this year 81.93.  Three more days this week of over 90 will give us 64 for the season which is one less than last year with the whole month of September still to come.

A very heavy 1.10" of rain on July 12 was our last major daily rainfall.  We've had an additional .69"(only .15" coming in one day) of rain in the last 39 days.  Our weather station measures Evapotranspiration (ET) which is the amount of water lost from the surface of the ground which would be available for plants to utilize.  Some of the factors affecting this loss include temperature, humidity, and air movement.

Since July 12, we've had rainfall of 1.79" and an ET of 8.02".  That is a very significant deficit which points to why our water usage has gone sky high over last 6 weeks.

Irene Damage to Golf Courses in the East

Check out Superintendent Frank Tichenor's blog at Forest Hill Field Club in Bloomfield, New Jersey.
He has some photos from damage they received from Irene.  By the way, Frank has an excellent blog as well.

http://fhfcgreendepartment.blogspot.com/

Why are some areas on the course brown?

Another post that did not show up from my phone last week.

The summer heat of July and August gave us some of the hottest temperatures ever and also left us with only 4/10" of rain since July 12.  Our irrigation lake is recharged by runoff from rain but when there is no rain, city water is used.  We used almost 8 million gallons of city water during the last billing cycle between July 15-August 1l and the meter continues to keep piling on during the current cycle.  We are keeping our main play areas watered sufficiently but are throwing smaller amounts in our deeper rough and non-essential areas.  The picture I've attached is behind 17 green and in front of 16 tee.  Even with a modern irrigation system, you can still see how inefficient an irrigation system is in comparison to mother nature.  There are numerous areas on the course in which weaknesses are on display from our system.  A few tees, fairways and even greens are showing signs of damage from inefficient irrigation applications.  I think its time for a rain dance.  Maybe that will be a part of our Labor Day festivities this weekend.

Old zoysia nursery between 17 green, 2 fairway and 16 tee.  We have kept the irrigation off in this area except for the bentgrass collar nursery near 16 tee in an effort to conserve on our water usage which is very high right now because of the 6 week drought.

Re: Sunday evening preparations for two day St. Louis District Golf Senior Championship

I sent a few messages this week via my phone that did not show up on the blog.  Here are a couple of those messages.

Skip, Tom, Jason, and myself out on a beautiful Sunday evening making early preparations for the two day senior championship. Not enough time tomorrow with 7:30 tee times to get everything accomplished for our members and guests playing in this event so a little dry, evening mowing.
Joe Wachter
Managing Director of Grounds and Landscapes
Certified Golf Course Supt.
Glen Echo Country Club
Sent from my LG phone

Germinating seed on #3 green

Our greens continue to improve each day and the bentgrass seed that we placed on #3 green last Friday has now emerged from some of the rescue tine holes.  These seedlings in combination of the continued regrowth from the weakened bentgrass that is reviving will help to discourage the amount of poa annua that will attempt to invade these areas.  We will begin to do some plugging over the next few days to continue with the repair.  The staff also made a couple of more collar repairs as the continue the trend of normal to less than normal temperatures.

Seedlings emerging at the tip of the knife.

Same picture but a close up of the little squiggly bentgrass seedlings at the tip of the blade.

Tee renovations complete

The past couple of days our staff we completed the tees that we had promised.  #13 white tee and #11 red tee.  We also made a turf change on the #1 blue tee and converted from bentgrass back to zoysia which is the preferred choice of tee grass here at Glen Echo because of its low inputs(reduced water, chemical and fertilizer).  It has great wear tolerance and can now be mowed by our riding unit which now will be mowing all tees on property.  We've made changes to five teeing grounds this season; two from the blue tees, one from the white tee and two from the red tees and the walk path to #1 red tee as well.  They will finish growing in the rest of the season but should be able to be used in the next few weeks.  They will be in perfect condition for next season's play.  

Sod cutter was used to strip  off the sod that was then removed by our staff from the first tee, the red tee on #11 and what is now the white tee from #13.  The removal of the sod allows the soil that was hauled in to adhere to the soil and allows the sod that is laid to blend into the existing sod surrounding the tee.  

Stripped off sod from the red tee #11 waiting to be tractor rototilled by our laser leveling contractor  from Schaefer Meyer.

Mike McNeil laser leveling the #11 red tee.

Laser leveling the white tee from #13.

Once the tee is prepped, we fertilize it with a starter fertilizer to give the root system a  jump start and the staff laying the big rolled sod. Skip, Russ, Tom L, Jason and Demarcus.

The finished tee on #1.  We will roll it tomorrow with the tennis court roller and let it grow for a few weeks before we open it back up.  It will be topdressed with sand and will be walk mowed until it firms up enough for the riding unit to mow it.

Completed red tee on #11

Completed #13 white tee.

#13 white tee now aligned down the center of the fairway.

Fairway aeration complete

Our fairway aeration was completed on Monday. A good soaking rain wiould go a long way in helping with recovery. The front 7, plus 17/18 look good from last week's work.
Laser leveling of the new white tee #13, renovated red tee on # 11 and leveling and regrassing of the #1 blue tee to zoysia will take place over the next couple of days.
Joe Wachter
Managing Director of Grounds and Landscapes
Certified Golf Course Supt.
Glen Echo Country Club
Sent from my LG phone