A Wet Start to Winter

Mother Nature delivered a wet blow to the region dumping over 10 inches of rain since winter began just a month ago. Rain totals for the season are over 20 inches (since October 2016) and the drought has been declared over in the Bay Area. If you've been out on the golf course in the last few weeks, you may have been able to come to that conclusion yourself!

All things considered the course handled the storms well. Sure the bunkers were blown out and large amounts of debris were scattered about but, all in all, no big deal. No trees down, no major issues. Once the storms let up we were out cleaning the course and making repairs to bunkers and surprisingly, the course remained quite playable throughout.

Golf Carts have been restricted for many days this winter. We simply cannot allow carts on to the course when it's this wet. Over the holiday weekend, we went five days without rain and by the 5th day, we were able to lift cart restrictions. Pretty amazing that after all that rain it took just five days to dry out enough to safely allow golf carts. Then, it rained again...
We did get out to mow the entire course yesterday. Numerous wet areas were skipped but, for the most part, we mowed the entire course for the first time in weeks. Again, pretty amazing considering just a few years ago, the course would have been closed for weeks following a similar winter pattern. This says a lot about the commitment the Club and the Membership has made to supporting the golf course over the years. Cultural practices like aeration and sand topdressing are disruptive during the process but pay off greatly in over-all course conditions year around. A big Thank You goes out to the Membership for their support of the Turf Department! Now lets get to Tahoe. I hear the snow is amazing!!

The Sandman Cometh

The sandman was back to apply 600 tons of sand to the fairways on Monday. A total of 1200 tons have been applied this season (40 tons per acre). This total is half of what was applied for many years. The years of heavy sand applications resulted in a sand base on fairways of 6 to 8". The fairways were essentially "sand capped" over the course of 15 years and now we have adjusted the program to maintain that sand base. Resulting conditions have improved year around. I hear stories from many long time members about losing shoes in the fairways back in the day. No longer the case! In season, we are able to provide firm and fast conditions in fairways thanks to the sand base. It doesn't take much to dry things out here and when playing firm the character of the course is accentuated big time.

We've reached the mid point of the season and so far so good. About this time each year, I find myself looking through files of pictures titled "winter" or "rain" more and more often. It's been almost 4 months since we've had any precipitation. Rainbows and water falling from the sky would be a welcome sight but in all reality, we've got a long way to go. Football season is just a few weeks away though...

What's going on out there?

Here is a quick update on what's been going on out there over the last few weeks...

Tree Roots vs. Grass Roots - It's a competition thing
We've begun work on addressing some of the turf areas impacted by tree roots and/or cart traffic. The roots from this massive Redwood tree extend deep and wide throughout the soil competing with shallow turf roots for water and nutrients. Add to this the stress of high cart traffic and the turf has no chance to survive. The root pruner was out and about on the course last week cutting surface roots that impact greens, tees, fairways and roughs. This helps us to get a leg up with our root competition and that's about it. Soon the roots will regenerate and the battle will resume right where it left off.

High traffic areas prepped for sod

When the course was built, golf carts were not even a consideration. The property is tight and traffic is condensed in many areas. These "high traffic" areas have become an eyesore to the point that we are now stripping old material and re-sodding them. Once established, a program of solid tine aeration, extra seeding and extra fertility will help to keep these areas in better shape. Sod used here is a blend of Tall Fescue and Kentucky Bluegrass that will better withstand the pressure of all the wear and tear. To some degree, I still expect this sodding process to take place annually especially at cart path entry and exit points.
Fairway Bunker on 6

This fairway bunker has been a problem for years now. Every time it rains, surface water rushes into the bunker and washes out the sand. With all the rains this season, we have a significant amount of water moving though the soils. The soils in the base of this bunker are extremely heavy clay in that when saturated it can take weeks to dry out. What has resulted is what I call the "waterbed effect" with soil saturated to the point that the bunker floor is unstable and unplayable. After moving sand around the soupy mess in the picture below made it's way up to the surface. Over the next few days we will work to repair the bottom floor of the bunker, add drainage, replace sand and restore the bunker to original specifications. Thanks to all for putting up with these much needed maintenance practices and we'll see you on the course.

Winter Conditions - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

It's 2016 and the first blog of the year so... Happy New Year! I know it's a bit late but we've had our hands full both on and off the golf course. I wanted to update everyone on the winter conditions that exist currently. With that comes the good, the bad and the ugly...

The Good: A total of 14.8 inches of rain has fallen so far this season. Our irrigation pond is full and spilling over recharging nicely with fresh rain water. The course has received a much needed flush of good water as well as a much needed break from constant golfer and mower traffic that's become the norm over the last four years of drought. New grass is growing and areas of stressed turf are regenerating as well. The staff has been able to take some much needed days away to rest and spend time with family. Golf course and employees, take a deep breath.

The Bad: The course is wet and has been unplayable at times. On some days following rain events, golf carts have been restricted to paths only and at times not allowed at all. The decision to restrict carts in never easy and is made for safety purposes as well as to protect the course from damage. Rutting and compaction occurs when wet and saturated soils are driven on by carts and equipment. The result is damage that can take months to recover and will set us back come spring time. Our push up style greens do not drain as well as newly constructed greens and we must limit traffic from mowers when wet conditions exist. The result is green speeds slower and bumpier than usual. Following significant rain events like we've had this season, conditions for golf can be below what has become expected in winter. Remember, it used to be like this every year.

The Ugly:




















The pictures here speak for themselves. Bunkers have been washed out and contaminated with soil on many occasions this season. This requires many hours of labor to repair. It is important that once the rain lets up, we get out to at least remove contamination and repair washouts prior to the next rain. Whether we rake bunkers or not following this process depends on the forecast and when we are likely to see the next rainfall.


Once soils reach saturation, there is no where for water to go. During heavy downpours it's common to see standing water on much of the course. It can be days before we are able to mow following such events as the course must be cleaned of debris as well as firm enough prior to mowing. The fairway sanding program and some drainage work in areas around the course have improved overall winter conditions greatly but in times of extended rainfall, the play ability of the course will lessen. So should our expectations.

The last four years of drought have helped us to forget just how wet the golf course can get during a normal winter. The ability to play virtually 365 days a year with good to great conditions has made for long periods of uninterrupted play. Very cool from the golfer perspective. Not that cool from the course's perspective. Really, the course hasn't had a break in years and is thankful to get one so far this season.

So, I say here's to El Nino bringing another 14 inches of rain to finish off the season nicely. Enjoy this winter as we are on track for normal rainfall and that's a good thing. We sure do need it...

Now lets go to Tahoe!

Thank You... It's About Time!

What a difference a week makes. The storm door has officially opened and the last ten days has brought the East Bay hills just over 4 inches of much needed rain. The picture above was taken this morning and as I write, the rain continues to fall.

The creek is running hard and our irrigation pond has come up significantly in the last 48 hours.


























This series of storms is the first since November 2012 to produce any significant rainfall and has everyone in the Turf Department breathing a deep sigh of relief. As with all heavy rains, there will be much clean up and detail work in the coming days and weeks and that's just fine. We'll take it

Just a few more pictures of the golf course this morning... I must say that the smile on my face coming into work this morning was ear to ear!

Even Buzz joined in the fun by chasing some geese and playing in the creek! Really a great day to be on the course...

Nice of winter to show up albeit a few months late. The recent storms will help fill up ponds and reservoirs around California but is really just a drop in the bucket. Thank You Mother Nature... It's About Time and Keep It Coming!

Drainage Repair

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

Yep, that there is a low drainage catch basin, the result of a very successful fairway topdressing program. Over the years, so much sand has been applied to the fairways that now we are going through and raising things like sprinklers, valve boxes and now catch basins. On Monday the staff dug up and repaired all three of the low catch basins on the 4th fairway.

Note the tree roots in the picture above and keep in mind that this drain is 30 yards from the nearest tree!

Once the drain is exposed, the old box is removed. A new connection is made at the 6" drain pipe and the hole is filled with a sand/soil mixture that will allow for the immediate area to drain better.

The area is then compacted and prepared for sod.

The finished result is a level area surrounding the catch basin. Not only do the catch basins look better but they will no longer be hard on our equipment each time we mow. Look for a more expansive drainage project this fall on the 4th fairway. Thanks and we'll see you on the course!

Winter Repair & Maintenance

If you had to guess, what part of the golf course would you say received the most attention from the turf department?  The bunkers here at Claremont are far and away the most labor intensive feature of the golf course.  Making these bunkers look and play the way they do is a major focus year around for the maintenance staff.  During the winter months keeping the bunkers in shape and looking good is even more challenging.





GREENSIDE BUNKER LEFT OF #4 GREEN "BLOWN OUT"

 

SAME BUNKER AFTER REPAIR WORK



 With the winter comes the rain and it's during these heavy rain events that we see the damage to the bunkers in the form of washouts, puddling, and sand contamination.  What's important is that the bunkers are repaired correctly to avoid a build up of silt and soil in the white bunker sand.  Typically following a rain event the first step is to remove any sand that is contaminated with silt and/or soil out of all the bunkers.  Then the process of putting the sand back up on the faces begins and much of this work is done by hand with shovels.  The last step is to rake out the entire bunker to break up the compaction and help to allow the wet sand to dry. 

 





FAIRWAY BUNKER #18 WASHED OUT

 



SAME BUNKER AFTER REPAIR WORK

This process of repairing bunkers can be quite time consuming and labor intensive dependant on the severity of the storm.  Keep in mind there will be times when we don't have enough staff to properly repair all the bunkers immediately following a given storm.  The staff in the turf department will do their best to get the golf course back in shape following the winter storms and I thank them for their hard work in the bunkers this winter.

Fairway Drainage #7

If you have been on the course over the last week I'm sure you've seen the extensive drain work being performed on #7 fairway.  With winter this year bringing an early 12" of rain, the wet areas on this fairway have given us many problems that we are now addressing.  A classic "herringbone" drain will be installed at a depth of 18 to 24 inches.  The drain work begins with the trenching and removal of the native clay soils and rock.  We then line the trench with pea gravel and install the 3" perforated drain pipe.  The trench will then be filled with pea gravel to 6" from the surface.  The top 6" of the trench will be filled with a mix of sand and compost prior to replacing the sod.  The end goal being an area that will drain well during winter rain events and will stand up to traffic from golf carts and maintenance vehicles alike.

All work on this project is being done "in-house" by the maintenance staff here at Claremont.  Drainage work by nature is dirty, labor intensive and time consuming.  When you see the guys out there in a ditch, don't hesitate to give a wave and thank them!