Spring getting started 2

What a difference 5 days makes!! At the beginning of the week we were 70% covered in snow and now we are down to 10%. The majority of the remaining snow is in the rough along the south side of treed fairways. We have had a good look at all of the greens now and the majority have looked good. The 15th and front of 17 are the only greens that have been hurt from the winter. There doesn't seem to be much frost left in the sunny areas now so its just time that is needed for things to firm up. We have begun some cleanup on the course but we are very limited to where we can go.

#1 Tee

#9 from the Green

#18 from the Green

Spring getting started

Its nice to see some warmer weather and our snow receding. The course is roughly 50% covered in snow and with a little luck most of that will be gone over the next week. Over the last two weeks we have removed excess snow off all of the greens and all snow off the greens that have solid covers. After having a good look at half of the greens now the majority of them look like they have wintered well. We are seeing minor mechanical damage on some greens and some freeze/thaw damage on the front of #17 green. The 15th green has been hurt from the long duration of snow cover and quantity of snow pack that it had received over the winter. It will need extra care in the coming month to get it ready for golf season. Of the areas we have seen our winter protective chemical has been very effective, little to no snow mold has been present. Over the next few weeks hopefully all this snow will be gone and we can begin the process of getting the course ready for golf.

A look out over #1 from the Tee

10th hole

9th hole

18 Green

Under the tarp on #8

Winter continues

This has certainly been a winter we haven't seen in a while. With the snow coming early and the cold temperatures holding on so consistently.

First Tee

Fortunately for the greens at The Briars the snow cover has acted as an insulator to keep the soil temperatures from fluctuating. There is a good amount of frost in the ground but not as much as you may think considering all the cold temperatures we have had. We have looked at multiple locations on the golf course and there is a minimum of 2.5 feet of snow cover and no ice on the surface of the greens. A build up of ice can smoother the grass and if it stays on the surface too long it can produce winter damage. Also, in the freeze/thaw times in the spring, the ice can take more time to thaw and therefore increase the chances of winter damage.

Looking at our long range temperatures we will be leaving the insulating snow cover on the greens until we see the temperatures consistently increasing and it begins to feel like spring is coming. Timing will be very important due to the long duration of the snow cover. With our greens covers underneath the snow, the length of time our winter chemical applications will stay effective, and the carbohydrate storage in the plants being used up when the temperatures change we will want to get the snow removed.

11 Fairway towards Green

Season Recap

Another golf season has passed us by. We have been rushing around organizing the finishing touches on putting the course to bed. Greens, tees and fairways have had their winter protection products applied. Greens have also been solid tine aerated, heavily topdressed and the winter covers installed. Luckily for us we put our last tarps on the day before our first snow fall. Let’s hope for a cool winter with a nice coat of snow to help protect our greens over the next 4 months.

Early summer brought good course conditions and we were setup quite well for the heat of the coming months. In mid-July we had a week of sweltering, hot days that did not treat our Poa greens gently. Thankfully it did not last long and the greens bounced back well for the remainder of the season.

Changes are always being made to improve any business. Over the last few seasons we have implemented some new practices and have done significant tree work to help increase the quality of the playing surfaces and growing environments. While some of the processes may seem aggressive at times the benefits out way the disruption and hopefully moving forward everything is stronger and healthier. During late fall and winter we will be continuing with our tree program based on green site evaluations and architects recommendations. Also we hope to begin some construction projects that will be finished up in the spring.

Although this past season brought about good golf course conditions, we always look to improve. A new addition to our equipment fleet for next year is a mower to achieve a primary cut on a consistent basis. We have also purchased a solid winter cover for the 15^th green. The gardens on the course and at the clubhouse will have a new look next season. They have all been dug up and replanted, splitting up the perennials. We will continue with our cultural practices of weekly verticutting, topdressing and monthly aerations. These programs have been showing good results and have had minimal disruption to golf due to our maintenance day.

I hope that the members of The Briars have a great holiday season and enjoy their winter. I look forward to see all of you again in 2014.

Patrick Greenman

July Recap

The month of July brought some challenges to the golf course. The heat and humidity at the beginning of the month added extra stress to the greens. Some select areas on the greens and tees took a step back from the healthy conditions we had. We eased up on our mowing and cultural practices on the greens, we increased our fertilization, monitored moisture levels and hand watered when necessary. The month ended with some nice growing weather. The greens are recovering and we are slowly working on getting the speeds back to June conditions.

Moving into August we are preparing for the Club Championship and the Golf Canada events. We have been raising the heights of the rough and will be lowering the heights on the greens. To help provide quality playing surfaces insure you repair your ball marks and fill your divots on tees/fairways. This time of the season you are better off to fill divots with the mix provided than with the divot you have made.

Tee Construction

Due to the small size and not being level we have constructed a new tee on the 16th hole. We now have 3X the size and lots more options for angle and depth to the green. The main construction happened last fall with sod being installed this spring. 

The original look of the tee.

Due to the later start to the season we were finally able to sod three weeks ago. 

We installed 4 extra sprinklers to insure proper coverage while watering.

6 days after sod installed it had been cut.

Rolling to help smooth out the surface.

We are cutting it a higher height of cut and will be topdressing weekly to help level up seems. Extra fertilizer will be added to help build up some strength before it is opened.
With the weather cooperating the tee should be in play by the end of the month.

Course Open

The beginning of a new season has arrived. Hopefully this is the start of some nice spring weather. The course is in good shape and wet spots are slowly drying up.
Over the next few weeks along with our regular maintenance we will be checking sand depths in the bunkers, cleaning up some skunk damaged areas and sodding the blue tee on #3 and #16 tee.