Hyde Park Est. 1909.

Friday, July 27, 2012

Golf Course Update- More storms

Unfortunately Mother Nature has not been very forgiving lately. Another storm passed through the Tri-State with heavy rain, wind and hail. Fortunately, the damage was on the moderate side but closed the golf course due to temporary saturation of the greens and clean-up of debris. The crew was able last night to clean the greens of debris before the last blast of rain came in. Today the Grounds staff along with the help from a temporary service continue to pick up debris around the course.

-15 green-

As of 3:30 today the staff have one hole left to clean, the fallen trees along Erie Avenue and the left of 2 will be removed on Monday. We apologize for any inconvenience during the clean-up process. Attached are a few photos of the storm damage.



Left of 2 Fairway



Thank-you

Pat O'Brien

Grounds Superintendent


 

Friday, July 20, 2012

Summer Patch

Over the past few weeks a few more yellow rings have been evident on the greens at Hyde Park. With the extreme temperatures and added stress to the turf such as mowing, rolling and regular traffic the annual bluegrass or Poa Annua has been working overtime to survive.  

As many of you know Poa Annua (Poa) is an undesireable turfgrass plant. With the majority of the greens at Hyde Park being over 90 years old, the populations of Poa can be almost 60 percent. Poa is undesireable because it is a shallow rooted plant that prefers moist shaded conditions. It is a prolific seed producer, creating a bumpy surface particularly in the spring time and in the summer it declines rapidly due to heat and fungal pathogens from Summer Patch and Antracnose to name a couple.

The yellow or unhealthy area is Poa, while the healthy area is green and composed of creeping Bentgrass

So what are the yellow rings? The yellow rings are symptoms of Summer Patch, a fungal root pathogen that infects the Poa plant in the spring, while the signs of the infection are only noticeable in the summer under stress conditions. We target this pathogen in the spring with multiple applications of acidifying fertilizers, and fungicides to slow the demise of the Poa. Curative applications have been erratic in controlling this disease at HP.

In the short- term we will continue to monitor the progress of the Summer Patch, trying to offset the effects on playability through sand topdressing, fertilization and promotion of creeping Bentgrass.

In the long-term, encouraging Creeping Bentgrass will improve the playability and health of the putting greens. The building blocks of a healthy putting surface include; added sunlight, aggressive topdressing and aerification, improving air movement, proper moisture management, and the addition of internal drainage to the putting surfaces.

A look back from 7 green to the shaded 6th green.

Thank-you,

Pat O'Brien

Grounds Superintendent

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Cicada Killers

Over the past week there have been questions about the large number of bees noted in the bunkers at Hyde Park. In the majority of cases these are not bees but Cicada Killer Wasps. They look menacing but are relatively harmless.
Please click this link- http://butler.osu.edu/topics/horticulture/news/cicada-killer-wasps

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Golf Course Update- Storm Damage...

The Grounds Staff has been busy getting the golf course and grounds cleaned up from the two wind storms. Yes, two! The second blast of wind came in on Sunday evening. This second storm dropped about half as much debris compared to Friday. As of Tuesday afternoon, the Grounds Staff is still cleaning the golf course of debris. We are hopeful to have all the debris removed by the end of the week. I would like to pass on a thank-you to the entire Grounds Staff for their effort over the past few days. A special thanks, to Eric O'Bryan, Larry Dhres, Eric Toth and their all of their staff for aiding in the clean-up effort. And thank-you to the entire membership for your patience and understanding during these events.

To date:

  • The staff have removed over 60 utility vehicle loads of tree debris
  • 7 trees were lost mainly along the property and fence lines- damaged trees along 6,7, 13 ,14, 16 will be removed on July 9 and 10th pending weather conditions
  • Over 700 labor hours have been used for the clean-up
Moving forward,the Grounds Staff will be getting back to a sense of normalcy including mowing and rolling greens, raking bunkers, mowing the US open-like rough, along with dealing with the extreme weather that will be present for the next 7-9 days.

Below are few photos of the clean-up effort....

Eric OBryan, GM at wheel of the debris blower

Francy- with a few of the million sticks

Greg-taking care of a dead tulip tree on Friday night

A quick cool down on the 16th fairway

Eddie,admiring his sticks...or it could be heat exhaustion?

Thank-you,

Pat O'Brien

Grounds Superintendent