Quite An Expansion!

It was a very busy year, on all ends, at the club. As the year wraps up, I wanted to share some of the changes that occurred in the landscape world. The landscape has changed quite a bit over the last 18 months. From completely new landscape beds to renovated beds, we more than doubled the landscape square footages! We also doubled the square footages of the annual beds! There are also added window boxes and containers being placed around the new paddle building and tennis courts, as well as at the entrance of the golf teaching facility.

 

Come next spring and summer, the club is going to be blooming on all ends with new flowering shrubs and perennials and a lot more annuals. With added square footages and plants, comes more challenges and more maintenance (mulching, pruning, edging, dead-heading, weeding). So far, the new plant material is doing very well. Getting through the first winter is crucial in establishing new plants.

 

Exciting times are on the horizon with a lot of learning opportunities in the horticulture realm. I can't wait to see the landscape evolve as plants begin to establish themselves and fill in the landscape the way we envision them. Over the last couple weeks, I have been working on getting designs ready for the 2019 annual beds. Designs have been completed and the plants have been ordered! Just a waiting game now until warmer weather heads our way! If you have any questions or comments about anything, don't hesitate to stop and ask me.

Happy New Year!

Bryan Miller, Horticulturist

@HPGCCPlantman on Twitter

 

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So long 2018! Hello 2019!

2018 has been an interesting year with 15 months of renovations and challenging weather that has impacted turf mangers across the country. We continue to play catch up with our 2019 agronomic program, Mother Nature has slowed our progress slightly with the continued precipitation, but we feel confident we will hit the mark in 2019. As you can see from the graphic below, prolonged heat, humidity and high rainfall were the norms for 2018. Since, March 1st we are closing in on over 55" rain and 42 days above 90F.

Considering the challenges of Mother Nature, the new practice area is maturing well and will be open for play off of the grass in spring of 2019. Please continue utilize the synthetic tee line for all practice.

Walking around the golf course in the winter months, the landscape begins to change; fewer leaves on the trees, opens up vistas and sight lines , the dormant fairways add contrast to the cool season roughs and the putting surfaces have a camouflaged appearance, as noted in the photo of the 10th green. These old bentgrass types originally planted in the 1920s exhibit this appearance typically each fall and winter when the soil temperatures dip below 50F.

Holes 4,6 and 7 in the winter and summer months

Over the winter months the Grounds team and I will be busy with the following:

• Drainage improvements on holes 4 and 6
• Installation of an electric turf fan on the 7th green
• Preventative maintenance on the equipment fleet
• Tree Management program
• Data Analysis from 2018, relating to clip volume, ball roll and moisture management
• Snow and ice removal
• Construction of new grounds building
• Review and updating of 5 year grounds plan
• Continuing education

One of the biggest challenges is navigating the H2-B guest worker program for 2019. Each year, we engage in this program becuase it provides legal seasonal workers that reduce training costs and improve consistency for an 8 month season, however with Visa shortfalls and political obstacles there is no guarantee we will have our friends from Mexico back 2019. Fingers crossed!

 

From the entire Grounds Team we wish you a safe and Happy New Year and a prosperous 2019!

As always, if there are any questions or feedback please send to grounds@hydeparkcc.com

 

Thank-you,

Pat O'Brien

Grounds Superintendent

 

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Nearing the finish line!

The last 15 months have been a challenge for the HP Grounds team with managing a golf course in the midst of a major renovation and throw in some of the most difficult weather conditions to grow turf, we learned a lot. Thanks to the team for their help, patience and persistence through the entire process. Our management team, led by Dan Lawendowski, Bryan Miller, Arron Garrett, and Bobby Schenkel went above and beyond on a daily basis to assist, guide and grow. It was a team effort, we had tremendous support from the membership and Legacy committee; Eric OBryan, Nick Spadacini and Jake Conger were instrumental in the success, without their guidance and diligence the end result would not of been this good. Thanks for all your help!

Over the coming weeks we have several tweaks to the site, we are very pleased with the practice area, and all the new turf, and yes! it will be ready for the 2019 season

 

Some items on our list include:

• Small drainage projects
• Additional sod and landscape plants
• Fence construction
• Grounds equipment storage building construction (we are excited to get thousands of dollars of equipment out of the elements)

 

On the golf course we are playing a little catch-up with still many 2019 agronomic processes left to be finished. We will start to shift from construction mode to maintenance mode very soon.

As always, if there are any questions please do not hesitate to email us grounds@hydeparkcc.com or follow us on twitter @pobrienhpgcc

 

Thank-you

Pat O'Brien

Grounds Superintendent

 

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Horticulture Corner

It has been quite the summer, weather wise, in the plant world. Unseasonably hot and rainy May/June, dry spell and mid to upper 90s to start off July, and unseasonably cool temps to close out July. Needless to say, it has been a tough year to get all of the new landscaping that is part of the legacy construction established. That being said, overall, new plant material is doing quite well. There are some standout performers such as the Ruby Falls Weeping Redbuds, Beebalm(Monarda), and the Russian Sage(Perovskia). Others are a little slower to get established, but once they get through this first year they'll begin to fill in the landscape. It's always tough to get a new landscape, especially one of this size, established, no matter what the conditions are, but it is a great learning experience to see what plants respond to certain conditions compared to others.

South side construction continues to move along. As the site progresses, the landscaping design continues to be evaluated and adjusted according. One area that will modified from the original design is the hillside surrounding the tennis courts. The slope of the hill is too severe to plant anything on. It has been seeded and covered with a straw blanket. This will help with erosion on the hillside and make for a nice turf area once established. Details on where to locate planter boxes around the paddle area has also begun. Much like the old paddle/tennis area, the new area will also have planter boxes and window boxes to bring the area together.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to stop me and ask. Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Bryan Miller, Horticulturist

@HPGCCPlantman

 

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Around the Grounds

The summer of 2018, is proving to be a challenge for turf managers across the country. In the Ohio Valley, a slow start to the spring did not allow for significant root growth, followed by a foot of rain in May and June and finally a 3 week period of a lack of rainfall with over 30 days over 90 and nightime temperatures in the high 70's did not allow for much recovery for the Turfgrass plants. So far, the staff has done an excellent job on the course while being involved in the Legacy project on a daily basis.

Rough Renovation Trials:

One of the most deficient areas on the course are the multiple types of turfgrasses in the rough, with high populations of Annual Bluegrass the inputs and consistency are a challenge. The grounds team, in the coming weeks will apply a non-selective herbicide between 11 green and 10 fairway followed by seeding of a mono stand of turf type tall fescue to determine if these techniques could be used in a wide scale renovation in the rough areas.

 

Legacy:

The "grow-in" of the practice area continues to move well even considering the weather conditions. The new putting green has excellent density and we are slowly lowering mowing heights. Significant gains in quality should be noticed in late August and September when the days become cooler and shorter.

The bentgrass tee, with multiple rain events is behind the rest of the areas, we finally have an OK stand of turf to work with, along with additional drainage we should make some headway over the coming weeks.

The Zoysia grass tee and target greens continue to move in a positive direction, in the coming weeks we will continue to lower mowing heights, aerate the tee and make herbicide applications.

Our timetable to open the Practice area is not clear at the moment, it will be determined by the progression of the construction and and turf health. For updates please follow us on twitter @pobrienhpgcc or the grounds blog.

Thank-you,

Pat O'Brien

Grounds Superintendent

 

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The Legacy Continues

The Legacy project on the North side, minus a few details has come to a close, with excellent results. I would like to thank the entire Grounds team for their persistence, collaboration and execution while maintaining a golf course and their consistent involvement with the South side construction. These projects have challenged us, but the entire team has been instrumental for the success. Thank-you!

A special thanks to Bryan Miller, Horticulturalist and Natalie Selker for their wonderful design work. Bryan, has spent many hours over the last several months planning, coordinating and problem solving to get to this finished product, without Bryan's vision, commitment and dedication the end product would have fallen short. The majority of the plant material is in the ground, the next challenge is to keep it healthy with the stressful summer months just around the corner. Bryan, has also begun planting summer annuals please stop by and say hi and do not hesitate to ask him questions about the plant selections for 2018.

Bryan Miller

Thank-you, for your comments on the conditioning of the golf course, Assistant Superintendents Dan Lawendowski and Arron Garrett along with the entire Grounds team have done a wonderful job preparing the course with limited input from myself due to the construction.

Dan Lawendowski

South Side Update:

Considering that over 6" of rain has fallen during the month of May the entire project has progressed quite well! It may not look like much from the South entrance, but close to 20,000 cubic yards of soil have been moved, creating the outline for many of the facilities. The site is a challenge, with the number of processes occurring simultaneously with multiple contractors and equipment making this space even smaller. Collaboration is key to maintain a safe and efficient work environment.

Another rain event

At the practice facility, hints of green can be seen from the clubhouse as sod has been laid on the new target greens, the chipping green surrounds and practice tee surrounds. The golf course construction contractor Golf Preservations has continued to move well, considering the poor weather conditions. We are hopeful to have the remaining Zoysia sod laid on the teeing surface by the week of June 4th. Seeding of the adjacent areas will occur in the next two weeks.

Making it green!

Newly sodded target green with repurposed synthetic turf used for bunker liner

Thank-you, for your continued patience with the renovations, over the coming weeks we will increase frequency of the updates outlining the progression of the grow-in of the practice facility. As always, if there are any questions please email us grounds@hydeparkcc.com

Pat O'Brien

Grounds Superintendent

 

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April Showers bring May Flowers?

Here's hoping for some average weather in the Ohio Valley, below normal temperatures and well above average precipitation including multiple measurable snow events in April has been a challenge on the course and for the Legacy project.

On the course; the putting surfaces have been aerified, we choose to use a less intrusive method this year to help with faster recovery. So far, this was a good choice considering the lack of growth of the grass plant due to low soil temperatures. It won't be long until they are healed!

The Zoysia grass fairways continue to lag behind with the cooler temperatures limiting the cart traffic on the fairways. Zoysia grass, being a warm season grass requires warmer soil temperatures to grow and recover from any damage. Cart traffic and wet soils are a perfect combination to damage this slow growing Turfgrass. With a little help from Mother Nature It won't be long until carts are consistently off the path.

Damage from cart traffic

Another sign spring is finally here is Bryan is hard at work in the garden at Hyde Park with many spring selections for Chef. Stayed tuned!

The Spring also signifies the arrival of our seasonal staff including our Turfgrass Interns. James Quinn, is the first to arrive, from England part of Ohio International Intern program at Ohio State. James will play a key role in our Turfgrass team, preparing him for his future in the Turfgrass industry.

Here is a little about James!

Hi, my name is James. I am from Cheshire, England and I am an exchange Turfgrass intern here on the Ohio State Program through the Ohio State University. I have been a greenkeeper for 4 years at both a 9 &18 hole golf course in my home country. I have studied music my whole life and I have a degree in music production from Leeds Met University. Then when I finished my degree I got a summer job at one of my local golf courses and never left. After 6 months of work there I started my Sports Turf Maintenance course and 18 months later I gained my level 2 qualification. I have always wanted to live in the U.S.A and when I found out about The Ohio Program it seemed like the next logical not only for my life in general but for my new career too.

Welcome James.

Legacy:

The weather, once again has been the story, considering these challenges the construction of the practice facility continues to move in the right direction. The golf course contractor, Golf Preservations and Golf Course Architect, Tim Liddy will be onsite in early May to begin fine shaping, bunker construction and drainage installation. My fingers are crossed for dry and seasonal temperatures!

For more information on the Legacy renovations please follow us along on Twitter @pobrienhpgcc

Thank-you,

Pat O'Brien

Grounds Superintendent

 

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Legacy Update- Mud pit to dust bowl

Last week despite a wet start, Precision Site Development made tremendous headway with fill and grading operations on the South Side of the Legacy project. With over 5000 yards of soil moved and compacted, the range, short game and the site for the teaching academy building are taking shape.

Off-Road Hauler holds 25 yards of soil

The key for these operations to be successful are dry soil and weather to allow the off road haulers to move soil as well as for the proper compaction of the soil to occur to eliminate settling. Another interesting piece attached to the fill operations is the depth of the topsoil on the hill. In some areas there is over 2 feet of nutrient rich topsoil, the problem is it does not compact well so it will be stored on site and used in the future for grounds projects for years to come. The back of the range, a borrow pit will be used, quality compactable fill will be removed for the Legacy project and topsoil will fill the void in this area.

Topsoil Stock Pile

Here's hoping for dry and seasonal weather to greet the Golf Course Contractor and Golf Course Architect, Tim Liddy the first week of May to begin the detail work of shaping, drainage and irrigation installation.

Thank-you,
Pat O'Brien
Grounds Superintendent

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