Grounds Update

As April comes to a close, it certainly seems like a long month for many obvious reasons! The turf and other plants have had a roller coaster of a ride with the extensive swings in temperature ranging from the 80s to lows in the 20s. What can I say?  It is Spring in Cincinnati! 

The Zoysia grass started to transition very well, a green hue was beginning to show in very early April. However, after a few hard frosts and average temperatures almost 5 degrees cooler, the Zoysia decided to go back to sleep. 

(Above) On April 10th,  when the 3rd hole opened,  the established Zoysia in front of the green was close to 100 percent green. (Below) On April 25th, the Zoysia in front of the green was almost completely dormant. 

It has been a long time since we have seen such a quick transition back to dormancy. Some long-range predictions have below normal highs but the daily average temperatures are predicted to be more consistent. This will help with green-up and active growth for the ability of the Zoysia to withstand and recover from cart traffic. 

Warmer soil and air temperatures will continue to help with the recovery of the greens. As you might have noted, there are greens that have recovered faster than others. There are a multitude of reasons from; varying microclimates of the greens, (shaded vs sun) construction type as well as different bentgrass varieties. The two newer greens; putting green and #1 constructed of straight sand and composed of newer bentgrass varieties are traditionally slower, although these bentgrass types are more resilient in the summer they take a little longer to initiate consistent growth. When you have an opportunity,  please take a look at the practice putting green and walk 80 feet to the 18th green. These two greens are great examples of different construction materials and bentgrass varieties along with sharp contrasts of recovery and smoothness. Some courses, with high populations of Annual Bluegrass (Poa) are growing more actively in spring versus bentgrass. Creeping Bentgrass, traditionally is more resilient in the summer months and does not produce a seedhead in the Spring.The greens at Hyde Park are near 100 percent bentgrass. (Below) Close up view of the 18th. 

Over the next week,  we will continue to lower mowing heights, increase frequency of brushing to stand-up laid over turf, apply light amounts of sand for smoothness along with adjusting fertility regiments based upon growth for individual greens. It does look like Mother Nature will help the cause with consistent temperatures! 

Please pass along any feedback or questions and thank-you for your patience while turf conditions evolve. 

Thank-you,

Pat O’Brien

Grounds Superintendent 

Bryan's Favorite Blooms

Spring time brings a wide array of weather conditions, none of which are ideal for growing flowers for a sustained time. However, Mother Nature does allow spring season bulbs to bloom just in time for Easter. I would like to share just a few of my favorites, click on the link for more details.

Merry-Go-Round

Tom Pouce

Sol Array

Skyliners (tulips)

Evan Scent (daffodils)

Enjoy the rest of spring we are looking forward to the summer months and some new blooms!

Thanks,

Bryan Miller

Horticulturist

Zoysia Grass and Aerification

Another true sign of Spring is the “green-up” or “transition” of the Zoysia grass fairways from a golden brown to green.  Some of the biggest factors impacting just how fast the transition of this warm season grass are; the duration of sunlight, soil temperatures rising above 70 and warmer air temperatures. Unfortunately, this year the Zoysia has been slow to transition, therefore we need to be mindful of golf cart traffic until the Zoysia grass is actively growing, which generally means after one or two mowings. You may have noticed this week the team has been rolling the fairways to firm, for both playability and to reduce the imprints from cart and walking traffic.

Recently, we were able to apply a selective herbicide to the fairways. The target weed; Annual Bluegrass (Poa) has been impacted by exhibiting a yellow color and will slowly die as the temperatures warm as noted in the photo below.

The putting greens were aerified last week and we have been fertilizing and rolling to help with smoothness and recovery. With a smaller team, we utilized larger and heavier equipment to complete the processes.  Unfortunately, this created some subtle and unwanted undulations. We were able to smooth the greens with a 2,500 lb asphalt roller. Hopefully, Mother Nature will cooperate and give us some much needed sun and warmth for both the putting greens and Zoysia grass to create consistent growth! 

Please pass along any feedback or questions to grounds@hydeparkcc.com

Thank-you,

Pat O’Brien
Grounds Superintendent

Course Care

It was nice to see smiling faces at the course over the weekend, enjoying a little exercise and an opportunity to take a peak at Bryan’s fine work with all of the tulips in full bloom.

Course Update:

The 3rd hole and all of the new tees around the course opened to rave reviews, thanks for the feedback and compliments, I think we can all agree these improvements have made this hole a little more enjoyable. Please keep in mind the zoysia grass on 3 will lag behind established areas. Weed control measures and lowering mowing heights will be dictated upon turf heath. Aerification, was completed on the greens and the turf might be a little slow to recover because the long range forecast, has indicated below normal temperatures. You may notice the staff will be rolling or mowing the greens in the afternoons post aerification because the excess sand on the surface clumps up on the rollers and mowers, damaging both the equipment and turf when moist. Over 75 tons of sand was used during the process to help improve water infiltration, firmness and overall turf health.

Course Care: 

Like all of you, our team has been put to the test during these interesting times. We are coming up with new and innovative ways to maintain the course with a reduced budget and team member levels Many of the new innovative practices we are engaging in will most likely find their way into our long-term strategies post pandemic. I am sure you may notice differences in the level of maintenance while we continue to adjust strategies and listen to feedback from you, the membership. 

Moving forward, I will be continuing to utilize this forum and twitter (@pobrienhpgcc) to communicate the dynamic changes on the grounds. If you would like to know more about the initiatives on the course please sign-up for the automatic updates on the blog page. We will also post links, when relevant in the daily club email. 

As always, please pass along any questions or feedback as they arise, it will be very helpful as we evolve our strategies. 

Happy Easter!

Pat O’Brien

Grounds Superintendent 

grounds@hydeparkcc.com

Storm Clean-up

It is hard to remember when 5 tornado warnings were occurring simultaneously across the Cincinnati metro area, it was an interesting night. The team and I were greeted this morning with plenty of clean-up across the property. Partners and volunteers were called upon to chip-in and help the grounds team. When everything was said and done the staff removed about 40 golf cart loads of debris and 2 trees were removed on 15 near the tee. Hyde Park Tree and Landscape will arrive early tomorrow to continue the removals on 15. Unfortunately, the hole will need to be closed until they are safely out of the way. 

Here are a few photos from the day.

Thank-you,

Pat O’Brien

Grounds Superintendent