Winter Preparations

The staff and I continue to move forward with preparations for next year, the fall is a great time to focus on practices that will enhance the turf quality for next season. The cooler temperatures and the shorter days have transitioned the Zoysia Grass fairways to a golden brown. Zoysia Grass when dormant, exhibits poor recuperative capacity from cart traffic because of its slow, almost non-existent growth exhibited in the winter months. Carts are restricted to the path until the Zoysia grass is actively growing again in the Spring.

Frost and Frozen Soil Delays:

With below freezing temperatures the ground will continue to freeze rapidly and thaw slowly. The concentrated foot traffic pattern on the putting surfaces can cause damage to the root system due to the potential shearing of roots from foot traffic while thawing, thus the use of temporary greens on 6 and 7 has been utilized with the impact of shade from the trees in this area. Delays due to thawing soil and frost are more consistent as we get into the winter months, we will continue to update the membership via email when delays occur. The photo below is an example of the amount of traffic that is left from a single foursome.

Fall Agronomics and the Queen City Classic

It seems as though the summer of 2022 has flown by! The preparations for next year have been in full swing for weeks now. The green aeration has been healing okay, with some greens filling in a little faster than others. (which is typical) As of October 3rd it will be two weeks of recovery for most of the greens, everyday counts! The cultural practices of aeration have really improved the growing medium as noted in the USGA report attached. 

 Over the coming weeks the team will be focused on the following:

• Leveling and regrassing the red tee on 3 to bentgrass to improve divot recovery and playability 

Herbicide Applications in the High Rough 

Spiking of Zoysia Fairways 

In-House Drainage Project on #6 

Intercepting and Diverting Water Before it Reaches 6 Fairway 

This week we welcomed the OSU turf students to Hyde Park for a tour of the property and discussions for future Golf Course and Turfgrass Managers. It is always enjoyable for our team and I to connect with these groups and show off this amazing property!

As part of our internal continuing education program at Hyde Park, team members have a chance to volunteer at professional tour event to see what it takes to prepare the course for the best in the world. In September, Drew Horn and Aaron Alsip from the Grounds team assisted the Agronomy team at Kenwood Country Club for the inaugural Queen City Classic. Below,  is an account of their experience.

Hyde Park at the LPGA

            The Queen City Classic at Kenwood Country Club was the first tournament that Aaron Alsip and Drew Horn have been a part of. We did not know what to expect going in but were excited to learn and work a tournament. The first day on Sunday, we checked in and got our uniforms for the week. There was a dinner provided and we went out on the course to see our areas and different jobs that the Kenwood staff anticipated we would be doing for the upcoming week.  The main theme was that we were going to be dealing with a lot of saturation early on for the tournament. This meant we would need to be flexible on not only our jobs but also the times we may work.

Backpack Blowers  Were One of Many Tools  to Dry the Course 

            Monday started off as the Kenwood staff warned us; with a lot of rain and unfortunately and  a lot of waiting. Luckily, Pat, and the Hyde Park leadership prepped us for many different scenarios and allowed us to stay and help Kenwood as needed throughout the day. We were finally able to get out on the course in the afternoon to work with the crew blowing water and trying to do anything possible to dry out the course. 

Aaron and Drew at 4:00am 

          Tuesday, we finally were able to start some different jobs. Drew went out and set holes on half the course. He enjoyed using the LPGA pin sheets and working with a member from the Kenwood staff. Aaron was the lead on the bunker crew. He was a vital part of keeping the crew moving and making sure the bunkers were up to LPGA standards as well as the bunker rakes in the approved areas. Wednesday, we moved on the first day of actual play with the Pro-Am that began that morning. This was the first morning we needed to really move it in our jobs. While we were working hard to be ready ahead of the Pro-Am, we both felt prepared for anything that was needed out of us. 

            Thursday was the beginning of the tournament. Drew moved over to spreading the grass clippings on the fairways with a turbine blower and Aaron continued leading the bunker crew. Friday and the weekend were like Thursday with our jobs and schedule of arriving at 4 am for our first shift and coming back to work the night shift around 5. 

Interview Time With Drew

    While this was a new experience for both of us, we both were well prepared to be valuable assets to the Kenwood staff for the week. We learned some new things that we can bring to the Hyde Park team as well. It was enjoyable walking the course and meeting some of the LPGA players, who were all very appreciative of the grounds crew work. 

    We would like to thank Pat, Zach, Arron, and the entire Hyde Park grounds crew for their extra work while we were at the tournament. And a very big thank you to the membership at Hyde Park for allowing us this opportunity and experience. It is something we will never forget!

Thank-you your feedback and comments on the course!

Pat O'Brien 

Grounds Superintendent 

USGA Onsite Visit Report 2022

For the latest USGA report from March of 2022 please click on the link below....

USGA Consult Report Hyde Park 2022

Labor Day- Delay in Start Times

 9.5.22

Opening of the golf course is delayed until 10:00am to allow standing water  to drain away after 2 plus inches of rain. Please keep in mind, further delays could occur with additional rain? 

These rain give our team a good opportunity to document deficiencies in drainage across the property.

Moisture Sensors in 16 green

We will pass along any changes in the status of the course via email.

Thanks,

Pat O'Brien 

Grounds Superintendent 

September Update-

Where has the 2022 season gone?! Labor Day is right around the corner and our team is preparing for the last golf events, along with work that will set-up the golf course and grounds for success in 2023. 

 

Bunkers:

Recently, many questions have been focused on the inconsistency in the playability of the bunkers, specifically the increased firmness of the sand. Most of the bunkers were renovated in 2004-2005, over the 17 years with rain events the sand has become contaminated with silt, a dark material noted in the pictures below. 

Silt Contamination 

Gravel Contamination in Sand

The silt will change the drainage properties of the sand, reducing infiltration rates of excess water, clogging gravel channels below, increasing standing water in the bunkers and ultimately making the sand more difficult to hit from. Each rain event, the silt is removed, and new sand is added, unfortunately this is a short-term fix until the drainage and sand is replaced. 

 

Putting Greens:

 

The putting surfaces have held up okay this season, the last break in temperatures from Mother Nature was very helpful. The last couple weeks we have seen some thinning of specific types of bentgrass (Cohansey, Penncross, and others that date back to the 1920’s) the many types of bentgrass are noted in the picture by the different colors and textures.

Blotchy Appearance of Greens due to Many Types of Bentgrass

 These dated bent grasses are not heat tolerant, cannot be mowed at a low height and are susceptible to many pathogens such as Anthracnose, Summer Patch and Pythium Root Rot. From a playability standpoint, golfers will notice daily changes in smoothness due to stress on the turf (reduction in rolling and other inputs) and the many old varieties that are present on the greens exhibiting different growth rates. We have applied multiple curative fungicides to reduce the thinning turf from Anthracnose. Once the turf thins an Algae mat layer will form, outcompeting the remaining grass for water and nutrients. 

Close-up of Algae Forming where Bentgrass has Thinned.

Fescue Establishment: 

The new fescue on 15 hillside is growing in well; a green hue can be seen across this area. It won't be long until we are mowing this area at rough height. The high populations of unwanted grass types in this area offer an opportunity to try various herbicides/strategies (once established) to eliminate both Annual Bluegrass and Creeping Bentgrass. A drop area has been established in the rough near the green (if you choose) or the ball can be hit from the newly seeded area.

Greens Aeration:

September-19th Course Closed/ September-20th/21st Course Open with temporary greens

Thanks for the continued questions and feedback on the golf course and grounds at Hyde Park. Please forward any questions to grounds@hydeparkcc.com

Pat O'Brien

Grounds Superintendent

What is up with the rough?

The first sign that the seasons are changing is when the the Turfgrass Interns make their way back to school. This year marks our 19th season of having an internship program at HP, over 40 interns from 10 different countries been part of this diverse team, many of which have filled leadership roles within our department once they have completed their studies.

This year we were very fortunate to have two great people: Joe Faulks, and Austin Montgomery.  Joe will be finished in early October while Austin completed his internship requirements last week.

Intern Spotlight: Austin Montgomery

Hello, my name is Austin Montgomery and I am from Knoxville, Tennessee. I chose to come to Hyde Park after listening to a presentation from Pat in one of my classes at the University of Tennessee. Even though, I am fairly new to turf management, working in the field for a little over a year now, I know it is the career path that I want to follow. The people are amazing and the job requires a lot of hard work but always feels worth it in the end. I plan on graduating this coming spring with a degree in Turf Management. 

 

I have had a great time at Hyde Park and am very thankful for all that Pat and the rest of the team has taught me. This being only the second course I have worked on (and a much larger one at that) I arrived wide eyed and nervous, but now I am much more confident in all my abilities regarding turf. I have also had a great time working with people from different places and cultures. Whether, it was our great H2B workers from Mexico, Joe the other intern from England, or even seeing the differences between the people from here and the ones back home in Tennessee, they have all taught me a great deal.

 

I would like to thank everyone at Hyde Park for helping learn more about turf management and helping me have a great stay in the wonderful city of Cincinnati. I would also like to thank Pat, Arron and the leadership team for teaching me so much and also being flexible with my Marine Corps reserves schedule. I hope I am able to cross paths with all of you in the future!

 

Thank-you, 

Austin Montgomery,

Turgrass Intern 2022

Primary Rough:

The work on the course continues with most of the questions  centered around the inconsistent grass types in the rough. Last update I glazed upon the topic discussing that undesirable grasses such as  Poa Annua, Creeping Bentgrass along with poor drainage were causing the inconsistency.  Both of these undesirable grasses offer poor heat tolerance, disease resistance, requiring increased inputs of fertilizer, fungicides and water. Playability is poor at best with less than desirable ball lies.  

To highlight the high populations of Creeping Bentgrass and Poa Annua in the rough we applied a selective herbicide in the rough infront of #15. This  herbicide when applied will turn the undesirable grasses white and not impact the Tall Fescue. As you can see from the pictures below, this hillside is over 80 percent undesirable Creeping bentgrass/ Poa Annua. This area will be seeded this week with Tall fescue and we will see germination in 5 days or less.

#15-Prior to herbicide application 

#15-Bentgrass decline following herbicide application 

Green Surrounds:

On the 9th hole, the undesirable creeping bentgrass has been outlined with orange paint to highlight the large populations and the poor playability with the ball sitting deep in the "fluffy" creeping bentgrass.

Poor ball lie within bentgrass

#9-Orange lines denote Bentgrass Contamination 

Bentgrass on surrounds becomes fluffy and scalps when mowed

All of the green surrounds across the golf course are contaminated from the movement of the bentgrass  from the greens to the green and bunker surrounds. To remedy this challenge in these areas, a long term strategy will need to employed utilizing herbicides and resodding the surrounds to Tall Fescue.

14th Green:

Unfortunately, the 14th green is slow to heal from the recent vandalism, we have increased fertilizer rates, reduced plant growth regulator use and utilized small coring tines to assist with regrowth. Our team will begin to integrate plugs of bentgrass in the larger damaged areas this week. I would like to thank the HP security team Les and Andrew with working with District 2 CPD and their continued investigation and follow-up. Also, the surrounding neighborhood has been very helpful with a watchful eye in the area. I am confident in a couple weeks the scars on the turf will be healed.

As always thanks for the feedback and questions on the course.

Thanks,

Pat O'Brien

Grounds Superintendent

 

August Agronomy Update

 

August is one of the busiest months for turf mangers in the Ohio Valley, the cool season grasses are in survival mode from the typical hot and humid Cincinnati summers and we also start to look to next season, focusing on agronomic practices that will help the turf and playability.

 

Irrigation:

From Mid-June to the end of July were extremely dry at HP with just under 2” of rainfall. During this period the irrigation system applied about 9 million gallons of water with about 62 percent, or 130,000 gallons/acre of the water usage being directed to the rough while the drought tolerant Zoysia grass in the fairways received less than 15% of total water usage or 50,000 gallons/ acre.

Rough:

Last week our team began to inter-seed the thin areas in the rough with turf-type tall fescue and we have already seen germination in many spots. The majority of the weak turf is an unwanted grass called Annual Bluegrass and Creeping Bentgrass and is located in low-lying areas where water will sit for long periods of time along with many other areas. Additional drainage and turf type fescue seeding will help with playability and fewer inputs of fertilizer and fungicides. 

Thin Annual Bluegrass in the rough

Germination of Tall Fescue in Slits 

Zoysia:

In late July, we received a load of Zoysia sod from Indiana to replenish the on-site nursery and begin raising low areas in the fairways where water collects and damages the turf in the winter. The majority of the sod has rooted in well and is safe to play from, new areas of sod are delineated with a green stake.

Zoysia Sod on 12 

Zoysia sod nursery behind # 4 green

 

Over the next few weeks, the Grounds team is focused on the following initiatives:

 

-Continued storm damage clean-up on the peripheries 

-Mowing and herbicide applications in the High rough

-Tee aeration 

-Spot seeding and fertilization of the rough 

-Small drainage projects around the course

-Intern recruitment

Thanks for your questions and feedback on the course and grounds at HP.

Pat O'Brien

Grounds Superintendent

Zoysia and Storms!

 

Thank-you to the entire membership for your patience during the month of June, multiple storms created many delays and restrictions on the golf course.  Over the past month, roughly 600 personnel and outside contract labor hours have been utilized after the storms passed through. A big thanks to our entire grounds team; they continue to shine even during the most challenging moments. We are hopeful Mother Nature will be a little more forgiving in July?!

 

Many of you have noted  the Zoysia continues to fill-in from the Winter Injury, the consistent warm temperatures and longer days have increased the Growth Potential significantly. We have about 600 square feet of Zoysia sod that will be replaced on the 5th, 16th and 11th fairways. We have made a few more applications of fertilizer and spot aeration will aid in the recovery of the smaller areas.

 

Over the coming weeks our team will continue with small drainage projects, particularly in low lying areas of the fairways. This week we corrected the wet area near the lower middle tee on the 7^th. The entire area behind the 6^th green and 7^th tees is notorious for naturally occurring springs and is noted by Donald Ross in his design notes from the early 1920’s.

 

With the summer in full swing there are many strategies we employ to reduce the stress to the putting greens. 

 

Use of fans to reduce the canopy temperatures

-Precise watering with hoses to ensure uniform moisture across the surface 

-Daily moisture data collection each day to assess plant requirements 

-Daily monitoring of Turfgrass growth through collection and measurement of grass clippings 

Use of lattice to reduce wear on the collars from mowers turning

Strategic application of plant protectants and fertilizer to enhance plant health 

 

Next week, Hyde Park Turfgrass Intern, Joe Faulk will be representing HP and the Ohio State International Intern program as an Agronomy volunteer at the John Deere Classic. Joe has brought a wealth of experience from his years at The Royal Blackheath Golf Club in London, England. He has been a huge help this year and we are excited to hear about his experience when he returns.

Joe Faulk- Turfgrass Intern

As always, thank-you for your feedback and questions on the golf course and grounds at Hyde Park. If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact us at grounds@hydeparkcc.com

Thank-you,

Pat O'Brien,

Grounds Superintendent 

June Update

 With the 2022 golf season in full swing the Grounds team has been very busy in-between record breaking levels of precipitation. The Zoysia grass has begun to shine, many of the thin areas from winter injury are starting to fill in and our team has sodded other areas.  There has been a shortage of Zoysia grass in the Midwest so we have been converting the Zoysia surrounds on 3rd hole to turf type tall fescue. The turf type tall fescue will slow golf balls down from hitting the path and ending up in the creek. This area has been mowed at fairway height and will allow for a seamless transition once moved to the the fairways.

The planting of summertime annuals is winding down, with over 2200 individual flowers planted this year. Among those are over 25 different varieties, ranging from staples like begonias and petunias to some not so common varieties like cuphea and cleome. There's also a nice mix of tropicals like Banana trees, Canna, Mandeville, and Hibiscus.

In the next week or so, fertilization on the flowers will begin to ensure the proper nutrients are given and then let things heat up and have mother nature take over. The flowers will begin to fill the landscape up and put on a good show.

As always thanks for the comments and questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to grounds@hydeparkcc.com

Thank-you,

Pat O'Brien

Grounds Superintendent

Spring Blooms/Practice like a Pro

Tulips-

Another tulip season in is the books, which showcased roughly 10,000 tulips this year and over 10 different colors and patterns. The tulips over the next week or so will continue to drop their petals, I am often asked what happens to them next. A great question and to keep the landscape beds fresh and new for the following year, we pull all the bulbs out of the ground so that we do not get any unwanted colors mixed in with the new bulbs that will be planted in the fall. We also amend and till the beds in preparation for the Summer Annuals, in many cases this damages the bulb from blooming the following year.

If you are interested in recycling the bulbs to create your own masterpiece at your home we will remove the tulips and place in piles in the landscape beds with a picture of what they looked like at full bloom. Please bring your own buckets/boxes/bags and gather what you would like beginning Monday May 9th. Below, is a brief guide on how care for the bulbs.  Any questions do not hesitate to ask? Spring bulbs were a huge success, and we are getting close to planting the summer annuals. 

How to care/store/replant springtime bulbs:

• Find a covered well-ventilated area to lay out all your bulbs (leaves and bulbs still attached), making sure they do not touch.

• Once the leaves have dried out and turned yellow or brown, you can cut the leaves off all the way back to the bulb (this could take a few weeks).

• Store in a cool, dark, ventilated area like a basement or garage until fall.

• When it is time to plant in the fall, plant bulbs 3-5 inches in the ground, please keep in mind that 100 percent of the bulbs may not bloom again, so plant a few extra! 

Cheers!

Bryan Miller

Horticulturist at Hyde Park CC

Zoysia-

We have finally seen some green in the fairways but there are still some areas that continue to be slow to transition. Carts continue to scatter to the fairways when the soils are not saturated, unfortunately carts are restricted to the path on 18 until the turf wakes up a little more. We have yet to mow the fairways due to below-normal temperatures lack of growth and the stress the mowers can place on the turf. The Grounds team has replaced the turf on the right side of #5 where the large Oak shaded the fairway and on 13th approach. The fairway height sod is coming from behind the 3rd green and is being replaced with new fescue sod.

#5 Right Side

 

Newly Sodded

13 Approach

Practice Area-

I have been asked a few questions on the proper etiquette on divot removal on the grass tees. Below are a few pictures of divot patterns that are exhibited at HP. Ideally there is one divot pattern that should be utilized for increased recuperation and the most efficient use of turf, better known as a “lineal” divot pattern. The lineal divot pattern is a series of divots connected in a lineal fashion with a minimum of 2-3” of turf between each strip. The creeping Bentgrass/Zoysia grass left between the divots will grow horizontally, decreasing the amount of time for recovery.

Thanks for the feedback and questions on the golf course and grounds please do not hesitate to reach out. grounds@hydeparkcc.com

Thank-you,

Pat O'Brien,

Grounds Superintendent