Fall Grounds Update:What’s Ahead

Interns & Looking Ahead

Fall also marks the next step for two members of our Grounds Team, Thio from South Africa and Andy from Japan, who have spent the season with us as interns.

They joined Hyde Park during an incredibly demanding year that included the final stages of restoration, grow-in and reopening of the golf course. They worked a very difficult schedule, contributed wherever they were needed and became an important part of our team.

Their experience extended well beyond their daily work at Hyde Park. Thio and Andy volunteered at a PGA event, participated in multiple visits to other golf course and turf facilities, joined a local running club, and had the opportunity to meet many of our members along the way.

We are all very proud of what they accomplished and grateful for the energy, professionalism and positive attitude they brought to Hyde Park. It has been wonderful to host them and be part of their development.

Their next stop will take them to Los Angeles, where they will continue their internship experience at Bel-Air Country Club. We wish them the very best.

Our internship program has been an important part of Hyde Park for many years. More than 60 interns from 12 different countries, along with students from schools across the United States, have spent time learning and working with our team. Many members of our current leadership team began their careers at Hyde Park as interns, which makes the program especially meaningful to us.

We have already begun recruiting for next season and look forward to continuing this tradition.

Restoration & Fall Work

It is hard to believe the golf course only reopened in mid-June. In the days leading up to opening, sod was still being installed and many areas were still in active grow-in.

Since then, our focus has steadily shifted from major construction and establishment work toward the smaller details that will continue to improve the presentation and performance of the golf course.

Our team continues to work through fine fescue establishment, settlement repairs, small drainage projects and other restoration details throughout the property.

We have also completed the final irrigation as-built documentation, giving us an accurate record of the installed system and an important tool for future troubleshooting, adjustments and long-term water management.

The greens are healing well following aerification, and we are pleased with their progress. Weather and wet conditions have slowed our ability to complete aerification of all tees and approaches, so that work will continue as conditions allow.

Tall Fescue Update

We continue to make progress in areas of the tall fescue rough that showed more response than anticipated from our summer Poa-control program.

Much of this rough was established late last fall as part of the restoration. Because of that late seeding window, Poa annua established alongside the new tall fescue in a number of areas.

Poa annua is an unwanted grass in these rough areas and has a persistent seedbank in the soil. Even when an area is newly seeded, dormant Poa seed can remain in the ground and germinate when conditions are favorable. By summer, Poa populations were moderate in some locations and had reached a level where we felt they needed to be addressed to improve the long-term quality and consistency of the rough.

The treatment program is one we have used successfully in the past and has historically been very safe on tall fescue. After the first application, we saw the desired reduction in Poa along with some temporary discoloration and growth regulation, and the tall fescue recovered well before the second treatment.

Following the second application, however, the response was significantly greater than anticipated.

Our Hyde Park weather station has recorded more than 60 inches of rain this year, including repeated heavy rain events and periods of saturated soil during the summer. Those conditions increased the availability and uptake of the treatment while high temperatures, humidity and warm nighttime temperatures were placing additional stress on young cool-season turf.

We view the resulting turf response as an unusual and isolated event associated with a unique set of environmental conditions rather than something we would normally expect from this program.

The manufacturer has worked closely with Hyde Park throughout the process. Their representatives reviewed the application timing, rates and environmental conditions with our team and did not identify any concerns with how the program was applied. They have remained engaged as we evaluated the unusual turf response and developed our re-establishment plan, and they have also assisted with the costs associated with reseeding and re-establishing the affected areas. We appreciate their cooperation and support throughout the process.

The good news is that our timing for re-establishment is excellent. Early fall provides some of our best growing conditions for tall fescue. The areas have been seeded and fertilized, and this week our Grounds Team is conducting additional spot seeding where needed.

We are already seeing new establishment and expect continued improvement throughout the fall, with additional maturation and filling-in next spring.

Tree Update

The Princeton elm located behind the 18th green, adjacent to the pavilion, has developed a significant split in the trunk, possibly associated with last week’s wind event.

The tree was planted in 2023 to replace the pin oak that was lost to oak wilt. Unfortunately, the split has continued to move and has created a safety concern in an area with regular member and guest activity.

Split in the Elm 

We are disappointed to have to remove the tree, but safety has to come first.

Once it is removed, we will evaluate the space carefully and thoughtfully consider the best long-term replacement for that location.

Box Tree Moth

Bryan Miller, our Horticulture Director, and our horticulture team are monitoring a new challenge this season: Box Tree Moth.

Box Tree Moth is an invasive insect native to Asia that was confirmed in Ohio in 2023. This year, we have seen our first signs of activity in boxwoods at Hyde Park. The caterpillars can feed aggressively on boxwood foliage and, when populations are high, rapidly defoliate plants.

Early signs include chewed or skeletonized leaves, silk webbing within the branches, caterpillars and frass within or beneath the plant. The caterpillars are generally green with black and yellow striping and spots, while the adult moth is typically white with a brown or tan border.

Caterpillar 

Damage 

Our horticulture team will continue scouting boxwoods closely and managing activity where needed. Early detection gives us the best opportunity to protect these important landscape plants.

Members who have boxwoods at home may also want to keep an eye on their plants, particularly if they notice unusual feeding damage or webbing.

Adult 

Next 30 Days

The next month will be an important working window for our team.

Our priorities include continued tall fescue establishment and spot seeding, fine fescue seeding and grow-in, settlement repairs, small drainage projects and completion of the remaining aerification on tees and approaches as weather allows.

We will also continue irrigation adjustments and supplemental watering in newly established areas, address cart path edges and other restoration details, and continue monitoring Box Tree Moth activity in our landscape plantings.

Much of this work is detail-oriented, but it is important to the long-term performance and presentation of the restored golf course.

Our team has a busy fall and spring ahead. With the course now open and the largest construction items behind us, our goal is to spend more time on the details — refining surfaces, improving consistency, strengthening newly established turf and continuing to elevate the daily presentation of the golf course.

Thank you for the many positive comments and feedback we have received about the golf course. Our team takes a great deal of pride in caring for Hyde Park, and we truly appreciate the membership’s continued support as we continue building on the progress made this year.

If you have any questions, comments or feedback, please feel free to reach out to us at grounds@hydeparkcc.com.

Pat O’Brien
Grounds Superintendent

A Quick Aeration Update

The Grounds Team has completed aeration of the putting greens and has moved on to the approaches. Despite the unusually warm September temperatures, the bentgrass surfaces are handling the process well.

Earlier this spring, Adam Moeller of Moeller Consulting completed our first OM246 testing, which measures organic matter at different depths in the putting-green profile and gives us a baseline for future management decisions.

The initial results were encouraging for newly sodded greens. Organic matter in the upper 0–2 cm of the profile ranged from 4.6% to 6.8%, compared with a bentgrass industry median of 5.8%. At the 2–4 cm depth, all greens tested were at or below the 2.5% industry median, ranging from 1.2% to 2.5%.

These spring results serve as our baseline. We did not repeat OM246 testing after the spring aeration, so our planned fall testing will be our first opportunity to compare the profile over time and evaluate how our aeration and topdressing program is influencing organic matter.

For this aeration, we are using 3/8-inch tines. Smaller holes allow us to create a large number of openings while limiting disruption to the putting surface and promoting quicker recovery. We anticipate approximately 80% healing within about two weeks, depending on weather and growing conditions.

Green Canopy; Sand and Fertilizer

The first week of recovery is typically the most challenging from a playability standpoint. The bentgrass needs time to grow back through the topdressing sand before regular mowing can fully resume. During this period, we will roll the greens several times to improve smoothness while allowing the turf to recover.

Weather will remain a factor in how much additional work we can complete Thursday. If we receive too much rainfall, conditions may become too wet to aerate and properly work sand into the surface. The golf course will reopen Friday, and any remaining aeration work will continue on Mondays.

Thank you to the Grounds Team for their hard work throughout the aeration process. We will update everyone if we are able to make additional progress on Thursday.

We appreciate everyone’s patience during the recovery period. This short-term disruption is an important investment in the firmness, consistency, drainage and long-term performance of the putting surfaces.

Thanks for the questions and feedback.

Pat O’Brien
grounds@hydeparkcc.com

September Update From the Grounds

Photo Credit- D. Wilder 

As we move into September, our Grounds team continues to focus on establishment, refinement, and the many details that come with the maturation of the restored golf course.

We have received many compliments on the condition of the greens and on the continued compaction of the bunker sand. It has also been great to see members bringing guests out to experience the course. Hearing that feedback and seeing people enjoy the restoration has been very rewarding for our team.

Fine Fescue

Our team has been working through the fine fescue areas, mowing them down as part of the establishment process. This work is labor-intensive, but it helps reduce weed competition and gives the fine fescue a better opportunity to develop.

Fine fescue requires patience, particularly during periods of heat and drought. We have continued to inner seed several areas originally seeded this spring, including left of Hole 5, right of Hole 8, behind the 8th green, and behind the 1st green.

Members will notice temporary sprinklers and hoses in many of these areas as we provide consistent moisture for germination and establishment. As temperatures cool, we will continue to spot seed areas where additional establishment is needed.

Fall herbicide applications will also be an important part of managing these areas. In late September, one of our partners will be trialing drone-applied herbicide treatments on selected steep fine fescue slopes. This will allow us to evaluate another option for safely and efficiently managing difficult-to-access areas.

Once these areas mature, our plan is to mow the fine fescue twice each season—once in the spring and once in the fall.

Bentgrass Greens, Tees & Approaches

Mowing heights have been lowered on all of our bentgrass playing surfaces, including greens, tees, and approaches, and we will continue to gradually lower them as we move into the fall.

Aeration of the bentgrass greens, tees, and approaches will take place September 8–10. The golf course will be closed during this work so our team can move efficiently through the process.

The recent stretch of temperatures pushing into the upper 90s has required additional attention on our bentgrass surfaces. Our team has been providing supplemental irrigation by hand where needed while continuing to learn more about the coverage of our new irrigation system. This includes evaluating sprinkler patterns, making nozzle adjustments, and fine-tuning water distribution throughout the golf course.

One quick safety reminder: when our team is hand watering a green and the flagstick has been removed, please do not hit into the green. We will be as quick as possible getting on and off the putting surface so play can continue with minimal delay. Thank you for helping keep our team safe.

Bunkers

The bunkers continue to mature and knit in well. The steel mesh installed on select bunker faces will remain in place through the winter, although in many areas the continued growth of the zoysia has already made it much less noticeable.

Many of the wooden stakes used during establishment have also now been driven down into the bunker faces.

Drainage, Cart Path Edges & Storm Cleanup

Our team continues to work through a long list of smaller projects across the golf course. This includes drainage work near tee areas, addressing springs around the 7th tee, and work along the left side of Hole 18.

We are also completing final preparation along cart path edges for additional sod and seed work. Cooler temperatures should provide more favorable conditions for establishment in these areas.

Storm cleanup continues as well. We are removing miscellaneous stumps throughout the property, and a few remaining tree-related items left of Hole 6, left of Hole 14, and behind Hole 3 will require assistance from our tree contractor.

GPS Mapping & Course Inventory

Behind the scenes, our team has been working with one of our partners to develop a detailed GPS map and inventory of the golf course. This work allows us to accurately define the different maintained areas of the property and establish reliable square footage and acreage measurements for sprayer and fertility applications.

Our recent mapping shows that we actively maintain approximately 126 acres of Hyde Park’s 153-acre property.

Having more accurate measurements allows us to improve application planning and product calculations while also further developing our time and productivity studies. By combining accurate acreage with the amount of time required to complete individual maintenance tasks, we can better understand labor needs, improve scheduling, and continue refining the efficiency of our operation.

We are also in the final stages of irrigation mapping and system verification. Once that work is complete, we can begin the process of placing yardage tags on sprinkler heads throughout the golf course.

As members continue to learn how to play the restored golf course, our team is learning and adjusting as well. We continue to refine our maintenance practices based on how the course is performing, how the different turf areas are responding, and what we are learning through daily operation.

Horticulture

In the Horticulture Department, Bryan and Aubrey continue to do a wonderful job throughout the property. Their current work includes pruning, developing planting plans, removing vines, and preparing for fall planting. Fall plant material will begin arriving the week of September 6.

They will also begin developing a tree inventory using our drone imagery and on-the-ground evaluation. The inventory will help document the location, species, size, condition, and landscape role of trees throughout the golf course and club grounds.

The aerial imagery will help us better understand our tree canopy, woodland edges, and perimeter screening. Combined with field observations, this information will help guide future specimen-tree planting, enhance screening where appropriate, improve management of our wood lines, and support thoughtful long-term landscape planning.

Much like the GPS mapping of the golf course, the tree inventory will become a living resource that can be updated and refined over time.

If you have any questions about horticulture, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Bryan Miller at bmiller@hydeparkcc.com.

A Thank You

Finally, a special thank you to Chef and his team for the wonderful lunch they prepared for the Grounds team. It was delicious, greatly appreciated, and very welcome during a busy stretch for our staff.

September will be another active month for our team. We are encouraged by the continued maturation of the golf course, the germination we are seeing in newly seeded areas, and the steady progress being made throughout the property.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support and feedback!

Pat O’Brien