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