Tree Work: Pine on #12

Last winter during a period of strong winds, a large pine tree on hole #12 fell down. The tree fell into another tree that stood next to it, snapping off a majority of its branches on one side. 

The tree that was left standing needed to be climbed and pruned of all of its damaged limbs. 

We climbed the tree without any issue and removed the damaged limbs. 

Dj climbing and limbing the damaged tree.

Leaf Clean Up Fall 2016

Fall has come again to the Ipswich Country Club. The autumn colors are vibrant and beautiful. They are one of the many reasons that make golfing in this season wonderful. 

And also very challenging.

The same leaves that contribute to our picturesque golf course are the same leaves that attempt to cover every square inch of it. 

Lost balls are a nuisance for everyone and we are doing everything we can to keep the leaves at bay. 

Each day we start by blowing off greens and tees and afterwards we begin to pick up as many of the leaves as we can. We will continue to do this until the snow falls.

Have a happy fall and don't lose too many balls in our leaf piles!

#10 Fairway on a day with strong winds and heavy leaf fall.

Bee Tree

The bees in the large pine tree on hole #10 have left their nest. The tree has been showing signs of becoming unsafe for a few years now. It had exposed rot at the bottom of its trunk and had been losing limbs regularly. Now that the bees have moved on, we decided that it was time to bring the tree  down.                                                                                                       

 Once the tree had been been felled we found a large abandoned hive in the hollow truck of the tree.

Divot Recovery

Despite the extreme drought that has been afflicting the entire state, we are still seeing good divot recovery on tees and fairways. We can expect to maintain this level of recovery for the rest of the year.

Divot in recovery on #5 tee

Brushing Greens

Last week we began to experiment with brushing greens before we mow them. Our aim was to stand the grass up that had been laid over on its side so that we could get a much better cut on the greens. Getting a better cut on the greens will help them to remain fast and smooth.

Four of our hardworking greens keepers getting ready to brush #1 green.

We used four large brushes and had four members of the crew brush each green on the course. We then hand mowed the greens immediately afterwards.

Jared making one of the first passes with the brush on the practice green.

Our greens mowers cutting after the brush.

The procedure was a complete success. We observed a phenomenal cut after the brushing. We plan to continue this practice every other week (weather permitting).

Aussie Style Bunker Raking

A brief run down of the way we rake bunkers at the Ipswich Country Club.

Chemical Treatment and Removal of Poa annua on Greens

We have been seeing a good amount of Poa annua sprouting on our greens this spring. The cooler temperatures have been the primary cause of the surge in Poa annua growth. The plant does better in cooler temperatures than our A-1/A-4 creeping bentgrass greens which have been engineered to thrive in the warmer summer months. The Poa annua out competes the bentgrass for a few weeks and is able to take hold in areas that it would not be able to otherwise.

 Poa annua can be very aggressive in the way that it colonizes new areas so every spring we take steps to combat it's advance. We treat the spots that show up on the greens early in the spring with a chemical that will kill the Poa annua but leave the bentgrass untouched. As the spring goes on we begin picking the Poa annua from the greens and filling it in with a mix of sand and seed. 

New bentgrass seedlings growing from the spot that the Poa annua was picked from. Both images were taken this morning on #13 green.

Late Spring Frosts

The start of the 2016 season has been a cold one. Ipswich has been well below average temperature for the better part of a month. We have even experienced a few frosts. 

These frosts can delay morning golf and be an annoyance to everyone. However, at the same time they can remarkably beautiful. 

This was taken next to the blue tee on hole #3 during a heavy frost.

Tee Markers: Construction and Repainting

We have begun repairing last season's tee markers. Every winter we gather last season's tee markers and repaint them. We first clean off and dirt and grime that had accumulated on the tee markers. We then lightly sand them and give them a nice, fresh coat of paint.  

Some of the tee markers suffer damage over the years and need to be replaced. We take long oak posts and cut them down into blocks. The blocks are then sanded, primed and then painted.
Keep an eye out for brand new tee markers this spring.

We give last season's tee markers a quick sand before we paint them.

Audubon Certification!

The Ipswich Country Club has been working closely with Audubon International in order to conserve the environment with which we share our golf course. Audubon International has a set of guidelines and goals that they use to instruct individuals and organizations on ways to conserve the environment and educate the public on their efforts.
We have just completed all of these goals and have obtained our certification. We are extremely proud to be one of twelve golf course in Massachusetts that have earned this certification. We intend to continue working with Audubon International in order to maintain our certification and to make sure that we have as little impact on the surrounding environment as possible.

For more information on Audubon International and to learn how you can help the environment near you please visit: www.auduboninternational.org/ 

Wind Damage: Pine Tree on #12 Fairway

The large pine tree on the right side of #12 fairway has been damaged by the high speed winds of a recent storm. The tree snapped about a third of the way up the trunk. The rest of the tree will have to be taken down as a result. 

When the piece of the tree fell, it struck and damaged the tree next to it. The tree that was struck lost a substantial amount of it's canopy. We plan on climbing and cleaning up the tree in order to give it the best chance of surviving while at the same time keeping the golf course as safe as we can. 

You can see from this photo the extent of the damage to the tree on the right. Nearly the entire left half of the canopy was knocked off from the falling tree.

Winter Maintenance

We have begun annual maintenance on all of our equipment. Each winter we bring each of our various machines into the shop and go over them with a fine toothed comb. Maintaining our fleet combined with the winter tree work keeps us us very busy until the snow melts in the spring. 

Think warm thoughts!

Tree Work: Fall 2015

We have begun tree work on hole #9. We has been clearing out large pines and oaks to the left the tees. We are felling these trees in order to allow more sunlight and airflow to reach the tee. This will ensure that the tee will be more dense and healthy for the 2016 season.

Tree Work: Limbing

 Recently we have begun to limb certain trees at the clubhouse and at various points of the golf course. The trees that are being limbed are beginning to grow limbs that are either encroaching into the path of golf shots or becoming unsightly. We are limbing these trees by utilizing a rope climbing technique.

DJ climbing and pruning

Winter Wonderland

The first snowflakes have touched down onto the fairways. The snow storm we had last Tuesday left the golf course covered in a shell of snow and ice. The shell makes for some pretty lousy golf conditions but leaves the golf course in a uniquely beautiful state. 

This picture was taken from #8 fairway. I was looking towards #18 red tee.