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.