Golf Course Update

The golf course has now been open for 3 weeks and we are starting to get into a normal routine.  That being said, the last 2-3 weeks has been very hectic for the maintenance crew.  This blog will update the membership on a variety of different events that have taken place during this time.

Irrigation  

As many of you have heard and seen, we have dealt with many irrigation breaks this spring.  The result of this was a delay in getting water to the areas of the course that needed it, eg. Some of the tee decks.  That brief heat spell we had saw temperatures into the 30's with extremely low humidity, the worst case scenario.  This is an example of how important a reliable irrigation system is.

That being said, the leaks incurred this spring were not specifically due to the condition of our irrigation system.  Many golf courses all over Ontario, and into the north east United States, faced the same issues.  The main contributor to the damage has been determined to be the abnormal depth of the frost this winter.

As of late last week we do have the system up and running.  We are still experiencing some small breaks here and there, but for the most part we are now able to water on a regular basis.

Tees

As stated above, the reason behind some of the tees turning brown is simply due to the lack of water at a time of need.  They were not over fertilized or wrongly sprayed with any products.  

The recovery process has significantly slowed down due to the low temperatures at night, however they will recover.

Greens

Obviously mother nature does not want to co-operate when it comes to aerating.  Last weekend’s rain was too much to make aerating the greens on Monday effective.  The decision to defer and reschedule to this upcoming Monday evening / Tuesday morning was made.  As of right now, thunder showers are forecast for Monday afternoon.  We will make a ‘game time’ decision, purely based on the weather.  Please keep an eye out for tweets and website updates concerning aeration.

Should the weather not co-operate this Monday, alternate plans will be arranged for aeration. Updates will be provided should aeration be cancelled again.

We have started lowering the height on the greens and implementing a consistent rolling schedule.  Look for improved speeds.

Trees

In a previous blog I talked about the condition of the Ash trees around our property.  In that blog I stated that Ash trees of safety concerns to members and staff would be first on the removal list.  To help members identify these trees, we will start placing Yellow Ribbons around them.  As of right now, there are 5 trees left of #2 white tee that have the ribbons on them.  The purpose of this is that we want members to see the trees, see that they are infected and/or dying, and do pose a safety issue.  

This will be an ongoing process over the summer.  Updates on Ash tree removal will be posted on future blogs and twitter.

Creek at 4

The shaping and prep work on the new creek on the 4th hole is complete.  Irrigation wiring and piping had to be altered due to the installation of the creek, that is also complete.  

The last step to completion is sodding.  Unfortunately our sod supplier will not have sod available until mid-next week, so we expect completion by late next week.

Hazards

Hazard marking has been started and should be completed by end of today.  Look for subtle changes. We do plan to upload an aerial view of the golf course with the hazard marking to our website for member reference.  This is still in the works.  This is how the course will be marked going forward.  

There may be some very minor changes when we host the Tunis in July and the PGA Assistant's Championship in September.

Divots & Ball Marks

PLEASE, start fixing your ball marks on the greens.  It has been a sad start to the season when it comes to ball mark repairs, especially after men’s night….MEN!

When you hit your approach shot and it happens to roll off the green, please go back and look for the ball mark.  It would be great if everyone could fix 2 or 3 ball marks every time they are on a green.

Divots.  The divot rack program is back in full effect this season.  Look for the rack to be rotated through the holes on a regular basis.  We have also purchased additional larger bins that will act as refill stations.  We ask that all players, carrying and riding fill their bottles on a regular basis and help out with divots as much as possible.

There are short reference videos on this blog page showing how to properly fix a ball mark and repair a divot.

If all the membership can help out with the smaller task, it enables the maintenance staff to focus on the larger tasks at hand.

As always, if anyone has any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to stop me on the golf course or send me and email.

Enjoy the season and see you on the course!

What To Expect on Opening Day....

The time has finally come!  Tomorrow we officially open the doors to the 2015 golf season at Camelot Golf & Country Club.

After one of the coldest winters we have come out in fairly good shape.

The tees decks have come out spotless for the most part.  Obviously the blue/white deck on 12 is still struggling to get growing, especially with the lack of sun.  To start the season the blue blocks will be moved up top, while the whites will be moved to the lower deck.  If we do not do this now, that tee deck with have no chance of lasting the summer.

When it comes to the fairways, they are in great shape also.  There are some spots here and there, low lying areas where water has sat and left its mark.  These areas will be seeded in due time and should recover no problem.  Again these areas are few and far between, with 12 fairway containing the most.

Greens.  Unfortunately some of the greens did not escape the wrath of winter.  Number 1 green will start the year as a temp.  It will be opened next week for Ladies and Men's opening day, then hopefully on a regular basis come the mixed opening on the Saturday.  Ice built up on the front of the green where there is a high percentage of poa.  Unfortunately the poa could not withstand the number of days under the ice.

                                                                 ( 1 Green on April 13th )


Other greens that experienced damage include 4,7,10,12,14 and 16.  That being said these greens have started to show great signs of improvement.  Of these 6 greens only the back of 7 and the front of 16 will still look "damaged", while the rest will look on the road to recovery tomorrow when we open.

At this time we ask golfers to avoid the weak and thin areas on these greens, even if it means moving your ball.

As for all the other greens you will still see some death, poa.  Most of the poa took a hit this winter, which at the end of the day is a good thing.  You will find random very small patches on the greens like the picture below.

(2 green, this is one of the worst for poa patches)

We ask for everyone's understanding as we are aerating May 11th.  At this time it does not make sense for us to go out and attack these small areas when we will aerating May 11th.  Recovery will be quick, we are using small tines again this spring.

Aerating in the spring is crucial to set the green up for a good year.  We are cracking them open, letting any built up gases escape, while allowing oxygen to enter the soil and promote new root growth.  We are also giving new channels for water, fertilizer and fungicides to enter.

For those of you who are lucky enough to get out this week and into next week, you will see us starting up the irrigation system.  We started this yesterday but quickly had to stop as we found multiple breaks within the first couple of holes.  More updates regarding irrigation will come as will continue the process.

The driving range will open tomorrow as planned.  The drainage is being finished up today.  There will be large areas of soil and seed out on the range and water may be on during the day as we try to establish this seed.

Hole number 4.  As many of you may remember from last year, the culvert that passes through the approach has failed.  It has been approved to remove the culvert and turn it into a creek.  This work will hopefully start tomorrow, Thursday.  It should only take Thursday and Friday for the removal and shaping of the new creek, then sodding the following week.

A quick tree update.  Late last fall and early this spring we have done some tree removal.  Below is point form where you will find the tree work and reasoning behind it.

• 3 Blue Tee, large Ash - Dead from emerald ash borer
• Pond line right of 3 cart path - Dead ash and other various dead trees.
• Left and right side of 6 - Ash Trees - infected with ash borer
• Left side of 7 cart path - Ash Trees - infected with ash borer
• Behind 7 Green - Improve air flow and sunlight
• Left of 8 - improve air flow down to 11
• Right of 9 Tees - improve line of sight
• 11 - Improve air flow 
• Right side of 16 by fairway bunker- removed Sumacs that were encroaching into fwy                

There are still many Ash tree those pose potential harm on our property that will be assessed and removed in a timely manner.

With tree removal continuing in the near future, the greens committee is working on a strategic plan in regards to trees to make sure we do not loose the definition or character our course has started to build. 

Click on the following to learn more about the Ash Trees of Camelot. 

I will continue to add new material to this blog over the next couple of weeks as this update is running on.  Please continue to read and provide any feedback or questions you may have.

Hope to see everyone on the course in the near future.

The Ash Trees of Camelot

As many of you are aware, the Ash tree population is on a rapid decline all over the world due to the Emerald Ash Borer.

The ash borer is a small green beetle native to Asia and Eastern Russia.  It was first discovered in America in 2002.  It is believed that it was brought to America in ash wood that was used in shipping materials.

The larve of the ash borer excavate tunnels in the trees looking for food.  By doing this they disrupt the flow of water and nutrients in the tree, causing it to starve and eventually die.  Trees that are attacked by the ash borer usually die within 1-3 years.

Chances are you have seen many infected ash trees around Ottawa as the city can not keep up with the removal process.  There are very strict guidelines the city must follow when removing these trees as they do not want spread the beetle anymore.

Here at Camelot we have not been spared by the ash borer.  It has become very evident over this winter that many of our ash trees are infected and on their last leg.  It is possible that they will still bloom this year but the damage has been done.  Bark has fallen off many of the infected trees, leaving them to stick out like a sore thumb.

Unfortunately we do have 2 areas on our property that consist of a lot of ash trees.

• The front entrance to the club on Quigley Hill Rd
• The tee complex at 2

While there are many other groups of ash trees around the property, these are the two biggest.

Over the next year these areas could become asthetically unpleasing and a plan will have to be put in place.  Discussion at the greens committee level will take place once we have a better idea of where we stand when they bloom, or don't.

As mentioned above, there are many more ash trees around the property that have become infected and will need to be dealt with.

At this time our mandate for removal is very simple.  Any ash tree that poses a safety concern to any golfer or worker will be removed as soon as possible.  A perfect example of this is the large ash tree located at the back of 3 Blue tee.  We can not have "dead" trees beside tee decks or cart paths as they are not safe and pose major liability issues.

As stated above, we should know more in the next month as the trees start to break winter dormancy. I will keep all members fully informed about this situation.

Please follow me on twitter @camelotturf for more consistent updates.

On a positive note, the snow is slowly residing and what we are seeing does look promising.  Stay tuned for a course condition update in the next week or so.

INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT (I.P.M) SUBMISSION

As many of you know, only golf course and farmers in Ontario are allowed to apply pesticides with a license.  Part of this arrangement for golf courses includes submitting a package of information every year to the I.P.M council of Canada. January 31 2015 is when all our information for the 2014 season is due.  The intent of this entry is to inform the membership of what is required in order to get a passing grade and continue to be able to apply pesticides.

These forms are all entered digitally on the IPM website :

1) Documentation of staff training - any staff training done in the 2014 season is required to be documented.  A summary form including date, title of the course and the instructor is required.

2) IPM agent CEC Tracking - Every course has an IPM agent.  For our course it is myself.  Anyone who is IPM accredited, meaning they passed an initial exam, must continually obtain 6 continuing education credits (C.E.C) a year.  This information must be documented and submitted as a part of the package.  1 C.E.C credit is earned for 1 hour of education related to IPM.  Failure to do so will result in loss of accreditation.

3)Sprayer Calibration forms - As a part of I.P.M program we are required to calibrate our sprayers on a regular basis.  This is a common practice among superintendents as we want to be sure when we apply pesticides and fertilizers they are going down at the correct rate.  A form must be filled out every time the sprayer is calibrated and for each set of nozzles.  We have different nozzles for different products.  Some products need to be applied to the leaf of the plant, while others need to be applied closer to the roots.  This is obtained by apply more or less water.  Having different nozzles allows us to achieve these results.

4)Backpack Calibration forms - from time to time you may see us around the golf course with a backpack sprayer spraying weeds.  This is a practice to reduce the use of weed killer as we are only spraying the weeds, rather than blanket spraying the entire course.  Just like the sprayer, the backpack sprayer must be calibrated too.  Forms for this must be submitted also

5)Scouting Forms - Once a week for the golf season (april 1st - oct 15th , as per IPM council ) a form must be filled out containing the amount of rain for the week, the low temp , the high temp, humidity and any pests that were seen on the golf course.  If pests were seen more information is required such as what was it, where was it seen, contributing factors and what action did you take. There is also an option on this form to add the soil temperature for the week.

6)PCPA Forms - Every time a pesticide application is made a form must be filled out.  On this form the following information is require:

• Date and time of application
• Name of person applying
• Sprayer used to apply
• Date the sprayer was last calibrated
• was the application preventative or curative
• what was the pest
• what was the reason for the pest
• what product did you use
• how much of the product you used
• what area did you spray, including what holes
• any notes/ comments you wish to add regarding the application

* if you noted you sprayed curative on this form it must match to a scouting form that you saw a pest

7)PCPA Annual Report - A form is generated totalling the amount of each chemicals active ingredient you applied.  This form has totals for 2014 and 2013.  There are two blank columns, one you must indicate why you used this product this year, and why there is a different from last year.

8)Application Map - A map of the property must be submitted with all the areas highlighted that you applied pesticides too.  As a part of the IPM program, we can only apply pesticides to playing areas of the golf course.

All this information is uploaded onto the IPM council of Canada's website, then it is reviewed by an auditor.

As you can see it is imperative that we document everything we do all summer long so we have the correct information when it comes to filling these forms out.

Stuart Bradshaw
Golf Course Superintendent

WINTER WONDERLAND

Once again winter started off the year with a bang.  It was 17 years ago yesterday, January 4th, that Ottawa and surrounding areas were hit with one of the most devastating ice storms in history.  Luckily this weeks storm did no where near the damage but the potential for serious damage is always in question when an ice storm does hit.

Leading up to the storm this last week the golf course had lost almost all of its snow due to mild temperatures and rain over the Christmas holidays.  Luckily for us, before the freezing rain started to fall we were blessed with anywhere from 10-15cm of snow.  Due to high winds during the snow fall, accumulation on the ground is anywhere from 0 to 30+cm.  Unfortunately we are currently unable to make our way around the golf course to check on ll of the greens.  From the ones we can see, it looks like there is a decent amount of snow insulating them from the layer of ice that has formed. A small concern at the time of the storm is how quick the temperature dropped. This alone can cause damage to the turf but we do believe that majority of the golf course was covered in snow which should have helped insulate the turf for the significant drop.

The biggest concern at this time is the number of trees that are covered in ice with the speeds of the wind.  Guests have been measured in and around the 50 km/h range as of Monday lunchtime.  To this time there has been little to no tree damage that we can see.  Once again, our ability to visit the entire golf course has been limited.

We will continue to monitor all conditions of the golf course, including the trees.  I will provide another update along with some pictures in the next couple of weeks.

Stay warm and Happy New Year!

Stuart Bradshaw
Golf Course Superintendent