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.