Tag: ACSP

Mid May Update

dmcgowan72Leave a comment

Thankfully this cold stretch of weather will be in the rear view mirror soon. The long term forecast looks very favorable for growing grass and playing golf!

The warmer weather and rain we are expecting will help heal up the greens.

6th green 7 DAT

Some greens are filling in well and others still need a touch of sand. I tried a different method of topdressing this year and the results on some of the greens were less than ideal. I hope to start cutting with a sharp set of reels on the greens soon so you should see an improvement in speed and ball roll.

Good new to share! We have passed all the competencies for ACSP! Later this year they will do a site visit and we will be the only 9 hole course in Connecticut to be a Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary golf course. Quite an achievement and i have to thank Fran and Vince for all their help!

A pair of kestrels have taken up residence in the box down between 8 & 9. Another great environental stewardship project that is making a difference!

Once the warm weather arrives it will be very busy for us and ill try to update again when i have something noteworthy to share. In the mean time please replace your divots on the tees and fairways.

Ill see you out in the fairways!

Lean and Mean

dmcgowan72Leave a comment

The weather has been spectacular the past few weeks with ideal conditions to play golf. The greens have been on the dry side and with very little nitrogen inputs they have been lean and mean.

We have taken advantage of this great weather to complete a number of important cultural practices. We finished aerating all the tees and fairways. We aerated lower 8 fairway for a second time this year as well as the rough on the right side as you play the hole. This week we are aerating green collars and approaches.

Fall is the best time to apply post emergent herbicides. The warm soil temperatures and cooler daytime temperatures improves efficacy. I applied herbicides to our green complexes and tee slopes. This should reduce the amount of broad-leaf and annual weeds next season.

I finally received word from ACSP for golf that we have successfully completed the program. The last part of certification requires a representative of ACSP to make a site visit and attest to our environmental stewardship. Id like to thank White Memorial Foundation, Local Boy Scout Troop, Fran Devlin and Vince McDermott for all their hard work in helping to reach our goals.

We had a back to back light frosts last week and we can expect frost in the future. Calm nites in the mid to low 30s will result in frost and play being suspended until 930 or 10 am. Please plan accordingly.

Hope everyone is enjoying this indian summer. Hope to see you out in the fairways!

Birds of Prey

dmcgowan72Leave a comment

The golf course has really has firmed up nicely with the lack of precipitaion.

The long range weather looks hot and dry as well so the course is going to continue to get a bit more brown. The course will green up quickly when it does rain so im not concerned in the least. For now just enjoy the extra roll off your drives.

There are some drop zones on the 2nd,3rd, and 5th hole. Please talk to Scott about these areas if you are not sure of our local rules.

Drop zone 3rd hole

I have some exciting environmental stewardship news to report! A pair of American Kestrels have hatched a clutch of eggs in the box near the 9th green. The kestrels are our smallest falcon about the size of a robin. The number of kestrels have declined by 50% since 1966. Promoting their recovery by installing and maintaining these boxes is a great reason why we are involved in the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf.

Yesterday, Jaime Fischer the Wildlife Research Director at WMF came to confirm this brood and we discussed banding the chicks by a kestrel expert from the Audubon Society in Sharon.

Young kestrels waiting for a treat
Breakfast time

For now just enjoy the aerial display of these magnificient falcons. Im guessing the young will fly the coop soon.

Hope to see you out in the fairways!

Greens Dethatching

dmcgowan721 Comment

The greens were vertical mowed in two directions last Tuesday. We then applied a generous amount of sand then punched it into the green profile with solid tines.

This procedure helped remove some thatch and also get some much needed air into the root zone. Thatch management is the single most important cultural practice for greens,tees, and fairways. Maintaining thatch levels at acceptable levels will create a firmer smoother playing surface. Also, water, fertilizer and plant protectants all work better with acceptable thatch levels.

The greens have healed over well but the practice green and the first are a bit off color. Some of the poa annual on theses greens are stressed out from the vertical mowing and dry weather we experienced last week.

I will spray the greens tomorrow with a organic foliar fertilizer and with the recent rainfall these greens should recover soon. However, I will continue to monitor them closely and make adjustments as needed.

I have finally submitted all paperwork for the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for golf. https://auduboninternational.org/acsp-for-golf/ It will be 8 weeks before we hear back from them. It’s been a very long journey but have finally reached the finish line. Once certified we will need to retain it by submitting paperwork every two years. Its an ongoing process and if you would like to get involved please contact me, Fran Devlin, or Vince McDermott.

We received a half inch today with more expected this week. Carts are ok as of right now although it is very wet out there. See you out in the fairways.