Greenbriar Oceanaire Community Association

CONGRATULATIONS TO STEVE JUHRING

BILLY CASPER SUPERINTENDENT OF THE YEAR FOR THE NORTHEAST REGION

STEVE'S BLOG IS BELOW

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2018

Mother nature never seems to fail us when the 4th of July holiday comes along.  The last couple of days have presented some oppresive heat with nasty conditions for turfgrass.  Areas that are prone to drought stress have shown just that with the extreme heat combined with the winds during the last few days.  The maintenance staff is working diligently with handwatering practices to keep up.  Please be courteous to crew members if you see them handwatering any areas in play.  We are also finding some issues with irrigation coverage that are showing up during this time.  We are trying to manage the water in a way that we give the grass just enough water to get through the day without keeping it too wet.  These conditions are prime for disease development.

You may have noticed some odd browning of different grasses in the turf.  This is kyllinga that has been treated with an herbicide.  Kyllinga can be super aggresive and if not treated, it can start to crowd out desirable turfgrasses.

The picture below proves the effectiveness of the root pruning that was performed last year.  Trees out-compete grass.  Trees prove time and time again that they are a detriment to the health of the turf.

Stay cool

Steve Juhring, GCS

Thursday, June 28th, 2018

With the heat and humidity rising, summer time on the golf course is here.  This is the time of year where we do what we have to in order to "survive" the most stressful time of the year.  We will alter our mowing/rolling approach with the greens in order to keep as much stress as possible off of them.  And these considerations go for the rest of the golf course as well.  This could include changing some equipment on the mowing units themselves, alternating days of mowing and rolling, and so on.

This week, we applied a topdressing to the greens on Monday.  This is a way to help control thatch levels in the greens, help create smoother surfaces, and improve the relationship between the surface of the green and the subsoil regarding water infiltration and aeration.  Below are pictures of 18 Green and 15 Approach being topdressed.  Doing the approaches has similar benefits.

Last week, we began the process of putting a hard edge back on the bunkers.  This is a time consuming and labor intensive project that will be done over an extended period of time, but the results are satisfying and it will give us a "re-start" in maintaining the integrity of the bunkers.  Below is a before and after picture of the fairway bunker on #4.

With the holiday coming up, I hope everyone has a good, safe 4th of July.

Thanks

Steve Juhring, GCS

Tuesday, June 12th, 2018

Welcome to June.  We have had a good start to the "summer months" but things can change fast.  I have seen times of wetness quickly change to times of drought, so we will utilize this time of wet weather the best we can.

The heavy rains from the past few days created problem areas, wet soils, and soft conditions.  Today, we spent time repairing the bunkers.  The rain storms from Sunday and Monday created wash-outs in every bunker on the golf course.

With cultivation practices behind us and the greens just about fully healed from DryJect, we will turn our attention towards dialing up the playability of the putting surfaces.  Today, we did our first "Brush then Cut" on the greens for the season.  This practice is done periodically throughout the year.  It helps smoothen out putting surfaces, removes "Grain", and provokes the turf to have a more "upright" growth-habit.  Over time, the bentgrass leaf blades will grow horizontally resulting in the need to brush the surfaces.  Below is a pitcure illustrating the line of cut after the green had been brushed.

Next picture is of #1 Green and the brush used to groom the putting surfaces.  To this point, I am pleased with the condition of the green considering some alterations that were made in our approach towards managing it compared to last year.  With many "micro-climates" throughout the golf course, each green can be different.  Figuring out what each one wants takes time.

This week, our focus is to dial in the golf course in anticipation of this weekends Member/Guest Tournament.

Thank you

Steve Juhring, GCS

Wednesday, May 30th, 2018

DryJect was completed yesterday on greens.  This is a great practice to aid in the dilution of organic content in the root zones.  It carries minimal invasiveness and is a great addition towards our goal of managing the soils in greens.

You may have noticed some "browning" of the turf on tees.  Some more than others, and perhaps different sections of individual tees more than other sections.  This is not a result of the "Tees burning out".  This is the result of poor mowings.  Two weeks ago, when we had the 5 day stretch of rain, we had to mow despite them being too wet.  Then the following week, we got behind on mowing the tees with trying to get caught up with everything else due to the rain.  This resulted in consecutive mowings where we received a poor cut thus causing the browning of the tips of the leaf blades, causing areas to have an overall brown color to them.  They are recovering and will look better with each mowing now that we are getting back to a normal mowing schedule.

The Driving Range is on the grass today for the first time this season.  The turf has shown enough life to this point to show that it is ready for traffic.

With cultivation practices now behind us, we set our focus towards the Summer months and doing what we need to in order to put the golf course in the best position to succeed into the Fall.

Thanks

Steve Juhring, GCS

Sunday, May 20th, 2018

From the rain received over the past 4 days, the golf course is saturated.  It will need time to dry out.  This week, we will get caught up on what we need to.

EXPECT CART RESTRICTIONS ON TUESDAY IF YOU ARE PLAYING GOLF.  PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ALONG TO ANY PLAYING PARTNERS.

Thank you for your patience

Steve Juhring, GCS

Wednesday, May 16th, 2018

Course update.

Greens aerification was completed this past Monday.  Conditions were not ideal for the process but the maintenance staff worked hard until late in the day to get done what we needed to.  The process was verticut, punch, clean, overseed select greens, topdress, brush, roll, mow.

We used smaller holes but on a tighter spacing to help with healing time and invasiveness of play.  We overseeded greens #1, #3, #9, #14, and #15 using 007 Bentgrass seed.  This seed has a quick germination rate and the motive to doing it was to improve the turfstands on these greens.  Looking at the last picture, inside the red circle is the fresh aerification hole that has been backfilled by sand.  You can notice the bottom of the channel punching through the layer of organic buildup which will promote root growth through these layers and help improve aeration and surface drainage while diluting organic content.

During the late Tuesday evening thunderstorms, we received some lightning damage.  We had a bad lightning strike by #3 Green.  The voltage from the lighting shot up to the irrigation clock here and blew up the communication board and related fuses, and the current was forceful enough to follow the line around the golf course and blow fuses in other irrigation clocks in different parts of the golf course.  On #3, we are still currently diagnosing the irrigation clock, as well as solenoids at the irrigation heads themselves to get the irrigation fixed completely.  With time, we will need to continue checking for bad solenoids in the field.  Sometimes, if not found in time, the area where we have a bad solenoid shows up in the form of turf drying out.  We are taking the necessary steps in getting everything fixed.

In 2 weeks, we will be Dry-Jecting greens.  This is another great practice towards the dilution of organic matter.

With the rain we are receiving this week, we will be behind on mowing, specifically rough.  Once the weather lets up, we will be diligent in getting caught up on everything.

Thanks

Steve Juhring, GCS

Tuesday, May 8th, 2018

May is here and Spring has finally shown itself.  The recent warmer temperatures have had a good impact on turfgrass with soil temperatures rising.

The pre-emergent application that was originally scheduled for April 30th went down yesterday.  Some changes in scheduling had to be made in order to get it done.  Needless to say, one of the more important applications of the year has been completed.

A few important things still needed to get done include Greens aeration and Dry-Jecting.  These are scheduled to be completed May 14th and May 29th.

As we continue to cross things off the Spring to do list, we inch closer towards gearing up for the heat of the season through the summer.

Thank you

Steve Juhring, GCS

Wednesday, April 25th, 2018

Course Update:

This past Monday, we verticutted and topdressed the tees.  Some tees were treated differently with the verticutting process, depending on the location and growing nature of the individual tee.  Combining verticutting with core-tining is a great addition towards the attack on thatch removal.  Topdressing the tees can yield the same benefits as topdressing greens, but a side catch to topdressing tees is the natural mitigation of earthworm activity and the worm castings they create that pose complications to turf surfaces and our mowing equipment.

In case you ever wondered about the effectiveness of root-pruning trees, this picture taken yesterday, shall speak for itself...

We have gotten a good amount of season prep work completed, but still have some final pushing to do.  This includes our pre-emergent application which is going down this coming Monday, as well as Greens aeration and Dry-Jecting.

Greens aeration is scheduled for May 14th and Dry-Jecting is scheduled for May 29th.

Thanks

Steve Juhring, GCS

Friday, April 20th, 2018

Time is moving quickly as we continue our preparations for the 2018 season.  With winter-like temperatures still hanging around, it has afforded us time to continue focusing on detail oriented work.  Such work would include edging irrigation heads and drains, drainage work, and continuance of sod work, to name a few.

On #15, we added a catch basin to an existing drain line.  We found the end of the line by "probing" along the run of the line until we found the end cap.  Then we dug down to expose the drain so that we could add the catch basin to it.  After the heavy rains this past Monday, there was no standing water in the facinity of the new drain box, an area that would result with some standing water after a heavy rain.  We will address the need for additional drainage here in the future.

This week, on hole #8, we finished some sod work to the front of #8 fairway.  We rough sodded the remaining portion of the fairway where we took bentgrass sod from for #2 tee.  We were able to utilize the sod that we cut from this area to do some patch work in a few spots on #8 fairway.  Transplanting sod from this area has now allowed us to rehab #2 tee, while also improving other areas on the hole itself.

Our irrigation system is now charged, a sure sign that the golfing season is upon us.

Thanks

Steve Juhring, GCS

Friday, April 13th, 2018

An update on #2 Tee.  Today, we aerified the tee, picked the material up, and applied a heavy top-dressing of sand to fill the holes.  This is a great way to remove organic matter and replace it with sand.  Doing this will set the tee up to withstand the foot traffic that it will see once the tee is open.  We may or may not do another aerification to the tee similar to what we did today.  All in all, the tee is looking good and healthy.  Pictures below.

It has come a long way, and with that, we are taking our time in the opening of the tee to make sure it is ready for play.

See you on the golf course

Steve Juhring, GCS

Wednesday, April 11th, 2018

Fairway aeration came to a close today.  With frost on Monday morning, that set us back each day with punching holes and cleaning the fairways.  It went well and we were able to remove a lot of thatchy material which benefits the turf and soils in the long run.  Below is a picture showing one of the machines used to clean the fairway.

The process is time consuming but great for turf health.

The original scheduling of Deep-Tining fairways for April 23rd and 24th has been pushed back to Wednesday, April 25th.

The weather looks like it will be changing for the better over the next couple days which is good to see.

Thanks

Steve Juhring, GCS

Sunday, April 8th, 2018

Fairway aerification will be conducted as originally scheduled, tomorrow and Tuesday.

Thanks

Steve Juhring, GCS

Wednesday, April 4th, 2018

Welcome to April and the hopes of better weather, though that does not look imminent.

Today marked another good day of course projects to get done.  We installed drainage behind #1 Green.  This is a soft, wet area that this project aims to help move water out of the immediate facinity.  Below are a few pictures to illustrate the steps taken to complete the project.

Overall, the drain came out good.  The dirt pictured to right in the last picture is the excess dirt that remains after laying the pipe and gravel for the drain.

Yesterday, we had a pleasant surprise of a Bald Eagle hanging out on hole #6 by the ponds.  I was able to snap this picture as he flew from atop of one of the trees.  Pretty cool.

Fairway aeration scheduled for Monday and Tuesday may be in danger due to the forecasted weather.  Stay Tuned.

Hope the weather changes for the better so ourselves and golfers alike can get on with the season.

Thanks

Steve Juhring, GCS

Friday, March 30th, 2018

With the golf course re-opening this past Wednesday afternoon, normal setup procedures were taken care of.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate moving forward.

Yesterday, we performed the first mow to the sodded tee on #2.  With that, a soil profile was taken to observe how well the sod is rooting to the original base of the tee and it all looked great.  We will perform an aggressive aeration to promote even better rooting of the sod.  This will also help to remove more rich material and thatch to help the tee perform.

In the picture, you will notice some seams from each individual piece of sod that was laid down.  These seams will mesh together through aerifying, topdressing, and growth once the temperatures promote it.  To this point, I am pleased with the progress we have made here.

As a reminder, we are scheduled to aerify Fairways on April 9th and 10th.

Hope everyone has a good Easter.

Thanks

Steve Juhring, GCS

Monday, March 26th, 2018

Today marks the first day since Winter Storm Toby that we will be able to get around the golf course for cleanup.  We had good snow melt in the last few days, but the golf course looks like it will remain closed for the beginning of this week.  Temperatures tomorrow and Wednesday look favorable for getting the golf course re-opened.

This week, we will look to finish the aeration of tees, though we will have to evaluate how wet the soils are prior to doing so.  With that, we will go through normal golf course setup preparations when we hit the point of re-opening the golf course.

Hopefully consistently warmer weather is ahead so we can get the 2018 golf season underway.

Thanks

Steve Juhring, GCS

Tuesday, March 20th, 2018

So long the arrival of "Spring" and hello again to Old Man Winter.  With another snow storm looming, this will put another setback to golf course maintenance operations.

Yesterday, the Tees on holes 6 to 15 were aerated and cleaned.  We had a late start due to frost and freeze, but were able to be productive once we got going.  We had some mechanical failure on a machine which prevented us from being able to finish all of the tees yesterday.  Our plan is to finish the aeration this coming Monday, along with verti-cutting the tees, depending on the snow cover.

Some other notes is the sod projects on #2 tee and #8 were finished last week.  The opening of the rehabbed tee on #2 will come at a time when we feel the tee is ready for play, which may not be until early May.

See you on the Golf Course

Steve Juhring, GCS

Friday, March 9th, 2018

With opening day next week, the golf course is just about ready to go.  Some finishing touches involving greens setup, bunker work, and cleanup will be done as close to opening day as possible.  We are also planning to finish the sod work on holes #2 and #8 next week.

Looking at the weather forecast, a potential snow storm Monday could impact Opening Day and the golf course.  With the wet weather we have been having causing soft soils, we more than likely will be cart path only to begin the season.  This is done to protect the turf from damage due to excessively wet soils.

I'm looking forward to the 2018 season.  It should be a good one.

Thank You

Steve Juhring, GCS

Thursday, February 22nd, 2018

Preparations for course opening continue as stated before.  The golf course seems to be surviving the winter well, and with only a few more weeks until Opening Day, I'm hopeful for a good transition from Winter into Spring.

With the recent warm temperatures, I'm sure members are getting the "itch" to get out on the course.  Rest assured that by keeping the course closed through the turf-dormant months, you are doing the golf course a great service by keeping the stress of carts, foot traffic, and wear from play off of the turf.  With the inability for turf recovery this time of year, irreversible damage can be done.  Protecting it now leads to healthier turf-stands in season.

Some cultivation practice dates to keep in mind:

Greens Core-Aeration:  May 14th

Fairway Core-Aeration: April 9th and 10th

Tee Core-Aeration: Select Mondays in March

Dry-Ject of Greens: May 29th

Deep-Tine of Fairways: April 23rd, and 24th if needed

We will utilize the closed course Mondays as much as we can, though weather could always be a potential threat to scheduling.  Our goal with "core-aeration" is to continue managing thatch and organic matter levels as much as possible.  They tend to go hand-in-hand but too much of either one can result in poor turf and soil performance.  The Dry-Ject is another way to help dilute organic levels in the upper portion of the root-zones.  Deep-tining is something we aspire to do in the Spring and Fall for years to come to combat compaction created from environmental factors, golf carts, and turf equipment.  It is a great application to fracture sub-soil compaction layers.

Golf course preparations will begin next week for the anticipated March 13th Opening Day.  See you then.

Thanks

Steve Juhring, GCS

Wednesday, February 7th, 2018

Winter work continues down in the maintenance building.  This work includes painting course accessories, working on equipment to prepare it for the new season, and agronomically planning for the 2018 golf season.  Winter seems to be moving quickly as does time in general, so we are doing our best at staying ahead of things so we can have a smooth transition into the course opening which is creeping up on the horizon.

Geese chasing has been performed through the winter months, with common results: geese fly away only to reappear hours later.  They are a recurring problem that has seemingly intensified this winter.

It's a great time to be a Philadelphia sports fan

Fly Eagles Fly

Steve Juhring, GCS

Tuesday, January 2nd, 2018

HAPPY NEW YEAR

I hope everyone had a good, safe holiday season.  It is a great time of year to appreciate the important things in life.

In 2018, we will look to feed off of the momentum created in 2017.  Overall, I am pleased with what we were to able to put forth on the golf course for members to enjoy.  Our goals for 2018 are much the same, and that is to continue improving and make the course better each day with a long term goal of sustaining success.  This is accomplished through creating a vision towards how we perceive things to be and making it happen.

Each year brings new opportunity to build and grow through establishing standards.  We will look to build off the momentum created in 2017 to make 2018 great.

Happy New Year

Steve Juhring, GCS

Monday, December 11th, 2017

It's crazy to realize Thanksgiving has come and gone and Christmas is approaching quickly.  The 2017 season has flown by.  Hope everyone has been having a good holiday season thus far.

Over the last week or so, you may have noticed some on-going project work on the golf course.  We have completed the renovation of the teeing surface for the white tee on #2, as well prepped the tee surround along with the area down on the right side of #8 close to the green.  These are projects aimed to improve the aesthetics of the golf course with imroving performance and playability.  Below are some pictures to illustrate the work that was completed and will be completed at an appropriate time.

#2 Tee Before

#2 Tee Prepped and graded

#2 Tee Sodded

#8 Rough area prepped for sod

For some reason, most of the pictures would not go in correctly.  If you right click on the picture, then select "Open Image in New Tab", you will be able to view the pictures correctly.

The sod for #2 Tee was transplanted from the fron of #8 fairway.  Where this sod was removed will be replaced with rough sod.  The other areas that will also need to be sodded are the tee surround of white tee on #2, and the area that has been prepped by #8 green.  We had anticipated laying the rough today but the snow storm on Saturday derailed those plans.  We will complete these projects given the right timing.

Thanks

Steve Juhring

Thursday, November 23rd, 2017

I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.  This season has come and gone quickly and it's hard to believe the holiday season is here.  It's a great time of year.

Hope your Thanksgiving was fulfilling

Steve Juhring

Friday, November 17th, 2017

Concluded yesterday, the irrigation system has been blown out.  This is an important step in winter preparation for the golf course's most vital asset.  It is also a strong indicator of the golfing season winding down.

The recent rains that have been received every few days has kept the golf course soft via wet soils.  We have had numerous cart path only days with select holes being prolonged.  This is in effort to protect the golf course from extensive cart traffic.

Once we move past the Thanksgiving holiday, we will look to turn our attention to completing some projects on the golf course.  These would include drainage in certain areas, as well some sod projects.

Hope everyone has been enjoying the golfing weather that November has had to offer.

See you on the golf course

Steve Juhring

Wednesday, November 8th, 2017

Beginning next week, Monday, we will be blowing out the irrigation system.  This is a vital step towards getting the golf course prepped for winter.  The irrigation system is the lifeline to the golf course and doing this helps protect it through the winter.

Recent rains have prolonged the soft conditions on the golf course, making the course vulnerable to traffic (carts, spikes, ballmarks, divots, etc.).  Please practice course etiquette when making your rounds.

Happy November

Steve Juhring

Friday, October 27th, 2017

FAIRWAY AERIFICATION UPDATE:  Fairway aerification came to a conclusion yesterday.  We will be spot cleaning any areas that need it over the next few days.  We appreciate your cooperation in having to close holes 10 through 18 to allow us to complete it.  These are all efforts in keeping the golf course healthy and appealing.

Next week, we plan to turn our focus towards some more projects.  Our plan is to do additional rough sod work on #8, sod work on the greenside bunker on #15, and do the sod work on the "white" tee for #2.  The sod used on the tee will be transplanted from the very front of #8 fairway, with rough sod taking its place.  This is a start towards the renovation of #2 tee complex with goals of improvement.

It looks like we will be impacted by a significant Nor'easter this Sunday.  We may see prolonged cart restrictions depending on the amount of rain that is received.

See you on the golf course

Steve Juhring

Wednesday, October 25th, 2017

FAIRWAYS UPDATE: Holes 1 through 9 were aerated and cleaned on Monday, along with the approaches on holes 12 and 16.  This process was finished in the dark to beat the forecasted rain for the following day.  Tomorrow, the 26th, holes 10 through 18 will be closed to allow us to finish the aerification.  The rains from yesterday have made things soggy, so we will change our approach tomorrow to avoid uneccessary damage from heavy machinery during the cleanup process due to soft/wet conditions.  This time of year, soils are slow to dry due to air temperatures along with the weakened strength and duration of sunlight.

ROOT-PRUNING:  It has been a little over a month since we completed the root-pruning project on the golf course.  This process cuts off the competition of tree roots from the turfgrass and allows the turfgrass to gain the competitive edge in regards to water and nutrients.  If you observe the photo below, you can see the dividing line of where the machine made the cut along the root zones of the trees.  

 To the right of the cut line, you have the area where trees are still taking up water and nutrients through their root systems, thus choking out the surrounding turfgrass.  To the left of the cut line, tree roots have been cutoff from utilizing underground resources, resulting in the turfgrass using what is in the ground to have a healthier growth habit.  Trees may serve a fine purpose in the general setting of a landscape, but they can be highly detrimental to a golf course through shade issues along with the problems evidenced here.  It is satisfying to see these results.

It looks like the Fall temperatures will be getting lower over the next 10 days.  We may experience some frost delays given the right temperatures.  Stay tuned.

See you on the golf course

Steve Juhring

10/22/2017

The forecast for continuing fairway aerification on Tuesday does not look good.  We will get done what we can on Monday, and figure out a game plan from there.  Unnecessary damage could be caused by trying to operate machinery on the turf if it is too wet.  We will assess the situation on Tuesday and the days after.

Thanks

Steve Juhring

10/19/2017

REMINDER:  Fairway aerification is set to begin on Monday, the 23rd.  The weather forecast looks great for Monday, but gloomy the days following.  We will do as much work as we can on Monday in anticipation of inclement weather.  We will only aerate what we think can be cleaned up in a timely manner to avoid having uncleaned fairways if rain hits.  Stay tuned for further updates.

PRIMARY ROUGH:  Height-of-cut on the rough machines has been lowered as of today.  This should help provide more player-friendly conditions when hitting out of the rough.  Enjoy.

Frost delays will be arriving soon.  No golf or maintenance activity on turf can begin until frost has lifted.  The duration of frost delays varies depending on weather conditions.  Check with the proshop regarding delays on mornings when frost is possible.

Happy Thursday

Steve Juhring

10/15/2017

Yesterday's Ryder Cup match between members and BCG personnel was quite enjoyable.  The friendly/competitive nature of the event was fun and am looking forward to next year's.

We had a couple different shotgun events this past week, along with a couple rain events.  Everything is growing good.  One problem this has caused is thick, healthy rough that is hard to hit out of.  This coming week, it will be priority number 1 to get the rough cut and back to a better playable condition.

The height-of-cut on greens was lowered this past week back to our normal cutting height that we maintained all summer.  This is a sign that the greens are back to normal since aerification and better putting conditions can be expected.

Up next on the cultivation schedule is the aeration of fairways which will take place on the 23rd and 24th of this month.  This will just about wrap-up core-tine aerification on fine turf surfaces.

Enjoy the great weather that Fall has had to offer thus far

Steve Juhring

10/6/2017

Today, and over the past couple of days, you may have noticed the tractor operating in the rough and fairways, particularly in high traffic areas.  This is a continued effort to alleviate compacted areas from cart traffic to promote healthier turf and soils.  Please be mindful of the operator that is running the machine.

The greens are coming along, perhaps slower than expected.  With the current warmer temperatures, it should help boost growth rates to get the greens back to 100%.

PLEASE AVOID USING BODILY SPRAYS WHEN STANDING ON TURF

Happy Golftober

Steve Juhring

9/26/2017

All greens were aerated, cleaned, and topdressed yesterday.  We put a great application to the greens through the amount of material removed combined with the amount of sand put down to fill the holes.  Over the course of today, including the next few days, we will be touching up any areas light on sand or trying to disperse some of it away where it is heavy.  We will also look to resume our cultural practices to help dial the greens into a more playable condition.  You can expect sandy, slower, and bumpier putting surfaces over the next few days.

Below is a picture to represent the underneath surface of the punched holes.  It is satisfying to see the aeration tines breaking through the layer of organic buildup.  Using sand to fill the empty holes, we create more channels for air exchange and water movement while diluting the zone of organic matter.  Overall, I am pleased with the result and look to turn our focus towards the healing process.

Happy Tuesday

Steve Juhring

9/23/2017

REMINDER:  We will be aerating greens this Monday, September 25th.  Expect greens to be slower and bumpier during the time of healing.  We will also be deep-tining select fairways on Monday, and part of Tuesday as well.  Please do your best to play around the operator if you plan to tee it up on Tuesday.

Happy Fall

Steve Juhring

9/15/2017

As the sun angles get shallower heading into Fall, we start to encounter more shade issues on the golf course and on putting surfaces, especially with morning sun.  Pictured below is a clear representation of the ill effect morning shade can have on turf and it's root system.

Note the rooting in this picture of a shaded green

And now notice the rooting of a green that receives full sun from sunrise to sunset

This second picture illustrates a much healthier root mass and rooting depth thanks to sunlight.

Happy Friday

Steve Juhring

9/13/2017

This week, we completed the sod project on #4.  The sod used was Turf-Type Tall Fescue.  The bentgrass that was cut from this area was transplanted to the fairway on #8, as well as added to the "nursery" that we prepped in the very back of the driving range.  The fairway sod on #8 still needs some touching up but should come in nicely.  One it is competely healed and ready for play, the ropes will be taken down.  Over time, we will also assess the potential need for additional drainage to this area.

Beginning today, we began the root-pruning process.  You may have noticed the orange tractor on select holes.  The process is slow, but will greatly benefit the golf course through cutting off tree roots that are encroaching the turf and ultimately choking it out.  We should be done with the root-pruning by Thursday afternoon.  Moving forward, these areas that were once in the zone of root encroachment should start to recover.

As a reminder, we are scheduled to aerify greens on Monday, September 25th.  You can expect slower, bumpier putting surfaces during the healing time of the aerification holes.  On the Monday and Tuesday of that same week, we will be deep-tining select fairways to help alleviate compaction.  If you are playing golf Tuesday, please be mindful of the operator working in the fairway. 

Have a nice day

Steve Juhring

9/8/2017

You may notice that #8 fairway has been prepped for sod.  It has been marked as ground under repair so please try and avoid hitting from this area and driving carts through it.  On Monday, we will continue the on-going bailout projects by prepping #4 bailout.  When this sod is cut away, it will be transferred to #8 fairway to finish that area.  We will also be sodding the very left side of #1 approach off to the left of the green.  It will be very minimal and our goal is to keep our fine turf mowers from having to cut through that steep catch-basin where it is damaged and has damaged our mowers before.

Tuesday, #4 will be sodded with turf-type tall fescue as well as the little area to the left of #1 green. 

See you on the golf course

Steve Juhring

9/6/2017

Tee aeration was completed with success yesterday.  All tees, including the range tee and target greens, were punched and cleaned.  

With the holiday and tee aeration, today we are trying to catch back up on daily practices in the midst of passing thunderstorms.

Hope everyone had a good holiday weekend

Steve Juhring

8/30/2017

Another 1.1" of rain received throughout the day yesterday.  Despite it being wet, the long steady rain with the cool temperatures was great for the golf course as it was beginning to dry out.

Monday, the greens were vented, topdressed, brushed, and rolled, then rolled again yesterday morning to help smoothen out any bumps from the process.  This is the last time this will be done this year.  Next up, core-aerification in about a month.

We are planning on aerifying teeing surfaces this coming Tuesday, the day after Labor Day.  It will be nice to get this practice done so we can begin narrowing our focus heading into the fall.

Just six days after overseeding #1 green, we are seeing results.  The dew pattern this morning on the green was the best I've seen it since starting here in June.  There is noticeable growth coming out of the seed beds, as evidenced in the picture below.  This picture was taken from the edge of the green to best illustrate the response in overseeding.  The entire putting surface was treated with added emphasis to the edge of the green.  007 bentgrass seed was used.

Good luck to everyone in this Monday's Labor Day Tournament

Steve Juhring

8/23/2017

We received 2.1" of rain in last nights storms.  The golf course is very wet.  Today was a great opportunity to dedicate the day to manicuring bunkers.  Mowers will be kept off until the ground dries out.  With that, we have been doing our best at trying to keep up with mowings.  Certain days, the rough mowers are going at first light to the end of the work day in efforts to keep up with the needed mowing.

Today, you may notice that #1 green is the only green to have a million little holes in it.  We punched it, seeded it, put sand down, and brushed it all into the holes.  These holes help to create seed beds for seedlings to sit and germinate.  Looking at the weather forecast, we should have great weather for pushing growth.

Monday, we will vent all greens one more time as our last "bridge" until the core aerification that is tentatively scheduled towards the end of September.

Happy Wednesday

Steve Juhring

8/21/2017

With 1.5" of rain received throughout the day Friday, followed by a warm night with high humidity, it placed the turfgrass under severe stress.  Some areas remain wet today. Saturated soils decrease oxygen levels in the root zone which can lead to visibly stressed turf stands.  Looking at the forecast over the next week, conditions should improve with the ground drying out.  Please try and avoid low areas in fairways as they are still soft and wet.

DIVOTS- if you take a divot and it remains together and intact, then replace it.  It will have the ability to heal.  If you take a divot and it comes out in pieces, then please replace using the divot bottles attached to the golf cart.  Trying to piece a divot back together to replace it will not heal.

Hope everyone played well in the Member/Member

Steve Juhring

8/10/2017

Hope everyone has been enjoying the summer weather.

Beginning today, we will be placing bunker rakes along the inside edges of the bunkers.  This will aim to help with conveniency for golfers being able to locate the rakes.  When finished, please place the rake back along the inside edge of the bunker.

It's great to see the variety of wildlife around the property.  The big snapping turtle on hole 6 was spotted today making his way towards one of the ponds.

Have a nice day

Steve Juhring

7/30/2017

With summer moving by quickly, it has had plenty to offer in my short time at Oceanaire.  The latter half of June and most of July offered little rain with hot, humid, and dry conditions.  Our top priority since June 12th has been focusing on the efficiency of our water use.  Implementing handwatering practices allows us to put water where it needs to go and enables us to create a balance in our water management strategy.  We have been slowly changing parts out in the irrigation heads to help direct water use where it needs to go and save from watering areas that do not need to be irrigated.  An example of this would be 14 tee.  We changed mutliple heads on the basin side of the tee to part circle heads to focus solely on the watering of the tee and nothing else that does not need it.  We have seen great results from doing this and will continue to scout out different areas that could benefit from this.

The golf course has been holding up well through the multiple heat waves that we have endured thus far.  With select Mondays dedicated to course closing for maintenance, we have been able to complete different practices to aid with combatting summer stress.  Last Monday, July 24th, we needle tined all of the greens.  This is a great practice that takes time to get done.  What this does is open up the putting surfaces with minimal to no disruption of ball roll and allows everything underneath to "breathe".  This also helps to break surface tension in the soil.  Next, we have been routinely topdressing greens.  A few benefits of a topdressing program for greens is increased smoothness, ability to recover from stress, and helping to control thatch levels.  This is something that we will continue to do.

This week, we will begin treating areas with herbicides to control grassy weeds.  You may notice some discoloration (white/brown) of these weeds and that is from the herbicide doing its job while leaving the desired turfgrasses unaffected.

With the most recent rains and temperatures, we have noticed some great turf recovery.  It has provided relief for both the golf course and the maintenance crew.  With August around the corner, we should start trending towards cooler nights with shorter days which will continue to benefit the turf.

See you on the golf course

Steve Juhring

11/16/2016

Fall seems to be moving very quickly.  Halloween has come and gone and Thanksgiving is next week.  The course has been aerated and many projects and end of season practices are underway.  

Please be advised that we will be winterizing the irrigation system all week.  We will do this through play while doing our best to limit disturbance to golfers.  This process is timely and can be noisy but is pertinent to one of the properties most expensive and vital assets.  Please see the pro shop counter for more information.

Also, frost delays are upon us.  Please note that maintenance work cannot begin until the frost melts off.  After the team has a head start on daily practices, play can begin.  you do not need frost on the outside of the plant to do damage, frozen leaf tissue ruptures when trafficked.  An e-mail has been sent further explained frost delay science and procedures.

Happy Thanksgiving to all,

Mike Tardogno

10/24/2016

As promised, fairway aeration has begun.  It is going slower than planned due to very wet soils from Friday’s and Saturday’s rain.  It also appears that frost delays will begin to plague us the next couple of mornings.  The process will take some time so please remember to be courteous to the workers.  The equipment is large, loud and hard to maneuver.  Be sure each employee sees you and waves you up before hitting.  Due to the amount of time it takes to complete this task the larger equipment will work through play without moving off the fairway while you hit.  This is the best way to get fairway aeration completed in a timely manner.  Thank you for your patience and understanding in this matter.

Golf Course Superintendent,

Mike Tardogno

10/11/2016

Here is an update on the course aerification process; tees have been aerified, cleaned, top-dressed and fertilized. Greens have been aerified, cleaned, top-dressed, fertilized and Dry-Jected.  Both the tees and the greens processes went very smoothly and we are having great weather for turf growth right now.  This is a welcomed change from the difficult and unpredictable spring and summer of 2016.  With only two weeks healing time since greens aeration and one week since the greens Dry-Ject we see almost no residual scarring from the work done.  The greens are now ready for some growth regulators which will slow elongation helping the plant to grow laterally creating a smoother, tighter and faster putting surface.  The tees have already received growth regulator which will help complete their recovery process.    

Fairway aeration will begin on October 24th and should complete on October 28th weather permitting. This work will be done on a few holes per day and will intermittently interfere with golf. Please be courteous to the workers during this process.  Currently the fall weather is great for golfing but seems to be cooling rather quickly so get out there and get some rounds in before winter is upon us.

See you on the Links,

Mike Tardogno 

09/26/2016

Aerating season is upon us.  Last weeks rain threw the Tee schedule off a little but we did get it done.  Today we aerated the greens with large diameter tines which I like to use these in the fall to create nice large channels for air and water exchange.  The Turf also has better ability to recover quicker in the fall.  The process went fairly smoothly and is nearly complete.  We have some touch-up top-dressing to do and we need to put down fertilizers and soil amendments.  We usually expect about a two week recovery time but that may vary due to next week's Dry-Ject.  Normally we perform Dry-Ject in June but weather and other factors forced us to push it off.  Doing it now, in conjunction with the large aeration tines will be just as beneficial as doing it in the summer. Remember, despite the inconvenience in poor putting surfaces these cultivation practices are extremely important to turf health and good playing surfaces.  

Looks like a decent amount of rain is coming this week, it should wash the top-dressing in nicely despite making poor playing conditions. Hopefully the sun will return next week when the putting surfaces start to improve.

Thank you for your patience,

Mike Tardogno

09/14/2016

I would like to inform all residents and golfers alike that we have aerated, verti-cut, slice-seeded and top-dressed the range tee and targets. Remember that the turf on these areas is a hybrid Bermudagrass.  It performs very well in the warmer months and it's aggressive growth is what allows us to utilize the grass tee so much for such a small area.  However we have seen that its cold tolerance forces us to shut the grass tee down early and not allow opening until nearly June.  Late last fall, I over-seeded with Ryegrass much like they do on golf courses in southern states.  This allowed the range to open as early as April 1st this season.  Due to the success in the spring I have performed the over-seeding process in order to extend range use later into the fall.  I will need to keep the grass tee closed for close to 2 weeks while we wait for germination of the Ryegrass.  Also, please take note of the following aeration dates; Greens-Monday 9/26, Greens Dry-ject-Monday 10/3, Tees-10/20-22 (6 holes per day) and Fairways 10/17-21.  Thank you for your patience regarding fall aeration practices.

Happy Fall Golfing,

Mike Tardogno

09/03/2016

It is evident that this storm will hit us but the severity and impact is still unknown.  Some of the preparations I will be taking are as follows;  I will be shutting down all power to the irrigation system including shutting down the main breaker at the pumphouse and, the line conditioner breakers.  I will also disconnect all lines from the central control in the maintenance building to the field to preserve the computer.  I have kept the irrigation pond at a lower level (well pumps are off) for greater drainage capacity.  I will keep all pond transfer valves shut.  If needed I will open them towards the end or after the storm has passed.  If the storm hits at raised severity and the course is closed, I will pass through each day to assess damage and needed recovery actions.  Please remember that a golf course is one of the worst places to be during a storm.  Trees and branches that can injure or kill are succeptable to falling in high winds.  Also, you are an easy target for lightning (which kills).  Finally, golf course surface drainage can often flow fast enough to move or paralyze golf carts and can cause severe washouts in the landscape.  If conditions are bad please do not try to navigate the course in any way, we will do our best to return the course to use in a timely manner.  Hopefully Hermine is all tuckered out by the time it reaches New Jersey but if not we will be prepared.  Be safe and stay dry.

Golf Course Superintendent,

Mike Tardogno

08/29/2016

Labor Day is just one week away and with it comes the promise of shorter and cooler days.  This summer sure has given us some extreme weather.  It started warm and dry, then became hot and humid with no rain, followed by hot, humid and lots of rain. Now it seems temps are rising again and I cannot recall the last time we had precipitation.  However cooler nights and shorter days will help us to recover from the long hot summer and to begin our necessary maintenance practices for repair and continued health of the turf.  We have begun spraying for the grassy weed breakthrough as mentioned in earlier posts.  Please take note that we will be seeing yellowing and browning of these weeds in the fairways tees and roughs.  Desirable turf is not dying, just the unwanted weedy grasses and their seeds.  As these chemical treatments do there job and the alloted time passes we will begin overseeding these areas as necessary.  Also, please note that we will be aerating greens on September 26th and Dry-Jecting them one week later on October the 3rd.  

I want to point out that it is extremely dry out there and irrigation coverage in the rough is limited.  Please be sure to enter each hole at the green and white post only, proceeding directly to the fairway and driving the straightest line possible to your ball. Then continue on the fairway in a straight line to the return to path signs and take the shortest route to the path from the fairway.  Not driving in the roughs will help to preserve it for play.

Now is the best time of year to play golf so get out there and enjoy yourself.

See you on the links,

Mike Tardogno

08/09/2016

The start of the Fed Ex cup is just around the corner and with it comes some much needed cooler and shorter days.  All things considered the course has held up very well. We have tried some different herbicides on the fairways for control of the Kyllinga. There has been some positive notes (the fairways have never been greener and healthier) and some negative notes (some break through of grassy weeds). As the cooler weather approaches we will be treating these areas and overseeding them. 

Also, we took a lot of rain in the last week of July and not a whole lot of change in temperature. This caused some anaerobic conditions and stressed turf.  The soaked soils and stressed turf caused some delays in mowing and the much needed rain caused some excessive growth in both the rough and fairways. We have been playing catch up with the mowing practices ever since it dried out. It has taken multiple cuttings and a lot of blowing off and cleaning up clippings to get a good, clean cut on the turf. We should have it all caught up by the end of this week.

See you on the Links,

Mike Tardogno 

07/04/2016

Happy Fourth of July to all!  The weather has been great for golf and good for growing grass.  Not the best grass growing weather but far from the worst that I have seen in my time at Oceanaire.  Really, the biggest problem has been the lack of rain and it is always better to be dry than wet because we can always irrigate.  

A question that we have been hearing a lot lately is; "why do we close the range two days a week for maintenance and not do it all on Mondays while closed?"  The fact of the matter is we do maintenance on Mondays as well as Wednesday and Friday.  On Mondays we do full maintenance including cutting all grass types (tee, targets and rough), filling and smoothing divots, topdressing, fertilizer/fungicide applications, irrigation repairs/adjustments and anything else that needs to be done.  On Wednesdays and Fridays we cut the short grass (tee and targets), fill divots, clean and straighten everything.  This is the minimum amount of work that has to be done on a regular basis allowing for the shortest delay of use possible during the week.  In order to have grass teeing area and targets we must cut on a regular basis (no less than three times a week to keep the grass healthy and at the desired height of cut.  It is important that we do not remove more than 20% of the leaf tissue in any one mowing; doing so can severely damage the plant.

Good luck to all in today's Firecracker Tournament,

Mike Tardogno

06/24/2016

A quick update on the irrigation system projects so far.  In April we discovered excessive vibrations in the pump motors at the pump house.  In May the motors were removed and sent out for inspection and repair before catastrophic failure.  Two of the motors were able to be rebuilt while one would not perform within the required tolerances if rebuilt so it was replaced.  The pumps themselves and the shafts that drive them were preserved.  The pump station has been fully operational since completion in mid-May.

At that time, in conjunction with Turf Equipment Company, we rewired the satellite boxes that control the operation of the sprinklers in the field.  The purpose of the rewiring was to create a more seamless flow in the computer system and to be able to better identify different zones and the sprinklers within them.  This part of the project is mostly complete as we will continue to evaluate and investigate to see if all stations (sprinkler wires) were moved correctly.  It is also part of a reprogramming project, in conjunction with Hydro Designs that will also continue to change throughout the next month or so as we evaluate how the new programming is functioning.

These projects have not affected turf health.  We continue on the path that we started over 5 years ago.  We keep water and fertilizer inputs at no more than they need to be while aggressively cultivating (dethatching) whenever we can.  The turf has come a long way here at Oceanaire and we will continue to make it better day after day.

Happy Golfing,

MikeTardogno

Golf Course Superintendent ,

7/30/2017

With summer moving by quickly, it has had plenty to offer in my short time at Oceanaire.  The latter half of June and most of July offered little rain with hot, humid, and dry conditions.  Our top priority since June 12th has been focusing on the efficiency of our water use.  Implementing handwatering practices allows us to put water where it needs to go and enables us to create a balance in our water management strategy.  We have been slowly changing parts out in the irrigation heads to help direct water use where it needs to go and save from watering areas that do not need to be irrigated.  An example of this would be 14 tee.  We changed multiple heads on the basin side of the tee to part circle heads to focus solely on the watering of the tee and nothing else that does not need it.  We have seen great results from doing this will continue to scout out different areas and irrigation heads that could benefit from this.

The golf course has been holding up well through the multiple heat waves that we have endured thus far.  With select Mondays dedicated to course closing for maintenance, we have been able to complete different practices to aid with combatting summer stress.  Last Monday, July 24th, we needle tined all of the greens.  This is a great practice that takes time to get done.  What this does is open up the putting surfaces and allows everything underneath to "breathe".  This also helps to break surface tension in the soil.  Next, we have been routinely topdressing greens.  A few benefits of a topdressing program for greens is increased smoothness, ability to recover from stress, and helping to control thatch levels.  This is something that we will continue to do.

This week, we will begin treating areas with herbicides to control grassy weeds.  You may notice some discoloration (white/brown) of these weeds and that is from the herbicide doing its job while leaving the desired turfgrasses unaffected.

With the most recent rains and temperatures, we have noticed some great turf recovery.  It has provided relief for both the golf course and the maintenance crew.  With August around the corner, the trend should be cooler nights and shorter days which will continue to benefit the turf.

See you on the golf course

7/30/201

With summer moving by quickly, it has had plenty to offer in my short time at Oceanaire.  The latter half of June and most of July offered little rain with hot, humid, and dry conditions.  Our top priority since June 12th has been focusing on the efficiency of our water use.  Implementing handwatering practices allows us to put water where it needs to go and enables us to create a balance in our water management strategy.  We have been slowly changing parts out in the irrigation heads to help direct water use where it needs to go and save from watering areas that do not need to be irrigated.  An example of this would be 14 tee.  We changed multiple heads on the basin side of the tee to part circle heads to focus solely on the watering of the tee and nothing else that does not need it.  We have seen great results from doing this will continue to scout out different areas and irrigation heads that could benefit from this.

The golf course has been holding up well through the multiple heat waves that we have endured thus far.  With select Mondays dedicated to course closing for maintenance, we have been able to complete different practices to aid with combatting summer stress.  Last Monday, July 24th, we needle tined all of the greens.  This is a great practice that takes time to get done.  What this does is open up the putting surfaces and allows everything underneath to "breathe".  This also helps to break surface tension in the soil.  Next, we have been routinely topdressing greens.  A few benefits of a topdressing program for greens is increased smoothness, ability to recover from stress, and helping to control thatch levels.  This is something that we will continue to do.

This week, we will begin treating areas with herbicides to control grassy weeds.  You may notice some discoloration (white/brown) of these weeds and that is from the herbicide doing its job while leaving the desired turfgrasses unaffected.

With the most recent rains and temperatures, we have noticed some great turf recovery.  It has provided relief for both the golf course and the maintenance crew.  With August around the corner, the trend should be cooler nights and shorter days which will continue to benefit the turf.

See you on the golf course

7/30/2017

With summer moving by quickly, it has had plenty to offer in my short time at Oceanaire.  The latter half of June and most of July offered little rain with hot, humid, and dry conditions.  Our top priority since June 12th has been focusing on the efficiency of our water use.  Implementing handwatering practices allows us to put water where it needs to go and enables us to create a balance in our water management strategy.  We have been slowly changing parts out in the irrigation heads to help direct water use where it needs to go and save from watering areas that do not need to be irrigated.  An example of this would be 14 tee.  We changed multiple heads on the basin side of the tee to part circle heads to focus solely on the watering of the tee and nothing else that does not need it.  We have seen great results from doing this will continue to scout out different areas and irrigation heads that could benefit from this.

The golf course has been holding up well through the multiple heat waves that we have endured thus far.  With select Mondays dedicated to course closing for maintenance, we have been able to complete different practices to aid with combatting summer stress.  Last Monday, July 24th, we needle tined all of the greens.  This is a great practice that takes time to get done.  What this does is open up the putting surfaces and allows everything underneath to "breathe".  This also helps to break surface tension in the soil.  Next, we have been routinely topdressing greens.  A few benefits of a topdressing program for greens is increased smoothness, ability to recover from stress, and helping to control thatch levels.  This is something that we will continue to do.

This week, we will begin treating areas with herbicides to control grassy weeds.  You may notice some discoloration (white/brown) of these weeds and that is from the herbicide doing its job while leaving the desired turfgrasses unaffected.

With the most recent rains and temperatures, we have noticed some great turf recovery.  It has provided relief for both the golf course and the maintenance crew.  With August around the corner, the trend should be cooler nights and shorter days which will continue to benefit the turf.

See you on the golf course

7/30/2017

With summer moving by quickly, it has had plenty to offer in my short time at Oceanaire.  The latter half of June and most of July offered little rain with hot, humid, and dry conditions.  Our top priority since June 12th has been focusing on the efficiency of our water use.  Implementing handwatering practices allows us to put water where it needs to go and enables us to create a balance in our water management strategy.  We have been slowly changing parts out in the irrigation heads to help direct water use where it needs to go and save from watering areas that do not need to be irrigated.  An example of this would be 14 tee.  We changed multiple heads on the basin side of the tee to part circle heads to focus solely on the watering of the tee and nothing else that does not need it.  We have seen great results from doing this will continue to scout out different areas and irrigation heads that could benefit from this.

The golf course has been holding up well through the multiple heat waves that we have endured thus far.  With select Mondays dedicated to course closing for maintenance, we have been able to complete different practices to aid with combatting summer stress.  Last Monday, July 24th, we needle tined all of the greens.  This is a great practice that takes time to get done.  What this does is open up the putting surfaces and allows everything underneath to "breathe".  This also helps to break surface tension in the soil.  Next, we have been routinely topdressing greens.  A few benefits of a topdressing program for greens is increased smoothness, ability to recover from stress, and helping to control thatch levels.  This is something that we will continue to do.

This week, we will begin treating areas with herbicides to control grassy weeds.  You may notice some discoloration (white/brown) of these weeds and that is from the herbicide doing its job while leaving the desired turfgrasses unaffected.

With the most recent rains and temperatures, we have noticed some great turf recovery.  It has provided relief for both the golf course and the maintenance crew.  With August around the corner, the trend should be cooler nights and shorter days which will continue to benefit the turf.

See you on the golf course