Greenbriar Oceanaire Community Association

WELCOME TO NEW GOLF SUPERINTENDENT

STEVE JUHRING

Steve grew up in Mullica Hill, NJ (southwest).  He graduated from Rutgers Turf School in 2013.  His most recent work experiences include Royce Brook from 2011-2015 as an Assistant Superintendent, then serving as Superintendent at Hyatt Hills from 2015 up until a few weeks ago.  He is married with two little girls ages 2 ½ and 1.  He enjoy spending time with them, fishing, and being active.  

 STEVE'S BLOG IS BELOW

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

7/30/2017

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

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