It is hard to believe that November is almost here and leaves are covering the ground.  Autumn is a beautiful time out on the golf course, but I think I speak for many of us when I say I am not ready to let go ofthis years golfing season just yet.  However, I am excited to report thatwe are busy with many projects to get the course in great playing condition as well as ready it for winter.

We aerified greens a month ago, and they have healed in really well considering the recent colder than normal weather.  The aerification went smoothly- and we were able to apply a perfect amount of topdressing that filled the holes adequately while not leaving too much excess sand on the greens and collars.  Our crew did a great job dragging and watering the sand in, and I thank them for their hard work over those few days.  I’m happy to get back on a regular greens aerification schedule, especially since #3, #7, #8, & #13 needed it due to the immature sod.

Fairway aerification is just about completed, and has taken longer than expected due to the early frosts and frequent heavy rains.  I am confident we will be completed with this project by the end of October.  It is good to see the fairways that were done a few weeks ago looking healthy and improved.  Overall this is a very good maintenance project for our fairways, and I appreciate your patience over the last month while we have “plugged” away at them.

One upcoming project I’m excited about is deep tine aerification of greens in early November.  This will help break up the soil under the turf to help maximize rooting going into winter.   It will also open up pathways for water to move off the surface throughout winter- lessening the probability of ice formation.  We are also almost ready to fertilize greens and fairways for the final time.  This fertilization is called a “dormant feed” and is targeted at getting the turf the nutrients it needs to get ready for winter.  It is something new that we are trying, and should provide a quicker green-up on fairways in the spring.  In addition to fertilization, we have also been overseeding select areas on fairways.  This introduction of seed into thin spots on fairways will help improve the turf for the future.  All of these practices are things we will continue to do as we move forward.

We will also be applying our final plant protectant sprays to greens- which will combat winter borne diseases such as Snow Molds.  These sprays will take place in late October and mid November, and will be immediately followed by a thick green sprayable product that coats our greens to help sustain harsh conditions all winter.  It is a sort of “cover” for the grass plant, and is very successful in prevention of winter injury.  We are excited to be trying various new approaches at protecting our great golf course.

Overall, we are extremely excited to get back on track with regular maintenance practices as well as start some new ones here at the Orchards.  We have re-thought some of our winter preparations and are on track to put the golf course to bed healthy and strong.  However, I hope that winter holds off for a few more weeks so that you can continue to enjoy golf and we can continue to improve conditions.  I thank you for being a member at the Orchards, and wish you an enjoyable fall golfing experience.  As always, please feel free to contact me with questions or concerns.

See you on the course!

Matt Streeter

Golf Course Superintendent

We’re half way through September, which is traditionally a great turf growing month.  The course is benefitting from the cooler temperatures, occasional rain, and overall less stressful conditions.

Because Mother Nature is doing her part, we’re able to wrap up a few projects that have been ongoing for some time, as well as start some much needed maintenance work.   The pictures below show before and after of the new walkway on the 5th tee/ 4th green.  Gone is the sandy washed out area that was unsightly and unsafe.

4 green/ 5 tee path (before)

4 green/ 5 tee path (after)

We’ve also begun to aerify fairways.  As time and weather permit, we will get a few done each week.  Here’s a few shots of that job in action.

#1 fairway after aerification

Cleaning up #1 fairway

A reminder:  Greens aerification will be occurring on September 22/ 23 (weather permitting).  This process should allow our greens to take full advantage of the great Autumn growing conditions; readying them for winter.

We hope everyone’s enjoying golf- and as always please contact me with any questions or concerns.

Take care, and see you on the course.

The Keepers

Fallen leaves- a sign of things to come…

A sign of the changing seasons perhaps

After a few rough weeks of very summer like weather, we’ve entered September on a cool trend.  The change is definitely welcome, especially considering the course is looking good going into autumn.

The golf course is looking and playing great- and although there’s still signs of a wet and tough spring/ summer I am pleased with how things look.

We’re heading into that time of year where aerifying, verticutting, topdressing, and other such maintenance practices happen more frequently.  Greens aerification is set for September 22 & 23, with fairways and tees being accomplished as we get time and cooperation from the weather.  Simply put, you’ll see us out there doing many intensive turf practices over the next serveral weeks.  All of it is geared towards getting the course as healthy and prepared for winter as possible.  We thank you for your patience, and hope that you continue to enjoy the golfing season.

Take care, and see you on the course.

The Keepers

Superintendent’s Update

July has brought with it some very nice weather, and the golf course has benefited from it immensely.  With drier weather, we’re able to deliver conditions that are conducive to a pleasant round of golf.  We hope you are enjoying playing the course as much as we are enjoying maintaining it.

The Jimmy Young Member Guest was a success, with the course playing fast and firm.  As summer moves along, we will continue to keep conditions at their peak, as well as do small projects that help beautify and enhance the playability of the course.

Here are a few pictures that show things from different angles:

15th hole

13th green

7th hole

4th hole from 5th tee

The Orchards was recently featured on the Donald Ross Society’s website.  Please follow this link to read a nice article about the course and some of its history.

See you on the course!

The Keepers

 Welcome to June at the Orchards!  I’d like to take a moment to thank everyone for being a member and for your support so far this year.  The golf course is improving by the week, and with summer fast approaching we anticipate conditions getting even better.  Our greens maintenance staff is now complete- please take a minute to wave or say hello when you see them working hard out on the course.

It’s been considerably drier this season than I can remember, but temperatures overall have been moderate.  These aren’t the most ideal conditions for growth and recovery of turf, but I do like being on the drier side of things.  We won’t look a gift horse in the mouth, so I’ll take the cooler temperatures thus far into June.  A dry and firm golf course is a healthier one, so overall I’m happy with conditions as they stand.

Greens 11, 13, 15, and 17 have recently been verticut, seeded, and topdressed.  The reason for this is to give them one last push towards becoming as healthy and playable as the rest of the greens.   They’ve come a long way since the course opened, and I do believe they’re about to “turn the corner”.  With warming temperatures and good spring rain, it won’t be long before they’re completely grown in. 

Greens 3,7, & 8 are doing well- the seams are hardly even noticeable any more.  They will continue to need a lot of TLC throughout the season, so please be patient while we take them slowly at times.  It’s nice to see them adapting as well as they have, but my enthusiasm is tempered because our vision for them is long term health and success, not short term “wow”.

In the coming days we will be solid tine aerifying the rest of the greens on the course (as well as a possible light verticut).  A verticut will help promote the lateral growth of bentgrass and fill in any weaker areas that exist out there.  The solid tine aerification will serve to alleviate any areas of compaction or other stress on the greens.  The benefit of both practices is that they minimally affect conditions but pay huge dividends.  We will also begin to tackle other projects which involve areas of the course other than greens, tees, and fairways.  We look forward to your input as we get into little projects all over the course.

All fairways and approaches have been fertilized, and there is already a noticeable improvement in green-up and growth.  The practice tee is looking better all the time, and in a few short weeks we will be hitting golf balls from the new sod.  There is still some work to be done on the tee, such as topdressing, filling low areas, aerifying, and fertilizing so please bear with us as we continue to improve the tee.  In addition to the new surface, we also have the benefit of new limited flight practice balls.  The immediate benefit of these balls is that we can now use the whole tee surface and you can use any club in your bag, whereas in the past we had to limit the use of certain clubs or move the hitting area back.  In the long run, the new tee coupled with the advancements in limited flight balls will allow you to get the most use out of our new practice tee.

As we get more towards the summer months I would like to remind everyone to please keep carts to authorized areas only.  Please refrain from driving near greens and tees, in natural/ fescue areas, or in areas that are excessively wet or roped off.  The turf and soil will thank all of us for being as gentle as we can.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing everyone on the course.

Matt Streeter (Superintendent)

Andrew Charbonneau (Assistant Superintendent)

Green is the word as we begin May.  All of the rain we’ve received in the last several days creates lush, dense turf all over the course.  It’s nice to see, but it’s more difficult to keep up with tasks such as mowing and weed control.  As the days go by and we get our full staff on board, you may notice more and more mowing and other sorts of maintenance practices happening.  Soon we will begin fertilization of our tees and fairways, string trimming the entire course, seeding bare areas, and other detailed jobs.

We ask that you please keep your eyes open for broken sprinkler heads and other irrigation issues.  As we begin to use our system more there will be certain sprinkler heads that need attention or repair.  It is important that we get the system running as efficiently as possible so that we can begin to fertilize and otherwise improve the entire course.  While our system has been running for over a month now, there are always lingering issues that need our attention.  

Here are a few pictures that showcase how well the course is looking.  We hope everyone is enjoying the course- we will continue to deliver better conditions as the season progresses.

9th Hole mid day

8th hole in the morning

The new range tee is coming along well.  The heavy rains have set us back a bit, but I still anticipate the back row of mats being open very soon.  There is still work to be done to the new turf on the tee, but when completed this project is going to benefit the experience here at the Orchards.

Take care, and we will see you on the course.

The Keepers

It’s hard to believe that it’s only April 22.  As we get warmer days, warmer nights, and nice April showers the course seems to make huge strides each and every day.

The sodded greens are looking great, and we’ve already been able to mow them each twice!  Roots are taking hold and the sod is looking very healthy.  There’s still some unevenness in the sod, so as the days and weeks go by we will begin to topdress and maintain the sodded greens more aggressively.  We ask your patience as we perform these tasks, as it’s these sort of maintenance techniques that will get these greens towards optimal conditions.  Enjoy a few pictures of the first two mowings:

I’ll post more pictures as the days go by.  We hope all of you are enjoying the course.

See you out there,

The Keepers

It feels like early Spring out there, but the golf course is open for play as of April 10th.  We’re really excited to see members out enjoying the golf course, and we hope that as the days go by the course will become more playable, enjoyable, and aesthetically pleasing!

Old Man Winter wasn’t very kind to some areas of our course, and unfortunately we open the year with 4 temporary greens- #3, #7, #8, and #13.  The seventh and eighth greens have been completely renovated with a new variety of creeping bentgrass sod (called Tyee Creeping Bentgrass), which we’re excited to see adapt to our beautiful golf course.  The third green also has a large area of new sod on the left side.  As we get rain and the temperatures warm, we should see these sodded areas begin to root and strengthen in the coming weeks.

#7 Green new sod

#8 green new sod

#3 green partly re-sodded

Our crew is still busy preparing the course for play, so we ask your patience as we clean up sticks, leaves, and other debris.  As we get cleaned up, we will begin mowing as well, which will help turf recovery and playability.

We’re glad to see everyone back out on the course.  Please stop by to chat with us about all ongoing projects and maintenance.  

Thank you, and see you on the course

The Keepers

17th green in late March

Although the calendar indicates that Spring time is here, I think Old Man Winter is trying his hardest to hang on tightly.  We’re seeing night time temperatures starting to stay above freezing on a consistent basis, and the days are getting warmer and more conducive to turf growth and recovery.  Most of the greens on the golf course are still dormant, and the ones that have begun to break dormancy are coming along slowly.  A few of the greens are displaying weak turf, but I’m confident that with the forecast of warmer temperatures and rain, as well as a little TLC from our staff we will be playing golf soon.  We’ve laid down some permeable covers to try and regulate soil temperatures so that those greens can recover and green up more quickly.

I’ll keep updates rolling in more steadily now that the season is getting closer.  As for now, I wanted to communicate my excitement for the upcoming season.  My staff is getting geared up and ready to go, and we’re looking forward to providing a high quality golf course for the 2009 season.

Thank you for being a member at the Orchards, and as always please don’t hesitate to get a hold of me with questions, concerns, or just to chat.

Matt Streeter

Golf Course Superintendent