It's A Wrap

The 2015 golf season is upon us. This year, we are advancing past the latter stages of the grow-in and into the turf maturation process. The renovation process is drawing to a close and with it, the Keller Renovation Blog. We are switching gears to a new blog that will shed some light on the day-to-day grounds maintenance operations of the Keller Grounds Staff. It should be fun!

The new blog is called Keller Greens and Grounds and can be found at www.kellergrounds.blogspot.com

It may be several days before I have time for the inaugural post. See you on the course!

Finally...An Update!

My apologies for failing to post since April. As you can imagine, its been a wee bit busy around the Keller grounds maintenance facility these past five months. Our grand re-opening festivities during the 3rd weekend of July went off without a hitch and the flood of golfers began rolling in. From opening through the Labor Day weekend, we were averaging 275-300+ rounds per day. That basically translates to all tee times filled from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each and every day.

Such sustained traffic levels have taken their toll on our tender young turfgrass. Concentrated areas of cart traffic are definitely showing the wear and tear. Some of our new tees are not draining as well as we would like. Wet tee surfaces combined with intense traffic is a recipe for disaster. Some of these tees have taken a beating. We will continue to seed these surfaces and deep-tine aerify to improve internal drainage. The new greens are holding their own and though not very fast, they are fairly smooth and putting true. I am confident we will be able to produce fast putting surfaces in the future, keeping in mind that we must balance green speed with pace of play.

Our fairways have a ways to go before they are acceptable. The fairways are thin and sparse in some areas for several reasons:

1. Our initial pre-plant plan was to fumigate all 28 acres of fairway. Fumigation would have killed 95% of all weed seeds including those of  annual bluegrass (poa). Due to budgetary constraints, the fumigation was cancelled. This left the inferior option of using Roundup (glyphosate) to kill existing grass and weeds. Roundup has no effect on weed seeds Therefore, a very substantial population of annual bluegrass germinated during seeding. This summer we began a poa reduction/elimination program using growth regulators and a specialty herbicide. Most of the voids in the playing surface are where annual bluegrass established and has since checked out. This program is extreme but necessary. The closer we get to 100% bentgrass fairways, the better off we will be from both a maintenance and playability perspective. The creeping bentgrass will fill these voids along with additional seeding, as needed (see photos). 
2. There is a great deal of construction compaction in the fairways that is inhibiting root growth. Aerification (punching holes) to oxygenate the soil is how we remedy that condition and it will be ongoing into the foreseeable future. With wall-to-wall golfers, this can be challenging!
3. We did experience some disease outbreak during this last warm and humid stretch of weather that thinned some turf. This outbreak was due to elevated fairway fertility levels associated with the 2nd year of the grow-in. I don't anticipate this disease to be a problem in the future when we get to regular maintenance fertility levels. On a brighter note, the stubborn dollar spot disease that has been running rampant over so many golf courses this summer is non-existent at Keller. Due to plant breeding efforts, the 007 bentgrass planted at Keller is highly resistant to the dollar spot fungus.
4. Often mistaken by golfers for post-aerification conditions, earthworm castings are most prevalent during high moisture conditions in the spring and the fall. Their activity is a sign of healthy soils but they can make a mess. Currently there are no inexpensive or legal control solutions on the market short of a fairway topdressing program using sharp, angular sands (see photos).
5. Another unwanted byproduct of golf course construction can be ground water finding its way to the surface in areas that were previously dry. At Keller, this began during the spring monsoons of 2014 in fairways 8, 14, and 16 and behind 6 green. This can be caused by several things. Old drain tile and irrigation lines severed during the installation of the new irrigation system can continue to move water from one location to another, creating wet spots. Moving soil and regrading areas can cause water flowing below ground to change directions and daylight at the surface. I believe we are experiencing both scenarios. We intend to expand drain tile lines into these new wet areas this fall to dry them up.

Here is an up close look at a patch of poa under stress and fading away.

An area in 10 fairway that had a high population of poa. The existing bentgrass and additional seeding will fill these voids.

These are earthworm castings that golfers often confuse with holes from aerification.

This is the appearance that these castings give to a section of fairway turf.

A photo from one of our greens in the middle of August showing the massive roots holding the sand together in this plug. Our old greens would have been lucky to have three or four inch roots in late summer.

I will attempt to post on a more regular basis through the end of the golf season. Other topics I intend to cover include proper use of the driving range, Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA) on the golf course and drain tile installation. At the end of the year I am planning on transitioning from this renovation blog to a maintenance blog. 

At this point in time, the golf course will be closing Sunday, November 2.

Enjoy the rest of the golf season.

Deja Vu: Spring 2013

It turns out that this year's spring is closely mimicking last year's unseasonable stretch. As of midday Tuesday, the golf course has received 4.7 inches of rain. Needless to say, the grounds are flooded as the water has no place to go. Across the street, Keller Lake is overflowing its banks. I don't think I need to tell you but cold and wet is not good grow-in weather. We need sun, warming soil temps and moderate, well-timed rain events. According to WeatherTrends 360, it appears sun and +70 degree days will return mid-May. Let's hope so!

The new water feature on holes 12 and 13 is having thoughts of overflowing its banks.  So far, the overflow culvert is able to keep up.

The entire lower half of 2 fairway flooded as our drainage outflow storage capacity was exceeded.

This is part of our new detention basin that was dug last fall. As you can see it is near capacity. The basin was excavated out of sand so it should drain quickly.

Looking up 5 fairway.

One of the drainage outlets for the driving range complex will need some repair and additional erosion control measures.

This past week we were able to get triplex mowers on the majority of our tees and greens for the first time. Assistant Supt. Brett Wenzel is shown mowing the 4th green.

Our partnership with Ramsey Washington Metro Watershed District continues to move forward by leaps and bounds. 2014 welcomes phase II of our ecological restoration project with the RWMWD. When plant material greens up and starts growing I will do a post on the objectives and outcomes of phase I (2013) and what we hope to accomplish this year in phase II. We are very lucky and fortunate to have the opportunity to work with the forward-thinking and dedicated staff of the RWMWD! Here is Bill (District Biologist) and Simba (Natural Resources Technician) in their fire jump suits. Tools of the controlled burn "trade" include a drip torch and backpack sprayer.

A burn in progress in the woodlands along the 14th hole.

Simba stands guard over our six bee hives, making sure the fire doesn't get too close.

Bill and Intern Zola burning prairie areas on our frontage property along Highway 61.

Some Mid-winter Fun

I just recently discovered that Google's most recent aerial fly-over caught the golf course towards the end of construction. The images are from September 15, 2013.

If you are interested in exploring further, download  Google Earth from the internet, type "2166 Maplewood Drive, Maplewood, MN" into the search box and enjoy an aerial perspective of the changes. This version of GE includes 3-D which enables you to view topographic changes in the landscape - very cool! At this time in the project, some holes were seeded and growing and others were not. Most sodded areas ringing greens, tees and bunkers are in place. The installation of the netting and poles for the driving range is in mid-process. The clubhouse and pro shop are essentially complete.

For those of you who have ventured south for the winter, good for you. This Minnesota winter has been brutal from a temperature perspective and snowfall is currently 6" above the average for this time of year. Thank goodness we got snow cover prior to this arctic nightmare descending upon us. Our young and tender grass plants should be adequately protected.

Have fun checking out the golf course and dreaming of your rounds to come in 2014!

Hole-by-Hole Pictorial 10/25

I know some of these golf holes look like they are ready to be played. Looks can be deceiving! Much of these areas look good from eye level but when you get on top of them it is obvious that a great deal more growth, filling and maturation is necessary prior to allowing play. The turf must be allowed to establish a "mat" of organic material. This mat gives the turf resilience and helps it withstand wear and tear. Open too early and we could be dealing with the repercussions for years. Realistic and tempered expectations are key as we move into 2014.

Enjoy the photos!

1st Hole

2nd Hole

3rd Hole

3rd Hole

4th Hole

5th Hole

6th Hole

7th Hole

7th Hole

8th Hole

9th Hole

9th Hole

View from 10 tee across 11 green towards the golf shop.

View from 10 tee towards the main parking lot.

10th Hole

10th Hole

11th Hole

Back tee on the 12th hole showing walking path.

12th hole from the mid tee.

12th Hole

12th Hole

13th Hole

13th Hole - upper tee

14th Hole

14th Hole

14th Hole

15th Hole

16th Hole - back tee

16th Hole - mid tee

17th Hole

18th Hole

Simba Blood, Natural Resources Technician with the Ramsey Washington Metro Watershed District, instructs students from Farnsworth Aerospace Magnet School on proper planting technique of prairie plant plugs. Additional Watershed staff and Master Gardeners were on hand to assist the students. I was able to share with the students some of the programs and practices we employ here at Keller GC to minimize our impact on the environment and our local ecosystem. The students left with a fuller understanding of how golf courses can compliment and assist Mother Nature in so many ways.

Students plant plugs in a new naturalized area below the 12th tee complex.

Fifth grade students from the LNFI French Immersion School in St. Paul plant plugs on the hillside between the 12th and 18th holes.

The completed exterior of the golf shop.