Frozen Greens

The mild December weather has allowed for the golf course to open on occasion. The decision whether to open the golf course is a day to day decision. Our policy is this: "If the greens are not frozen then we open the golf course." Even though day time temperatures may approach 40 degrees the cold night time temperatures cause the greens to freeze and they do not have an opportunity to thaw during the day. The decision to open or stay closed has nothing to do with frost on the grass blades. Frost is an issue we deal with in October and November. Walking on greens that are partially frozen can cause significant damage to the root system of our putting surfaces. A solid, healthy root system is the foundation to healthy turf and great putting surfaces during the golf season.

December 2011 Tree Report

Tree Report

December 13, 2011

The following trees have been subject to removal as per The Golf Course Master Plan as well as Darin Bevard, our USGA Agronomist.

The White Pines near #11 Tee need to be removed to allow sunlight onto #10 Green and to remove the tree roots from encroaching onto #11 Tee Complex. #10 Green is one of the first to show signs of stress during hot and dry conditions. This is caused by a lack of substantial sunlight. Notice the shadows in the picture that are currently on the green. These trees were marked for removal last winter but time did not permit.

The Ash Trees to the right of #11 Green have been dying for years. We continue to remove the dead trees. Currently 10 more trees in this area are marked for removal. We will continue to clean this area up and plant it with Aurora Gold Fescue.

Several Pines down the left side of #2 are remaining from last year’s work. There are several young deciduous trees planted in this area. The removal of the undesirable species will help promote the growth of the younger Oak Trees. This area will be damaged in the Spring when the Drainage Ditch is installed.

The Pine Trees to the left of #15 have been marked for removal. Several of these came down last year. There are several deciduous trees planted in this area. The removal of the undesirable species will promote development of the Oak Trees. This is also an area that has been marked on the Master Plan for Aurora Gold Fescue planting.

This tree was highly recommended for removal by Tom Marzolf while construction was taking place on #4. A decision was made to see how it played with the tree in place. It has been recommended by the Bunker Project Committee that this tree be removed. It hides the fairway bunker on the left and adds nothing to the golf hole.

The first photo here is a picture of four Scotch Pines left of #4 fairway. These trees are in poor health, poor appearance, and do not impact the playability of the golf course. The photo below is of four Spruce trees to the right of #14 Forward Tee. These trees are of poor species and do not add any aesthetic value or added playability to the golf course.

The four Pines pictured below are to the right of #7 Green. One of the three has been topped and is visually unappealing. These trees cause a shade situation on the seventh green. They also block at potential view of Summit Lake and are of an undesirable species.

The implementation of this tree management plan should concentrate on those trees that are causing a negative impact on turf conditions throughout the property. The trees around #11 Tee are having a direct negative impact on #10 Green. The tree to the left of #4 Fairway will soon begin to impact the quality of turf in the fairway and the newly installed drainage. The Trees to the left of #2 and #16 may sustain root damage when the drainage ditch is installed in the Spring as part of the Bunker Renovation.

The removal recommended above are consistent with the removals that have taken place over the past few years. An effort has been made to remove most Evergreen trees from the property that do not impact the playability of a golf hole. These trees are not native to our area and add no appeal to our property. This report is in conjunction with the Golf Course Master Plan that was approved by the membership. The final page of this report is a copy of Fazio Design’s Long Range Landscape Concepts for The Country Club of Scranton.



Respectfully Submitted,


Gregory L. Boring,
Golf Course Superintendent







LONG RANGE LANDSCAPE CONCEPT

(BASED ON FAZIO TEAM'S BELIEF THAT A GOLF COURSE LANDSCAPING

SHOULD OCCUR WITH INDIGENOUS PLANT MATERIAL)


◊ Adopt long-range landscape plan into club by-laws to maintain

desired planting principals.

◊ Remove diseased or unhealthy trees (potentially hazardous trees).

◊ Future planting on golf course to include native trees.

◊ Avoid Evergreen trees in play areas on any hole.

◊ Reduce amount of decorative plantings currently on

golf course (flowering, ornamental, non-indigenous).

◊ Maintain / increase amount of open space on course.

Avoid over planting course by filling in open spaces with plant

material.

◊ Clean out poor species and replace with indigenous hardwoods.

Remove shrubs and low branching material that hides golf balls.

◊ Reduce amount of trees in roughs. Rough is sufficiently penal

without having to play amongst densely vegetated areas.

◊ Reduce the number of overall trees.

◊ Remove vegetation that does not fulfill specific needs or functions.

◊ Open views from hole to hole.

◊ Enhance / maintain screen along perimeter of course.

◊ Naturalize lake banks by adding aquatic plantings.

◊ Create an environment, in respect to plantings that is believable

and natural, not decorative or ornamental.

◊ Emphasize the golf course and the game by using well-placed vegetation.

◊ The golf ball has the right-of-way to the hole. The game is played

in the air, not through the forest.

Frost Delay Video

This video explains why frost delays are necessary on the golf course. We typically do not play golf this late into the season. Unfortunately, dealing with frost and freeze delays are a part of playing golf into late November. Please remember that just because the frost has lifted the greens may still be frozen. It is our policy to keep the golf course closed when the greens are frozen.

Deep Tine Aerification

On Monday, November 7th the Green Department will be aerifying and topdressing Greens. We realize the the weather looks like it is going to be nice for a few more days but the good weather is important to allow us to complete this process. A delay in this process may risk the chance of being able to complete it. We will be utilizing an outside company to complete the Deep Tine Aerification and this date has been scheduled for six weeks. We have actually pushed the date back from the time we completed this last year. It has been our philosophy to complete a late Fall aerification rather than aerifying in the Spring. When aerifying in the Fall the greens will actually begin to recover under the covers and will cause less disruption in the Spring. A Spring aerification results in a long slow recovery process when golfers are most eager to get out on the golf course. The aerificaiton in November is also beneficial heading into the Winter months. Once the ground freezes the XGD Drainage System does not function properly. Water will not travel through frozen soil. The aerificaiton holes gives water a chance to find the drains that were installed. We realize there is never a perfect time to cause disruption to our putting surfaces. However, we feel our cultivation schedule is timed to provide the turf with the most agronomic benefit as well as causing the least amount of disruption to the membership.

Six More to Go

Our construction company has officially shut down the construction until next Spring. We will have six holes to complete. We have been extremely pleased with the quality of work we have been getting as well as the visual look of the new bunkers. We hope to start the project back up in mid-April but it truly will depend on Mother Nature. We will keep holes 10 and 11 completely closed for the remainder of the year. The sod will not have a chance to establish any roots. Therefore walking on it could cause the sod to shift. We have begun applying heavy topdressing to the fairways which will continue to firm our playing surfaces. We will begin aerifying and topdressing the North Course greens on Monday.

Coming to an End

Winter made an early showing last week that delayed the project a few day. We hope to have the construction company return tomorrow and finish for the season on Friday. We are expecting two truckloads of sod in here tomorrow morning to allow us to finish up some work we have on #10 and #11. This will leave us six holes left to complete in the Spring. Considering the weather that we experienced this Summer I think we are in pretty good shape. The construction company will return next Spring when the weather permits them to get some work done. I have recently posted over 900 photos on the blog. Just click on the link for Golf Course Construction Photos to access them.

Construction Photos Posted

New construction photos have been posted on the Photobucket account. To access the pictures click on the link above.