Winter Maintenance

 The following post was prepared by Kirk Hudson, Second Assistant Superintendent.  Kirk joined the Glen Oaks team last fall.  Kirk graduated in the spring of 2013 from ISU with a degree in Turf grass Management. Throughout his time at Iowa State Kirk worked at Veenker Memorial, as well as completing internships at Copper Creek and Wakonda Club.

 

 

The focus of this post is to inform our members of the work that is being done when the golf course is closed. When it comes to winter work the focus is on preparation. Countless hours are spent each winter going over the pros and cons of our previous golf season and developing plans for improvements. Everything from our daily maintenance routine, irrigation practices, staffing, and budget evaluations. This information is used to develop our golf course maintenance plan that guides us toward our goal of providing the best possible playing conditions on a daily basis.

 

Figure 1: Oil, hydraulic fluid, and all filters are being replaced on this workman.

Our winter maintenance program begins with servicing and inspecting all of our utility vehicles. Filters, belts and fluids are replaced and a thorough inspection of each piece of equipment is completed. Chris Horton (Equipment Manager) is in charge of the equipment maintenance schedule and oversees all of the equipment repairs.

 

Figure 2: Each vehicle is inspected and repairs are made as necessary

Figure 3: Jordan and Chris inspect our roller for any necessary repairs

The next phase in our winter maintenance program is servicing all of our cutting units. In total we have nearly 30 cutting heads that must be torn apart and inspected. Bearings and seals are replaced in the rollers and cutting reels. The head is then reassembled and sharpened. This is by far the most time consuming part of our winter work but is crucial to keeping our mowers operating and cutting properly.

Figure 4: New bearings and seals about to be installed in front roller

Figure 5: Disassembled Toro cutting unit

Figure 6: Using Accugage to set mowing height on heads after grinding

Although equipment maintenance consumes a big portion of our winter, there is still a great deal of work being done on other key aspects of our golf facility. All of the yardage plates, tees markers, signs, benches, rope stakes, flags, bunker rakes and other materials you see on the course each day are brought inside for the winter to be repaired and refurbished.

Figure 7: Rope stakes are sanded and repainted

 

Figure 8: Doors being built for our workbenches

The winter is also a great time for us to reorganize and clean the maintenance facility. This winter several projects are being completed to help with organization including building doors on our workbenches to allow for better storage, reorganizing the irrigation parts/tool room, and reorganizing the golf course accessories room.

Aside from our typical work week the maintenance staff is also responsible for snow removal at the Clubhouse. A recent purchase of enclosed cab tractors have aided us in our efforts to clear the never ending snowfall. During each snowfall event our staff is responsible for clearing the main drive leading to the clubhouse, the parking lots, walk paths, and applying sand and salt to any area necessary.

Figure 9: One of our tractors used for snow removal at Clubhouse

This winter we have spent numerous hours developing new irrigation maps to help manage water use more precisely.  Many of these irrigation maps required updates as a result of the new controllers that were installed during the dual head irrigation project that was completed last spring.

Figure 10: Jake Newman working on Freedom maps for irrigation system

As we near the end of the winter our focus turns toward future course improvements and overall playability. Course set up is one example; course set up here at Glen Oaks is broken down into 21 different days all with specific tee and pin locations. Throughout the golf season we analyze each hole individually in terms of difficulty from the tee to green. Changes are made to our set up schedule that help us spread the wear and tear of play and provide the golfers with a variety of pin locations each day.

Figure 11: Jordan Kapple analyzing and adjusting course set up sheets

In summary, the overall functioning of the golf course each playing season is directly related to the amount of preparation done in the winter. Taking the time to evaluate areas for improvement, implementing a maintenance plan, and creating new goals is what allows us to provide the Glen Oaks members with the best possible course conditions each day.

New Driving Range Tee Installation

The following post was prepared by Kirk Hudson, Second Assistant Superintendent.  Kirk joined the Glen Oaks team last fall.  Kirk graduated in the spring of 2013 from ISU with a degree in Turf grass Management. Throughout his time at Iowa State Kirk worked at Veenker Memorial, as well as completing internships at Copper Creek and Wakonda Club. He did a great job assisting with the irrigation installation and construction of the newly renovated south tee box along with the rest of the Glen Oaks grounds staff.

New Driving Range Tee box installation

The construction of our new expanded tee box on the south end of the driving range began last September. The new design added nearly 18,000 square feet of tee surface by consolidating and enlarging the area into one tee surface totaling nearly one acre.

The first step in the construction process was to remove the existing sod from the site and harvest as much of the existing sand based growth medium as possible to be reused for the new tee.

                                                                       Figure 1: Laser grading the tee box surface

Once the tee box had been shaped and leveled we began installing the irrigation system. All of the exsisting irrigation heads, valves, and couplers were removed from the site before construction began. Our full time staff worked together on designing the new irrigation system that would provide efficient coverage for the tee box. Head spacing, quick coupler location, angle/arc of the sprinklers, and overall coverage were some of the inputs we incorporated into our design. Each part of the system was pre measured, marked, and flagged before the trenching began. Once the earth moving and trenches were complete the irrigation system was quickly assembled. The pipes, sprinkler heads, quick couplers, and wiring were all installed within a couple long days of work.

                                      Figure 2: Irrigation pipe and sprinkler heads are laid out to allow for quick assembly

 

Figure 3: Each head was wired in to connect with our satellite boxes and automated computer irrigation system

                         Figure 4: New satellite boxes are installed and wired to accommodate for the new sprinkler heads

Once the irrigation system was installed, the trenches were then backfilled and tamped to ensure limited movement of any of the pipes or sprinkler heads. The next step was to install the sub-surface drainage system. New trenches were cut and drainage tile was installed throughout the entire tee box. Each trench was backfilled with pea gravel to allow for excess water movement out and away from the tee.

                                          Figure 5: Charging up the new irrigation system

Once all the sub-surface construction was complete we covered the tee box with a four inch layer of sand. The sand cap allows for quick drainage of excess water, less compaction, and a good growth medium for the seedlings. Finally it was time to seed the new tee box. A blend of bentgrass cultivars were selected to provide the tee box with a uniform appearance, the ability to withstand stress and disease, and the ability to repair itself from the constant damage incorporated with a driving range tee use.  

                        Figure6: The crew worked late into the night laying tile and backfilling the trenches for the drainage system

 

                                              Figure7: Sand cap is leveled and ready to be seeded

 

                                         Figure 8: Starter fertilizer and seed being applied to the tee box

     Figure 9: A grow cover is used to cover the entire tee box to aid in seedling growth and protection during the winter

 

Figure10: Looking under the cover in late fall to see the very small creeping bentgrass seeds germinating

 

Figure 11: Taking another look under the cover before any snowfall and finding a good stand of creeping bentgrass growing

Three large grow covers were used to cover the entire tee box for the winter months. These covers provide protection for the seedlings and help to minimize winter desiccation. When the grow covers are removed in the spring, the new stand of creeping bentgrass will not be mature enough for use just yet.  The new tee will undergo a grow-in period while nutrients, water, and cultural practices, such as mowing, will be provided to the plants allowing them to develop and mature. During the grow-in period the bentgrass plants will develop root systems and grow both vertically and laterally to increase the density of the turfgrass stand.


In summary we were able to convert three of our driving range tees into one large tee box. This expansion added an additional 18,000 sq. ft. of hitting surface by re-grading and leveling almost an acre of land on the South tee. The new tee construction also allowed us to upgrade the irrigation system and seed in new cultivars of bentgrass that are more suitable for driving range use. These upgrades will provide the members with an overall higher quality hitting surface by extending recovery time. We are excited about the improvements to the driving range and hope the membership enjoys it.