News

Good Morning,

 

This past week we hosted Hy Vee for their employee holiday gathering. We have two more events scheduled for the next couple of weekends. It's nice to have people that don't play golf take advantage of our clubhouse. The clubhouse is closed during the offseason unless there is a scheduled event or the simulator is being used. 

 

In 2023 I treated 94 ash trees at the golf course and 48 ash trees in the city parks or other city property. These trees are scheduled to be treated every two years to control the presence of Emerald Ash Borer in our community. I will be treating these trees once everything is in full bloom late Spring of 2025.

I went through the golf course and parks to document how many treated trees are still in our city inventory. There were less than ten treated trees removed from the golf course in the past year bringing our total to under 90 trees to treat this year. The parks and other city property only have a few of these trees that will remain. We achieved a very high success rate with our EAB treatment in 2023. 

 

The majority of the treated trees no longer in existence were due to damage or had less than 70% tree canopy at the time of treatment. I felt it was worth a shot to try and save as many trees as possible at the golf course even if they were showing signs of infestation at the time of treatment. Unfortunately we lost over 150 ash trees when EAB was first discovered on the golf course. 

 

We are currently working with the park department for inclusion on tree grants in 2025 as well as the future years. Fortunately we have received donated trees from Farmers Bank and other individuals the past couple of years. As we move forward, additional trees will be planted in accordance with our master tree plan that was developed at the time of golf course construction 25 years ago.

 

The golf course continues to go through the winter months without snow cover and adequate moisture. Currently the condition of the bentgrass greens is acceptable but there will be a high probability of turf damage if conditions start to dry out in February. If we get to this point it will be necessary to apply water to the greens by manually applying water to each green 

The final spraying application at the end of each season includes a fungicide treatment, wetting agent, transfilm, and an optimizer. The fungicide helps prevent "snow mold" from being present when the temperatures rise and snow melts in the spring. The wetting agent helps hold moisture in the upper portion of the soil profile. Transfilm helps protect the crown of the plant from drying out in the winter. Optimizer helps with spray pattern and attracts additional sunlight to the dormant turf. Once these products are applied we rely heavily on Mother Nature to help us out.

Another winter project is the weekly submission of turfgrass data to the University of Minnesota for their winter turfgrass survey. This research is conducted across the United States and parts of Europe. They gather information from each golf course to develop research to better understand turf loss during winter months on golf courses.

 

Winter turfgrass injury is a topic that doesn't have a lot of research or data to provide preventative maintenance practices for us. It's a widely complex and disputed topic within the industry. Hopefully the University of Minnesota's research will help us have a better understanding moving forward. This is the fourth winter I have participated in this research project.

Please reach out if you have any questions for me or would like additional information on a topic at the golf course. Enjoy the remainder of the weekend!