To Lease, Or Not To Lease, That Is The Question

Adequate maintenance equipment is a vital part to the success of any golf course. There are a number of different options that clubs can look at when dealing with equipment dealers.

• Option 1 - Buy - This option has a high upfront purchase cost, low short term maintenance costs, and higher long term maintenance costs (as the equipment ages), but no monthly payments. 
• Option 2 - Lease - This option has low upfront costs, low short term maintenance costs, and no long term maintenance costs (as the equipment is returned and new equipment re-leased), but is a fixed on-going yearly cost.
• Option 3 - Lease to Own - This option has low upfront costs with monthly payments and a buyout at the end of the term, low short term maintenance costs, and higher long term maintenance costs as the equipment will eventually be owned. 

So which option is right for our club? Well that really depends on each piece of equipment and what it is used for. Each option has advantages and disadvantages for different situations.We also have to look at the cash flow and financial abilities of the club in the long and short term.

• Owning - This option is good for equipment that will last a long time with relatively minor repairs. Equipment like utility vehicles, topdressers, blowers, reel and bedknife grinding equipment, and lighter duty mowing equipment. Many clubs do not have the financial abilities to purchase most of this equipment upfront, but some have the long term stability to deal with repair and maintenance cost. For these types of equipment the best choice is often a Lease to Own option. 

• Leasing - This options is good for equipment that takes a beating on daily basis such as rough mowers. Equipment that will quickly deteriorate due to heavy and hard use is not something you want to hang onto for years and years. By leasing this type of equipment you avoid the high repair and maintenance costs and cycle through new equipment you can count on. Equipment that undergoes regular technology advancements such as greens mowers and chemical sprayers are also a good to lease. Leasing these types of equipment you can be sure to get the latest and greatest technologies to bring your turf to the next level.

Quinton working on a reel

At the Kamloops Golf and Country Club we have a good fleet of maintenance equipment and one of the best people in the industry to take care of them, Mechanic and Turf Technician, Quinton Haresemchuk. The members at our Club have enjoyed his expertise and service for 25 years, 17 of which he as been a Mechanic.

Last year our Club re-structured some of our equipment leases, returning our walk behind greens mowers (which we no longer had the staffing numbers to operate) for a riding Tri-flex greens mower.

This year one of our main leases was up, leaving some choice for the future of our equipment fleet. We decided  to lease a new sprayer and rough mower, while re-leasing our 2 fairway mowers and 2 smaller light duty mowers. This move saves the Club almost $45,000 from 2014 to 2015, while keeping some of our equipment that is in good shape, and getting in some much needed new equipment.

Triflex greens mower                                  New Sprayer                                      New Rough Mower

Next year, two of our "Lease to Own" lease's will be finished and we will own most of our utility vehicles, attachments, grinding equipment, and lighter duty mowing equipment. This will bring our yearly lease payments down by almost $55,000 from 2015 to 2016. This is a total reduction of almost $100,000 over 2 years, significantly reducing our overhead costs while ensuring we our getting the most out of our equipment fleet. Having the proper tools for the job is an important part of anyone's success, especially that of a maintenance facility and Turf Care Team.

People Are Your Most Important Asset

Ask any Superintendent, "What is the golf course's most important asset?" They probably won't say equipment or fertilizer, or even the irrigation system. The best Superintendents will tell you that their staff are their important asset. Without staff, good staff, happy staff; who will operate the equipment? Who will apply the fertilizer? Who will repair and maintain the irrigation system? The answer is simple: NO ONE. Your people are your most important asset.

The 3rd Green looking back down the fairway. Fall morning

There are many different ways to manage a group of people. We find that a team atmosphere can be very effective. Working together with trust and respect is a fundamental component of management and success. This becomes even more crucial when staff numbers are below where they should be, and each team member is asked to do more than they previously had to do. Some people manage with fear and demand respect. We use positive reinforcement and earn respect mutually. Some people choose to cut staff hours and staff perks as it is a high cost that is variable and easily reduced. While this can save money in the very short term, it won't take long before staff becomes displeased and productivity plunges along with morale. We try our best to be fair with our staff and focus more on rewards than discipline. When your job is to create and maintain a 128 acre pristine product, your dollar definitely goes much much further with happy staff. I think as a team, we have certainly been able to achieve a sense of trust and respect that has seen the conditions of the course flourish.

2014 Kamloops Golf and Country Club Turf Care Team

If the golf course is the most important asset to a Golf Club, and the people who maintain the course are the golf course's most important asset, you must treat these people with the fairness and respect they deserve. Otherwise your Club will not last long in this day and age.

Thompson-Shuswap Bronze Medallist Recipient

The staff at our club have done an absolutely astounding job this year. I really can't thank them enough. Seriously guys and gals, if you read this, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Labour budgets over the last 3 years have been cut and cut and then cut some more, and all the while our staff has been asked to work harder and to do more with less. They have done more than that. They have done far more than just maintain the course to an acceptable level. Our Turf Care Team has went above and beyond this year... and our efforts have been noticed. The course was voted "Best Course in Kamloops" in the 2014 Kamloops This Week Readers Choice Awards. The course has also been recognized as being outstanding by the PGA of BC, receiving a 2014 Regional Bronze Medal as one of BC's Top Tracks, while it is also the first time in the Club's 100 year history to make it into these rankings. An award winning Turf Care Team. AWARD WINNING!  Well done everyone!

13th Green looking back down the fairway. Fall morning

These awards have been echoed by our membership and greens fee'rs who have praised the course conditions all year. We hear positive comments on the course at least once a day, something that we are not used to in our line of work. While the compliments are much welcomed and reassuring of our success, we will continue to strive to become better. Although we have done very well this year, there is always room to improve. We will continue to raise our standards and goals as we prepare and plan for next year.

Where did everybody go?

September is here! Where did summer go? It seemed like we were just gearing up for the BC Women's Amateur Championship and now most of our staff is gone back to school. The last few months have certainly flown by, we had the Sunshine Open and are currently getting ready for the Club Championships this weekend. We completed an aeration of our greens in the last week of August, giving them a chance to breath after a hot dry summer. We were able to over come many challenges this year, while some are still an on going battle.

Blower turbine helping to contain duck weed

 One challenge we were faced with this year was Duck Weed in our ponds. Duck weed, (lemna minor) is an aquatic plant that can double itself overnight. Over the course of a few days, a small problem can turn into a large one. In past years we have sprayed them with an aquatic herbicide successfully. However, this year with the hot weather and a late herbicide application, the duck weed went out of control!

Manually removing duck weed

The only option left was to manually remove it from the ponds. This is a very labour intensive task. The first step was figuring out a way to contain the duck weed in one area of the pond to make removal more effective. We tried pool noodles, floatation systems, and finally had success with our blower/turbine. Blowing the duckweed to one side of the pond made it possible to remove with rakes and skimmers. Leaving on the shore to dry is an effective way to kill duckweed as it needs water to survive. We followed this with another aquatic herbicide application to kill off any remaining duck weed. Finally, it was gone!

Greens Aeration, 1/4 inch tines, 2.5" spacing

We successfully completed one of our 2 planned fall greens aeration. August 25th we did the front 9 and completed the back 9 on August 26th. With limited staff, doing 9 holes a day makes things more feasible. There are many different pieces of equipment involved in this process and it is certainty a lot of work. We don't aerate because it's fun, and we don't do it just to mess up your golf game, we do it because it's the best thing you can possible do for your greens. For more information please click this link: USGA: Why do we aerate when the greens are perfect?

Anthracnose on the 7th fairway (yellow and brown areas)

We have been battling an Anthracnose outbreak on our fairways and in our rough all through the end of summer and into September. Anthracnose is a foliar disease on annual bluegrass where symptoms include elongated stems, chlorotic (yellow) leaf spots with small, black, spore-bearing structures (acervuli) in the center. It is caipble of causing wide spread damage when conditions in late summer are favorable. To fight this disease there are a number of fungicides registered for control. We have chosen a more envirnmentally friendly approach, applying fertilizer with high nitrogen to bring the plants through until fall when they can over come the disease naturally.  

Antrhacnose symptoms up close

 As we transition into our fall season we will struggle to keep up with daily mowing and course services such as cleaning the washrooms and filling the sand and seed containers. Our staff has gone from a peak season of 7 full time staff and 5 part time staff to 4 full time staff and 2 part time staff. Many golf courses face this challenge in September as seasonal jobs are usually filled with university or high school students. Please have some patience and keep in mind that we are trying to get as much done as possible.

"Best Golf Course in Kamloops"

We have some exciting news at the Kamloops Golf and Country Club. In case you haven't heard, we have been voted "Kamloops Best Golf Course" by the Kamloops This Week Reader's Choice Awards. This is a very humbling award to receive. Our Turf Care team has worked tirelessly this season and it seems as though the rest of Kamloops has appreciated our efforts.












Thank you to everyone who voted for our course and to our staff who have worked so hard this season. We had a great year this year, and we will certainly try to keep things "best in kamloops" right into winter.

2014 BC Women's Amateur Championship

Well folks, it has been a while since the last blog entry but I hope you can excuse us; we have been very busy having just recently hosted the 2014 BC Women's Amateur Championship! Preparation for this tournament began early this spring when the course opened. From planning our greens aeration's, topdressing, fertility programs and repairing the winter damaged areas, we aimed everything to have the course in the best shape as possible for this prestigious event.

From large scale repairs of fairway areas and bunker renovations, to small details including staining benches and string trimming, there is no one who could say we didn't have the course dialed in. Green's fertility was lean and mean, while the fairways were lush but firm. We received many compliments about the course from the competitors and members alike. The BCGA officials who last saw the course in late April could not believe the transformation that had taken place, going from a winter damaged course to a lush and vibrant one.

Our Turf Care Team worked extremely hard, so hard in fact I actually had to go out and tell them to slow down! They worked on their days off and did split shifts to make sure we got everything done on a daily basis without disturbing the competitors. Even Sam the dog was spotted mulching sticks at high speeds (pictured below). While it is a lot of work to bring the course to its full potential, it is both fun and rewarding to see everything so shined up and pristine. We had the greens running at over 11 feet on the stimp meter for the final round, by far the fastest and smoothest we have ever had them.

Morning shots, setting up for the Big Tournament

Some people may ask, "Why can't we have the course in this shape everyday?" Believe me, no one wants the course to be in perfect shape every day more than your Superintendent, it's our job! However, this just isn't possible to sustain on a daily basis. With financial limitations such as labour, and physical barriers such as trying to work during play, not to mention the detriment some of these practices can have on turf health, it's just not possible to do everything everyday. Things like rolling the greens, raking the bunkers and

The 1st Hole looking backwards

even cutting all the fairways are just not feasible when you have a limited crew of workers. We start early (5AM) to try and get as much work done as possible before golf starts (6:30AM), then work backwards around  the course to avoid seeing the same group of golfers twice. Many of these hi-intensity practices such as rolling and mowing at at low heights of cut are also very stressful to the turf itself. Continued practices like this can be done everyday, but as a result, we would have to manage our greens more intensely, costing more in fertilizer, fungicide and labour.

When hosting a major event it takes months of planning and intense labour to bring conditions to their peak. A tournament of this caliber showcases our course to the rest of the province and is a great source of marketing. A caddy of one of the competitor's told a member of the Club that this is the best conditioned course they have seen so far this year. Compliments like this can go a long way in boosting our Team's moral when they have worked so hard to prepair the course and is certainly something we strive to hear.

Final Hole of the Championship

The tournament went very well with no major issues all week... except for one irrigation head that stuck on the night before the final round on the 13th fairway! This caused some minor standing water, but we were out with squigee's moving the water away as much as we could. Our practice facilities have never seen so much use. These girls practice hard! To our surprise some began arriving daily at 5:30AM to begin practicing, then stayed after their round until dark. Dedication, to say the least. 

2014 BC Women's Amateur Championship - Turf Care Team

Once the event was over and we finished handwatering all the greens and replacing all of our course accessories, we were finally able to relax. After all is said and done it's all just another feather in our cap but will certainly be the benchmark that we will aim to bring the course conditions too again in the future. Thanks to all our Club's Staff and Volunteers who worked so hard for this event, it was a great success!

A Nightmare of Elm Seeds

The 10th Tee

Looking over last years blog entries, it seems that May is one of the busiest months for our Turf Care Facility. Last year at this time there was a large gap between posts, and here I am at the end of May, apologizing again! It seems at this time of year it is a struggle to keep up with the growth rate of the grass and I often find myself becoming a part time operator/labourer on the course, limiting anytime I would usually get to be in the office. The grass in our climate enjoys rapid growth between 12C and 25C, which are exactly the high and low temperatures we have had for the past few weeks.

This year we are again challenged by a short staffed Turf Care Team and our ability to keep up with the mowing is an ongoing battle. Rough is especially tough to keep under control as we only have one rough mower. Once you fall behind, the wet long grass becomes even more difficult to cut. To help alleviate this problem some of us have been coming in periodically in the evenings to mow fairways and rough. We have also applied a growth regulator to the Fairways, Tees and Greens, helping  us get things back under control.

A Nightmare of Elm Seeds

Unfortunately someone about 30-40 years ago thought it would be a great idea to plant a bunch of  Elm trees all around the golf course. I curse this person. Elm trees are a live fast, die young tree; they spend all their energy trying to ensure their species survival by producing prolific amounts of seeds. Billions... trillions... gazillions!... of seeds that stick to everything when wet. Sticky when wet? Yes it's a thing, an elm seed thing. Every year for about 2-3 weeks in May we are inundated by an apocalypse of seeds, sometimes looking like a hellish snow storm of evil mess. They cover the ground, they stick to our mowers rollers, tires... even the operators! Spread onto cart paths, greens and fairways by golf carts and golf cleats, filling our bunkers up to your knees... okay, maybe just up the the ankles, but still, come on! As if we didn't have enough to deal with just trying to keep up with the growth of the grass, now it's A Nightmare of Elm Seeds. Yes, elm trees are really a pain in the arse!

Now that I've got that off my chest, I can give you an update on our recovery from winter damage.We are actually quite pleased with how most of the damage on the fairways has healed. Many areas that were dessicated by wind and cold damage are 90% - 100% recovered. Most of the areas that were damaged by crown hydration and/or ice damage/anoxia are well on their way to a full recovery, while a few stubborn areas are slower to fill in and may require additional seeding or sodding. We have used a number of techniques to repair these areas:

1) Aerate (shallow depth to create seed bed), topdress with sand and seed divot mix, fertilize
2) Aerate, drop seed, topdress with sand, fertilize
3) Slit overseed, roll, blow debris, fertilize

With each technique we saw success in areas, while in some the grass is still struggling to fill in. Using the green and white GUR stakes has also helped to keep most traffic out of these grow-in areas.

The 1st Fairway healing progress

 
The 4th green which suffered a small patch of crown hydration was slowly healing. As the area is mowed daily with the green and then walked on by golfers all day, healing was taking longer than desired. We decided to use hex plugs to fill in the remaining area of damage.

The 4th Green, before and after Hex Plugs

The 5th Fairway

The 4th green has a shade issue created by a large elm tree (you can see the trunk in the background). Shade can cause major issues for rapid ice formation in the late spring causing crown hydration (plant breaks dormancy, takes in water, then rapidly freezes). Since our course has 100's of trees, there are a number of other areas on the course that also have shade issues. We have been working with our arbourist to deal with some of these issues through crown lifting and crown thinning of the tree canopy's. As you can see in the photo to the left, the damaged area follows the shade pattern very closely.



As we move into June the grass will continue to heal, and as we get warmer temperatures, the growth rate will begin to slow and we will again be able to keep up with mowing. Our Turf Care Team is working towards bringing the course into peak conditions by July to host the 2014 BC Women's Amateur and Mid Amateur Championship. The event will see some of the best female golfers from around the western part of the continent. Please join us in welcoming this great event, as well as the Kamloops Golf and Country Club's 100th Anniversary Hickory Tournament July 19th weekend.

Centennial Year

Opening Day 2014

We opened the course for our Centennial season on March 21, 2014. It was a challenge trying to get things ready for Opening Day as things on the course were very soft. Rapid snow melt combined with frost beginning to come out of the ground made things difficult. This left us with only a few days before opening where we were actually able to get out onto the course without doing damage. To make matters worse, one of our three staff working came down with the flu and was not able to come in to work in the days leading up to opening. It was a challenge, but we managed to get things ready just in time.

4th Green frost heaving drainage trench

Frost heaving caused us some troubles on our greens. Some areas we saw the greens sub surface drainage settle faster than the surrounding soil. This caused trenches to form, making the herringbone drainage pattern visible from the surface. This heaving/sinking prevented us from cutting, rolling and basically doing anything besides blowing leaves from the green surface. Thankfully as the frost came out of the ground, the soil leveled out and we were finally able to get to work on the greens.




Our greens came out of winter very well with one exception on the 4th green. My suspicion is crown hydration. As the snow melted and pooled during the warmth of the day, the grass plants began to take in water. As the air cooled towards the end of the day, and the sun went behind the large elm tree behind the green, the water began to freeze while the plant was still taking it in; this causes its cells to rupture as the water expands to form ice. As you can see here, the ice formation is in a very similar pattern of the damage we see. This damage is not caused by the actual ice cover, as bentgrass can survive 120 days under ice, but from the plant taking in water as it freezes, a classic case of crown hydration.

Crown Hydration on the 4th Green

To remedy this area we have overseeded and fertilized. Our old Ryan Overseeder, which is probably older than me, worked perfectly to slit seed into the turf canopy and thatch layer. We also used this on all of our collars, and a few areas on greens that are high in poa concentration. If there was one thing helpful about this winter, it really knocked down the poa. Unlike what your parents probably taught you about fighting, when poa is down, that's the best time to kick it. Overseeding these areas with bentgrass will further help our fight against the invading poa, an ongoing battle.

Overseeding the 4th Green. Hey, who is that handsome fellow?
The photo on the left shows the tiny bentgrass seeds in the slits from the overseeder.

We will also be taking our little overseeder out onto some fairway areas where we have ice damage. Many of these areas are quite large, however, we can see little green shoots coming up in most areas, signs that these areas will come back with a little help from some fertilizer. A few smaller areas though, are basically white with death and will require overseeding as we move forward.

We are also excited to use a new product on our greens this year. ECO-TEA  is basically a high grade compost made from worm castings, kelp, humic/fulvic acids, and molasses. You can think of ECO-TEA as  beneficial microbes on steroids. It contains plant nutrients, amino acids, and other stress relieving compounds. This product will help in disease suppression of Take-all patch and reduce our fungicide needs. It boosts the soil microbe population, natural defenses for the plants, making them stronger and more efficient, also helping to reduce fertilizer needs, and in turn, reducing costs, saving us money. Soil chemisty and phisyology have always been utilized in turf management, but now soil biology is really becoming a useful and interesting tool.

Look out!, We've got a geyser! - Broken head on the Driving Range

Our irrigation system was fired up successfully, officially no breaks or leaks. I guess I know what I'm doing after all. A few irrigation heads were cracked or blown out at the nozzles, something that can happen due to the sheer pressure of compressed air during the fall blow out.


As we move into mid April now, the course is really starting to come to life. As things get greener both golfers and our staff are getting excited. The weather is finally starting to warm up and the course is bustling with activity. Our greens root mass is at least 3 times as deep as this point last year, a comfortable starting point for us to begin the golf season. Meanwhile, Sam the dog has found a new way to infiltrate the geese who have tried to make our course their home. They'll never see her coming! We are both very proud and excited to begin the Kamloops Golf and Country Club's Centennial year, it looks like it should be a great one.

Ice Ice Maybe

The winter of 2013/2014 may be one we remember for a long time in the golf course industry. The weather has blasted its way across the continent, dumping snow and freezing rain, pushing down arctic air and leaving us with terms like "Polar Vortex," something that sounds more like the finishing move of an Inuit wrestler, or a polar bear with an anger management problem.  
 
With all jokes aside, our friends out East have certainly had it the worst, but those of us out here in the West haven't exactly had it easy either. With record breaking cold snaps followed by near record warm spells, winter has been less than ideal for our little friend the grass plant.

Recorded at the Kamloops Airport

 

11th fairway Ice formation in Nov/2013.

With our 2010 conversion to bentgrass we should come out much better than we have in previous years of bad winters. Bentgrass goes dormant earlier and wakes up later than the native poa annua grass, making it more tolerant to the forces of winter. However, poa will always be creeping its way back in, no matter how hard we try to keep it out. Some of our low lying fairway areas where water accumulates have a higher concentration of poa. Bentgrass does not like to stay wet, causing plants in these areas to become weaker, allowing poa to move in quite easily. These are also the same areas we saw snow melt in November collect and form ice. So will the "Ice Ice Maybe" do some damage? Probably some, yes. We can expect to do some re-seeding in these low lying areas where ice accumlated. Much of the poa will not survive for such an extended period of time under ice and threat of thaw-freeze cycles.






All of the plugs we took on Jan 27th responded reasonably well when taken inside and watered.

Jan 27/2014

Feb 10/2014

These healthy plugs provide some comfort but also keep in mind we have had more thaw-freeze cycles and extreme cold through February. More sample plugs have been taken today and we will update you on their progress in the coming weeks.

The 4the Green looking towards tee. Feb 16th/2014

 Earlier in February most of the remaining snow cover had a layer of ice underneath. With temperatures expected to rise in mid February we decided that the best course of action for our greens would be to shovel herringbone surface drainage. This helps create pathways for water run off and helps to prevent pooling in low spots and re-freezing. By leaving the snow and ice layer intact, we would still have some protection from winter if temperatures dropped again. Much of the snow melted off but many areas were still left covered This was helpful as the the temperatures did drop quite substantially again towards the end of February, this can all be illustrated in the above graph.

As we prepare to open the course for a new season, our 100th season! we remain optimistic that the course has weathered well this winter. We expect to do some reseeding of fairway and rough areas, while greens and tees should come out in relatively good shape. We have ordered seed and fertilizer in preparation for our spring work. We are looking forward to another great year and are exited to bring back our core staff while recruiting a few new team members to bring us to our full potential.

We are currently aiming to open for Friday March 21, weather permitting. Please join us in welcoming the 100th year of the Kamloops Golf and Country Club.

   

What do you do in the Winter?

16th Hole, looking towards tee, Jan 29th

Winter is a strange time for people who work at golf courses in our climate, especially for those of us in the Turf Care profession. When meeting someone new, exchanging questions about careers is often an easy way to generate a conversation. The most frequent question we hear following anything to do with working on a golf course is, "What do you do in the Winter?" I find it interesting that this is usually the first thing most people think about. Why wouldn't people ask about the job itself? Why do they want to know what we do when the course is closed? Maybe it is because some of the things we do in the winter are actually pretty interesting too.

Quinton working on a Sidewinder Reel

During the the growing season, our Turf Care Centre is going full throttle and many things get put by the wayside until we have more time to work on them. Equipment is needed on a daily basis and any down time caused by a breakdown puts us behind the 8 ball so to speak. We do everything possible to fix the equipment properly, but must also keep in mind that it probably needs to go back out tomorrow. So often we leave the big jobs for the winter. Striping down engines and hydraulics, replacing electrical components, ripping out bearings, building and fabricating parts to make other jobs easier or more efficient. Quinton, our mechanic, takes great pride in grinding the reels, bed knives and rotary blades to a scientific precision in the winter, preparing them to get the best results next season.


We also go over last years budget numbers, looking at everything from labour, to chemicals, hydro, equipment parts etc.We look at where we can make improvements for next year and put together a comprehensive budget. Financial responsibility is obviously an important part of the job, especially in this day and age.


A great deal of this time is also spent planning and revising. Going over employee schedules to maximize outputs, putting together fertility plans and using what information we can collect to predict what inputs we will need in the spring. We monitor the course conditions underneath snow and ice. Taking samples of the turf to see how it responds indoors (simulated spring.) If we see growth we know we are okay; if they struggle, we know we are going to have our work cut out for us and can plan accordingly. Sometimes it may be necessary to remove snow and ice at certain times of the winter, a very labour intensive task, made all the more difficult as most Turf Care Teams are laid off for the winter.

Turf Samples taken Jan 27/2014

Turf Samples, Feb 5th

 

2 inch ice depth, low spot 11th Fairway, Jan 27th

Of course, as with any job, we take holidays. Summer holidays are nice, but we are usually too busy to leave for extended periods of time while the grass is growing. Winter offers us a chance to go somewhere warm, or just spend time with our family and friends, a part of life that we don't get to enjoy as much in the growing season. Some courses will also bank hours during the summer instead of taking overtime pay. We try and use these up in the winter, as we don't need to be at the course every day for 8 hours.

Another big part of winter is our continuing education. As professionals we seek to be on the cutting edge, or at least know where the cutting edge is (pun intended). We are always wanting to learn new and alternative ways of doing things. We attend Turf Conferences and seminars, which help us gain valuable knowledge and skills. Networking with other professionals at these events is also key. Learning about our colleagues practices and the different things they do at their course can help provide a different perspective. The industry is actually quite small, and most people are open to sharing their ideas with each other, something that is unique from many other businesses. With modern technology and the explosion of social media, networking has become even more valuable, a great tool that many Superintendents are embracing.

I sometimes hear grumblings from golfers about why the course employs people through the winter. Wouldn't the Club save money if they didn't have to pay someone in the winter? While this may be true in the very short term, after a few years I believe that this would actually cause the reverse effect. The topics discussed above can help prove the value of employing people through the winter. Not only would it be hard to attract someone who is a professional, someone who has invested in an education, someone who is qualified and will work their hardest for the Club; but to keep someone around year after year when they are forced to find other employment for the winter, or go on employment insurance, would be very difficult to say the least. In many ways the the winter season can be just as important for the golf course as the summer.

So the next time you meet someone who works on a golf course, you may have some insight as to what they do in the winter and why they do it. Sometimes it is quite interesting, sometimes... not so much. We have been know to take extended coffee breaks during the winter, but as you can see, we do a great deal while the course is closed, probably more than you thought.

Fore The Golfer

I recently came across this USGA YouTube channel called "Fore The Golfer." It is an excellent resource and something that every golfer should view. Watch and you might just learn something! These short videos do a great job of using a golfers perspective to explain some of the challenges we as Superintendents and Turf Care Staff face with maintaining a golf course.

The link will be available on the KGCC Turf Care Blog homepage menu. For now you can click the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/forethegolfer


Enjoy!

Winter's Wrath

So far this winter season, mother nature has been less than kind to us here at Kamloops Golf Club. Unlike last winter where we had snow cover from December till March with temperatures remaining steady throughout most of of the season. This year we had an early snowfall in November, which partially melted. This created ice in places where the snow melt pooled while leaving other areas of turf exposed to the elements of winter. This was followed by freezing rain which added to the formation of ice. I have recorded the major weather events that have potential to affect turf quality so far:

Nov 18 -- 3cm snow, wind 50km/hr, -5C
Nov 29 -- 1.5mm Freezing rain, +2C
Nov 30 -- 2mm Freezing rain, +2C     ICE FORMATION
Dec 1 -- 1.5mm Freezing rain, +5C  
Dec 2 -- wind 80km/hr, -7C, turf exposed
Dec 7 -- temperature dipping to -21C, turf exposed  DESICCATION POTENTIAL
Dec 11 -- 6cm snow
Dec 20 -- 9cm snow
Dec 27 -- 1mm freezing rain, +4C   ICE FORMATION                                        
Dec 28 -- +5C
Dec 29 -- 3cm snow
Jan 2 -- +4C    
Jan 4 -- +5C    FREEZE-THAW CYCLES
Jan 5 -- Temp down to -11C
Jan 10 -- (Forecast) +6C

With these records we can look at just how they may affect the quality of our turf when we come out in the spring.

There are four ways that the wrath of winter can cause damage to turf:

1) Disease
2) Ice/ Anoxia
3) Wind/cold Desiccation
4) Crown Hydration

Disease

When Superintendents talk about disease on turf, we are not talking about heart disease or lung cancer, for the most part we are talking about the formation of fungus that causes damage or death to the plant. In the case of winter there are two main fungi that are prevalent: Pink Snow Mold (Microdochium nivale) and Grey Snow Mold (Typhula incarnata). Pink snow mold thrives in moist cool envirnments, such as late fall and early spring. Snow melt can also contribute to the formation of pink snow mold. Grey snow mold thrives under the warmth and moisture of extended snow cover, both are capable of causing large areas of turf to die.

Snow Mold, 4th Tee surround, Spring 2013

To prevent the formation of these snow molds we apply a chemical fungicide in the late fall to protect through the winter. At Kamloops Golf Club we maintain environmental stewardship and only select products that have been proven to be safe for the environment. We are always seeking the newest technology to reduce our impact on the environment. As long as these products are applied successfully, they generally offer good protection against disease.

Ice/ Anoxia

The formation of ice over turf is also very destructive. As plants are living things, they require oxygen and release carbon dioxide to survive. Yes, you could say plants breathe too. When a solid layer of ice forms over the turf, the plant cannot take in oxygen and the carbon dioxide that is released remains trapped under the ice creating a toxic environment. These condition are known as Anoxia and can lead to turf death. However, the grass plant is smarter than it looks. In the fall the grass undergoes a process called "hardening off" as it goes dormant in preparation for winter. The plant stores carbohydrates to feed itself and to help to lower the freezing temperature of its cells. The accumulation of these carbohydrates helps the plant survive under ice for a certain amount of time. Poa annua is said to be able to survive for 30 days under ice cover, while bentgrass is 120 days.

Ice 11th Fwy, Dec 2013

Ice 11th Fwy, Dec 2013

 Ice chipping, 18th Fwy, Dec 2013

Preventing the formation of ice is very difficult, if not impossible. As snow accumulates and melts, it may freeze at the soil surface, creating ice. Not to mention the troubles freezing rain presents. We can attempt to chip the ice away, which often causes more damage than just leaving it alone. We can try and melt the ice with black sand, rubber crumbs etc. but then we leave the turf exposed until more snow cover occurs. Sometimes the best thing to do with ice, is just wait it out.

At Kamloops Golf Club we underwent a conversion from Poa to Bentgrass on our greens, tees and fairways during the renovation of 2010, but poa (the native grass) has been creeping back in since then. My philosophy is that if bentgrass is the grass we are trying to grow, and it can survive for 120 days (4 months) under ice, where poa can only survive for 1 month, let the ice kill off some poa, while the bentgrass stays alive. In doing this we can expect to do some re-seeding of areas in the spring, but will ultimately reduce the percentage of poa in our turfstand.

Wind/Cold Desiccation

Wind chill temperatures can create some of the most wide spread turf damage of all. At Kamloops Golf Club we are especially subject to this type of damage, as temperatures can reach below -20C and winds rolling off Kamloops Lake can gust over 80km/hr, creating a deathly wind chill. This is one of the primary reasons we decided to undergo a renovation and conversion to bentgrass in 2010.

Example of wind/cold damage

Much like living under ice, bentrgrass has a much better winter tolerance to wind and cold than poa annua. However, bentgrass is not invincible and can sustain damage in extreme weather, as can any living thing.

To protect and wind/cold desiccation we topdress the greens with a layer of sand to protect the crown/growing point from direct wind and cold. Snow cover also provides very good protection for the turf. The snow insulates and keeps temperatures at the surface closer to 0C and -1C, while at the same time, provides a cover from the wind. Unlike ice, snow is not a solid layer, so gas exchange of the turf is still able to take place.

Crown Hydration

The Grass Plant

As I mentioned, the crown of the grass plant is the point of growth, leaves and shoots grow up, and roots grow down. This makes it the most important part of the plant. If the crown dies, the plant dies. We also discussed how the turf prepares itself for winter and goes into dormancy. When temperatures during the winter and late spring rise above zero and cause snow to melt, the plant may take in some water, also known as hydration. If this happens over an extended period of time, the crown may begin to break dormancy and grow. The plant thinks spring has arrived and its time to wake up from winter. The crown now active, is much more susceptible to damage. If the temperature at the surface drops below zero again, the water in the crown may expand and cause the cell walls to rupture, causing death of the plant. Freeze - Thaw cycles are one of the most damaging forces to turf and can cause wide spread death to a turfstand.

Crown hydration damage example, spring re-seeding

Crown hydration is also very difficult to prevent. Some superintendents remove the snow in the late winter/early spring if they feel the temperatures will remain above or around 0C. The risk with this is if the temperature drops again and the turf is left exposed to desiccation as it is breaking dormancy.

As you can see, turfgrass faces some extreme challenges during the winter. As Superintendents we are often at the mercy of Mother Nature, and try as we might, sometimes we may end up doing more damage than if we let nature take its course.

Through the weather records above we can see that we have undergone many of processes in which turf may be damaged. Does that mean we may lose large amounts of turf this year? Not necessarily... We still have had a consistent snow cover since December 11, and although there are patches of ice remaining underneath, our conversion to bentgrass should offer some extended protection. We expect to do some re-seeding in the spring, but we do that every spring regardless. We can remain cautiously optimistic, with some luck, a nice warm spring will bring another great start to our season of golf at Kamloops Golf Club. We are looking forward to getting things going in just a few months.