It's Summertime on the Golf Course

View from the BMW Owners Pavilion on Hole 17

July 28, 2015

Summer finally found its way to the North Shore. After a very wet start to the summer, we are finally experiencing some more typical hot and humid days that are expected at this time of year.  The wet start to summer in conjunction with the high humidity brings a number of challenges. Water logged soils are prone to showing signs of stress quickly after they dry out because of a shortened root system and lack of oxygen in the soil. This is especially apparent in areas that had heavy construction on it last fall, which causes more compacted soils. This situation is one of the great examples of why aerification is an important tool to maintain a healthy stand of turf throughout the season. It helps alleviate compaction, improves oxygen in the rootzone, and allows healthy new roots to develop. It is not feasible to do all 209 acres of our property so we address the playing surfaces first.  This Monday was a great day for maintenance. Since the course was closed to all play, we were able to needle tine aerify greens (the very small holes), topdress greens, tees, and runoffs, drag in the sand, mow all the greens, tees, fairways, and approaches as well as knock out a couple of drainage projects.

Another issue that rears its ugly head is an increase in pests of all kinds. Mosquitoes are out in full force. We contract an aerial application of the entire property to reduce the total population of mosquitoes. We have made 3 applications so far this year. We also supplement with occasional applications internally, especially on holes 5-7 in the woods. The grass is also fighting against pests of all kinds at this time of year. Disease and insect pressures are high so we are actively scouting for potential issues while focusing heavily on our moisture management strategies to reduce the severity of these potential issues.  Hopefully we will stay dry through this hot and humid stretch of weather so that we can control the amount of water on the playing surfaces to keep everything in great condition.

 

In talking with a number of members on the course, there are a few frequently asked questions that seem to come up more than others.  The first question is about the speed of the putting green and why it is different than the rest of the greens. The short answer is because it is different. It a new USGA putting green (along with the 2 chipping greens) with no organic material built up yet. The green sees a significant amount of traffic and wear from both practice putting and some of the natural traffic flow from the clubhouse to the range tee. Our focus is to keep a healthy stand of turf through this stressful portion of the season. One way we do that is by increasing the height of cut slightly, which helps mitigate some of the stress but results in slightly slower speeds. The relative age of the green is why we are erring on the side of caution. Over the next couple years, you will feel a slight difference under foot compared to the rest of the greens on the course, but we will make every effort to bring the speed of the putting green closer to the other greens once we move out of these highly stressful conditions. We will occasionally remove some of the cup locations to move wear in a certain manner. Also, we ask everyone to walk around the first tee and putting green towards the podium in order to reduce traffic across these playing surfaces on your way out to hit balls on the range.

The other big question is about the rough. What, when, and why are we doing what we do to the rough.

What are we doing?
We are gradually increasing the height of cut in the rough from 2” to 4” before advance week of the BMW Championship.

When are we starting this?
We have just started bringing it up. The rough is currently at 3”.

Why are we doing this now and why can’t it wait until closer to the event

We are transitioning it a half inch every 2-3 weeks to ensure a strong dense stand of turf for the tournament.  By slowly raising the height, we will have a great rough for the tournament. If you raise it quickly the grass tends to lay over more and will be much less consistent throughout. The rough will definitely be more penal for the BMW Championship this time around!

The ballmark repair is getting better on the greens but we still see some that remain unfixed. Please continue to fix your marks as well as replace divots and pick up broken tees. Thank you for your continued help in these areas.

  

We hope everyone is enjoying this great season so far at Conway Farms with so many exciting events still to come.  See you on the course.

Connor Healy
Superintendent

The Wonderful Short Game Area at Conway Farms

Looking out at the amazing Augusta National Practice Facility early last week it was evident that the goal was to simulate all of the shots and looks of the iconic course.  There was the same attention to detail in creating the new Conway Farms Short Game Center. Golf Course Architect and Designer Dennis Wise has replicated many of the same situations you face while playing the Conway Farms course.

Pristine bent grass pitching and chipping areas and “Conway” rough to simulate those difficult shots from around the greens allow for optimum practice.  Couple that with bent grass run off areas and a variety of bunker shots and you can have a great practice for everything you will confront at Conway.  All of this, organized in its own amphitheater, will be a perfect place to get lost for an hour with your wedge and putter.

During practice sessions,  members will be using one of the highest spinning golf balls on the market with the TaylorMade Project A ball.  Its super soft urethane cover makes it an optimal short game practice ball.  These are placed in a small handsome white leather basket that will hold approximately 35-40 practice balls. The small number of balls is to approximate the number of short game shots during a round. Bringing focus and intensity toward each shot in practice it likely will carry over to the course.

Rather than pitching or chipping from one spot to a single target, my hope is that this new short game practice area will inspire movement around the entire practice area and hitting toward various targets optimizing practice. 

Practice like you play is the theme throughout the short game area. Every two weeks a new nine hole course will be set up encompassing the different shots needed for success on the course. Tee markers and flags will be organized to flow through the two greens in a way to test your skills from bunkers to flop shots to a chip and run shot. What a great way to measure your practice or enjoy a nice escape with a beverage at twilight.  

Another great way to start or finish the day is at the new practice putting green.  On the other side of the practice tee from the short game area is the new 10,000 square foot putting green.  Ample space for those members who are working on their putting and perfectly located next to the first tee for warming up before the round. The space on this green will be a great improvement to lag putting and also is much flatter which is better for working on the mechanics of putting.

The short game area at Conway Farms offers a beautiful environment to enjoy practicing and improving all of the shots of the short game. And the expansive new putting green will provide the best environment to work on the most important part of the game. Practice is an essential component to any great golf club and with the completion of the new East Practice Tee, Short Game Practice Center, and Practice Putting Green, Conway Farms is head of class in Chicago golf.

Jeff Mory
Director of Golf / Conway Farms Golf Club

Staying loose

Now that the driving range has officially closed for the season things not only look different, but your body will probably feel a little different when you get to the first tee.  I know mine will!  With that being said, I have asked an expert on ways to stretch before heading out to play.  Cory Puyear was kind enough to shoot a video showing some stretches that will help with getting loose without the availability of a driving range.

DYNAMIC WARM UP VIDEO 

Cory and his staff are also available for appointment if you would like a session before you play.  Please feel free to contact him at cpuyear@hotmail.com to set something up.

Even with the range closing, there are still a few weeks of golf left to enjoy at Conway.  Not only is there regular play, but there are also a few more events on the schedule.  Always a great event, the Member/Member is taking place Friday and Saturday of next week (July 25 & 26).  There is a great turnout so far, but if you are looking to play there is still availability in the event.  The Ladies Solheim concludes Wednesday, with the blue team currently holding a 6-4 lead after 18 holes of play.  The tee reservation system has been implemented and is running on a daily basis.  Definitely feels a little different, but people have been coming out early and checking the progress of the range before they tee off.  Look for updates on that from Robin as she has placed a time lapse camera on top of the clubhouse that takes a picture every 15 minutes showing the progress.  Really a neat way to see the progress on the range, amazing how quickly they get things done!

Also, next week there will be two of us competing in the Illinois Open Championship, myself and Andrew "Bubba" Bateman.  We were able to make it out for a practice round earlier this week and are ready to head out to The Glen Club next week.  Please follow along on the Illinois PGA website for live scoring Monday through Wednesday.  We are both looking forward to a good week at The Glen Club and representing Conway Farms.   

"I've always made a total effort, even when the odds seemed entirely against me. I never quit trying; I never felt that i didn't have a chance to win"         

    - Arnold Palmer

Guest Blogger Connor Healy, Assistant Superintendent

2014 is a unique season from many vantage points. I am sure each department of Conway Farms Golf Club can speak to the challenges and excitement this year brings. On the grounds side, a few common questions are prevalent. During the earlier portion of the spring, we were most often asked about what was going on at other clubs rather than what was happening at Conway Farms. Everyone certainly seemed relieved to not deal with the extent of winter damage that so many clubs around us experienced. From our perspective, the decision to not remove snow and ice during prolonged cover was validated for our course, with our circumstances. We have mostly bentgrass playing surfaces, really good drainage and air movement, and limited shade. These are all critical components to successful turf management not only during the growing season, but also during the depths of winter. The winter was certainly one of the worst we have seen from both temperature and snowfall accumulation data. A few playing surfaces had some damage, but mostly superficial in hindsight. Happily, most of these discussions are behind us.

That leads us to the next question we get pretty frequently.

“So, everything on the course is great…but what is going on with the putting green behind the 18th green and is this how the rest of the greens are going to look with the new grass?”

This is a good opportunity to not only explain why that putting green is in its current state but also explain some of the reasoning behind the greens regrassing project.  Most people recognize the green was covered by a structure during the BMW for an extended period of time that resulted in a complete kill of the green. The surface was also greatly impacted by vehicles driving on it. The carts, trucks, forklifts, and pedestrian traffic created ruts, which in turn held water and further damaged the surface and top few inches of the green’s profile. Because the surface was damaged, a significant amount of grading needed to take place to prepare the green for seed. By the time the structure was removed and the prep work was finished, we were entering November. Timing was the biggest detriment to the successful regrassing of the putting green. It is also a critical success factor for the greens regrassing project for the entire course.

Perhaps the most important reason we are closing the course in August is to give the project the best opportunity to succeed. Ideal seeding conditions are present in August. Soil and air temperatures are high, weed competition is low (particularly Poa Annua, which thrives in the spring and struggles to remain viable in the hottest months), and sunlight is at a premium in both length of daylight and sun angle. Seedlings that germinate earlier in the growing season (August compared to November) have a substantial advantage over later seeded areas for surviving the winter. Weak areas will face a slow recovery in our typically cool springs on the north shore of Chicago. Since the ideal grow-in conditions are present from August through October, a dense stand of turf will be achieved before reaching the winter months. The greens will be well established and mature enough to withstand the winter and concerns about winter injury are minimal since they will be entirely bentgrass.

After closing on August 4, we will be seeding in mid-August and germination will follow shortly thereafter.

OVERVIEW OF THE GREENS PROJECT:

• Aerify the greens with 5/8” hollow tines (pulling big plugs out to remove organic matter)
• Clean all plugs off the surface
• Topdress heavily with dry sand to fill all holes
• Brush sand in the holes
• Aerify a second time with needle tines at the closest spacing possible to further incorporate the sand on the surface and also make as many channels for the methyl bromide gas to entire the green’s profile. This is a critical step in ensuring a thorough kill of the Poa Annua seed bank that exists in ground.
• Sodcut a ring of grass around each green and peel the sod back
• Place tubing in a snaking pattern on the surface and cover with an impermeable plastic-performed by a licensed contractor
• Place sod that was cut back on top of the edge of the plastic to create an airtight seal
• Pump the methyl bromide gas into the tubing-performed by a licensed contractor
• Plastic will remain on the greens for 5 days
• Remove plastic and allow greens to vent for 3-5 days (there will be a foul odor at this point, which is the decaying grass, and not the gas!)
• Verticut units will slice slits into the greens to create a seedbed, once the greens have aired out.
• Spread seed and fertilizer
• Apply preventative fungicide applications to prevent major disease issues that are present under these conditions (high temps, high fertility, and water)
• Water, water, water!!!
• Grow, Mow, Grow, Mow, and so on.

I hope this answers any questions about the putting green and calms any concerns about the grass selection or risks associated with taking on this project. Our goal is to have the putting green playable by the time the range closes so that the Pro Shop has an area to stage golfers before going to the first tee. This will be a challenging few weeks for all and we collectively need to do what we can to make it as smooth as possible for members and staff.

The last pair of questions we receive are closely related.

“What is the range project going to entail and why do we have to close it down a few weeks before the rest of the course?

Chad is great at explaining the vision, which can be difficult to grasp since so much area will be disturbed. There are not many visual aids available for presentation, so Chad and I are happy to continue to answer questions about the project as we see you out on the course. The latter question about the timing of the range project is fairly straightforward. The Club will save $125,000 by moving the date to July 16 instead of August 4 because it allows us to seed the bentgrass areas instead of sodding them. The cost of seed is substantially cheaper than sod. From an agronomic perspective, seeding is also preferred over sodding when given the appropriate opportunity.In the coming weeks you will probably begin to notice a few preliminary steps taking place such as the paint markings shown in the picture below.

Paint markings that mark the main lines of irrigation

These lines are marking our main lines of irrigation and power lines for the irrigation system which will need to be rerouted promptly before major construction on the range begins because we need to keep the system in tact for watering the entire course while the range project is underway and especially when the greens are seeded. Leibold is the company doing the work on the range and will be on the range periodically before the project commences to ensure any impending issues can be resolved and the project deadline met. So far, they have been excellent to work with on this project as far as prep work is concerned. The club already has a solid relationship with Leibold as their shaper Eric has helped us with most of our major earthwork over the last few years. Also, Leibold’s irrigation department serviced some of our past projects in the field and also helped install the new pumphouse this spring.

Newly Installed Pump House

We will keep you posted with pictures and updates of the project and how the timeline is trending in the coming months. Thank you for your patience during this process. We will continue to give you great conditions until the course closes and are excited to deliver these great improvements to the club in 2015!   

All the best - Connor Healy