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