Drill and Fill

On Monday, April 29th we will start our spring greens aerification with a process known as drill and fill. Drill and fill consist of several 8 inch drill bits that literally drill into our putting greens root-zone. Once the drill bit removes 8 inches of organic material, the hole is completely filled with sand. We do this for several reasons, all of which are critical factors in maintaining high quality putting surfaces. The first and possibly most important reason is to drastically reduce soil compaction. Soil compaction occurs on heavy clay native soil putting greens like we have here at Midlothian.

The Great Flood

Here at Midlothian CC we received around 4.5 to 5 inches of rainfall between Wednesday night and Friday morning. To compare this rainfall to April of 2012, the whole month last year only saw 2.72 inches of precipitation. We received that much on Thursday alone! As you can imagine, that much precipitation leads to some soggy conditions on the course. This large amount of rain will give us wet playing conditions for a few days to come. The drainage on the course is backed up and not going anywhere very soon. There are pools of standing water on several fairways as well as many areas of the rough. Even the gravel path by the practice green has been washed into the rough. Turf all over the course is going to grow quickly with the rainfall causing everything to play a little slower than usual. It may take through the weekend to get caught up mowing everything but we will be back on track soon. The greens are dry in comparison due to their higher elevation and should firm up much faster than the rest of the course. With some wind and a few dry sunny days we should be back to normal.

Hole #3 closed

Some unusual discoloration on #3 green has been discovered, and as a precautionary all traffic should cease on #3 green for the time being.  We are currently diagnosing the problem and think it is in the best interest of the golf course to be cautious this early in the season.  The short game par 3 will be used in place of the third hole, thank you for your patience and understanding.  

Winter Tree Removal

Emerald Ash Borer Larva

Tree removal is a necessary practice for nearly all golf course grounds departments. The reason for this is because trees are living organisms that constantly change depending on age, climate, nutrient availability, soil compaction, accidental wounds, and insect damage. For example, one major issue we encounter in the Midwest is life threatening insect damage on ash trees. This is caused by an insect known as the Emerald Ash Borer, an invasive species that only feeds on ash trees. Since its accidental introduction into the United States and Canada in the 1990s, and its subsequent detection in 2002, it has spread to 14 states and adjacent parts of Canada. The Emerald Ash Borer has killed at least 50 to 100 million ash trees so far and threatens to kill most of the 7.5 billion ash trees throughout North America.