Course Maintenance Update

JEFF STEEN, CGCS DIRECTOR OF GOLF COURSE MAINTENANCE

GRANT SUDERMAN SUPERINTENDENT grants@lochlloyd.com

The summer is flying along and the Golf Course Maintenance team continues to work tireless hours, diligently … to provide the best playing conditions and consistent playing conditions. Despite annual challenges, we are happy with the course conditioning. We appreciate those of you who have been advocates of the work being done and the efforts put forth by a dedicated and committed team.

This month, I’ve asked Golf Course Superintendent, Grant Suderman, to put a short report together, highlighting just a few of the small projects undertaken at this time on the property. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out directly as we are happy to meet and explain the details and nuances of the ongoing happenings on and off the golf course. Lastly, as a reminder, we are scheduled to aerate greens during the week of August 23rd.

Best Regards, Jeff Steen, CGCS Director of Golf Course Maintenance

Example of an isolated weak area on #3

 SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT  by Grant Suderman

The rainy, sunny, hot and humid weather has welcomed The Country Club at Loch Lloyd in extremes this summer. Multiple rain events followed by high heat has weakened turf in multiple isolated areas. Most of these areas have been a challenge for multiple years. A combination of poor soil, drainage and turf variety has made these areas susceptible to wilt and desiccation. To close out June, six continuous rain events happened, totaling six inches followed by six continuous hot, humid and sunny days — thus creating the perfect storm for these areas to show their underlying challenges.

Pictured above is the rough approach to #3 green. This aerial is a great example of how the turf variety affects the turf quality. This entire area has been managed with the same applications and cultural practices. The only difference from the healthy turf and struggling turf is the variety. Enhanced by the red lines, one can see exactly where the sodding has been in the past. This green surround has always been prone to decline due to its flooding and compacted conditions. Sodding out the old turf with a new variety will be one step forward to correcting these poor conditions. Sodding in the summer conditions is not sustainable so this will be done in the fall.

During your round you will also see some additional areas being addressed on the Bentgrass collars. Again, after the six inches of rain and heat, these anaerobic conditions are not sustainable. Pictured on the right is the Bentgrass collar on hole #5. New sod has replaced the recently wilted turf. Additionally, holes #2, 3, 5 and 14 have sodded collar areas. We will continue to monitor and sod these areas as needed.

Bentgrass collar on hole #5

These weakened conditions are very much isolated to certain areas of the course. The course overall has very high quality turf conditions as seen pictured on the left of #7 green surround.

High-quality turf on green surround on #7

Lastly, the pictures below show the “before-and-after” of the team prepping an area on #10 fairway for sod that has declined due to poor drainage and anaerobic conditions. Declined turf has been common in low, poorly drained areas throughout the course. These wet conditions suffocate the Zoysia grass turf with the saturated conditions. We will continue to sod these areas throughout the summer. The bottom photo below shows the finished product after the area has been sodded. We have been repurposing turf from the back range tee deck to sod these declined areas. The tee deck will be grown in again for future use. Thanks for your patience and understanding with all of these areas as we strive to bring you the best playing conditions possible. As always, we hope to see you on the course!

BEFORE: In-house repairs on #10

AFTER: In-house repairs on #10

Our thanks to member George Warmuth for taking and sharing this month’s cover photo and the two photos on the right. Director of Golf Course Maintenance, Jeff Steen, took the photo above. Do you have a photo of the Clubhouse, course or grounds that you personally took and would like to share? Please send it to:

Diana Miller Cooper Communications and Marketing Leader dianac@thenationalgolfclub.com