16S Dead Tree Removal 10-15-2024

During the month of October we removed 67 dead and dying trees and ground out 101 stumps throughout the property(plan on doing another 10 in November) bringing the total tally for the past 5 years to close to 300 trees removed. Virtually all of these trees that were removed were dead or in a state of severe decline while a few of the trees removed simply had to go because they were in bad locations. Almost all of the dead trees were that way because of severe insect infestation (borer insects) while a few others were simply in a state of severe decline due to the periodic drought stress we have been experiencing combined with the poor soils at Nemadji. Any way you look at it, the golf course is so much better without those hazardous eyesores and while there are still a few remaining that will likely need removal soon, they still offer some landscape value for now. The situation is under control so now on to the next issue which is excessive thatch/organic matter on fairways and tees.

In a newsletter last year, there was some discussion regarding the excessive thatch levels at Nemadji-especially on the older, original fairways that have never really been properly cultivated as the testing report below shows

Nemadji Organic Matter Analysis 6-29-2023

I have never worked at a facility with such a huge buildup in organic matter in fairways (the figures in parenthesis are “normal” range for optimal turf). On this sample on 1E fairway, the top 1” on the profile is over ten times the proper range and as we go deeper into the profile the organic matter content is still remarkably high. This is why these fairways are so spongy underfoot and tend to stay wet for long periods of time. Bottom line is that these fairways-and tees as well-need some thorough cultivation over a period of several years to return to proper playability and resilience. The most common/traditional go to in this situation is core aerifying but that is limited in its effectiveness and can bring up clay that can make the work extremely messy. A much better technique is an aggressive verticutting done deep (1.5-2”) with a recently acquired Graden heavy verticutter (not some sissy units you attach to a mower). A link of this unit in action:

Graden Movie 9-27-2024

The Graden removes over four to five times much thatch as a conventional core aerification in a single shot and the resultant debris, while it may look messy as the picture below illustrates, is much easier to clean up than clay brought up to the surface.

1N Fairway 10-22-2024

This debris is then removed by a crew of 3-4 people. One person operating our recently acquired sweeper and two haulers who transport the debris to a dump site. Another person operates a large blower to help with final cleanup. On a fairway like 1N we removed close to 40-50 yards of organic matter (decaying stems and roots). This is about two semi loads of material. Very aggressive and disruptive. It is for this reason that we closed the North/South golf course when we did as at any given moment during this process, we would have two or three golf holes that were not playable and with us only having a small time window to work within, cannot stop for players. As you can see, proper golf course maintenance is much more than mowing stuff.

On a final note, this will be my final season working at Nemadji as I have chosen to take a new position closer to my home in Ely, Minnesota. I have been at Nemadji now for five years and while the work has been enjoyable, being away from home for lengthy periods of time is simply not worth it. In addition, after 31 years as a superintendent I am ready to back off and semi-retire by working at the golf course I helped to build with a superintendent who was my former assistant. I know myself-I will continue to grind out work but I look forward to performing a supporting role instead of an administrative one and having the time and energy to actually do other things. Just as importantly to me, me moving on gives room for growth for both Brian Wallin and George Bibeau to grow in the industry. Both are ready to take the next step in their career progression and are eager to begin their new roles. I am excited for them.

I am also proud that I have left every facility that I have worked at in a better state than when I first arrived and Nemadji is no exception. While there remains much work to do at Nemadji to continue to move forward, I am confident that Brian Wallin and George Bibeau are ready to continue building the momentum we have created in making Nemadji better year after year.

Thank you for your support and good luck to you all.

The post Dodge’s Dirt- End of 2024 appeared first on Nemadji Golf Course.

While planning and permitting for a new irrigation system continues, we will still need to rely on the existing system until a new system is acquired and functional in a few years. Of late, we have been upgrading a few of the snake infested irrigation control satellites.

Irrigation Satellite 2E 7-13-2024

These snakes make a mess of the electronics and wiring in this 40+ year old technology though many are simply failing due to extreme age. The cost-effective solution in the short term is to replace the most problematic of these boxes with 20+ year old technology. We started this process last year. Working with our RainBird distributor, we have acquired 6 used controller satellites cheap to be used to replace these stinkers which will help us to dependably water the golf course in the future. This is like upgrading your car from a 1976 Ford Pinto to a 2003 Chevy Cavalier. This process starts with us removing the old equipment first.

Satellite Removal 8N 8-17-2024

After removing the old units-3 in this case-we organize and consolidate the wiring and make a new concrete slab for the new equipment

New Irrigation Satellite Slab 8-19-2024

New Satellite Controller Installation and Final Wiring 8-20-2024

We then install the single new/used satellite that has the ability to do the work of four of the older ones. This is extremely helpful considering that many of these existing boxes are being asked to water more sprinklers than they were designed to and a controller with more capacity will really help in programming flexibility. An added benefit is that pulling the old boxes allows us to salvage the still functioning electronics to be used in the future on the golf course. We have salvaged 10 of these boards and at a price of $400 for rebuilt ones (they are no longer available new as they have not been manufactured since before the internet), this process pays for itself.
Plus pulling stuff out of the ground with chains is fun.
Also fun, at least to me, has been the work by the clubhouse these past five seasons.

Nemadji Patio Ornamentals 8-19-2024

Having worked in the resort environment for 23 years before coming to Nemadji, I learned the importance ornamental areas have in enhancing the quality of a facility-especially in places that people see most frequently. Such as main entrances and around the clubhouse/restaurant. The picture above shows one of the better plantings at Nemadji-a successful planting with a clear view of 9 North in the background and a lower area with a table and chairs for seating. I am very proud the work we have done at Nemadji both with this work and with dead tree removal though in the case of the clubhouse area we removed close to 20 trees that made the entire clubhouse area appear, frankly, overgrown and haunted. As the picture below shows.

Nemadji Pre 2020

Moving on to turf talk, I had mentioned earlier that disease pressure this season has been relatively high-especially in regards to a fungal disease called Dollar Spot. Look it up.

Turfgrass Diseases: Dollar Spot (Causal fungus: Clarireedia jacksonii) (psu.edu)

Dollar Spot 12W Approach 8-18-2024

By far the most common summer/fall turfgrass disease in this area, Dollar Spot is a disease caused by a fungus that thrives in humid conditions when heavy dews persist long into the morning. A relatively slow moving disease, left untreated this disease will be spread by mowers and over a period of time will damage large areas of turf including greens if left untreated. At Nemadji, we protect greens first and foremost while tolerating some damage on tees and fairways without letting the disease get out of hand. Moderate levels of nitrogen fertilization help as do strategic and intelligent fungicide applications. To protect everything completely would be cost prohibitive in both time and supplies for this facility.

Active Dollar Spot in rough adjacent to 4N green. Note how green/collar area is clean.

8-18-2024

None of the work that we do on the golf course would be possible without a dependable staff. We had numerous new faces this season-as is the case with golf course maintenance crews since working early-and particularly on weekends-is too much for many people. I get it-this work can be a real grind sometimes. The often physical nature of the work can be tough or people move on to do something different with their lives. Either way, I actually enjoy getting to know new people who often bring a welcome new perspective to the workplace and keep the work interesting. I sincerely thank everyone on the Nemadji Crew for their help in doing what we do on the golf course.

Humans from left to right: Carter Kalin, Ted Kiefat, David Drabek, Seth Pettingill, Bruce Jenkins, Brad Little, Phil Sakells, Brian Wallin, Gary Vreeland, Vincent Dodge, Lyn Ellingson, George Bibeau, Mason Morris, Deb Breitigan, Doug Dunsmoor, Tim Breitigan, Bob Kolbe, Jack Lee, Noah Krieg-Romig, and John Wallin

Dogs left to right: Chopper(6), Bentley(2), and Boomer(13)

See you on the golf course.

The post Dodge’s Dirt July/August appeared first on Nemadji Golf Course.

Note the freshly mowed fairway and the striping. This fairway had not been mowed since the previous Wednesday (5 days) due to excessive rains. No problem-aggressive regulation has allowed us to wait until the surface firms up enough before mowing. When we do mow there is much less mess, less labor, less fuel usage, and strain on equipment. An added benefit, at least to me, is that this contrast in color gives fairways at Nemadji much more definition. The contrast between rough and fairway is evident. I have, personally, been experimenting with these compounds since they came onto the market in the late 80’s/early 90’s and was fortunate to work with some trailblazing supers who were not afraid to experiment through trial and error, giving me the confidence and experience needed to use them properly. A nice tool for the golf course maintenance tool kit.

Today as I was on the golf course, I came across Monarch butterflies and am pleased to see it. We have done, and continue to do, some things to help make Nemadji a nice place for them to visit.

Monarch/Pollinator Habitat 7N 7-1-2024

We have seeded this area with Milkweed (though it has not taken off yet) and simply let it turn into whatever it turns into in order to enhance its ability to sustain pollinators like bees. In addition, we have planted trees in this area that are known to provide food for pollinators-red maples and catalpas. Please read the attached article to learn more and consider doing the same for your own properties. With the struggles that many insect pollinators are going through these days, it is important that we do what we can to make things better. Without them, many crops that we depend on for food will not be productive. The right thing to do.

Moving back to turf, in a wet year like this one, one problem that can surface, particularly on close mown putting greens, is moss. We have some at Nemadji, indeed we have had moss on 14W since I got here five years ago. Moss is, sporadically, on other, more poorly drained areas of other greens as well. The best defense against moss is to raise cutting heights and our cutting height at Nemadji is already a modest .145”. Mowing much tighter than that on these greens would be inviting widespread infestations without the extensive use of herbicides to get it under control. In lieu of that, we choose to keep heights where they are and plug out some of the worst areas as shown with the following pictures:

14W Green 6-26-2024 Silvery Thread Moss

Moss areas replaced by bentgrass plugs from our nursery 6-26-2024

I expect this process to be ongoing-especially if the year continues to be as wet as it has been. Either way, we are on it early and this is not a major issue, but more of an interesting topic. Different types of years pose different types of issues.
One issue that surfaces every year, especially when the mosquitos are bad, is this:

Mosquito Repellent Damage 15W Tee 6-21-2024

I understand that mosquitos can wreck the golfing experience and strongly encourage taking whatever measures needed to protect yourselves. Please just remember to stand on a cart path or other non-turf surface before spraying yourself for them. This damage will persist for weeks.

On a final, unrelated note, I have submitted, on behalf of Nemadji, the following picture for the annual golf course dog calendar.

Bentley on 15W 6-11-2024

This is a national publication and I have had the good fortune to have a former golf course dog of mine, Bob, make it onto the cover page. Dogs are nice to have around the golf course-both for the crew and the customers. A big part of why I continue to enjoy my work and I hope that you find some amusement from these entertainers as well.

See you on the golf course.

The post Dodge’s Dirt June 2024 appeared first on Nemadji Golf Course.

Driving Range Tee May 1, 2024

Nice to see our practice tee so busy. We will get along with the overseeding/topdressing process on this tee as soon as we get into some warmer weather patterns. What assists us in the upkeep of the practice tee is cooperation from players. On the above picture I can count a solid dozen range baskets just left on the tee after being emptied. The considerate action for players would be for them to return their empty baskets to the storage box next to the range dispenser. This will leave the range in a much more usable state for other players and will free up our own labor to do other things to make Nemadji the best that it can be. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

In the spirit of cooperation, I would also like to share a quick link that explains the fundamentals about what the “90 Degree Rule” is with a cart path ruling. At Nemadji we have two main rules that we use regarding cart path usage with golf carts. One is “Cart Path Only” which means, simply, do not leave the cart path or you will likely damage turf and sometimes, on slopes, endanger yourself or those around you. The 90 Degree Rule is what we want all players to follow when the course is not Cart Path Only. Please follow the attached link to learn about what the 90 Degree Rule is.
Golf’s 90-Degree Rule Explained in Simple Terms Golflink.com

Moving on to some of the actual work we have been performing on the golf course of late, we have been busy this spring continuing projects started last fall-one of which is the renovation of a problematic area to the right side of 15 West green.

Curlex Erosion Control Mat 5-15-2024

We did what we could to improve the soils in this area last fall and then finish graded and seeded the area this week. Much like other renovations we have done at Nemadji, we used an erosion control blanket to assist in germination and establishment. This year we used a product called Curlex which was new to me. The material is different than Futerra blanket which we have used with great success in the past, but we had to try Curlex because Futerra is not available anywhere nearby. Supply chains can still get a little wonky sometimes. We will see how well this product works but either way, we should have that area grown in by the end of June. Also looking good are the new trees being planted at Nemadji this spring.

We did what we could to improve the soils in this area last fall and then finish graded and seeded the area this week. Much like other renovations we have done at Nemadji, we used an erosion control blanket to assist in germination and establishment. This year we used a product called Curlex which was new to me. The material is different than Futerra blanket which we have used with great success in the past, but we had to try Curlex because Futerra is not available anywhere nearby. Supply chains can still get a little wonky sometimes. We will see how well this product works but either way, we should have that area grown in by the end of June. Also looking good are the new trees being planted at Nemadji this spring.

New Trees Nemadji 5-8-2024

Much attention has been given to the number of dead trees removed at Nemadji and rightfully so because it has been a great deal of work. The crew here at Nemadji, however, does more than just remove dead stuff. We are, and have been, planting new material every year to help replenish these losses, being careful to use different species to help avoid mass planting failures. The picture above shows the seventeen new trees that we will plant on the golf course over the next week or so. We plan on doing this pretty much every year well into the future (time and funding permitting). Nobody told us to do this-we do this because it is the right thing to do. Just as deep tining greens in the fall is the right thing to do.

11 South Green May 3, 2024

This picture, taken less than two weeks ago, shows some aggressive, deep rooting on one of the 90+ year-old putting greens on the “old course”. Our deep tining program over the past few years is starting to pay off big-time in the form of better plant health. Note the deep driving roots in the center of the plug following the deep tine hole to a deeper depth. This is one of the reasons that we perform the deep tining operation late in the year. Doing the work as we are now doing it also results in less player disruption from aerified greens as we no longer really need to aerify greens in August/September which nobody likes. Just like I do not like fixing leaks.

We began to power up the West Course irrigation system this morning and we have a winner in the leak category:

18 West 5-16-2024

These sorts of issues are not uncommon in the golf course world but at Nemadji the frequency of these sorts of occurrences is very uncommon. At the other golf courses I have worked at in my career (7 including Nemadji), the average number of leaks/repairs we might have had over an entire year might be 10-12. Some places a little higher, some lower. At Nemadji, the average over the past 4 years has been close to 54 leaks/repairs per year. We fix things and move on with the hope that this will be a thing of the past soon enough.

In the meantime, please be on the alert as you play and notify us if you see something like the picture above-or any other kind of suspicious behavior of water. We cannot fix something if we do not know about it and players can assist us by being an additional set of eyes.

Thank you in advance and see you on the golf course, Vince

The post Dodge’s Dirt May 2024 appeared first on Nemadji Golf Course.

Renovation 15W October 12, 2023

As you all know, there used to exist an ornamental landscaped area on the left side of what is the landing area for some on 15W. While I am a big fan of these sorts of areas when placed properly, this one was not. The number of golf balls we found in this planting was stunning, indicating lost balls, a negative effect on pace of play, and an overall negative factor for the players’ experience. Not to mention the additional maintenance this area required for weed control. We chose to remove this planting, bring in more soil to build up the area, grade, and seed the area so that it will be conventional golf course rough from now on. Please be patient as this project establishes in 2024. Another ongoing project at Nemadji (something that we have been working on since I have been here) is drainage-particularly bunker drainage.

Bunker Drainage 14W November 14, 2023

Bunker/Approach Drainage 12W November 14, 2023

We chose to focus our drainage attention in 2023 on the West Golf Course-specifically on the 12W greenside bunker and the large greenside bunker on 14W. With the wet fall that we had, this work was particularly messy and labor intensive. I have sincere appreciation for the entire staff that slogged through this work throughout the month of November and look forward to these areas recovering in 2024 and becoming much more playable long into the future. Nemadji is, inherently, the worst draining site I have had the pleasure of working at due to its overall flat nature, clayey soils, and lack of proper internal drainage in the form of drainage lines. We could, honestly, perform this work every fall for the next 20 years and still not be done but we do what we can with the staff and supply that we have to work with. Keep in mind that all of this work is being done in-house much like other smaller projects like landscaping around our tee complexes.

12S Tee November 17, 2023

Upon initial installation, we used a hardwood mulch to cover the ground in areas around our new tee signs. This was a low cost and quick way of finishing off these areas and while mulch looks good when first installed, it is subject to washing out during rain events, fades with time, and is more subject to weed invasion. Mulched areas require more periodic maintenance than does the ornamental stone shown above. Over the next season or so, we plan to do to all tee sign areas what is pictured. This technique, while more costly to perform in labor and material initially, will ultimately lead to less inputs in the future and cost savings.
We were fortunate in 2023 in that the unseasonably warm temperatures allowed us to work outside productively late into the year which allowed us to also get a handle on the many dead trees at Nemadji.

Typical Dead Ash Tree at Nemadji-Emerald Ash Borer Insect Damage December 6, 2023

Emerald Ash Borer is a species of insect, not indigenous to our area, which was a big deal about fifteen or so years ago when it swept through the area. Similar to Dutch Elm disease which took out American Elms a few decades before that for those of you who may remember. The picture above shows damage caused to the tree by the feeding larvae of the insect which killed this tree and many more like it. The sad thing about this at Nemadji is that it seems like ash trees were the main if not exclusive type of tree planted during a tree planting program decades ago. The lesson learned from this is that when planting trees, it is extremely important to diversify species utilized in order to avoid potential heavy losses in the future.

We were able to remove 61 dead trees-almost entirely ash-in the month of December. Most of these were done by golf course staff with a valuable assist from the City of Superior on a handful of trees by 10S and 11S. This is in addition to the scores of others that we have removed over the past four years. We also, over the past four years, have aggressively trimmed hundreds of trees on the property. Also of note are the 39 stumps we ground/removed in 2023 in addition to the 39 we ground out the previous year. This work is ongoing, but I am starting to feel like we are finally getting a handle on this chore though there is still some work to be done. All this work generates a great deal of debris that requires disposal. We do this with an end of season fire after permitting from the fire department. This year, in fact, we had the time to have two fires to eliminate the excessive amounts of landscape waste we generated with this work.

Burning Tree Debris at Nemadji December 13, 2023

The latter part of 2023 was one of the most productive time periods that we have had at Nemadji due to the workable weather, a capable staff, and money to fund the work. Which brings me to the mission statement of Nemadji crafted by the golf committee:
“To provide value-based recreation to citizens on a cost-effective foundation sufficient to ensure that operations, debt and capital improvements are self- sustaining without assistance from the general fund, if possible.”
All of these necessary improvements are funded by revenues generated by the golf course as are all other routine golf course expenses requiring labor, equipment leases, utilities, and supplies. The prices on all these items, particularly labor, have been increasing substantially of late. All one has to do is look at the McDonalds sign on Tower Avenue and see a starting wage of $17 an hour for entry level positions. A year ago, this number was $15 per hour. The bottom line is that if it costs more for us to present an acceptable (and competitive) product for our customers, we must find ways to generate more revenue. It is as simple as that. I mention this because I know that our 2024 rates have driven some lively conversation on this topic though upon comparison to other facilities in the area, our prices are comparable and, in many cases, less expensive. Our pricing is where it needs to be in order for the golf course to be sustainable in 2024 and beyond. I can say, with over 30 years of experience as a superintendent at five different facilities in three states, that Nemadji offers the best value of them all.
On a final note, I will be losing who is to me the most effective golf course general manager I have had the pleasure of working with over the years. Tom did a phenomenal job in providing the leadership, vision, structure, business savvy, and community service necessary to move Nemadji into the world of modern golf course management. I am very happy for him in that the new position is “home” for Tom and I am certain that he will find much success there. I am going to miss him. I look forward to working with Danny Walker to ensure that we continue to build on the success already achieved.
See you on the golf course soon.

The post Dodge’s Dirt April 2024 appeared first on Nemadji Golf Course.

What wet conditions give us though is an opportunity to perform other types of work as staff can perform other tasks when it is too wet to safely operate tractor units. One such chore is the removal of dead trees on the golf course.

The number of dead trees at Nemadji is staggering. In a count performed about two weeks ago, there are currently 118 dead trees on the golf course.  This is after we have removed close to 100 dead/dying/dangerous trees already in the past three years. Most of these trees (about 80%) are ash trees planted, judging by their size, about 30 to 40 years ago. These trees are almost all dead or in the process of dying due to an insect pest called the Emerald Ash Borer. The picture below shows the trunk of a tree I dropped on 13S this morning:

Emerald Ash Borer Damage 13S 10-11-2023

Note the channels bored into the trunk of the tree in this severe infestation. Much like Dutch Elm Disease took out the American Elm in the 70s and 80s, this pest has pretty much made ash trees a liability wherever they are planted. The lesson to be learned here is that in a tree planting program, be sure to mix up the species of trees planted in order to reduce the risk of this kind of situation developing.

In the past month, we have as a staff removed 24 trees on the golf course. The City of Superior will be assisting in this task in November by removing dead trees along our entrance road as well as by 10W and 11S. This is a pretty big undertaking but I feel pretty good about our ability to get this handled within the next year or so. Always something that needs to be done on this site.

Some of you may have noticed during the last few weeks that we resumed our deep tine aerification process on fairways. This procedure has worked wonders on these horribly compacted fairways which are now actually making the transformation from weeds and weak grass to golf course turf. After the initial process the last few years with ¾” solid tines, we upgraded to an even more impressive 1” diameter tine.

1” Wiedenmann Tine for Fairways 10-11-2023

13S Fairway 10-11-2023

The larger tines do create a noticably larger hole than the ¾” one and I am okay with that as this is a much more thorough job. Some minor disruption yes, but this is not a putting surface and it is October. This work is important for the long-term health of the facility, needs to be done, and our window of opportunity to perform this job is not so big considering the other work that needs doing on the golf course before winter closes in.

Lots more to this job than running a lawn mower.

See you on the golf course.

The post Dodge’s Dirt October 2023 appeared first on Nemadji Golf Course.

Project work continues on the golf course with the completion of an improved back tee on 9 East. For those who are unfamiliar, Enbridge has several pipelines routed underneath Nemadji and on occasion they need to come out to the golf course to perform remedial digs on the pipeline in order to perform repairs on the pipeline before there is a problem.

In this instance, the old 9E back tee was pretty much destroyed. Please note that this work occurred during late November and December when the golf course was closed.

9E Enbridge Dig November 30, 2021

Pipeline December 1, 2021

     

This work is incredibly disruptive which is why we try to schedule the work in the off season. On a related note, we were able to dispose of one of the unused and frankly hazardous shelters on the property for no cost thanks to Enbridge.

In this instance, we delayed the finish work on this mess until 2023 as large digs like this take some time to settle and I did not feel great about performing finish grading on something that would likely sink over time. If this were something in the direct line of play then there would be a greater sense of urgency. That being said, we installed new irrigation and shaped the new greensmix into an improved tee, increasing its size by about 5-6 times and were able to seed the new tee by August 10 of this year.

9E Back Tee August 10, 2023

Use of proper fertilization and seeding techniques makes a huge difference during a grow-in. Also helpful is the use of what is called Futerra erosion control blanket that helps protect from washouts during potential heavy rain events and speeds germination and establishment.

9E Back Tee August 15, 2023 Germination at 5 days

9E Back Tee September 5, 2023 Few days after first mowing-Likely playable in a few weeks

This is what is called a highly successful “seed catch” and will result in a better and much less expensive teeing surface than the use of sod-the amateurs choice. I still contend, after establishing a pair of entire golf courses, that extensive use of expensive and labor intensive sod is simply not necessary with the presence of a skilled superintendent. This Spring, we employed the same techniques on 9 North tee with success as well. All of this work would not be possible without a solid golf course maintenance crew.

Golf course maintenance crews are much like sports teams. Every year you have free agents(existing staff) that move on for whatever reason, draft picks(new hires) that must be coached up to replace them, and others that simply retire after years of service. This is normal in the world of seasonal work. For this reason we like to capture the uniqueness of each year’s crew with a picture.

Nemadji Crew of 2023

I started this crew picture business over twenty years ago and now I would feel remiss to not do one as I think that each crew is like family and should be remembered as such. These are the people that most of you do not see and yet without them you would not have a golf course. Carrying the sports analogy a bit further, golf course maintenance staff are like the offensive lineman of a football team. We hear all about it when we get called for holding but when we do our jobs well this allows for the success of the “skill” players like quarterbacks (General Managers) and running backs/receivers (Golf Professsionals). I would have it no other way.

See you on the golf course.

                       

The post Dodge’s Dirt September 2023 appeared first on Nemadji Golf Course.

You may have seen the control satellites on the golf course as you play. They are the green pedestals(some with duct tape reinforcement) located throughout the property and they contain the 80’s era electronics that turn sprinklers on and off on the golf course-mostly in the evenings when you are not here but sometimes into the day as well as we have to lengthen our watering window due to the meager pumping capacity we have. Anyway, age, corrosion, and obsolescence are beginning to take their toll on this vital part of the irrigation system. Repairing them is always an adventure as you never know what you are going to find.

Upon arriving at a satellite on 14S to discover why it is not working, I found the following gibberish on the display:

Bad Clock 7-7-2023

Upon opening the box for closer inspection, I found this:

Snake resident 14S Satellite 7-7-2023

And this:

Wasp Nest 14S Satellite 7-7-2023

This box had been run over 5 years ago or so and was never quite right since then. We finally took matters into our own hands and installed a new satellite:

New Satellite 14S 8-3-2023

This relatively low cost($2000-everything is expensive these days) satellite should get us through the next few years until we have a new system installed that will not have these on the golf course at all. Technology exists now that allows us to control everything via a computer in the superintendent’s office with access via portable electronic devices like our phones as well as 2-way radios. These new boxes are a stopgap measure allowing us to hold on until a new system is in place in a few years.

Sometimes these boxes are damaged by players who run them over:

Satellite 11W Green 7-19-2023

This satellite was run over by a player who promptly, and honorably, owned up to their error. We all make mistakes. Luckily nobody was hurt but the damage done to this satellite was terminal. Limited to non-existant parts availability and cost made this unit more expensive to repair than replace. Which we did with a unit similar to the one on 14S. These are just a few examples. The shop is full of dead clocks that we have replaced this year with more going bad every week as we lean on the system more:

Bad VT-4 and LTC Clocks 8-4-2023

Keeping Nemadji alive during times of drought stress really is a battle-and a costly one at that in time, money, and stress. Much work goes into doing our best to present as good a product as we can to our patrons. This is our job-we do what needs to be done but I often wonder how much better of a job we could do at Nemadji if we were not tying up so much time and money into a dying irrigation system. We could be adding sand and drainage into bunkers, edging bunkers, brushing areas that need it, aerifying and topdressing tees, plugging out weak areas in greens, really anything besides this. I look forward to that day.

See you on the golf course.

The post Dodge’s Dirt August 2023 appeared first on Nemadji Golf Course.

9N Tee 6-24-2023

9N Tee 6-24-2023

Turns out that seeding really worked out quite well for this project as the use of prohibitively expensive sod would have been horribly difficult to keep enough water on during the excessively dry June that we had. With the proper know how, seeding new turf areas is really the only way to go. The only downside of having such a good seed catch is that some players just have to “be that guy” and hit from a tee which is clearly labelled as not open yet.

9N tee 6-24-2023 Divots from players who cannot read

We now mow the tee with our regular tee mowers and hope to have the tee open for play on August 1. We still need a few weeks of solid growth to build the tee’s resistance to wear. The tee has been so much fun to build that we are now currently in the process of building an additional tee on 9E.

This is the replacement tee for the Enbridge dig-destroyed old tiny black tee for 9E. This new tee will likely be 5 to 6 times larger and much more useful than the old tee. Can possibly be utilized as a double tee for 18W as well. We also took the opportunity while Enbridge had their big work machines here to have them remove the old tetanus shelter that was there. Work on this is in the shaping stage but our goal is to have it seeded by August 11 and hopefully open for play sometime in 2024.

9E Tee in Progress 7-5-2023

No Nemadji summertime newsletter would be complete without a leak of the month mention this time on the mainline from the pumpstation to the west golf course. When golf course watering demands are high, I often come into the golf course at night to make sure stuff is kind of working. Last Saturday night when I came in to water, I found that the West course system had shut down due to low pressure. This is indicative of a large leak and so after charging up the system I found said leak:

18W Mainline Failure 7-8-2023 8 pm

This “waterbed” was about a third the size of our shop and about 2’-3’ high. Nasty. I promptly shut the system down, stuck my arm into the most washed-out area, and found the leak 3’ underground while it was still fresh, and marked it. The next Sunday morning I dug the leak up and found the following:

Dug Up Leak 18W 7-9-2023 11 am

At this point, water seeping into the low lying area made making an immediate repair difficult-especially on a Sunday at about 90 degrees. I decided to let the area dry and tackle it the next day. Rain Sunday night removed much of the urgency of making a hasty repair. The next day I continued my work by draining the remaining water and cutting out the damaged area.

3’ Long Split of Previous Repair 7-9-2023

This line had been repaired previously as shown by the repair fittings but over time finally let loose and split along a line about 3’ long. This is one of the more nasty, messy leaks we have encountered on this property but all of them suck. Anyway, with the assistance of Dave Drabek and Dustin Kern, we were able to make the repair shown below and now have it backfilled and ready for powerup this evening just in time to get some water down on some dry West greens. I used some higher strength parts for this repair so hopefully it endures for a few more years until we can upgrade this system.

Final Repair 7-11-2023

We will continue to have these sorts of labor gobbling, expense generating, water wasting, stress inducing, and turf damaging issues as long as this system is used at Nemadji. The inherent problem is one of design-these lines are simply too small to handle the volume of water being forced through them to get enough water down on the golf course during dry conditions. Add to this the poor workmanship during the initial construction and the age of the system and you can easily understand how these problems are just going to grow more and more prevalent. This is not a sustainable situation-much like the situation with our neighbors to the north.

On a final, happy note, while weeding ornamental beds in front of the clubhouse a crew member noticed these caterpillars eating the milkweed plants that we have intentionally left in the area:

Milkweed Clubhouse with Monarch Butterfly Caterpillar 7-12-2023

These are indeed Monarch Butterfly Caterpillars that are eating the leaves of the milkweed plants in order to grow big and strong and ultimately turn into Monarchs to continue their 3000-mile migration journey. These caterpillars will head south to Mexico as soon as they make the change. Nice to see some success with our efforts to help these guys out.

7-12-2023 Nemadji Clubhouse

See you on the golf course,

Vince

The post Dodge’s Dirt July 2023 appeared first on Nemadji Golf Course.

Typical Non-irrigated Area at Nemadji May 30, 2023

When these dry conditions persist, we are increasingly forced to rely on supplemental water in the form of irrigation to keep the golf course from going dormant from drought stress. On a normal golf course, this is optimal as we are able to control the moisture levels of the golf course and thus conditions and playability. At Nemadji, however, when we are forced to rely on a decrepit and poorly designed system, we have to deal with stuff like the following picture:

Massive Leak 18 West 5-30-2023

I like water hazards as much as the next guy (and apparently so does Bentley) but this one resulted from a failed irrigation line behind 18 West green. This is not the first time we have had system failures and will not be the last as long as we are forced to rely on this irrigation system. This leak was promptly fixed as well as several others throughout the golf course and as I write this article, we are currently repairing yet another one. This will be the reality in dry conditions until this system is replaced, hopefully in a few years. It’s a shame we lost this water (which costs money) as we could have used it to help the grow in of the new tee on 9 North.

9N Tee after seeding and fertilizing 5-26-2023

This project is the culmination of the past few years we have spent increasing the size of the tee with drainage spoils from other parts of the golf course while removing a deteriorated wall that was a safety hazard and an eyesore. We took the opportunity to level the tee and make the space we have more usable. While not perfect it will be a vast improvement.

We chose to go with seeding the area as opposed to sodding for a variety of reasons. One is the cost in material and labor. Another is our ability with seed to select superior turf varieties that will result in a much better stand of turf in the future. Not all turfgrasses are the same and the ones we selected for use on the tee are proven sports turf performers unlike the sod we can purchase locally. In addition, sodding turf areas often results in persistent layering issues that can take years to correct through aerifying. A seeded surface, while slower to establish, results in a superior future playing surface and fits better with our goal of ensuring optimal turf long into the future.

Regarding when this tee will be ready for play, we need to understand that there are many variables at play here. If conditions are favorable-warmer temperatures would be helpful here-we hope to have the tee open by mid-August. We will open it when it is ready. Meanwhile, embrace the mat and understand that hitting off a mat for a few months is worth the many years of productive use that this tee should provide in the future.

9N tee after installation of Futerra blanket 5-26-2023

To those that may be interested, we used an anti-erosion/grow in blanket called Futerra blanket over the top of the seeded area in order to assist in the establishment of the tee. This mat helps to reduce the danger of washouts during heavy rain events and speed germination and establishment. I have used this product with great success in the past during golf course grow ins saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in sod costs and ultimately providing a superior playing surface.

Moving on to a final point of interest, mosquitos are starting to make their appearance and we all do what we can to keep them off of us. The go to with this problem is usually some kind of bug spray. All we ask is that you are careful as to where you stand when applying it.

Bug Spray Damage 1N Tee 5-31-2023

Bug spray is often phytotoxic (kills turf) when it is inadvertently sprayed onto grass-especially on warm days. Here we can see the outline of a pair of feet where someone sprayed their legs while standing on the tee. The resulting overspray did some minor damage to the turf. While not a huge deal, it is a good idea to stand on a cart path or some other non-grass surface when performing this action.

See you on the golf course.

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