High Winds

Today the high winds have taken their toll on some of our Elk fencing that is protecting the greens.  Every day we are checking to make sure the fencing is still up and undamaged by the wind or wildlife.  Most of the time when repairs are needed they are relatively quick and easy to do. 

Generally the area of failure comes from the rope rubbing against steel poles causing the rope to break. We have been installing sleeves made out of old hose to help reduce the friction on the rope in these wear areas.  The fence installation has been an ongoing experiment and we are continuing to find out better ways of securing the fencing material to the post.

Another One Is Done

As the wildlife activity increases another green has been shut down for the season.  The latest green to be closed is #6 which was one of the most heavily damaged ones last year.

The fencing has been put up and but unfortunately some minor damage has already occurred. That being said the entire green was dormant seeded and then covered with a heavy layer of sand to help insulate and protect the green throughout the winter.  The hoof marks appear to have only scraped away the turf leaving the crown of the plants in tact which should allow for a full recovery.  If not new seed is in place to help repair these areas come spring.

Additional greens will be closed as deemed by the wildlife traffic.  Eventually they will all be shut down by the 1st of December.

Close Up of Hoof Damage

Heavy Sand Topdressing

Mocking Up

Today we began the process of finalizing the Elk fencing installation. As the parts required for the fencing continue to arrive, we finally had the chance to put together a working version of my concept plan.  What you see in the picture above  will become the future of our winter greens protection program.

All things considered the design will stay essentially the same but minor tweaks will be done to ensure the Elk remain on the out side looking in.

Stampede

The Elk and Deer have been at it again. With the recent rains we have finally received, the golf course has been a little on the soft side which is not a good combination for the heavy footed animals.

Damage To #7 Green

Damage To #7 Fairway

Over the last week in particular the damage has been getting worse, so we have started putting out lights on the more trafficked greens in hope of keeping the Elk off.  These light help, but ultimately the Elk and Deer will end up going wherever they want especially when they are on a full run.

Blinking Light In Action

With the cooler weather setting in the ground will begin to freeze which will be our best defense against the damage we are currently dealing with. After each damaging occurrence we will fix each area as best we can and hope that we can ride out the storm of damage.






 

Winter Damage

Winter is a tough time on the golf course for many reasons, but the Elk add another dimension to an already difficult situation. Mother Nature throws many different challenges at us each year some are easy to deal with and others are not. The Elk on the other hand are hard to deal with because you know it is inevitable that they will cause damage but the question is how much.

Even with the prolonged snow cover this year the Elk were still able to cause significant damage to numerous areas throughout the golf course. The damage ranges from broken tree limbs, urine burn,tearing up the turf and leaf shearing.

This year we have numerous areas in which "shearing" occurred, this is a term I will use to describe how the hooves shear or cut of the dormant turf. This is most problematic on greens where the turf must be at the highest quality at all times.

Fortunately most of the "shearing" only damaged the leaf tissue and did not remove the crown of the plant. The crown is where the transition from roots to green colored food-producing stems and leaves occur. The crown is located at the bottom of the plant, right at the soil line. If the crown is damaged the likely hood for turf problems is significantly increased.

Close Up Of A Sheared Area

Upon closer inspection of the sheared areas a lot of new leaf growth is visible which is very encouraging. Any areas that do not make it will be seeded or plugged out to properly repair the damaged areas.