Tree Removal Project

Following a thorough examination of the Blue and White Nines, the Grounds and Greens Committee identified a total of 53 trees for removal. All trees slated for removal were chosen for one of the following reasons:

• Poor Tree Health


• Safety Concerns


• Creating A Poor Environment For Growing Turf


• Playability Issues/Previously Identified In Forse Master Plan

The removal process began in November on the Blue Nine. All work including removal, brush chipping, stump grinding and backfilling has been completed utilizing NSCC staff and equipment. The final seeding of the stump holes will be completed in Spring when conditions allow.

While evergreen trees were the most common tree removed, a few deciduous trees did make the list. The picture above taken following the felling of a willow tree on 3 White illustrates how labor intensive this process is. The diameter of the tree is greater than height of our staff member!

Drainage Projects Complete

The golf course maintenance staff worked hard throughout the month of October in order to meet our goal of completing all drainage projects by the end of the month. The warm weather and beautiful days often pushed our manpower to its limits as we were often faced with preparing the golf course for play as well as working towards completing the drainage projects.

As was mentioned in the previous blog entry, the fairway drainage projects focused on three major areas. The approach to the green on 2 White received an ample amount of drain line to eliminate the ever present wet conditions in this area. As we exited this drain line across the beginning of the 6th fairway, we took the time to install sufficient drainage to alleviate the wet spots in this area as well. After we finished in this area, we turned our attention to the 7th fairway on the White Nine. This area is always troublesome since it sits below the water level of our irrigation pond. Additionally, very little fall is available to move water from the fairway. After installing the proper amount of drain line to aid this fairway, we used the excavator that we rented to install the culvert pipe to clean out the drainage ditch that slowly allows water to move from this area of the course. Lastly, we turned our attention to what has recently become the most difficult fairway to drain at NSCC--6 Blue. In our most extensive drainage project to date, NSCC staff installed over 2,000 feet of drain line in the fairway, rough, and approach.

Golf Course Improvement Projects

At the September meeting, the Board of Directors approved two golf course improvement projects as recommended by the Grounds and Greens Committee. The primary focus of these projects is to improve fairway drainage and to properly manage the trees on the golf course. Prior to the recommendation of the projects, the Grounds and Greens Committee spent three hours reviewing both the White and Blue Nines to assess the value of and prioritize the importance of each project. Rest assured that both the drainage projects and the tree removal project closely follow the golf course master plan as created by golf course architect Ron Forse. The tree removal project will begin in late fall and will likely continue into the winter. The drainage projects are currently underway and will be completed using NSCC staff by early November.

The most challenging component of the drainage project is the replacement of the deteriorating culvert pipe which diverts water below the fairway on 7 White following heavy rain and snow melt. The existing pipe was composed of galvanized metal and had been in the ground for over 20 years. Over time, the integrity of the pipe had been compromised and was no longer viable. After heavy rains, excess water would wash underneath the corroded pipe and began washing out the existing grade. The Grounds and Greens committee has taken a proactive approach and decided that replacing the old galvanized pipe with a new dual-wall, 24" inch PVC pipe was the best solution. This new pipe will last much longer than the 20 years that the old pipe lasted.

NSCC's golf course maintenance staff has nearly nearly completed the project. The old pipe was first removed. Staff next trenched the site in preparation for the new and slightly larger pipe, working carefully around existing irrigation pipe and wires. Staff often checked the grade while excavating and preparing the trench to ensure adequate fall. Following the installation of the pipe, the golf course maintenance staff will backfill the trench with gravel and soil. Once the final grade is completed, the golf course maintenance staff will return the sod to the fairway.

The other drainage projects approved by the Board serve to improve the poorly drained fairway areas on 2 White, 7 White, and 6 Blue. The project on 2 White, near the green, is nearly complete. After finishing this project early next week, the golf course maintenance staff will move forward with the drainage installation in the landing area on 7 White. Following aerification and closure of the Blue Nine putting greens on October 17, the golf course maintenance staff will install an extensive drainage system throughout the entire second half of the fairway on 6 Blue. This project will be completed by the end of October.

A Couple Issues With Trees

NSCC is fortunate to have golf course with an abundance of trees. While playing a round these trees serve multiple purposes. In addition to providing an aesthetically pleasing environment, trees enhance the game of golf by providing strategic value in certain cases. As many members have noticed, some of the trees at NSCC appear less than healthy. In fact, there are two main issues with trees.

The tree above is a Litteleaf Linden. Littleleaf Lindens are located throughout the golf course and are easily identifiable by their pyramidal growth habit. These trees have proven to be a hardy variety and adaptable to NSCC's heavy, clay soils. Currently these trees have fallen prey to the Japanese Beetle. The Japanese Beetle feeds on the leaves of the tree, causing the tree to look less than healthy. This fall, the maintenance staff will treat all Littleleaf Lindens with a preventative insecticide to allow for a healthier tree next season.

The second issue involving the spruce trees at NSCC has been well documented within both the national and local media. The problem is associated around a new herbicide that was released last fall.

Upon its release, this new herbicide was revolutionary in three ways. First, the application rates were significantly lower than any other herbicide previously released. This is a huge benefit to both the applicators and the environment. Secondly, the herbicide is more effective on a broader spectrum of weeds than most other herbicides on the market. Lastly, unlike most herbicides that can only be applied during dry conditions, this herbicide offers the ability to make an application during both wet and dry conditions due to its systemic activity when taken in by plant roots.

Many golf course managers and landscape contractors began applying this herbicide last fall and this spring. We made our application this spring, predominantly on the Blue and White Nines. A few weeks following the application we, as well as other courses around the country, began noticing damage to the new growth on spruce trees. Since that time, some trees have continued to decline while others have remained the same. We currently have 74 spruce trees with varying degrees of damage. Other course within the state have reported anywhere from nominal damage to upwards of 700 trees.

Currently, there are at least two class action law suits filed against the chemical manufacturer. The EPA has also suspended the usage of the herbicide. The chemical manufacturer has opened a hotline for all affected customer and supplied forms to document the damage. Upon the submission of the forms, the manufacturer will send out professional arborists to further document the damage. Once the damage has been documented by the arborists, the manufacturer intends to introduce a plan for removal, replacement, and damage recovery for all those affected by their product.

Preparing For the Heat

The cornerstone of the maintenance program at NSCC may be most appropriately described as taking all necessary steps to prepare for the heat of the summer. This general tenet may be easily lost on most golfers since Wisconsin summers often seem way to short. In fact, we focus our maintenance practices around preparing the course to withstand the difficult summer conditions that usually occur from July 4th to the middle of August.

Make no mistake that even though we often receive favorable growing conditions for much of the early summer and fall, this six week stretch of weather can be especially brutal. Often times, as turf managers, we see increased disease pressure, soil moisture problems caused by too much or not enough precipitation, equipment and personnel fatigue caused by long days at work, and increased traffic stress caused by golf carts and player traffic to name a few.

In order to overcome these stresses, we tailor our maintenance programs to offset these stresses. Critical maintenance practices such as aerification, sand topdressing, a balanced nutrition program for the turf, preventative application of plant protectants, drainage installation, and irrigation system maintenance highlight some of the inputs required to keep a course in top condition throughout the stressful summer months.

Once we reach this time of year, our practices our evaluated on a daily basis to ensure that all necessary steps are taken to care for the turf at NSCC. Seemingly simple steps such as daily movement of the holes on greens to evenly distribute foot traffic and tweaking of mowing heights on putting surfaces assist in caring for the turf.

As we are about to embark on the hottest stretch of weather to date, the golf course maintenance staff has intensified its preventative maintenance measures. A few examples are highlighted below.

You thought aerification means big holes and bumpy greens? Not true, you probably didn't even notice that we completed an aerification process commonly referred to as "venting" last week. Instead of pulling larger diameter cores, the golf course staff poked the greens with very small, solid tines in order to improve air movement within the soil profile.

In order to combat prolonged periods of dryness, the golf course maintenance staff applied a combination of soil wetting agents which will allow the turf to maximize the amount of water applied to the turf.

In an effort to better analyze which products are best suited and most cost effective, the 5th fairway on the Blue Nine was sprayed with multiple wetting agents. Through continual evaluation we will be best equipped to determine the best product for the dollar on next year's purchases.

Cold And Wet So Far . . .

The theme for the year so far can be best described as cold and wet. Cold and wet temperatures have prevailed thus far as temperatures have struggled to break 70 degrees on most days so far this season. In addition to frustrating golfers, the weather has also hindered the golf course maintenance staff as well. Critical practices such as aerification, sand topdressing, and most applications of plant protectant materials require dry days with ample sunshine. Fortunately, the cold temperatures have not hurt the course as much as they would in a year in which we were attempting to recover from substantial amounts of winter damage. To be honest, we are thankful that temperatures have remained cool this week since we have received 3.50" inches of rain to date with more predicted over the next couple days. The standing water on fairways becomes temperatures warm into the 80's and the water serves as a magnifying glass that can cook the underlying turf.

We have taken advantage with important tasks such as the core aerification of tees which occurred the week after Memorial Day. The current stretch of wet weather looks to break by the weekend which should allow us to get caught up with mowing, sand topdressing of putting greens, and an application of plant protectant materials on the fairways.

The benefits of fairway drainage become apparent during extended periods of wet weather. Currently the best example of this is on 7 White where additional drainage will be added this fall to complete the fairway.

Solid Tine Aeration On Putting Greens and Fairways

On Monday, May 2, the golf course maintenance staff completed the critical task of solid-tine aeration of putting greens. The entire process took two full days to complete all 27 holes. While this process does cause a temporary reduction in putting green quality, the benefit to the turf is realized during the high stress periods of the summer.

NSCC's putting greens were built in the mid 1960's. The original soil base consists of a highly organic and mucky soil. This soil does not drain well, which makes ample root growth and development difficult. Over the last twenty years, NSCC's putting surfaces have been religiously topdressed with a fines-free sand which has accumulated to a depth of around four inches. While turf roots thrive in this sandy, well-drained environment, they struggle to penetrate into the mucky layer below. The solid-tine aeration penetrates into this undesirable area and fractures the soil. The fracturing affect creates additional pore space allowing for ample air channels and root development.

Following the solid-tine aeration, the greens were rolled to remove any imperfections and to help close the holes, verticut to stimulate growth and recovery, topdressed with sand to further smooth the surface, swept to stand and long leaf blades upright prior to mowing and to incorporate the sand into the turf canopy, and finally mowed. After mowing, a combination of liquid and granular fertilizers were applied to accelerate recovery.


In a similar manner, the solid-tine aeration of fairways is also underway. Larger diameter tines are used in fairways, but the overall affect on playability is minimal. In no time, the fairways will have recovered and prepared to endure the onset of summer stress.