A blog from the keeper of the course
Welcome to As the Fairway Grows,
the monthly golf course blog by our Golf Course Superintendent
Matthew Hopper. Each month Matt will be giving you a behind
the scenes look at the maintenance, daily keep, and
the upgrades that are going on around the Carroll Valley Golf
Course.
Matt has a degree in Turfgrass Management from Penn State and a
bachelor's degree in horticulture from Durban University of
Technology in Durban, South Africa.
Enjoy.
The Golf Season is in Full Swing! - May 10,
2013
The golf season is in full swing at the Carroll Valley Golf
Course, and so too is the golf course maintenance department. It
has been a busy and very productive April and first part of May as
we condition the golf course and prepare it for the summer stresses
that are sure to be on the way.
The spring season is a great time for us, it gives us the best
weather and growing conditions of the year which enables us to get
golf course is prime condition and peak health as we head forward
into the summer months. It is critical that we lay a good
foundation in the spring, as any deficiencies the plant may have
now will only be magnified in the summer. That means the focus is
on building strength and giving the plant the protection it needs
moving forward. We build strength from the soil up; a healthy root
system is the most vital component of building strength in the
plant, all of the plants carbohydrates and energy reserves come
from the roots, so a deep, dense root system is the goal in spring.
We accomplish this with aeration, fertilization, water management,
chemical applications that get watered into the root zone and by
protecting the plant from insect pests, fungal diseases and weeds.
All of our preventative insecticide applications have been
successfully completed, targeted mainly to the ever increasingly
dangerous Annual Bluegrass Weevil and the White Grub family. We
have also completed our pre-emergent herbicide regimen with the
focus on Crabgrass and Goosegrass. Post emergent treatments for
other broadleaf species will continue through the summer that
target the clover, dandelions, plaintains and so forth. Our
fertility and preventative fungicide program is also on schedule
and I am pleased to report that we have healthy turf with a healthy
root system and that all our spring goals in this respect have been
met.
In the coming weeks we look forward to the arrival of some new
equipment, we will be getting a new fairway mower which will be a
great upgrade in technology and will help us be more efficient,
more environmentally sound, and provide a better cut for the turf
which in turn improves plant health. We will also be getting a
rotary rough trim mower which is much lighter and efficient than
what we have currently to handle to green and tee surrounds. And
finally a topdresser that will give us the ability to apply a much
lighter coat of sand than we can put out now, thus enabling us to
formulate a more regular topdressing program.
On June 3rd, the first trenches will be dug for our new
irrigation system in what looks to be roughly a three month
operation. I promise to get into much greater detail in my next
post!!
So far so good on the golf course this spring, it's been kind,
the weather has been terrific and the golf course is in very good
shape which sets us up well for the summer. Please remember to help
us in looking after the course when you play with us and
your fellow golfers; please repair your ballmarks, fill your divots
and rake your bunkers.
We look forward to seeing you on the course!!
Matt Hopper
Golf Course Superintendent
If you have any questions or comments regarding the golf course
please feel free to contact me at mhopper@skiliberty.com.
You can also follow the Golf Course Maintenance Department on
Twitter for current course conditions and information: @CVGolfatLiberty
Welcome to the 2013 Golf Season at Carroll Valley Golf
at Liberty Mountain Resort - April 23, 2013
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you, our valued
golfers and guests to the 2013 Golf Season at the Carroll Valley
Golf Course, we have a lot of changes on the golf course to share
with you and even more planned for the immediate and long term
future in what we hope will be a fantastic golf season.
All of our winter projects have been wrapped up and the spring
aeration on the greens and tees were completed as scheduled and as
planned. So far, April has displayed rather drastic temperature
fluctuations, with some days topping out in the high eighties only
to experience frost delays a few days later. Rainfall has also been
minimal thus far and we currently run a deficit of two inches
compared to normal. Comparing last year's weather and growing
degree days to 2013, we are about three weeks behind where we were
at this time last year. The warmer days have however brought about
that spike in growth we associate with spring and our core
maintenance program is in full swing. This past week we
applied our preventative chemical applications for crabgrass and
goosegrass as well as our first preventative insecticide
application, targeted mainly for Annual Bluegrass Weevil and the
White grub family. We will be treating the greens with their second
Embark application on April 23, which is what we use to suppress
the Poa annua seed heads. We try to prevent the Poa from producing
seed heads to keep this winter annual from dying off during the hot
summer months and to maintain putting smoothness in the greens
which these seed heads can severely disrupt.
Other things to look out for on the golf course in the next few
weeks would include; the growth and development of our wildflower
gardens around the tee at number 1 and green at 9, as well as all
the gardens on the course, we are anticipating seeing flowers by
mid-June in these areas; and then the start of installation of our
new irrigation system which should see ground broken by May 15, I
will get into more details on this in another post.
Please remember to fix ball marks on greens (a ball mark fixed
within 15 minutes can heal in a day or two, if left un-repaired
they can take up to two weeks to heal), rake your bunkers, fill
your divots and have fun!!
We look forward to seeing you on the course!!
Matt Hopper
Golf Course Superintendent
If you have any questions or comments regarding the golf course
please feel free to contact me at mhopper@skiliberty.com.
You can also follow the Golf Course Maintenance Department on
Twitter for current course conditions and information: @CVGolfatLiberty
Spring Is Around The Corner - March 13,
2013
Spring is around the corner, the days are getting longer and a
little warmer and as I write this it seems as though the first real
spring rain is falling. On March 22 we welcome our first Golf
Package groups of 2013 and we are as excited to get the course in
spring conditions as I'm sure they are to be playing golf
again.
Our winter projects for the most part are completed with only
one yet to wrap up and that is our Tee Box leveling and
expanding. The weather has not been kind enough for us to
have had our tee project done by now, as we had hoped, with most of
February going through freeze and thaw conditions, along with the
occasional rain and snow that create difficult conditions to move
earth. Hopefully, weather permitting, we will have these new tee
boxes sodded by the end of next week and if we can get that to
happen, there will be about a two week window for rooting and
settling before they will be suitable for play. Of all the tee
boxes we have restored, perhaps the most unique one we did was on
hole 15, where we located an original Ault and Clark tee box from
1967 that had been "let go" over the years and restored it to a
functional surface which will act primarily as a Senior tee ground,
shortening the hole from about 165 yards to roughly 145 yards. We
have also added a ladies tee box to hole 15 and hole 5, to make
those very difficult holes a little more enjoyable.
When you visit us again, you will notice many other changes to
the golf course; we have cleaned up a lot of the wooded areas
around the course to enhance the views and growing conditions for
the turf; we have added several thousand feet of drainage to
fairways which was a huge need; we have created flower beds around
the first tee box and ninth green as well as other areas on the
course which will become home to a large variety of wildflowers
that will add color while being maintenance and
environmentally friendly areas; we have also tended to the
vast majority of the trees on the golf course by removing dead
growth and limbs for both the health of the trees and the enjoyment
of the golfers, and finally all the golf course accessories have
been refurbished to look like new again.
Some of these things will take time to develop and mature, the
wildflower beds will be seeded in the middle of April and will not
produce flowers until late June; the areas in which trees and brush
were removed will also be seeded with Fine Fescue in mid to early
April and will need ten to fourteen days to germinate and show
visible growth. We will also be starting our spring cultural
program in a couple of weeks, Green Aeration is first and will be
done on Tuesday April 2, followed by Tee Aeration on Monday April
8. Our Spray program will start at the same time with Poa annua
seedhead suppression on greens first on the list, followed by our
broadleaf weed control and preventative fungicide program on all
surfaces to commence in mid April.
We are looking forward to a fantastic year in 2013 and are
excited for you to see the changes and experience what will
hopefully be the best year ever for golf course conditions on the
Carroll Valley Golf Course. In closing, I'd like to take this
opportunity to thank my staff for their efforts this winter, it
hasn't always been easy but it's definitely been worth it!!
If you have any questions or comments regarding the golf course
please feel free to contact me at mhopper@skiliberty.com.
You can also follow the Golf Course Maintenance Department on
Twitter for current course conditions and information:
@CVGolfatLiberty
We can't wait to see you on the course!!
Matt Hopper
Golf Course Superintendent
Winter Work & Improvements - December 20,
2012
Tomorrow marks the official start of winter, the season normally
considered to be "the quiet time" or slower paced when it comes to
golf course maintenance. That has not been the case so far for the
Carroll Valley Golf Course as there have been numerous projects and
improvements that have been on going. The weather has also played
its part in providing conditions suitable for timely project
completions and we have taken full advantage of what Mother Nature
has offered up.
Drainage, drainage, drainage. That's pretty much been the focal
point thus far and it is what has consumed the majority of our
time. For the past four weeks we have been focused on improving the
drainage in the some of the wettest areas of the course. Holes
number 5, 7, 8 and 12 have all received new drainage upgrades as
the existing drainage systems were failing quite substantially, as
they have a tendency to do after many years in the ground. Like
most things in life, PVC drain pipe has a limited life span in the
ground and one should expect to have to repair or replace this type
of drain system every ten to fifteen years in order to maintain
functionality. We have installed close to 4000 feet of new drain
tile and inserted 8 catch basins in these new systems, and in some
areas, we have also used a revolutionary new product called
HydroBlox. HydroBlox was developed in England and is made from
recycled plastic materials, it has been used successfully in both
England the Netherlands and as far as the distributor tells me, we
are among some of the first to use it extensively in America. I can
tell you that each of our new drain systems is functioning well and
we hope that this will allow us to provide better playing
conditions for our golfers and better growing conditions for our
turf.
Tree work has been another point of emphasis for us as we head
through the winter months as the trees throughout the golf course
have been in much need of some TLC. There has been significant
clearing work done to remove undergrowth and "volunteer" and
invasive trees, pruning of branches to enhance the appearance and
growth habit of certain trees and in some areas we have eliminated
trees due to either their interference with how the golf course was
intended to play or, and in most cases, the adverse effects the
tree was having on turf health. This work will continue throughout
winter with intention of highlighting our courses' primary physical
feature, Tom's Creek.
There is still much to be done this winter and as we move
forward into the new year we will start renovating some of our
teeing grounds. The primary goal is to eliminate the unevenness of
the teeing surfaces. In some areas we will be expanding the area of
these surfaces so we can better distribute wear and tear and
provide more teeing options. In other areas we will be creating
entirely new teeing grounds for our lady guests to enjoy a more
"friendly" version of our course.
The projects are on-going and going strong and we're sure you
will notice a vastly improved, more attractive and most
importantly, healthy golf course next season. Until then, come and
enjoy a winter round of golf with us and see the changes for
yourselves.
From everyone at the Golf Course Maintenance Department, we hope
you have a happy and healthy festive season and we look forward to
seeing you soon.
If you have any questions or comments regarding the golf course
please feel free to contact me at mhopper@skiliberty.com.
You can also follow the Golf Course Maintenance Department on
Twitter for current course conditions and information:
@CVGolfatLiberty
Matt Hopper
Golf Course Superintendent
September 7, 2012
September has arrived but so far it seems there has been little
reprieve from summer's heat and humidity, nevertheless, the golf
course operations have moved ahead full steam.
The last week in August saw the start of our Fall aeration and
overseeding campaign. The greens were aerated on August 27th using
our new aerator, a Toro 648 ProCore, which enabled us to be done in
one day which is very beneficial and efficient. After the greens
were cleaned up, topdressing was applied to fill the aeration holes
and aid in the healing and overall smoothness of the greens. Two
days later we applied fertilizer and Creeping bentgrass seed and
then watered those in with the irrigation system. The fertilizer
was applied in light quantity to give the turf a boost after the
hot summer and to aid in the recovery process, while the seed
applied is done to try and obtain a denser more uniform stand of
our desired species, Creeping bentgrass, by aggressively competing
with Poa annua (Annual bluegrass) which is a weed species that
naturally invades putting surfaces.
The fairways on the golf course have also received some
attention as they too have undergone a complete overseeding for the
first time in many years. Perennial ryegrass was overseeded at
261lb per acre and we have already seen some great results with
widespread germination. The fairway overseeding will be an annual
process for at least the next 3 to 5 years as we try to build up
some density to overcome our Poa annua problems that we have seen
in the past, resulting in the patchy nature you see from time to
time in the mid-summer months. When we reach the point of long term
sustainability, we may scale the overseeding back to every other
year or just do the fairways that are in need on annual basis.
September sees a spike in play, so with aeration and overseeding
complete, our main focus will be a return to our routine
maintenance practices and providing the best conditions possible
for you to enjoy. October will see the return of some core cultural
practices with the fertilizing of fairways and roughs , aeration of
tees and roughs and then prepping the course for winter and our
winter projects.
As we head into some cooler and more colorful times we hope to
see you out and about on the golf course. If you have any
questions or comments regarding the golf course please feel free to
contact me at mhopper@skiliberty.com.
You can also follow the Golf Course Maintenance Department on
Twitter for current course conditions and information:
@CVGolfatLiberty
See you on the course!
Matt Hopper
Golf Course Superintendent
August 14, 2012
It's been another record breaking summer across much of the U.S
with extreme temperatures and minimal rainfall, providing for many
challenges when it comes to growing turf on a golf course. Carroll
Valley Golf Course has seen its share of extremes too. We've
backed up a soaking spring with a hot and dry summer which has, as
it always will, take its toll on the turf. The good news is fall is
around the corner and that means it's time to renovate and
rejuvenate the golf course. The shorter days, cooler nights and
(hopefully) rain, provide a great opportunity to help us revive the
golf course from the summer heat.
The last week of August see's the start of our fall aeration
program. Starting on Sunday, August 26th and wrapping up on that
Monday, we will be core aerating the greens. While somewhat
disruptive to golfers this is a vital procedure, it relieves
compaction, removes thatch build up, allows toxic gasses to escape
the soil profile and be replaced with oxygen, and it improves the
turfgrass' response to fertilizers. Topdressing will be applied to
fill the holes behind the aeration and we will also be fertilizing
and seeding into the holes to aid in their recovery. The same week
we will start the process of overseeding all of the fairways; to
the best of our knowledge this was last done in 2002, so it is long
overdue. The fairways will be overseeded with Perennial ryegrass
and should take about seven to ten days to germinate. Overseeding
is one important tool to help reduce the Poa annua (Annual
bluegrass) population which has spread throughout the fairways and
is the reason for their patchy nature you see in the summer heat.
Poa annua is a winter annual weed which germinates in the fall,
produces seed in the spring and by early summer has completed its
life cycle and dies. The goal of the overseeding is to fill the
voids the Poa has left thereby providing an even and uniform
fairway surface.
So, we have a busy end of August and early September ahead of us
but we are relishing the opportunity to breathe some additional new
life back into our golf course. There will be some slight
disruptions to some of our playing surfaces for about ten to
fourteen days, so please bear with us during this time knowing the
process will make the course both healthier and even more enjoyable
to play! We hope to see you out and about on the course. If
you have any questions or comments regarding the golf course please
feel free to contact me at mhopper@skiliberty.com.
Matt Hopper
Golf Course Superintendent