Explaining our greens issues...

We are putting #10 and #16 green on temporaries indefinitely. They are both in extremely poor condition. Foot traffic is too harmful for them at this point. I am very sorry for the inconvenience.

I have consulted with a few sales sepresentatives, fellow superintendents, and 2 different turf pathologists. A local pathologist on Bainbridge Island, Olaf Ribeiro, made a sight visit, took samples to his lab on two occasions and has determined we have suffered from a Nematode infestation, and then a mild case of basal rot anthracnose. The anthracnose is a secondary problem brought on from the Nematode damage to the roots. Nematode populations reach their peak in August and September, but the damage is not recognized until later once stress from severe weather patterns, mowing, rolling, etc. is introduced. The stresses cause the turf to die back slowly in the areas where the Nematodes damaged the root system. Unfortunately, the damage is done and we need to deal with the turf loss since recovery is next to impossible until growing conditions in March and April allow the turf to rebound. In the meantime we will be doing the following to promote healthier roots heading into Spring.

We will be aerating the greens with "needle tines" periodically. These tines are 1/4" diameter and penetrate 3 inches deep. This should have minimal disturbance to ball roll. I believe they will recover by May 1st, but the most important thing for full recovery is to reduce stress. We aerated the putting green 10 days ago as a test run and even though it is a little yellowish right now, it actually has recovered and we are seeing more turf where it was bare after the cold snap 3 weeks ago. Aeration is a key factor in anthracnose control and Nematode damage recovery. Just take note of the healthiest spots on a green, they are the dots from Septembers aeration. Anthracnose is a stress related disease. It has likely taken hold from the stress of Nematode damage in the root zone. That, coupled with weather conditions like the long hot summer, 45 day wet spell we had and then a dry cold snap, have put many areas of the greens in jeopardy. All of these weather patterns over the past 6 months are considered unusual and stressful for our turf.

The goal over the next 3 months is to stop the progression of the anthracnose and grow a solid root system going into spring and summer. The nematode problem is not good. It seems as though nematodes are becoming a concern for golf courses in the Northwest. It is totally new to us. Monterey Peninsula, the Northeast, and areas of the Southeast have had severe issues with nematodes the last decade. There is currently no cure for nematodes at all! Anthracnose is a disease pathogen and can be remedied.

We will be monitoring the populations of Nematodes starting next June. They become a problem as the temperatures get warmer. Once again, there is little to nothing we can do for them except back off on some of the stress that allow them to populate greens at higher numbers.

This is an excerpt from literature on Nematodes and describes the issues we've dealt with the last 3 months.

Nematode survival, growth, and reproduction are largely dependent on soil moisture, temperature in the soil or host tissues, and the suitability of the host plant. Populations of damaging nematodes often peak in late summer or early fall. Few nematodes are found on turfgrass root systems in late winter or early spring.Plant parasitic nematodes are found usually at very low levels in all soils. The heaviest nematode injury is found most often on turf grown in well-drained sandy or sandy loam soils. Few nematode problems are seen on turf grown on heavy clay soils. Soil moisture levels at or near field capacity favor nematode activity. Nematode movement through the soil is slow. In most cases, nematodes are spread in soil clinging to turfgrass roots, on tillage equipment, by flowing water, or in the turfgrass roots.

Symptoms

Common symptoms of nematode injury to turf are slight to severe yellowing of the foliage, thinning of the turf canopy, reduced growth, wilting under light moisture stress, and premature death. The foliar symptoms of nematode injury on turf are similar to those caused by low fertility, root-feeding insects, soil compaction, drought stress, and other sources of stress to turfgrass root systems.Because nematodes are unevenly distributed in the soil, patches of injured turf vary greatly in size and shape. The margin between the healthy and nematode-damaged turf is gradual, not sharp. Poor response to irrigation, fertilizers, or fungicide applications is often an indication of a nematode problem. Damaged turf is generally unable to withstand severe heat or even mild drought stress.Symptoms of nematode damage usually do not appear until injury to the turf root system is well advanced. Nematode damaged roots are often discolored, short, and stubby with few feeder roots. Visible galls or swellings are found on the feeder roots of root-knot-damaged turf.

Unfortunately, the one product that worked well on Nematodes, Nemacure, was deregulated in 2007 due it's high toxicity to humans. We will be investigating new forms of biological control going into next summer, but most importantly we will be monitoring the levels of stress we apply to our greens during the summer months.

The following links provide excellent descriptions of both nematodes and anthracnose.

http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/FactSheets/turfnematode/turfnematodes.htm

http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/FactSheets/anthracnose%20turf/anthracnose%20turf.htm

Upcoming work

That's right, just days away from starting the irrigation project. We actually started a small portion of it already. Last week we installed the road crossing on Wing Point Way. The 8" irrigation pipe and 2" sleeve for wires was successfully installed, but with one hiccup. The utilities locate prior to the dig was mishandled a bit. It turns out Qwest marked the road in an entirely different location by accident. All other utilities were located correctly. Just minutes into excavation the company doing the project cut the phone lines to the Clubhouse...as well as many neighbors in the area. Fortunately Qwest reacted quickly and the problem was resolved a few hours later. Hopefully that was not a sign of things to come.

We will likely be starting the work on holes 4 - 8 since this is the driest area of the course. All systems are go for the project and we're hoping the El Nino condition in the Pacific Ocean holds strong to history and allows for a dry Winter ahead. During the project we anticipate very little disruption to play. The hole being worked on that day could be turned into a Par 3, but that's it. We don't anticipate closing a golf hole. There will be "extras" in the project that the Wing Point Staff will be working on. These include some tee remodels and bunker work to utilize the excess spoils from the ditches being dug.

I asked Santa for grass on #10, 15 and 16 greens. He didn't come through! I don't think he really exists. We will be doing some work over the next 2 months on the greens that have experienced turf loss. Small portions of #4, 5, 7, 8, 13 and 14...along with widespread loss on #10, 15 and 16 will be aerated with very small 1/4" diameter tines once a week to incorporate oxygen into the root zone. The areas in question may not be mowed as often, which will result in slower ball roll. We apologize, but it is necessary at this point. The frustrating thing is we can't do much of anything right now to grow grass, so the best thing we can do is prepare the damaged areas for spring green up. Our plan is to get as much recovery as possible during good growing conditions in March and April. Any areas that do not fully recover by May 1st will be immediately sodded, similar to what we've done every spring on the 4th green. I concede that we have a root problem we are working on, however, another key point to our turf loss is this...all the greens with turf loss experience heavy shade from October to March. All the greens that are perfect experience very little shade if any. Sunlight!!!!!! What a concept.

Holiday maintenance schedule

The entire crew will be on hand Christmas Eve day to prep the course for play. Early indications are calling for good weather. Christmas day we will not have anyone working. New Years Eve day we will again have a full staff on hand. New Years Day we will have two people in to set the course and mow or roll greens. Hopefully the weather holds up for golf. Have a great Holiday Season. The week following the new year will be the start of the irrigation project!

We're open!

We opened on Monday and 5 people played the course! The greens took a beating from the week long cold and dry spell. The combination of the arid weather and some wind caused a little "winter kill" on a few greens from spots that were already weak. Oh well, looks like Mother Nature is putting up a good fight in 2009. What a year for extreme weather patterns!

We have started staking the golf course for sprinkler heads. You will notice 4 inch tall pieces of broom stock sticking up in the grass. These are markers and need to remain in place until a sprinkler head is put there. Different colors represent different kinds of sprinkler heads. The greens crew will start dismantling the old system this week. This process may stretch into February. We need to remove 400 sprinklers, 100 valve boxes, 50 couplers and 22 Satellite boxes!

When will we open?

We're thinking the weekend won't get warm enough temps to allow an opening. The highs are just into the upper 30's, which allows very little thawing. We are frozen about 4 - 6 inches down. It's looking like Monday will be the earliest we might open...unless the snow comes in. Here is the NOAA forecast for Bainbridge Island. Stay tuned...

TonightMostlyCloudyLo 27 °F
SaturdayChanceSnowHi 37 °F
SaturdayNightChanceSnowLo 30 °F
SundaySnowLikelyHi 38 °F
SundayNightSnowLikelyLo 28 °F
MondayRain/SnowLikelyHi 38 °F
MondayNightRain/SnowLikelyLo 36 °F
TuesdayRainLikelyHi 45 °F
TuesdayNightRainLikelyLo 41 °F

Update on course closure

It is looking like we may be closed through Friday since the forecast is calling for highs of 36 at most! This is above freezing, however the soil is frozen solid pretty deep right now, so I imagine it won't get warm enough to thaw out and allow play. Be prepared for snow to come in Friday night, which will then prolong the course closure through the weekend. I guess I'm just warning the golf addicts to be prepared. Who else would be crazy enough to golf in barely above freezing temps...

Course Closed

We'll be closed for Tuesday and Wednesday for sure! There is a very slim chance we will open on Thursday...

So, why do we sand topdress the greens every once in a while?

Research has shown that greens that are not topdressed have poorer turf quality than those that are topdressed as little as two times per year. Greens that are not topdressed become thatchy and puffy, and can result in scalping and shorter ball-roll distances. Topdressing has several benefits.

• It produces a smooth, firm putting surface.
• It reduces the thatch layer.
• Allows reduced mowing heights.
• Protects the crown.
• Increases ball-roll distance.
  

For the first eight days, a ball loses up to 5 inches of roll with light topdressing and 9 inches with heavy topdressing. But after the topdressing material works itself into the canopy, ball roll increases 6 inches with light topdressing and 15 inches with heavy topdressing. For this reason, we apply topdressing material 10 to 12 days before we want the surface to achieve its best surface (for big events). This gives the topdressing material enough time to settle into the turf. Dry topdressing material will easily settle into the turf canopy with just a light brushing or light irrigation.

Is it worth the effort? Topdressing provides a better surface for ball roll because it creates a firm, smooth, uniform surface that exerts minimal resistance on the ball as it rolls across a green. Rather than applying topdressing material heavily at the beginning and end of the growing season and hoping that it provides an adequate surface throughout the golf season, light, frequent topdressing has been used to provide a better surface to putt on throughout the growing season.

Sooooo Coooold!

Looks like winter has hit us. The 7 day forecast doesn't have a high temperature above 39 degrees with lows averaging 25 degrees! We will likely have to close the course at some point for a few days as the ground will not even have a chance to thaw. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday look like we probably won't be able to open the course. Havell Golf has indoor golf for all you fanatics out there. I will be in close contact with the proshop so call their to get a final prognosis.

On a side note, the irrigation project is gradually getting under way with the delivery of materials and equipment. The southeast end of the parking lot is stacked full of pipe. The equipment is being delivered over the next 2 weeks as the contractor, Milroy Golf Systems, finishes up at Tam O'Shanter in Bellevue. We are breaking ground January 4th! Let's hope El Nino does what it's suppose to and keeps us dry the rest of the winter.

Happy Thanksgiving

We are running a lean crew the next 4 days so the guys can enjoy time with their families. We'll have 2 people in each day from Thursday to Sunday. The greens will either be mowed or rolled each day. The tees and pins will be changed each day as well. Hopefully the weather holds up and the course can have a chance to dry a bit. Katy and I will be dry...Cabo San Lucas, here we come! 82 degrees and that thing that shines bright in the sky, the sun I think is what they call it. I almost forgot there was a sun. See you all next Thursday.

My assistant Peder Rauen will be left in charge while I'm gone. Everyone have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Things a happening

The parking lot will start filling up with irrigation materials in the southeast corner the week after Thanksgiving. Pipe will be delivered on December 4th and the irrigation contractor, Milroy Golf Systems, will begin moving equipment in. They are finishing up at Tam O'Shantor Golf Club in Bellevue over the next few weeks. Our scheduled start date is January 4th.

The course is getting a break from the heavy rainfall. We are actually able to get some things done. We're going to mow greens today for the first time in 8 days. Wow! Tees are getting mowed today as well...for the first time in 2 weeks. The tractor blower is able to drive around to blow leaves without making a mess. Our goal is to get the course cleaned up and the greens rolling smooth for the Thanksgiving weekend. We'll probably take most of Wednesday to work on bunker repair. So far so good....

Came across this 30 day forecast...

On NOAA, the website of the National Weather Service. This is a portion of the 30 day forcast models.

THE PRECIPITATION FORECAST IS CONSISTENT WITH ENSO COMPOSITES WITH SOME REVISIONS DUE TO THE CFS MODEL FORECASTS AND AN ACTIVE MJO. EL NINO USUALLY INCREASES THE CHANCES OF ABOVE MEDIAN PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. AN ACTIVE MJO IN THE PHASE PREDICTED IN EARLY DECEMBER INCREASES CHANCES FOR ENHANCED PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS FARTHER NORTH ALONG THE COAST THAN NORMALLY EXPECTED IN EL NINO, SO ELEVATED CHANCES FOR ABOVE MEDIAN PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS FOR THIS DECEMBER EXTEND TO SOUTHERN OREGON. THE MJO RELATED ACTIVITY FAVORS WET CONDITIONS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST, CONTRADICTING THE DRY CONDITIONS USUALLY FAVORED IN EL NINO DECEMBERS RESULTING IN A FORECAST FOR EQUAL CHANCES FOR BELOW, NEAR, OR ABOVE MEDIAN PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS FOR COASTAL AREAS IN WASHINGTON STATE AND NORTHERN OREGON.

Let's hope they are wrong!

Maybe this is why #10 is in such poor condition!

Mother Nature is beating up our greens!

Rain, rain go away...It keeps adding up, and that means more stress on the greens. We've been hanging in there, but the past 45 days has been brutal. Sunlight is scarce even when it doesn't rain. Everything will be just fine in the long run, but we are seeing some adverse conditions on a few of the shady greens like 4, 7, 10 and 15. I've been in close contact with many of my peers about what they are experiencing. Most of them are also seeing decline in the turf on their shady greens. We believe the root systems on greens are weak from the harsh weather extremes over the past 12 months.

Last winter was very cold and relatively dry, but with a prolonged period of snow cover. Summer started in mid May and ended up being one of the hottest and driest on record. Anybody remember when we hit 101 degrees the day of the Charity Pro Am? October was double the average rainfall for the month and we are already double the average for November.

Everything I just listed is abnormal for our turf, and all of these weather extremes spell danger for the root zone. Add in the routine practice of aeration, which innevitably puts extra stress on the greens for a couple weeks, and you've got one heck of weak plant going into Winter. Keep in mind that aeration is very necessary, it's just the nature of the beast, you're going to hurt the plant for a short time for the long term health benefits.

Most of the turf is just fine, but the perennial weak greens due to shade are seeing the effects of Winter much more and much earlier than normal. We most likely came out of summer with a weak root system and now they have been water logged, cutting off oxygen exchange, resulting in even more stress. We are trying to back way off on anything that will cause stress to them outside of good old Mother Nature.

We are mowing and rolling less and less. Since we've backed off, there has been a "break" in the progression of turf decline in the shady areas. Let's hope this weather subsides soon and we can get back to somewhat of a normal maintenance routine. In the meantime, we need to be patient and give the greens a break.

I will miss this man I barely knew...and the woman that did so much for me

Gary Peterson was someone I never knew very well. We spoke maybe a dozen times and never played golf together. On January 15th, 2008, Gary sent an email to me. At the time, I had never met him and couldn't tell you who he was if I saw him at the club. That didn't matter, because the email he sent told me everything I needed to know about this man. He thought enough of the job my staff and I did to go out of his way and send an email to someone he had never met to say "Thanks".

2 or 3 months went by before I finally met Gary on the 9th fairway. Someone had pointed him out to me earlier that day when I asked who he was. Every time he saw me, he complimented me and the staff. This man I really never knew has passed far too early. I hope his kindness resonates through the club, because he was exactly what Wing Point is all about. He will be missed.

The following is the email he sent me. I saved it because I've never had someone do this without ever having met me before. It truly is something I cherish to this day.

Hi Mike,

During my rookie year at WP starting last June, I have greatly enjoyed the superb condition of your course. Every time I have a friend over they are very complimentary of the conditions. Simply perfect and year round too!

Thanks to you and your crew on a terrific job.

Cheers,

Gary Peterson 1136

Lori Ogle served as the Green Chairman of the club in 2007/2008. I don't know if many people stopped to realize she was the first female Green Chairman the club had, which is quite an accomplishment. She was amazing in her pursuit of what I needed to get the job done. I remember her calling me every week to ask what our needs were and how we could fight for them. She took the job very serious and in her time we saw the rock wall constructed on #10, the lease package on equipment pushed through the final stages, and of course her totally unpredictable meeting that started the ball rolling on the irrigation project. Most people have no idea that Lori spearheaded the movement of the irrigation upgrade.

We all came to a Green Committee meeting one evening with no real agenda, but Lori took that opportunity to point out our need for an upgrade. I guess she had enough of all my complaining about fixing leaks. The people in attendance can tell you, she was passionate about it! I remember thinking, "Wow, she means business!", as she challenged people at the table to acknowledge we had a big problem on our hands.

That meeting started it all. I wish she were here to see how quickly we were able to accomplish the goal. Much like Gary, she was far too young. Wing Point owes Lori Ogle a great deal. Her passion was infectious and I will always remember all the hard work she did for me.

Am I in the hazard? Where are the lines?

We had that issue a few days ago on #17. Jeff D'Amico hit a towering drive off the tee in a valiant attempt at the green. The ball flew down the right side of the golf hole along the cart path. It came to rest about 15 yards short of the green, down near the water. He was left with a very manageable lye, but was clearly within what is usually marked as a hazard. If the lines were marked, he would have been about 2 - 3 feet inside it. He grounded his club and made a pretty good shot from where he was. In this case he made the correct decision to ground his club.

In the winter months we play the water's edge as the hazard line. Stakes are for vertical marking and reference points, they are not meant to indicate the edge of the hazard. We don't mark the hazards this time of year because the wet weather would wash it away quickly. Also, with a limited staff, some things get put off so that others can be prioritized. It takes about 2 hours to paint hazards in the summer, but that's when we can keep a steady hand and drive along in a cart. This time of year we need to walk along every hazard. That job takes about 4 hours right now, and may need to be done more frequently due to rainfall.

So next time take advantage of those extra few feet and ground your club. You'll wish we could do that all year long.

Frost Alert

Looks like we will have frost this morning. It's currently 32 degrees and dropping as sunrise approaches. Please be patient, we don't have a good guess on an opening time since this will be our first real good frost of the season. My initial guess...if we really do get a frost...is about 8:30 - 9:00.

Where's all the geese?

Most people have already noticed the geese are pretty much gone! For those of you that might be down south already, or just haven't been out due to all the rain, we may have solved one of our biggest problems. We bought 12 Mute Swan Decoys and put 4 in each pond. That was over two weeks ago, and we haven't seen geese on holes 10 through 18 since. Swans are very competitive for territory and geese stay away from areas with swans. Pretty simple it turns out. We also purchased a Coyote Decoy and Dead Goose Decoy. These are used in combination to make it look like there is a fresh kill from a predator. We move them daily between #1 and #4. I am bringing my dog Osos to work about 3 days a week as well. The geese really hate Osos and we think they are getting the coyote decoy confused with him on fly overs. The end result to these techniques has been a reduction in the goose population from around 75 to maybe 10. Those 10 geese are rarely seen.

Some funny things have been witnessed with all the decoys. Vince Lanza watched from his deck on the 17th hole as the two Bald Eagles stood over the dead goose decoy and attacked it. He said they also dove down on the swans a few times. The coyote scared the heck out of Al Clasens and Gary Hurt. On a foggy morning the day after the coyote was first put out, Al approached it with his golf club high above his head until he realized it was a fake. Maybe it's time to visit Brad Maier for a check up guys? On a more serious note, the geese being gone has improved work efficiency. The greens crew routinely had to blow goose poop off the 18th, 10th, 11th, and 17th greens before mowing.

Water hazard on the 10th green!

We were finally able to mow the greens again. We've had 3 inches of rain in the past few days. Some of the greens were under water most of yesterday. The 10th green has been under a lot of water the past month and is showing signs of weakness. The back 1/3 of the green is usually a puddle when we get rains like we've had recently. The low point is in the back up against the hillside, which is not good. We have a small catch basin just on the green edge, but it's not the low point. The low point is about 2 feet onto the green and then another low point 10 feet further on. We certainly don't want a catch basin on the putting surface.

The root zone is water logged and weak. That, combined with too much shade is taking a toll on the green. We have not mowed the green in 6 days so it can take a break. Hopefully the weather improves and we see signs of better health soon. Most people never get to see this puddle, so I am going to take a picture of how bad it really is and post it on the blog. The other option is you could ask Brian Johnson who laughs at me every time I'm on the green scratching my head in frustration. His favorite comment to me is, "Mike, you're gonna have to rebuild it you know." Unfortunately that may be the only solution.

FYI: 9" rainfall in last 30 days...3.5" since Saturday morning!

Have you seen those spots on our fairways?

The following is the best description I could find for Fusarium. Fusarium is the disease we struggle with the most in the Pacific Northwest. We treat for it on the greens and tees, but not the rest of the short mowed grass because of the expense factor. The recent weather has been perfect for this disease to take off in our fairways.

Pink Snow Mold and Fusarium Patch, Microdochium nivale
Pink snow mold and Fusarium patch are diseases caused by the fungus Microdochium nivale. Pink snow mold is the name used to describe the disease associated with snow cover, appearing when snow melts. Fusarium patch is the name of the disease that occurs without snow cover. The causal organism of these diseases, Microdochium nivale, was formerly known as Fusarium nivale. To avoid confusion, Fusarium was retained as the disease name.

Symptoms of pink snow mold on annual bluegrass putting green.
Pink snow mold is a true snow mold since it develops under snow cover. The disease gets its name from the accumulation of pink fungal spores that pile up on the leaves of infected grass plants, producing a pink cast on circular patches of matted grass. Usually only leaves are attacked, but under conditions favorable for disease development the fungus may kill the crowns and roots as well. Thus, pink snow mold can be more severe than gray snow mold.
Matted foliage of pink snow mold-affected turf.
Fusarium patch is similar in appearance to pink snow mold except that the centers of the patches are not usually as matted. Often, a fluffy growth of mycelium can be observed around the periphery of the patch. During periods of cool, wet weather from October to April, Fusarium patch may appear when temperatures are in the 40° to 50° F range. If pink snow mold develops in the cold, wet weather in early fall, the fungus may continue its activity through the winter and into spring. Damage to the turf is then likely to be quite severe and long-lasting.
Disease cycle
The fungus survives warm dry weather as dormant fungal mycelium or as dormant spores in soil and thatch. Spores germinate in cool, wet conditions, producing hyphae that infect grass leaves.

Cultural control
Pink snow mold usually can be managed successfully in home lawns without fungicides provided the lawn has been established for more than a year. Mow on a regular schedule well into the fall, and avoid high unclipped grass that tends to fall over and mat under snow cover. Try to avoid creating snow banks when removing and piling snow from sidewalks and driveways. Straw mulches and piles of leaves provide a favorable environment for pink snow mold and should be removed from the lawn before snow fall. In general, creeping bentgrass and perennial ryegrass are most susceptible to this disease, whereas Kentucky bluegrass and the fine fescues are only moderately susceptible.
Fusarium patch is typically only a problem on golf courses and can be managed by maintaining a balanced fertility program and avoiding excessive nitrogen applications in mid-fall.

Chemical control
Fungicide treatment may be needed to control pink snow mold and Fusarium patch in new turfgrass seedings or if a history of unmanageable outbreaks is known. On golf courses, fall or spring fungicide applications may be needed in cold, wet weather.

Rain?

It looks like we've been fairly dry the past 36 hours. We will hopefully be mowing the greens, tees, collars and aprons. The pins will also be changed today. Let's hope for decent golf weather. The fairways might be dry enough to blow them off. Thank goodness for all that drainage and sanding we've done over the past 5 years!

On a side note, my assistant Peder Rauen is down and out recovering from hernia surgery last Tuesday. He's a hurting boy right now, but not missing the bad weather. We're missing his presence on the crew though. You would be amazed how much harder it is to get everything you want done when just one person is missing.

Go Seahawks! They are still limping along...

Wet Weather

We've had 2 1/2 inches in the last 48 hours. The course is very wet and very messy with maple leafs everywhere! Our weekend staff is slim this time of year, so we apologize for the slow progress on cleanup. Our goal is to blow off the greens and tees for play. We change the pins today and will not change them Sunday.

Monday will be a full day of leaf blowing for the crew. Most of the trees have shed their leaves, so now we need to get them picked up. The greens haven't been mowed since Thursday because they are too soft and we would actually cause damage if we attempted to mow them right now. If the rains subside over the next 24 hours, then we will try to get them mowed on Monday. Please keep all carts on the path, the fairways and rough are saturated!

We have some thinning areas on the greens from all the rain, mowing them too soon afterwards, and compaction due to foot traffic coming on and off the greens. The areas are also in shady, heavy foot traffic areas. Please try to walk around some of these areas to give them a break. The thin areas are the front of #7, back of #8, back and left of #10, back of #15 and back right of #16. All of these areas are weak and need time to heal.

My first blog! Watch out world...

This is the start of a new era for Wing Point Members. I have created this blog so any member can see what is going on with the golf course. I am hoping to keep it up daily. My plan is to post each morning what the weather outlook is, course conditions for that day, maintenance practices for that day, etc. We'll keep it simple. This is mainly for keeping everyone abreast to the daily practices we do and why we do them, which is usually based on weather conditions. So let's see how this goes. I'm excited to have the opportunity to keep the membership informed as much as possible.