Planting Annuals

The time has come once again to get all the annual flower beds prepped and planted for the summer season. We wait to get started planting annuals until the weather warms up and the chance of frost decreases, normally around the middle of May to Memorial Day. 

Meet Lorraine our horticulturalist here at Gull Lake Country Club. Lorraine has been with us for 6 seasons now and she is responsible for all the beautiful plantings outside and table decorations throughout the club inside. 

Flower Bed At #14 Tee

Flower Bed At #5 Tee

Flowers At Bag Drop & Ladies Presidents Garden 

Gull Bed & Flowers Behind #10 Tee

New Patio & Bocce Court

Construction on the new patio system and bocce ball court is completed outside the Quarter Deck and ready for the 2014 summer season. We hope this new addition to the club will provide many hours of fun and enjoyment for all members and families. The project was completed in only a few weeks and the final product turned out better than expected. The Har-Tru clay court will provide an exceptional surface for many rousing games of bocce and plenty of family entertainment all summer with the gas fire pit.

Removing Trees To Get Project Started

Week #1

Week #1

Week #2

Week #2

Week #3

Finished Product

Before

After

Sailboat Morings

Today we attached the moring balls to the anchors out in beautiful Gull Lake. We have spent the last week preparing the yacht club area for the sailing season ahead and the Star fleets' Tulip Tune-Up Regatta this coming weekend. 

Inflating Moring Balls

In the spring the moring balls are moved from storage and inflated with air. The chains/clevises are inspected and replaced as needed to insure they remain secure throughout the summer season. Installing both moring fields and the channel line takes three guys about 2 hours to complete.

Preparing To Load the Pontoon Boat

Sam Attaching Moring To Anchor Chain

North Moring Field

South Moring Field

Spring DryJect

The DryJect process is 21st century aerification at it's finest and leaves virtually no trace behind on the playing surface. This is the first season we have used the DryJect technology on our greens and we are very excited about the results this will make throughout the golfing season for us. We plan to use this form of aerification in the spring each season to minimize the disruption to the playing surface, that conventional core aerification typically leaves behind.

The DryJect machines inject kiln dried sand into the greens to a depth of 5-6" on 2X3" spacing with very little disruption. Our target was 1 ton of Sand/Green and we actually did better than that, using 23 tons total on all 19 greens. That's pretty impressive to think about! 

In the above picture you can see the fresh sand channels that have been injected into the profile of the green, providing many benefits for the overall health of the green and playing conditions. This process leaves behind a very small hole on the surface and a large deposit of sand beneath, deluting organic matter, along with promoting more healthy vigorous root systems and providing better water infiltration.

 

Short Video Showing the DryJect Machine In Operation.

The Crew Getting a Lesson On How the Machines Operate

Sand Delivery

Preparing To Fire Up the First Machine and Observe Operation.

Check out this link for more information on the DryJect technology. www.dryject.com/howitworks

Deep Tine Aerification

Punching #8 Green

Today we deep tine aerified the greens and gave them a breath of fresh air. This aerification process is performed annually in the early Spring to prepare the greens and turfgrass root systems for a long stressful summer of abuse and putting action. This operation is sometimes referred to as "venting".

Deep Tine Equipment In Action

The major goal of deep-tine aerification is to loosen soils and create aeration channels to a depth well below that of conventional core aerification. Deep-tine aerification may provide the opportunity to relieve compaction that can occur in the soil just below the depth of routine core aerification. In the farming industry this is often known as a plow pan and is created at the base depth that the plow cultivates to. This hard pan area can result in restricting the downward movement of water and preventing the soil from breathing properly. It is also used to relieve rootzone of toxic gases, improve air space, along with improving water and nutrient movement throughout soil profile. 

Showing the Depth Of Tine Holes

The deep tine aerification equipment reaches down to a depth of about 8-12" with a 1/2" solid tine. When the tines enter the soil at the bottom of the stroke there is a slight 5 degree "kick", shattering soil and relieving any compaction issues that may be present.

Short Video Clip Showing the Machine In Action

Rolling Green To Smooth Surface

The greens surface is rolled out smooth and prepared for sand topdressing to be applied. Although the deep tine process does leave some disruption to the surface for the next few days, it will greatly improve green consistency and firmness through out the entire golfing season.

Tree Work

Removing Damaged Maple Tree Between 1 Tee & 18 Green

This past winter was one for the records and it sure did leave behind a trail of destruction. Most of the damage occurred back in late December when we had a large ice storm just before the Christmas holiday, knocking out power to much of the area for several days. This huge storm left up to a 1/2 inch of ice coating everything in sight, damaging several trees on the property and uprooting others all together. We had planned on doing our cleanup and tree work during the winter once the ground was frozen, but Mother Nature had other plans for us. Record snowfall this winter covered most all of the debris, preventing us from even accessing the course with equipment and even presented challenges at times to groom the cross country ski trail with a snowmobile. 

Removing Damaged Pine & Trimming Elm Tree

Once the snow melted a month ago, we started the large cleanup process. Our grounds team here at the club has done a wonderful job on the cleanup of the property so far this spring. We had West Michigan Tree Service come out to remove a couple large, severely damaged trees and trim several other trees with a bucket truck that we couldn't reach.

Chipping Brush Pile

The brush pile that had developed from all the storm cleanup was epic! The tree company chipped the whole pile into 10 dump truck loads of material that was hauled to our dump site.

Severely Damaged Maple Tree

The spring cleanup is nearing completion, the club grounds are beginning to look beautiful once again with each day of sunshine that passes and after each load of brush is hauled away. The brutal winter of 2013/2014 has left a noticeable mark on the landscape and has scarred some trees for life.

First Verticut & Sand Topdressing

Verticutting the Greens In Two Directions

Today we double verticut the greens and spread a light sand topdressing for the first time this season. Vertical mowing of the greens is performed on a biweekly basis throughout the season as Mother Nature allows. The greens are topdressed weekly with a light coating of sand to smooth the playing surface and continue to dilute organic matter in the greens surface. Both of these cultural practices along with many others, play a intricate roll in our greens management program here at the club.

Green Surface After Light Two Direction Verticut

Verticutting utilizes a mechanical device with vertically rotating blades that cut into the turf surface to remove excess thatch or leaves, depending upon how deep the blades are set. Verticutting can have a positive influence on putting green firmness, as well as trueness and ball roll distance.

Mowing the Greens After Verticut

After verticutting, the green is mowed to tighten up the surface. This catches any leaf material that's sticking straight up and combed out from the verticutters.  

Light Sand Topdressing Being Applied

Sand is applied at the precise amount to match the growth of the turfgrass plants and smooth the putting green surface weekly throughout the growing season. Topdressing has many benefits for the golfer and the superintendent  including, firming/smoothing the surface, modifying the soil structure in the top layer, thatch dilution, and ball mark recovery.  

Blowing Sand Into Green Surface

The sand topdressing is then blown into the verticut grooves and into the canopy of the turfgrass plants. Using a blower to incorporate sand into the surface of the greens helps to eliminate bruising and added traffic from a cart and drag brush/mat.

Firm, Fast and Healthy!

Finished product ready to be rolled with the speedroller and watered in with a light irrigation cycle. This entire process takes 3-4 staff members about 4 hours to complete and is usually preformed on Monday's throughout the golfing season. Weekly light sand topdressing has a huge positive impact on ball roll distance and our ability to keep greens at a championship level on a daily basis.