New Years Eve.

Everyone at WVCC have a happy and safe New Year!

Spruce tree left of #11 fairway at the first set of bunkers is on the tree removal list.

Tree removal list presented to board.

This White Pine is one of the trees approved by the board for removal this winter.

Happy thanksgiving!

Starting drainage work at 12 .

Drainage complete on 15 green. On to #12 .

Frost delay this morning.

Golf Preservations is here to install drainage to greens . #10 green will be started today and there will be a temp cup for that hole.  

Golf course open..... No frost 

Replacement of 25 year old sprinklers and pipe at 16 green . All work done by staff. 

Large Oak take down at the 1st tee. 

Wild turkeys visiting the grounds maintenance building Sunday morning  

Green surround at #18 green in process of being sodded.

Practice approach and surround being aerated and seeded today. This area will be closed for the rest of the fall. 

Golf course will open at 8:45

Frost delay this morning  

Frost warning for Sat am Oct 23

Frost is in the forcast for Saturday morning. Please check the blog or call the golf shop for adjusted starting times.

Irrigation behind #18 green. This pipe was installed in 1986 and is only 4" deep (it should be 16"). Just one aeration away from a major leak. 

#5 Green update.

#5 green was aerated and sand topdressed on Thursday. The rain Thursday night washed the sand in well.

Golf course will be closed Wednesday morning.

Golf course will be closed this morning. We will look at it again at 11:00.

Due to wet conditions golf course is closed this morning

Course closed this morning, we will check again at 10:30 for the rest of the day.

General manager Kent Silhanek helping out to get the golf course open for play. 

Heavy rain from storm causes problems!

Golf course will be closed on Saturday due to the heavy rain. High nine should be open on Sunday:)

Water starting to go down!

#5 green still above the water line  

GOLF COURSE OPEN

As of 10:30 the golf course is open with carts on the cart paths.

1" of rain since 4am the golf course will be closed this morning. Forcast is for heavier rain this afternoon. Keep your fingers crossed!

1st grass cutting for #5 green.

The grass was cut for the 1st time today on the 5th green. The height of cut was set at .299". The green is still a little bit soft and the roots were around 1\2" long.

#5 green is finished and sodded. Remember, PLEASE DO NOT WALK ON SOD!

Please do not walk on the sod at #5. 

Sodding at 5 green. 

Sand mix being installed at 5 green 

Sub-grade being prepared at the 5th green. 

Grounds dept laying sod on 12 upper tee  

Today is the start date to rebuild #5 green. 

#12 upper tees ready for bentgrass sod. 

Can you believe it is actually raining?

Tuesday Sept. 7, 2010

Golf course will be closed Tuesday September 7th.

Each white flag is the location of an un-repaired  ball mark. This is from member play  

Please repair your ball marks!

Greens #'s 11,12 and 16 are finished and now open for play. :)

Greens aeration Thursday Aug 26

Greens #'s 11,12 and 16 are in the process of being aerated and sand topdressed. They should be open mid afternoon :)

Greens aeration today. Holes #'s 10,15,13. Heavy sand on 9,17.

Due to cloudy conditions and a chance of rain greens aeration will not be done today. :(

Greens aeration halted. 

Greens aeration started today.....Monday Aug 23.

Emily Gimpel preparing to tee off at the 15th hole during the 1st round of the PA Womens  Amateur championship at WVCC. 

Mrs Wycoff and Dave Pagett checking out the scoreboard for the Pa Womens amateur chamionship. 

Testing out new irrigation for #12 upper tee. 

By Joe Logan Published August 10, 2010 How bad is it out there for golf courses and the superintendents who care for them? Bad enough that the Philadelphia Chapter of the Golf Course Superintendents Association has cancelled its last two monthly board meetings. "Nobody can leave their golf courses – everybody is hunkered down," said John Gosselin, Philadelphia chapter president and superintendent at Aronimink GC, host of the recent AT&T National. "On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the worst, it’s a 10," said Darin Bevard, senior agronomist with the USGA, based in Glenn Mills, said of the current conditions. "Not every golf course is in terrible condition, but every course has their share of battle scars. It’s in varying degrees." What’s the chief culprit? "It has been too damn hot for too damn long," said Bevard. "We’ve had a load of hot weather and the grass hasn’t had many breaks. Guys are tired. It’s one thing to start having stress in late June or July, but this started back in early June, when it got into the 90s and never subsided." The conditions vary from course to course in the region, often depending on how much rain it has gotten. Some courses received as much as 12 inches in five days, others as little as 3 inches. Much of the real trouble begins when saturated fairways don’t drain and the temperature climbs into the 90s and stays there, effectively cooking the turf, resulting in "wet wilt." "A great deal of the damage I have seen is wet wilt," said Bevard. Relief generally comes in the form of lower nighttime temperatures, giving the grass a chance to breathe and relax. If the thermometer doesn’t drop sufficiently at night, the stress on the grass is only heightened. As Aronimink’s Gosselin mentioned, superintendents from New York to Virginia and out to Pittsburgh are under the same gun. Fortunately, said Bevin, clubs and courses are reasonably understanding; he is unaware of any superintendent being fired because of conditions at his course. Are superintendents at high-end clubs with big maintenance budgets in better position to react? "They’ve got more staff, more bodies to hand-water greens and fairways," said Bevard. "But the other thing is, the guys at swanky clubs also have greater pressure for better conditions, faster greens. A guy with a smaller budget doesn’t have that, so it all evens out." Neither Bevard and Gosselin see any let up in the hot, humid weather for at least a couple of weeks, maybe longer. "Looking at the forecast, I don’t see any breaks in sight," said Bevard. Gosselin sounded even more ominous. "We are still on a downward slid for another week or so," he said. "We haven’t hit rock bottom yet."

Wild Turkeys at bridge at #6. 

Trenching for irrigation at #12 upper tees  Not much fun!

New view from behind #17 tee.

USGA Greens Section

The Other Shoe Has DroppedBy Darin S. Bevard , Senior Agronomist July 16, 2010 A large portion of the Mid-Atlantic Region has experienced a long spell of dry, hot weather – burned-out rough, drought-stressed fairways, water supplies running on empty and temperatures hovering near 100 degrees. While some areas received timely rains, many remain dry. Luckily, limited rainfall occurred with the high temperatures, which made the high temperature conditions tolerable until the other shoe dropped. Torrential rains have occurred in many areas, especially the eastern half of the region. While cool season grasses tolerate hot weather very well, the combination of high temperatures and high humidity had predictable results - turfgrass stress and decline occurring on putting greens in these rain-soaked areas. Poa annua is the most affected to date. Now is the time to be conservative on putting greens. Mowing heights should be raised, if necessary. Putting green mowers should be outfitted with a solid front roller if stress is noted on greens. Aggressive grooming practices should be suspended under harsh environmental conditions. These decisions are not arbitrary. If your grass is performing well, monitor it closely and make wise decisions, but maintenance can continue as normal. If any stress is noted, consider some practices to alleviate stress. Water management also is critical. With torrential rain, Mother Nature is in control of the water. When she isn’t, minimize use of overhead irrigation to the extent that your resources allow. Hand watering is labor intensive, but when talking about the difference between survival and decline of the putting greens, labor must be allocated for this important practice. Hand watering allows the areas that need water to be addressed site-specifically without over watering other areas. The next month will be difficult as turfgrass roots have been compromised. Disease pressure is extremely high. The goal is to keep the grass as healthy as possible even if some level of playability must be sacrificed. Pushing for green speed under current weather conditions may lead to rapid grass decline. Some golfers may be upset that the greens are a little slow, but all golfers will be upset if they are a little dead. Superintendents must make good decisions, and golfers need to respect them. The Mid-Atlantic Region agronomists are part of your agronomic support team. If you have a question or concern, give us a call or send an e-mail. Stan Zontek (szontek@usga.org) and Darin Bevard (dbevard@usga.org) at 610/ 558-9066 or Keith Happ (khapp@usga.org) at 412/ 341-5922.

Staff adding sand to bunkers at #17 green.

Golf shop staff at member guest dinner. 

Another 1 inch of rain late last night. Course will be closed this am 

11:52am Tues

Where did this rain come from?  1.70" since 8 am this morning. 

Another 8/10ths of rain last might  we have had more rain since Sat. Then we have had since May 16th to July 9th.  

Do carts cause stress to grass? You be the judge. Notice the cart directional sign. 

Aerating tees today, golf course is open and playable. 

Fresh from the US Open, Stan Zontel in for his annual visit.

Dozer work at 12 upper tee