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After 30 years as golf course superintendent at Whitemarsh Valley CC, this will be my final blog post. Merry Christmas to all of the membership and have a Happy New Year !

Whoops! Somebody missed the road.

 

A vehicle last night somehow made the wrong left turn and drove across the bench area of #10 tee last night. The ballwasher was completely destroyed, the bench and trash box were ok. Never saw this coming!

Late season deep aerating and sand back fill on the 3rd green.

Special attention is being paid to the green expansions from a few years ago. The expanded areas were aerated 8' deep with a 3/4' hollow tine followed up with a 3" deep 1/2"  hollow tine. The soil brought to the surface was removed and is being replaced with straight sand.

A sample of the 2017 Whitemarsh Valley CC “Mean 18” tournament.

This may be an old trencher, but it still works for root pruning.

     Tree roots are always growing, so once in a while you have to prune them. The picture on the top has Jerry Stockmal and Nate Rix trenching a line between 10 fairway and the three Red Oaks to the right of the fairway.

     The picture on the bottom shows the results. All those thin roots that were severed no longer will draw valuable moisture and nutrients away from the fairway. 

Sunday November 12, 2017 Heavy frost this morning.

Very heavy frost this morning with heavy cloud cover. This may be a long delay so please be patient. Come on over to the club to enjoy a delicious breakfast cooked by Alvarro.

Belgium block being installed at the 5th tee.

Another cart path area being improved with Belgium block! Gary Farrer takes a break from his job to pose for this picture. He is installing the block along the path at the 5th tee to improve the appearance and to make sure carts stay on the path.

Fall is the time for projects!

     You would not know it by the green leaves on the trees, but it is actually November. I can not remember any time is recent years that the leaves too so long to turn.

     Anyway, this time of the year we can concentrate on projects that will make Whitemarsh Valley even better for next year. This picture shows Jerry Stockmal, Bobby Marterella and John Fleming installing irrigation on the middle tee at #15. This tee was constructed in the spring and we waited until now to install the irrigation not to be disruptive during the golf season.

     The new sprinklers will provide even watering coverage on the tee along with the surrounding area.

Catching up on the little things!

We have had a busy fall at Whitemarsh Valley CC. Spending a lot of time Aerating, greens, tees and fairways. During the same time prepping for tournaments and outings. Right now before the leaves really start to fall it is time to do the little things. Assistant superintendents Jerry Stockmal and Bobby Marterella fill in thin spots on the fairway short cut with a special soil and seed blend. These areas were also aerated right before to provide a nice seedbed. 

Aerating tees today. Every golf hole will still be open today.

Assistant superintendent Bobby Marterella is seen here aerated the tee at the 13th hole at Whitemarsh Valley CC. During this process, all golf holes will remain open for the golfers.

Let's play golf!

Greens are rolling smooth after aeration.

The greens have healed up real well after aeration and top dressing. Perfect weather this weekend to play golf at Whitemarsh Valley C.C.

Please rake the bunker after use!

We had just raked this bunker at 7:30am and this picture was taken at 8:30am on Tuesday September 12th. Please be courteous of the next golfer and rake yourself out. Also, don't forget to repair your ball marks.

 

Please remember to repair ball marks.

 

 

     This picture was taken in the morning of Monday August 28th at Whitemarsh Valley CC. Each flag marks a ball mark that was not repaired (we ran out of white flags and had to go to red because of the amount of spots). The greens were aerated last week and are very soft due to the additional watering applied to them. It is very important that every golfer respects the golf course and repairs their own ball mark. We can not blame this on an outing because all this was done on a Sunday.

 

Sincerely, The green committee

 

Greens Aeration starting Tuesday August 22nd.

 

 

Over the weekend I spoke with a member of Whitemarsh Valley CC on our practice green. He mentioned to me something that I never really though about. "The greens are always slower on the weekend before greens aeration, compared to other weekends" he stated. This isn't exactly music to my ears but it kind of  made sense. Every year for at least the last twenty years we would spray foliar fertilizer on the greens to perk them up and make them as healthy as possible before aeration. If you think about it, the act of aeration may be one of the most aggressive practices we do on the putting surfaces. We core out plugs, drag them around, throw on some sand and grind it all in, all during the pleasant weather of mid- August. Our special mixture of product was like a witches brew of liquid nitrogen, micronutrients and other plant health products to get the plants growing and healthy.

And as you all know....... healthy turf on greens is slow turf !

 

 

 

Green's aeration starting next week.

     Starting Tuesday August 22nd (weather permitting) the grounds department will be aerating all of the greens. The golf course will be closed both the 22nd and Wednesday the 23rd for this procedure.

Carts are now allowed on golf course..... On paths only !

Please keep you cart on the path at all times!

Thank you.

Golf course open....no carts this morning (will check again at 9:00)

Due to heavy rain that just ended (1"), there will be no carts this morning. The golf course will be checked again at 9:00 .

http://www.usga.org/course-care/forethegolfer/why-can-t-green-speeds-remain-constant-.html

Tuesday July25

Due to heavy rains last night,the golf course will be closed this morning. It will open at 1:00.