July Flowers

Some July flower pictures - much different than the flowers shown in the June update. Pictured-the summer phlox loving the dry weather (no fungus), the winter hardy red hibiscus and the echinops. All are around the garden by the clubhouse cafe.

Wear

The clubhouse court baseline has worn pretty well with all the play it has had. The grass courts have only been closed one day since June 6. Will we ever get a lasting rain? The top picture is from 7/26, second 7/17, third 7/19, fourth 7/20.

Busy

Lots of play. All 44 courts (grass and clay) being used all week.

Father/Son Championship Preparation

The Father and Son championship runs smoothly every year -thanks to Paul, Tony and Larry. Charlie rolling, the guys double marking. Nate is not happy with the painting of the court corners, so he is hand painting.

Pictures - 7/19/10, Father/Son Championships

Pictures - 7/18/10

Pictures - 7/17/10

Summer

The hot and humid weather continues! June 6 was the last significant rain storm at Longwood. It is 90 degrees almost every day and if it is in the high 80's it seems like a cool day. The crew is still hard at work keeping the grass courts alive and playing well. Hand watering the courts is our most important task, with the entire crew helping out. Check out the links to the right to learn more about heat stress and turfgrass.

Sky

The humid weather has produced some magnificent clouds. Pictures from July 12, 2010.

Moxie

Moxie is Tim's favaorite carbonated soft drink. Nate was in New Hampshire this weekend -the home of Moxie and he brought in a surprise for the crew.

Boston Professional Tennis League at LCC

July 8, 2010

Preparing for tonight's Boston Pro Tennis League matches. Which is sharper - Tim on the new tractor or Nate mowing with his shirt off?

A comment on wear. The grass courts have been getting a lot of play with a number of tournaments, camp and general play. It has not rained in over a month, so they are open every day and the recent heat wave has really stressed the grass. Despite all of this, the courts are showing little signs of wear (picture of clubhouse court baseline below). This is 100% due to the care taken by the entire grounds crew in maintaining the courts. Irrigation, mowing, fertilization - everyone has been doing an outstanding job! Thanks to the crew!

Bentgrass

More pictures of the thriving bentgrass spreading at Longwood as the Poa annua suffers in the heat wave.

July 6, 2010

Pictures from this morning. A heavy dose of sunscreen around the feet burned the grass on court 8.

The hot weather is taking it's toll on the grass courts, but it is also a challenge on the clay courts. Pictured: The grit/topdressing being spread evenly. With so much play (8 am - dusk) clay courts 1-8 frequently need major tune-ups. As in maintaining grass courts, water management is critical in keeping the courts in top shape. Jose cleaning the lines on the teaching courts for their 6:30am open.

Turf Stress

The past few weeks have been hard on the grass courts and the crew. We have not had any significant rainfall since June 6, when we had 3/4 of an inch of rain.

This puts a lot of stress on the annual bluegrass with water management being crucial in keeping the courts playing well and alive. To achieve the balance between plant health and playability, hand watering is necessary throughout the day. We do have automatic irrigation, but if hand watering is not needed then the irrigation system is putting down too much water.

Click on the title to this entry to see a current update by Dave Oatis, the USGA northeast director of agronomy. The update accurately states the challenges we are going through here at Longwood. He mentions the effect the weather has had on bentgrass. In the picture above or when you are playing on the grass courts notice the difference in color between the dominant annual bluegrass and the patches of bentgrass.

7/2/10 Pics

Charlie and Nate hand watering early this morning. Haven't had any rain in a while.

Jordan rolling clay courts 9-14. These courts get a lot of camp play, so a lot of extra work is needed to keep them in top shape.