All We Talk About Is The Weather

It is raining while I am writing this blog entry. It has rained on 23 of the last 29 days. Cloudy on 27 of the last 29 days. We barely have been able to cut the grass because it has been so wet. Fungus loves this weather so every day there is the threat of disease killing the grass. Worst of all, the crew's turf managers can't get on the grass and go to work, so they are trying to drive me crazy here in the clubhouse.

Turfgrass Education

UMass Turf Research Center

Throughout the year the grounds crew has several opportunities to meet researchers in the turfgrass industry. On Wednesday I got to do this at one of the best turfgrass events of the year - the UMass Field Day. Each year at the Field Day the researchers at UMass/Amherst gather at the Joseph Troll Turf Research Center in South Deerfield, MA. Turf professors and graduate students discuss their work over the last year and answer questions from attendees that include sports turf, golf and landscape maintenance professionals.



The picture above shows LCC's Andrew Walsh, Dr. Scott Ebdon and myself watching the grass grow! Actually we are discussing some new research Dr. Ebdon is conducting on wear tolerance of different grass species and cultivars. This is very exciting for me since many of our grass court practices are focused on reducing wear.


Here are some of the other topics that were discussed at the beautiful facility in the Pioneer Valley:
'Wear Tolerance of Kentucky Bluegrass Cultivars'
'Exploring Low Maintenance Fairway Grasses'
'Effect of of Wetting Agents on Drought Resistance and Recovery of Bentgrass Species'
'Turfgrass Quality and Benefits of Using Trienaxapac-ethyl'
'Reduced Risk Pesticides and IPM to Minimize Golfer Hazard'
'Vegetative Filter Strips for Mitigation of Golf Course Runoff'
'New and Novel Materials for Turf Insect Management'
'Breeding for Multiple Disease Resistance and Low Input in Bentgrass'
'Management Strategies for Brown Patch, Dollar Spot and Red Thread'
'Utilizing Evapotranspiration and Crop Coefficients for Efficient Turf Irrigation'

We are fortunate to have a top turfgrass school with passionate and friendly staff right here in Massachusetts.

Fun Shirt Friday

Fun shirt Friday (started by Jeff Monette) is now a weekly event before the start of work on Fridays.

Other Stuff

Now that all the tennis courts are open, a great deal of time is spent each day maintaining the 44 courts. But there are also a lot of other items that need tending. Last week's work included Vic pruning many of the shrubs on the property. Wilson purchased the lumber and then built a wonderful planter for the pool area, which Tim planted with some annual flowers. Charlie and Mitch added stone dust to the new brick patio at the pool. This is just a sample of the many talents of the LCC grounds crew!

Healthy Roots

Check out the roots on the picture above. The roots have filled an aeration hole from last fall. The grass plant is amazing - compare the size of the grass leaves above ground and the length of the roots. The .320 inch high grass has roots over 6 inches long! You can also see many other white haired roots in the picture. Strong, abundant roots are a necessity for the plant to be able to withstand lots of play and the stressful summer.

Grass Court Lines

An interview with Longwood's Deputy Groundsman, Tim Burns, on grass court lines.

Ike and Charles Chambers

We had a poll last week on the age of the large roller. We think it is from the 1880-1890's. It is still in use today. Last week all the courts (except the terrace - we can't get the roller up there) were rolled with the 120 year old hunk of iron. It is heavier than the tractor that pulls it. Above is from the early 1930's - Longwood's first head groundsman, Ike Chambers and his son, Longwood's second head groundsman, Charles Chambers. The roller still looks the same!