Minnesota Valley Country Club

If I were a corn grower right now, I'd be loving this hot weather! But I'm not, I live turfgrass, and it's sort of ironic that they classify the grass in this region of America, cool season turfgrass. Corn is a monocot too, but it loves really hot days. Turfgrass not so much. Yes, that's me in my in-laws cornfield a couple of weeks ago. They are Bill and Sharon Wintz of Milford, Iowa, and as you can see, they have a beautiful piece of America's heartland. They tell me you can almost see the corn growing on a real hot day. The classification of cool season turfgrass for our area is correct though, as we're growing grasses that grow best in cooler temperatures. This extra hot weather we're experiencing now, increases the need for irrigation of our turfgrass. We would prefer not to water as much as we've been forced to, as playing conditions and the health of the grass are both compromised. Soft greens occur when we have to cool the turf during the day, and roots actually become shallower and weaker with the constant availability of water at the surface. Each time we've attempeted to withhold water for the sake of playing conditions recently, it's come back to bite us, with wilt occuring in the hot afternoons. We're between a rock and a hard place, as the surface needs to be cooled, but the soils beneath are already saturated. Unfortunately no one wins under these conditions. We are also nursing along certain areas on greens right now that are suffering from a number of damaging conditions, including poor surface drainage, poor water percolation, weak roots, shade, and increased traffic levels. Turfgrass thrives in temperatures between 55 and 75 degrees, and we're well beyond that right now. Our turfgrass will hold up though in the majority of areas on the course and the course will continue to play nicely. We are evaluating some of the weakest areas on greens this summer, and determining what steps or procedures we can take to alleviate any poor conditions that exist that is contributing to the decline of turfgrass. Glass half full, as we will improve these areas once more favorable weather arrives and we determine the correct cultural methods to alleviate some the detrimental things occuring in those areas.

Over ths past week, thousands of adult Japanese Beetles have appeared on the golf course. Some of these emerged from the ground right here on the course, and some flew in from other areas. As I drove out to the course two mornings ago, one flew right into my lip and tee. I lucked out and didn't swallow it. These are true pests to golf courses and need to be controlled when they reach large populations. They can damage leaves on trees and shrubs by chewing on them, leaving a skeletonized look to the leaves. They also love to deposit their eggs into turfgrass, where in a very short time, the eggs turn into grubs which chew on the roots of the grass. We started seeing more of them two years ago, and in 2010 their populations grew to the point where we had to make applications of insecticide to protect our plants. We made a preventative application on all greens several weeks ago, which should give us good residual activity. An application to tees and fairways will be made in the latter part of July, targeting the very young grub stage of the insect. We will also be making an application to some of the trees on the course where we see large numbers of them. They especially like to chew on elm, linden, apple, and some Maple trees, and also reside in many evergreens such as white pine. You'll see them on the course right now in clumps, especially on fairways. They are mating, and the female will lay up to 60 eggs in one season in several locations. It's best to target reducing the very young grubs which result from the egg hatch which normally happens in late July. They are identified by their metallic colored overcoat, of which is green around the head and a golden brown on the rear. They do not bite, but try not to swallow any, I don't think that would be any fun!

Ten new trees were planted on the golf course this week. Six Dakota Pinnacle Birch trees were planted behind the 17th green, and four Zestar Apple trees were planted at seperate locations on the course. The Pinnacle Birch trees are part of the establishment of a new treeline and backdrop to the 17th green. And by the way, we're quite happy with the progress of the green addition there, and have started locating cups near the additions. Dakota Pinnacle Birch trees are narrow, spire-like trees, developed at North Dakota State University, and will mature to 20-30' X 6-10'. Perfect for the narrow stretch of ground between the carpath and the service road behind the 17th green. They're very tough trees, tolerant of a wide variety of conditions, and are very attractive. They have the typical white birch bark, a cute dark green leaf, and dark brown branches. They will also provide a good yellow fall color behind this green. Minnesota Valley had at one time, many apple trees that members could count on for a tasty snack as they played the course. Nearly all of those trees are gone now, so we thought it would be nice to add several eating variety apple trees at various locations on the course. You'll find these trees next to the cooler station on the 4th tee, between the 10th green and 11 tee, next to the 14th tees, and next to the on-course refreshment house next to the 15th tee. The Zestar Apple is an early apple with crisp, juicy fruit and tart flavor. It has better storage ability than most early apples and is good for eating and cooking. My better half, Shelby, and I, picked three pecks of them at an orchard near Winsted last fall and enjoyed them well into winter. Zestars were developed at the University of Minnesota and will grow to 18' X 18'. While I'm writing about trees, it's also worth mentioning the great performance of the six Princeton Elms we planted last year on #13, 14, and 15. These trees are fast growers, disease resistant, and rated one of the best new elms. Take a close look at all of these tree varieties as you play the course. I highly recommend each of them for planting.