Sorry, I'm a couple weeks late with the blog. We got away for a few days and went to the beach. Apparently, we managed to pick the only week where the weather wasn't great, but it was much better than here.

Tree root invasion of bunker sand due to trees being located too close

I wanted to give an update on projects scheduled for this year. The fairway bunkers on #7 have been invaded by tree roots and are lacking sand. These bunkers have moved up the priority list and will be renovated in the next month.

The addition of fairway bunkers on #12 will not happen this year. These bunkers will frame the hole on the left side and give much needed separation between holes #12 & 13. The main reason these bunkers won't be installed is the lack of resources & time.

Notice the large "silt cloud" after Zebra Mussells have been evacuated using a high pressure jet (cost $1200 annually to flush line will now be eliminated).

The pond in front of #13 will be renovated and completed in the next few weeks. This pond will meet many needs, but most importantly reduce the impact of zebra mussells and help filter elevated levels of sediments found in canal water used to irrigate the golf course.

Most tree stumps have been ground and stumps holes filled and seeded. The remaining tree stumps could not be completed due to time constraints and location. A stump grinder is a very destructive machine that is difficult to control if it's not on level surfaces. We had safety concern issues on hill sides and with some time and weather the stumps soften and are possible to grind.

Greens Aeration

The greens are great. Why do we have to do beat them up? Here is a short video clip of why we aerify.

Here is a copy of an annual report giving very in depth and detailed information we use to formulate our agronomic plans for the season. Pages 4 and 5 of the report offer a summary of directed action in order to maximize putting performance and limit catastrophic loss.

Throughout this process I will update pics and describe our process.

Spring has Sprung

Middle of March and soil temperatures at the surface 1" are over 50 degrees. This is very early, but we'll have to wait and see if it lasts. Currently the grounds staff has a total of 4 employees to maintain the course and we have already mowed greens 3 x's, fairways once and tees once.

Course clean-up has begun, but due to the high winds there are many limbs and too much debris for a crew of 4 to maintain the golf course. We are scheduled to have 4 more employees begin on April 2nd.

You may often question why we cut a specific tree down? One reason is sunlight and air movement to fine turf areas. It is not possible to grow high quality turf in shaded areas. We begin thinning areas, which have trees to the South and East of greens. Notice the gap we created to the right side of the photo.

Since the golf course was overplanted, when 1 tree becomes infected with a disease or insects other trees surrounding it will also be damaged. There were 5 trees next to 3 ladies tee that became infested by insects and all had to be removed.

This past winter we removed 47 very large trees, cleared brush on #13, cleaned storm damage from last April, thinned material behind #14 green and the stumps have not been addressed.

Stump grinding is a very tedious demanding job, which requires a fair amount of labor. Beginning in the winter of last year we have had difficulty renting the large stump grinder in the picture above. The stump grinder costs $1300/week to rent, but rental companies no longer rent large grinders. The grinder we will have to rent this spring is very small for the job, but will have to do. Stump grinding will begin after the course has been cleaned from debris in the middle of April.

We will continue to work as hard as we can to get the golf course in the best possible conditon for the 2012 season. In the upcoming weeks we will be putting out golf course accessories, course clean-up, stump grinding, mulching of beds & preparing for aerification.

#13 TEE

#13 Tee prior to 2005 Tee Renovation,Tree Removal & Brush Clearing
Hole #13 The most demanding tee shot on the golf course. With the over grown brush on the left side and OB on the right side there was no true "bail out". Each side of the hole was just as penal and this hole can lead to the end of a solid round and slow pace of play.

2005 the Tees were renovated leading to better alignment and leveling of the teeing surface. This was a solid improvement, but as time proceeded the area continued to narrow due to over grown trees & brush.

For the past 3 winters we have performed 1 week of work clearing & restoring these areas with ecological friendliness kept in the forefront. The water quality has deteriorated due to the lack of fresh water renewal and large amounts of leaf debris accumulating in these ponds.

The winter of 2011 the final phase of this revitalization has been completed. All brush has been cleared and the areas will be planted with a conservation mix of seed to encourage all year round habitation of wildlife species. The water quality will improve as canal water will now be diverted to replenish water levels in the pond.

Visibility from the teeing grounds is no longer a limitation. A clear line of sight of your tee shot will aid in pace of play issues. Players will now have the ability to work the ball from left to right without disruption by trees.

March 2012

Harry Bowers

HOLE #14 (2007) prior to the removal of 50+ trees limiting the playability of the hole, quality of turfgrass and increasing the frustration level of many.

Harry Bowers designed the new "9" holes in 1991. These holes encompass #'s 6,7 10-14. The routing of the holes and locations of teeing grounds is exceptional.

"The great value of a hazard is not that it catches a shot that has been missed, but that it forces a miss upon the timid player, its psychological miss is greater than its penal value." Bobby Jones
This quotation sums up the values by which Harry Bowers implements in his designs.

His design requires exceptional shot accuracy on approach. Just like with Thompson a golf course evolves over time and the new 9 was very narrow to begin with, but has matured and required exceptional shot making abilities. This narrowing leaves a very small margin for mistake and can slow pace of play and be exceptionally penal to the higher handicap.

Scott Witter a local golf course architect designed hole #8 and #9. Also, Witter aided in the redesign of several areas of the golf course. Hole #14 was one of these areas. 50+ trees were removed, the greenside bunker was eliminated allowing for increased accessibility of the green site on the approach. The shot is still demanding and requires accuracy, but there is no longer a need to work the shot in one specific direction in order to hit the putting surface.

Stanley Thompson

After the removal of the tree on #16 I wanted to give the membership some history of the club and the evolution of a golf course. More information on Stanley Thompson and notice the origianl sketch of the 9th green and the clubhouse location.

Stanley Thompson was a world renowned architecht and was Canada's most prolific golf course architecht. He re-designed the original 9 holes in the 1950's and LTCC is a great portrayal of his use of terrain.


Here is a picture of the 15th green in 2005. The bunkers were removed due to drainage issues and the green had become smaller due to the invention of the riding greensmower. The riding greensmower could not make the tight turns necessary to maintain sharp corners on greens. This resulted in the greens contours becoming rounded.



This picture was taken in the summer of 2011. Notice the green expansions and the detailed corners increasing the size of the putting surface. These were the original contour lines designed by Stanley Thompson. Golf courses are ever being changed by many different factors and I believe we need to maintain the property as close to the original design as possible.

16th Approach Shot 2005 - Picture taken from left side of fairway 120 yards out.

Stanley Thompson himself summarizes his design philosophy by saying, "The most successful course is one that will test the skill of the most advanced golfer without discouraging the duffer while adding to the enjoyment of both.”

Stanley Thompson in About Golf Courses Their Construction and Up-Keep;1923

Next Month will give some history of the new 9 Harry Bowers(1991) and Scott Witter (1998)

#16 Beech Tree - Removal

The tree in front of #16 has been removed. This has been a very controversial tree for myself due to it's affect on the playability of the hole. The tree was analyzed by our local golf course architecht last year and he came to the conclusion the tree was not part of the original intent or design of the hole. The mounding in front of the green was the original intent by creating a visual obstruction. The tree was also analyzed by an arborist and the tree was dubbed a hazard and at risk of falling. This was confirmed during the tree removal process.



All Beech Trees are at risk of Beech Bark Disease. A condition, which begins with an infestation from an insect called the Beech Scale. The infection of the scale insect leaves a pre-disposed risk of an infection by Nectria fungi that will destroy the heartwood of the tree. This destruction of the heartwood increases the risk of falling limbs or catastrophic loss due to the weakened condition. These symptoms were found on 75% of affected limbs and severe basal rot. It was not a question of if the tree will fall, but when.