Tree Work

This picture was taken in 2013 and the trees have only gotten worse

Over the past few weeks, the grounds staff has been focusing on pruning and removing trees throughout the golf course as part of our annual maintenance plan.  Although we don't have as many trees as many courses around the area, we still end up with almost 2-4 weeks worth of work each winter.  The majority of the work is found along property boundaries, pond and creek banks, and where shade or air flow restrictions are found near greens.  One area that we hadn't been in for many years, was the area immediately west of the #1 practice green.  This creek was full of willow and cottonwood trees that was blocking air flow and creating too much shade for the green to survive.  Once again I failed to get a good before picture before we started (I love to just jump right in and get started), however, the picture above was taken back in 2013, and as you can see, the trees west of the green have been an issue for quite some time.  In the summer, when the tree leaves are out, it's like a dense wall of green.  The lack of sunlight and air flow has caused this practice green a lot of trouble over the years and I expect it to perform much better now that it has a better growing environment.

Looking WSW with practice green to left