Year in Review: 2022 in Photographs

As many do, I take the holiday season to reflect on life and things experienced over the last year. This blog entry provides an Olde Florida Golf Club, "Year in Review" through photographs. 

A greens foliar application   1/19/22

LED light towers, practice green   1/25/22

An employee wearing an LED headband while operating
the Hydroject on the practice green   12/23/22

The agronomy staff begins work each morning at 6:00 a.m., with the exception of tournament days when the start time is as early as 4:00 a.m.. Most of the equipment at Olde Florida is outfitted with lights and employees are assigned LED headbands when needed.

 

When a greens foliar application of nutrients or a plant protectant is made portable LED light towers are also utilized. 

An American Alligator crossing 10 fairway   5/9/22

An Eastern Screech Owl with two eggs in her box
behind #12 tee   4/19/22

Olde Florida has an abundance of wildlife that reside on and around the golf course.  

I am particularly pleased with the increase in our bird population. Since 2013 Olde Florida has worked with an ornithologist, Brian Beckner, Founder of Native Bird Boxes, Inc, to provide increased nesting opportunities for a variety of species. Though provided nesting structures, in particular, the Eastern Screech Owl and Purple Martin populations have soared.  In 2022 Olde Florida fledged 9 Screech Owls and 82 Purple Martins. 

Hole 1   10/24/22

 

Hole 4   3/12/22

    

4 green 12/12/22

A modern, computerized irrigation system is instrumental in producing healthy turfgrass and a quality playing surface at Olde Florida. 

The water coming out of the 1,253 Toro "Infinity" series heads is also very majestic!

Frost on #1   1/31/22 

The winter of 2022 (both early, and at year end) was mild although Olde Florida did receive a significant frost on January 31. 

Fairway #12
Member/Guest Invitational Week   2/19/22  

 

Olde Florida Logo on #1
Member/Guest Invitational Week   2/20/22

The annual Member/Guest Invitational is always a speacial week at Olde Florida Golf Cub

Sunrise, #1   3/5/22

Sunrise, Hole 10   10/12/22

Sunrise, Holes 1/10   12/13/22

A sunrise is Nature telling you that it's time to cherish another day on Earth, and the opening hole of both nines at Olde Florida are a great place to start the day.

Drill & Fill, practice green   6/1/22 

 

DryJect   10/4/22 

Drill & Fill (circle in bottom) DryJect (sides)

Solid tine aeration, Hole 1   5/23/22

The summer months are when the agronomy staff performs various cultural practices, such as Drill & Fill and DryJect on the greens. 

Solid tine aeration was also performed on the entire golf course several times.

 

Practice green/clubhouse   9/30/22

Hurricane Ian, one of the strongest landfalling hurricanes in U.S. history powered ashore in Southwest Florida on September 28th as a category 4 storm with 150 mph winds and a devastating coastal storm surge. 

Fortunately the only impact to Olde Florida was wind damage to trees and scattered debris that took the agronomy staff numerous days to clean. 

Vertical-grooming, 16 green   12/7/22

Vertical-grooming, 16 green   12/7/22

Due to a La Niña weather pattern in December, Olde Florida experienced numerous record high temperature days. The heat and humidity were terrific for turfgrass growth. 

To increase green speed the agronomy staff "vertical-groomed" the putting surfaces throughout the month. Vertical-grooming removes leaf tissue and decreases leaf orientation increasing smoothness, trueness and the speed of the putting surfaces. 

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and that you enjoyed this "Year in Review" through photographs.  

Here's hoping that 2023 provides a terrific year for you, your family and of course for your golf game!  
 

The Winter Solstice

Today is December 21... and all golf course superintendents in the south are keenly aware of the importance of this day. It means the winter solstice has arrived! This is a key date for those of us living in the northern hemisphere because it marks the shortest day of the year. 

The winter solstice is when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, or 23.5 south latitude, which is the day when the sun rises and sets to our south at the lowest angle. Because the earth orbits around the sun on a tilted axis, between September and March the entire northern hemisphere gets less exposure to sunlight. It’s also not surprising that these months coincide with the seasonal influx of residents to Southwest Florida, and golf play is at its peak. 

So why is this important to a golf course superintendent? In basic terms, for turfgrass to thrive it needs sunlight, water, air and nutrients. Of these needs, the one that is least in a golf course superintendents control is sunlight. This is why an understanding of the earths rotation and the winter solstice is vital. Also influenced by the angle of the sun are air and soil temperature. Bermudagrass, the turfgrass that comprises the playing surfaces at Olde Florida, is a warm season turfgrass. Warm season grasses grow best when the average daily temperatures are above  75°F.  In addition, soil temperature, as influenced by air temperature is also important to the growth of bermudagrass. Soil temperatures above 65°F are required for significant growth, and the optimum soil temperature for root growth is around 80°F. 

Since the duration and intensity of the sun's rays (and air and soil temperature) is out of our control, it is extremely important to have plant health peaking on this day and then do everything in our control to maintain plant health for the next 60 days or so. By March, the nighttime temperatures have increased, the sun is high enough in the sky and  the days are long enough that sunlight essentially becomes a non-factor.

December 2022

Holes 8 and 9 are the southernmost holes at Olde Florida. Both play from east to west, so on December 21 the sun rises to the southeast of  8 and 9 tee and it sets to the southwest of  9 green.  

Tomorrow, the day AFTER the winter solstice, the sunrise and the angle of the sun will slowly begin to shift to the north. This will bring a little more sunlight to our turfgrass each day!