FCCGROUNDS

This picture did not turn out very clear, but the small brown spots you see in a few of our fairways are actually worm casting debris.  Worm activity is more noticeable during the spring and fall as they come to the surface during the evening hours.  Then, in the mornings, we see small mounds of debris from where they burrowed their holes.  Hose dragging and frequent mowing help to some extent, but if there is too much activity chemical control may be warranted.  The debris can actually dull the cut on our reels and bedknives over time.    Cultural practices are performed more frequently during the fall as well.  Topdressing, aerification, verticutting, and grooming are all beneficial and each practice improves plant health and playability in their own unique way.  Here are two pictures of some material that has been brought to the surface of a putting green via verticutting.  This practice done consistently helps to keep organic matte...

This month has been extremely busy with many of the golf events originally scheduled for July being rescheduled into August.  The United Way began the month with well over 500 rounds taking place within a 48 hour period.  Shortly after that, we held our Gentlemen's Invitational on August 11th and 12th.  Anniversary week, another 800 plus rounds, and the University of Findlay outing took place during the middle of the month as many new guests were able to enjoy our facilities.  Rounding out the month included our Women's Member-Guest Invitational, Fresh Encounter, Senior Club Championship, and Chamber events.  While all of these events are very important to us, we have seen an increase in wear and tear on the golf course because of the short period of time in which these events took place.  We have spent significant time cleaning up divots from the driving range.  Here is Michael raking up the debris that was blown off the range tees.  These divots...

What a busy schedule over the past few weeks!  A two-day United Way event produced over 500 rounds of golf within 48 hours.  Our Gentlemen's Invitational was recently held this past Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  Most recently, we hosted The University of Findlay golf outing.  It has been both an exciting and challenging time prepping our course for these wonderful events. After being very wet throughout the month of July, we have been equally dry for the month of August.  Periods of high temperatures and humidity have also been stressful to our cool season grasses and has kept our grounds department on high alert for the development of turf grass diseases such as brown patch, anthracnose, dollar spot and pythium.  All of these diseases are typical for this time of year.  Constant scouting and observation has kept us ahead of any large breakouts and our greens, tees, and fairways have been mostly disease free to this point. Here are a few picture...

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and has been able to enjoy the golf course up to this point.   The grounds department has been thrown a few curve balls from Mother Nature over the past month and everyone is working hard to provide you with exceptional playing conditions.  We are currently prepping for the Gentlemens Invitational Friday and Saturday as well as The University of Findlay outing next Monday, August 21st. There are an abundance of maintenance activities taking place and we want to keep our valued members informed about what is going on.  Please subscribe to my blog page by entering your e-mail address to receive instant notifications when new updates are posted.  Look for the link on the top left of the page.  This location may vary depending on your device. Thank you, Brian Heydinger Director of Grounds

Heavy rain over the past two weeks has caused the Blanchard River to swell over its banks and onto our course.  Flooding has occurred many times over the past 100 years, the most recent flood ranks #5 all-time for Findlay. Here is a view of #8 fairway  #18 fairway  #1 fairway  A view from #8 tee  #8 green from #9 tee  The torrential rain washed out rocks from our gulley Pushed up debris into our bridges  under the bridges  and on top of the bridges The water came up so high that we had to pull our pump motors to higher ground to save them from being damaged.  Evan and Sammie were a big help in this process. The waters rose and eventually completely covered #18 green with over 3' of water for several days. After receding, we were left with a thick layer of silt that had to be removed immediately to prevent turf loss. The silt was removed by washing it off by hand.  After 90 minutes of wash...