Large White Oak #18 Green

Today's post will be a series of pictures showing the structural issues with the Oak that sits next to the 18th green.

In these photos you can see a crack in the center of the tree and one running up the right limb.

These photos show the cavity in the base of this tree.

These photos show some of the cabling that is holding the tree up.

These photos show old cabling that has grown through a limb (left) and some more splitting in one of the main leaders (right).

A Surprise Around Every Corner

As we continue this phase of the Tree Management Plan we have found more trees that outwardly appear in good condition but are not.  This tree you will notice has some mushrooms growing on the outside of the trunk.  These mushrooms are feeding on decaying wood.  Once the tree was cut down we did find that there was decay taking place inside the tree.  This tree was located along the wetland edge on the left side of #2 and was one of two Willows that were removed.

In these photos we have two of three Ash trees that were removed behind the 18th green.  They both had cavities in the trunk as well as areas at the base that had sustained damage as younger trees.  This is a good example of what can happen to trees when the bark is damaged.

This is another tree that was removed behind the 18th green that was decayed in the center.  As Jeff was cutting a notch (in one side of the tree to help it fall the correct direction) the tree pinched down on his saw.  We knew something wasn't right because at the time he was only 1/3rd of the way into the tree.  Once a second notch was cut and the tree was down we saw why the tree reacted the way that it did.  The interior wood looks and feels like cork.

We have spent the last week implementing the first phase of the Tree Management Plan that the club had done by Strata Point Inc.  This first phase has us removing all hazardous trees or those that are showing signs of decay.  We are also moving forward with decreasing our population of Ash trees now while we can do removals in an affordable (in-house) way.

Along with the removal plan, Strata Point has identified areas of the course where we could add approximately 125 trees.  One of the main goals in replacing trees is to increase the diversity of tree Species which in turn will provide the club's property with a healthier tree population.


What we are seeing in a number of the trees is severe decay or structural issues.  The tree to the right shows one of the multi-stemmed trees.  These trees have multiple leaders that are competing with each other and contain included bark, all of which produce a structurally weak tree.  These trees are very susceptible to storm damage.

As you can see in the photo to the left the tree has a large cavity at the base of the tree.  What you can't see is this particular tree is approximately 75 feet high and the cavity extended up through the main trunk.  This type of structural deficiency creates a very unpredictable situation when the tree faces environmental stresses.

The opening you see is actually the front door for a penthouse suite for two squirrels.  They made a hasty exit when they found out the building had been condemned.

You can see in the photo on the right  more of the severe decay this Ash tree had.  When the tree hit the ground the trunk split in half.

           

                                                                                                                                                                                 You can see this tree has a large seam running up one side of the tree.  This was probably the result of being probably struck by lightning at one time.  We will keep you posted on our progress and the different issues that arise as we move forward.

Burning brush can be tough.

On Monday we started to burn our brush piles which we thought would go rather rapidly.  With all the snow and rain we have had this winter the burning process took the entire week.

 As you can see in the photo (left) the large amounts of snow around the base of the pile.  What it doesn't show is the snow that was on top and inside the pile.  I was most surprised at how long it took for it to melt.  These fires were hot enough that you had to stay several feet away and yet it seemed the snow was hardly melting and it was only a few inches away.  It may have something to do with all the rain creating ice layers.

                         Taking some time to reload on energy!

Be sure to keep an eye on the FYI section (In the right column) for any current items of interest.  I have recently posted a link for an Emerald Ash Borer Update from the MDA.

Winter Activities

The number #1 question I am asked when meeting someone and the conversation turns to occupation is, What do you do in the winter?  I thought I would take this first post to give you some idea of what goes on for us in the Grounds Department, while you folks are looking forward to the upcoming season.

Our number one job is to go through each piece of equipment and prepare it for the upcoming season.  This entails replacing worn parts, performing tune-ups and putting a fresh grind on the cutting units.

Another project we are currently working on is refurbishing some of our accessories.  We have worked hard at identifying areas where we can find some savings by trying to reuse or refurbish things in-house.  We put new coatings on flag sticks, paint tee markers, recover rake handles, paint benches and cooler stations.  We also like to put a coat of wax on our equipment, our ballwashers and our trash cans.

Here we are re-painting the putting green flag sticks.

Another project that we take on is the burning of our tree waste.  We have three locations (behind the tennis courts, behind the 8th green and along side the 4th hole) that we accumulate leaves, branches and logs.  These areas save us a large amount of money each year.  By using these areas and burning them each winter we save on labor and by not having the material hauled off-site and disposed of.  We obtain a burn permit from the White Bear Fire Department and this processes usually takes us about a week.