October 2024: Summer Synopsis and Master Plan Update

We are enjoying another beautiful New England fall with great weather and good golfing conditions the last few months. This summer was quite a challenge with the extreme weather but fall is here and the last bit of good golfing weather is ahead of us. We weathered the storm of extremes and high volume golf and are continuing to look at the future with the newly received Golf Course Enhancement Plan that will be discussed on October 16th at 5pm in the clubhouse. Please attend what I expect to be an informative meeting with our golf course architect Robert McNeil; this will be the blueprint for course modifications as the club moves forward. I'll give you an update on a few on course items, summarize the summer and provide some background on the planning process as we've worked through it the past 12 months or so.

What a summer, a scorching hot and humid July with just about no rain in July, August and most of September. When we did get some rain it measured just about 0.1" on the rain gauge which lasts the plants about half a day!  Thank goodness for the new irrigation system which allowed us to put water in more places than the old system, with more precision, control and stretched our resources as far as we could. The wells ran all summer long and by the end were producing half their usual volume. Water quality was less than desirable with two of our wells becoming completely unusable with salt contents at three times the recommended level of sodium; using this water would quite literally kill the turf. I'm monitoring the sodium levels on a daily basis and check soil tests a few times a year. Thankfully the longest stretch of no rain for 33 days came after aeration in mid August and the weather was much cooler at night with a few dewy mornings. At the end, we actually had to buy water from the city for 6 days to get us through. The rest of the fall should be manageable so long as we don't get any crazy fluctuations and an occasional rain event.

This extended period of dry weather and well water usage does create an issue in our soils. The salt air already creates a challenge with fog off the ocean depositing salt crystals on leaf blades as it burns off. Again, salts are the main ingredients in weed and grass killers so natural rain or good clean irrigation water is important. When you don't have both or either of these you need to get out your chemistry set, wave a magic wand and try to manipulate the environment. I am not surprised that our recent tests are showing some really high levels of sodium. This can be somewhat remediated or modified by adding some other nutrients with stronger electron bonds like calcium, magnesium and potassium in the right amounts, at the right time and in the proper order. Today we started by adding some calcium sulfate (gypsum) to the greens in a granular form. We did about half the greens today and will do the others sometime next week. Once this product is applied we quite literally flood the green with water to get it into solution and into the top few inches of the soil profile; we will repeat this again this evening. This will create a situation where the calcium will come into contact with the sodium that is stuck on the soil colloids and quite literally kick the sodium off. Calcium is sodium's stronger big brother so it replaces the sodium on the soil and then flushes out of the profile. This requires a lot of water to ensure it makes it out the bottom of the root zone. We will follow up in a few weeks with a different calcium source and then some potassium later in the fall.

As I mentioned already the architect will be here on October 16th to show membership the new Enhancement Plan for the golf course; I strongly recommend that everyone attend if you can. The plan has been created to provide a blueprint for future changes and improvements to the course and to ensure that there is a consistent design style for the property. Bass Rocks had a plan previously put together in 2001 and has been the greens committee's guide for the past 20 plus years. Club membership, changes in demographics as well as people's priorities change over time and after 23 years it was time to update this document and help plan future course improvements. The plan makes it easy to maintain continuity for years as committees and boards change. The main areas of interest had to do with neighbor concerns, water retention and flooding issues, green, tee and bunker updates and enhancing the practice facility. Robert was initially tasked with addressing these areas with the following goals in no specific order:

1. Maintain the feel of Bass Rocks with rock features and seaside vistas.

2. Balance functional improvements like cart paths and drainage with enhancement opportunities like bunkers, greens and mounding.

3. Create visual and strategic interest on the wide open holes like 11, 12 and the meadows.

4.  Develop a plan that make the course more challenging for the lower handicap golfer without penalizing the higher handicapper.

5. Create a plan that accomplishes the other goals efficiently and cost effectively without adding unnecessary labor intensive maintenance challenges.

6. Have some flexibility regarding construction due to challenges such as rock and ledge outcroppings.

I sincerely hope many of you can make the meeting, see what Robert has to say and ask lots of questions. As a teaser I can tell you that the 7th hole is well represented in the plan! I am also happy to answer any questions you may have about the plan if you don't have the ability to make the meeting or simply want to know more.