Update on green surround rough

We continue to battle the rough grass around the greens so we added some new wrinkles to our approach this year. While our long term plan has shown progress, it is one area of the course that still really needs improvement.

The grass around the greens is a mix of several different species of grass: tall fescue, ryegrass, bluegrass (annual and Kentucky) and Bermuda grass. The ryegrass and bluegrasses do not handle the summer weather well and decline and die and bare spots result. Since there is not one cause of the poor performance of these grasses, this unfortunately means there is not one solution either. Weather, soil, grass species, traffic stress, and more all contribute to the problem.

This summer was not as hot or as long as previous years, so as a result the grass was not as decimated. Some of our strategies also helped the grass survive. First, for several years (read a 2015 post here) we have been over-seeding the green surrounds with tall fescue. Tall fescue is the most drought and heat tolerant of the grass species available to us. It is easily grown from seed and we have a very good seeding machine to use. We have already done this once and we will do it again in the fall. Continually pouring more desirable species into the green surrounds will continue to lower the percentage of unwanted species and lead to less collapse.

Last year we instituted a hand-watering program specifically aimed at the rough around the greens. We saw tremendous benefit and so we continued, and increased it this year. Hand-watering the green surrounds consists of exactly what it sounds: we send 2-4 staff members with hoses to hand water the rough around the greens, from the collar out 15 feet. There is more information on the process as well as some of the reasoning behind it here.  We again saw huge benefits and it will be a staple of our maintenance program going forward.

We also tested 2 different chemicals this year designed to help the soil retain moisture. We sprayed them specifically on the rough around the greens. We saw improved water retention from both, as well as a clear favorite to continue to use next year. Although too much water can be just as bad (or worse) for turf, this ability to hold and retain more water was helpful for the rough. More water holding capacity of the soil means that our hand watering and irrigation are used more effectively. Having more water available to the plant during the heat, when we are between rain storms or irrigation schedules, helps more plants survive. With additional hand watering and the sprinkler adjustments we have made in the past (more information on that here), this new chemical makes maintaining adequate soil moisture easier and improved turf health resulted.

We don’t intend to minimize the problem or imply it is corrected. This is something we continue to work on improving. Although any turf loss is frustrating, improvements have been made. Some of the problems are issues we can resolve and some are weather related that will always be present, but we do constantly make adjustments to get better results.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

After filling your divot with sand, either on a tee or fairway, please smooth the sand pile out so our mowers don’t cut through the sand.

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org