Miniature golf pond

One of the winter projects for the Grounds department this off-season was to put a new liner in the mini golf course pond. After several months of short bursts of work, we completed the job last week.

Some people may not even be aware of the miniature golf course that is located on Bretton Woods property. Those who are aware may not have ever been up to the location though. The course sits on the knoll above and to the left of the clubhouse parking lot as you enter.

The new liner was just installed. The smaller
stone lines the bottom.

The course landscaping was fully renovated back in 2014. The new design included adding large amounts of stone between holes and new plants to freshen the look. Also, there was a new water feature added, consisting of a reservoir pond that is pumped slightly uphill to the top of a recirculating creek.

We have had issues keeping water in the pond since the renovation. Every few days the pond would be nearly empty with no discernible leak or other outlet for the water. So, this year we laid a new liner directly over the existing one to help retain water better. Though we never found a leak in the original liner, refraining from disturbing it and possibly creating a leak, we instead left in place and the new liner simply adds another layer of protection.

A picture of the completed pond,
with all of the stone replaced on
the new liner.

The pond itself contains stone that needed to be moved before we could get the new liner in place. First the grounds staff moved the large stones out of the pit. Then, in half of the pond, the smaller stone was shoveled all the way down to the existing liner. The new liner was laid on the clear half and then all the stone was shoveled from one half, back to the other, onto the new liner. Finally, the remainder of the liner was stretched out and half of the stone was moved back over the top, fully covering the new liner.

The miniature golf course doesn’t see as many rounds as the main golf course does. But it keeps the Grounds department busy making sure it is in the best condition possible.

Weekly posts will resume in March. Thank you.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please avoid walking through overly saturated or puddled areas on greens if possible.

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Bunker etiquette

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Winter weed spray

We have begun our winter weed treatment program. We are making spot treatments on tees and fairways.

As we discussed in December, we wanted to wait a little later into the winter to begin spraying weeds. Although the Bermuda grass has been brown and visually dormant for a long time, it can actually take much longer for the very deepest parts of the plant to harden off.

The blue tinted areas are where the
spray was applied. You can see
large areas where there is no blue
that no chemical was necessary.

Although the temperatures can swing wildly, the actual main driver of dormancy is soil temperatures. And the soil temperatures do not fluctuate like the air temperature. The soil temperatures have been steadily dropping since the fall and we are now well into a safe time to begin our applications.

Last week we started our tee and approach applications. These will take place over several weeks because we must do it with a backpack sprayer. The tees are too small and confined to work with our big 300-gallon sprayer, especially considering that anything that gets sprayed will die. We can’t take the chance of accidentally spraying the rough around the tees.

We also started and completed the spot spraying of fairways. This process consists of driving our large sprayer up and down the fairways, but only spraying where weeds are present. This is a very targeted and efficient application, which uses a very limited amount of chemical.

Prior to the Bermuda grass damage sustained in the winter of 2017/2018, we were nearly weed free in all Bermuda grass and had not made a winter weed application in 2 years. Starting with this winter’s treatment, we are working to get back to a clean slate.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please do not try and remove a flag stick that is frozen into the cup. Turf damage may occur.

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Bunker etiquette

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Spraying weeds on tees

Now that the temperatures have dropped to consistent lows, the Bermuda grass is dormant. Contrasting against the brown Bermuda grass are the green weeds. The weeds are especially apparent on the tees.

Between 2 harsh winters affecting the Bermuda grass as well as many tees being newly sodded, the weeds on the tees are the worst they have been in several years. The winter weather weakened any grass that survived, allowing weeds to infiltrate and establish. We elected not to treat for weeds over last winter to reduce any possible chemical hindrance to the Bermuda grass.

Although many herbicides are labeled safe to spray on dormant Bermuda grass, all herbicides in general affect anything they are applied to regardless. Plants that are “safe,” merely metabolize the active ingredient better than other plants and are thus not damaged. However, not killing a plant is one thing, but forcing a plant to metabolize a chemical when the grass is already weak (from a tough winter) and not growing (dormancy) can lead to slower recovery. This was the reasoning behind skipping this past year’s application.

Now that we made it through a season much healthier, we will resume limited spot treatments on tees to eradicate the weeds this winter. To ensure the Bermuda grass is in its most dormant state, we will wait until later in the winter to begin. Applications will be made with a backpack sprayer and will only treat the weeds, rather than a broadcast spray that would hit target and non-target surfaces. While this is certainly the slower of the two methods, it will result in less chemical use as well as less stress on the Bermuda grass.

The weeds on the tees are unsightly. We are aware of the issue and will be implementing a recovery plan as soon as possible.

As a reminder, we are only posting once per month from November thru February.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please don’t play on greens that are partially or completely covered in snow.

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Bunker etiquette

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Deep tine aeration

Today we will be deep tine aerating the greens. This is the final cultural practice of the season for the greens, but one that has an impact for the entire year.

This process is similar to other aeration procedures in that holes are made in the greens. However, the important aspect of this particular occurrence is the depth at which we go down. The tines are 10 inches long and reach into the soil about 7-8”. At this depth, the tines drive well past any layers, compaction, or other soil problems that may have accumulated in the upper profile. We have been performing this deep tine aeration regularly since 2015 and you can read our initial post covering the topic here.

As another benefit, water and oxygen can penetrate much deeper into the soil profile also. This is great for drainage over the winter, when there is more water that needs to move through the profile because less evaporates. Roots find their way down into these newly created deep channels as well and deeper roots lead to healthier plants.

Finally, after the aeration, we will roll the greens and topdress them with sand. Topdressing with sand is not something we have consistently done during this deep tine aeration process in the past. We will spread a medium layer of sand across the green and drag the sand so that it falls into the holes created by the machine. This is a critical step that we started last year and will continue regularly. Allowing the sand to fall into the hole and accumulate several inches below the surface ensures that access to deeper soil layers stays open for water movement and root growth.

Impacting the surface of the greens every 2-3 months with one type of cultural practice or another keeps the greens performing at their best. After a full year of multiple activities, we have arrived at our last for the season.

As a reminder, we are only posting once per month from November thru February.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please stay off all grass surfaces during a frost delay.

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Bunker etiquette

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Another bunker renovation update

We continue to move forward on our bunker work. Although there have been some slow periods of progress, we are nearly complete on #14.

Waiting for sod has been our biggest challenge, as we discussed last week. However, 3 of 4 bunkers have now been sodded and the grass for the last bunker is on site and ready to be laid. We will get the last bunker wrapped up early this week.

This is another example of the sand build-up
around the edges of the bunker. The red line
to the right is where the bunker edge
was before we started working. The red line
to the left is where the original bunker edge
was constructed. 

Another view of the sand build-up.

Once all the grass is down, we will give the new sod a few days to root into the soil before we spread the bunker sand back out. This keeps the bunker as Ground Under Repair and minimizes the foot traffic on the new sod. It is especially important that golfers don’t attempt to climb up the steep face of the bunker because the new sod will not easily support the effort.

As we wait to reposition the sand on #14, we will head down #15 and begin moving sand and removing old sod on all the bunkers on #15. The process will be exactly the same and as the Grounds staff gets more comfortable with all the steps, it should be faster as well.

As a side note, our green deep tine aeration is currently scheduled for 11/18. This is something we added to our agronomic program several years ago and you can read more about it here.

Also, November thru February will have only one post each per month. Thank you 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Now that it is legal to leave the flag in for putting, please be extra conscious to not damage the lip of the cup when retrieving your ball.

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Bunker etiquette

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org