Upcoming aeration and tree work

We are in the midst of putting the course to bed for the winter. Our late season Bermuda grass program  is nearly complete. In addition, next week we will complete a deep tine aeration on the greens which is vital to their long-term health also. Following the aeration, we will also be starting our off-season tree work on the property.

Aerating turf is very rarely bad. Sometimes it can cause some collateral damage if the plant is weak, but still the opening of the surface is important. We try to achieve several different aeration events throughout the season, each with a different purpose and execution. Our upcoming deep tine aeration is our last disruption until spring, but the impacts can be observed all year long.

Initially the deep holes made during this aeration will serve to get oxygen deeper into the soil profile. Channels will be created for new roots to dive deeper down. But one of the most important aspects is that those same channels will provide avenues for winter moisture to move through the profile more easily. Especially when the soil is cold, and definitely when frozen, water cannot move downward as easily. Providing large, deep holes allows escape routes for the water over the winter and provides some flexibility for any freezing and thawing cycles.

Because the winter is a slow time for the course- less golfers, less maintenance- the deep tine holes stay relatively open. While they won’t be as visible at the surface, below ground they holes won’t close completely. As spring rolls around and the turf starts to grow vigorously again, roots will find these open holes that are plentiful in oxygen and grow deeper. Deeper roots increase access to nutrients, moisture, and provide a stronger system for the plant.  Using spring to increase root mass is defense against the onset of summer. It doesn’t make summer any easier for the turf, but it gives the plant all the tools and protection that we can before the stress of heat, humidity, and traffic are maxed out.

As for the tree work, we will continue to follow our tree program that has been in place for many years, which we will repost at the bottom of the page. Not only do we tackle dead trees, but we are also continually working to make sure that the existing trees and turf are working well together. Especially when it comes to the Bermuda grass, we must make sure that shade is not limiting the health of the turf. This plan has been ongoing for several years and we have made great strides because of this work- think back to the state of #5 fairway 2 years ago, before we removed the trees along the right side.

This year we will be removing pine trees at #1 tee, a sycamore at #1 green, and several trees around #10 green and #11 tee. These trees have all been identified as casting too much shade on the Bermuda grass and need to be removed for the turf to thrive. Specifically, the trees at #1 tee were singled out as causing issues for the white tee box when we had regional agronomist Steve McDonald out for site visit, which you can read about here.

However, our tree maintenance is not limited to the golf course. There are trees across the property, and they all need attention. We have dead trees to remove near Adventure Hill, near the soccer parking lot, hanging out across a tennis court, and along the entrance road.

The deep tine aeration is part of an overall cultural practice program for the greens. Taking the time to aerate deeper now has benefits that will be realized immediately but also all the way up until we perform the same aeration next November. And getting started on our tree work now, ensures that coming out of winter and starting the season, the turf is in prime position to thrive.

 

 

As a reminder, we are now reducing down to 1 post per month through February. Thank you

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please be patient with our leaf cleanup process. Thank you.

 

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

Golf Cart tips

 

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Bretton Woods Tree and Turf Management

 

 

Background:

Bretton Woods Recreation Center is a valuable resource providing its members access to a natural

setting for the enjoyment of organized sports activities and other outdoor areas for less formal

recreation, such as picnics and camps. The natural setting located not far from a major urban area

is especially rare in these times of densely developed land, typical of metropolitan areas. With the

intention of continuing the tradition of giving members a respite from the hectic urban life in a cared for

but natural setting, members of the Golf Committee, the Grounds Superintendent and management

have formulated a tree and turf management policy as the foundation of a plan to ensure that natural setting through the ongoing care and cultivation of trees.

Objectives:

1.       Continue the Bretton Woods “low input” IPM approach through judicious planting and species selection.

2.       Promote safe recreation through diligent care and removal of hazardous branches and trees.

3.       Ensure a balance between trees and turf health.

Tree and Turf Care:

·         Routine inspection of trees will be performed by the Grounds Staff

·         Upon discovery of declining or stressed trees, the Golf Course Superintendent (GCS) will determine and

prioritize the need for Certified Arborist inspection and evaluate the need for care. Factors of safety, cost

and importance shall guide the evaluation, in this order.

·         Particular attention shall be given to girdling roots and properly cut to relieve pressure when discovered.

·         New tree planting locations will be carefully selected in order not to unnecessarily compete with turf health. Mulch around trees will help improve the tree health where possible; careful placement of trees will help reduce negative impacts to turf.

·         Assessments of existing trees and their impact to turf health and course conditions; pruning, removal of tree, or adjustment of turf are steps that may be taken on an ongoing basis.

·         Dense, thick foliage can make trees susceptible to wind damage. Pruning will be used to improve their life

expectancy and reduce risk.

·         Pruning and removing limbs on low branching species will benefit trees and turf.

·         Tree management best practices indicate that trees that have been damaged more than 1/3 should be priorities for consideration of removal because they pose safety hazards.

·         Limbs or trees posing a safety risk will be immediately remedied through pruning, removal, or bracing.

Planting:

·         The need for planting, species selection and location will be determined by the Green Committee, General

Manager and GCS.

·         Diversity is a goal of any planting plan at BWRC, however species appearing on the Maryland Department

of the Environment Noxious Weed List will not be planted on BWRC property.

·         Planting stock will be of 4” caliper or equivalent whenever possible, with exceptions made on an as

needed basis.

Second SDS application

Managing Bermuda grass in the transition zone requires specific measures to ensure healthy turf. Today we are making our second Spring Dead Spot application which is one of these steps that we must take for the Bermuda grass to thrive.

A few posts back, we discussed our Spring Dead Spot (SDS) program. Soil temperatures are a major factor in the timing of the application, and two applications are always best. We monitor the soil closely for the first spray, but once the first application is down, then it is just a matter of waiting the appropriate time for the second application.

Research recommends waiting 21-28 days between the two applications, closer to 21 days when the air and soil temperatures start to drop more rapidly after the first application. But the interval can be stretched closer to the 28-day timeframe when the temperature change is more gradual. At the time of our first spray, and shortly after, the weather stayed warm, to slightly above average. But in the last couple of weeks, it has dropped more dramatically, with several mornings in the low 30’s. Accordingly this has triggered a faster drop in the soil temperatures also, so the time has come for the second application.

Waiting longer than the 28-day recommendation is also a problem. The temperatures can get too cold and the fungus that causes SDS will no longer be active. Meaning any pesticide application made at that point will have very minimal effect on the pathogen and be nearly useless. And fitting in the second application around frost and possibly more frequent rain events becomes more difficult the longer we wait also. So, with all of this in mind, we know this is our best window for making the application.

It is stressful having such a small, specific window to hit for these applications. And it is made even more so by the fact that we won’t know the efficacy of our spray until at least 6 months from now, possibly more. But following the best practices and knowing from past experiences that we are on the right track gives us confidence to move forward.

 

We will be reducing down to 1 post per month starting in November. Thank you

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please rake your entire disturbance within the bunker, including all of your footprints, not just the area from where you hit.

 

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

Golf Cart tips

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Collar and green outside pass aeration

During wet times, the thatch holds water and won’t let it drain down through the soil profile. By itself, the extra water is not deadly, it only causes minor issues and is not great to play on. However, if the turf must endure some significant heat, while also being too wet, then that is when grass will die. Sound familiar? This is exactly the scenario that played out in mid to late June. The end of May and early June were very wet, but then 10 of the last 12 days of June were above 90 degrees including a stretch of 5 days in a row above 95 degrees. The rain continued in July, when we were 4 inches above normal rainfall for the month. Most of the collars survived this stretch, and even the areas that died didn’t all die at this time, but they were drastically weakened as summer progressed.

                                             

We worked diligently to repair the worst areas on the collars with increased nutrition, seed, extra water and with sod work is upcoming. But the best and fastest way to manage an excessive thatch problem is to aerate. Physically removing the material from the profile and we can start to gain on the issue. It does not happen overnight; it must be part of a program that continues to attack the thatch. Last week we performed a very targeted aeration procedure as part of this program. Using the same style of mini tines that we used during spring aeration, we made one loop around the greens aerating the collar and just onto the green, and then finished all of the collar across the front. We removed this material by hand, blew away any left-over debris, and rolled to close the holes. We finished all greens in one day.

One area of the golf course that struggled this past summer was the collars. Several factors contributed to the stress, most notably the very difficult weather, but another factor was excess thatch. Last week we made progress in removing some of this thatch to improve the turf for next year and beyond.

Too much thatch, which is decaying stems, leaves, and other plant material, in any turf can be bad: holding too much water, not absorbing any water, and causing puffiness. Sometimes, only one of these issues can be managed and not cause too much trouble. However, this past summer, certain areas on the collars suffered with all three negative aspects of thatch in the same season, which proved too much to handle.

Then once August hit the rain stopped. The temperatures were lower than June, but intense nonetheless, and this proved to be too much for the turf. The alternative to thatch holding too much water in wet stretches is that during dry stretches, it actually becomes hydrophobic and won’t absorb any water. So, now the opposite of the initial issue of June and July struck the turf: we couldn’t get water to the roots because the thatch repelled some of the water applied. We are prepared for this situation and apply wetting agents that break the surface tension of water and allow it to infiltrate the soil. But in this case, with the turf already stressed, all it took was one afternoon of heat and lack of water and the turf began to die.

                                                        

This is only the first step in working to get the collars more resilient for future weather extremes. But it takes all these small changes to make improvements to the long term health of the turf.

 

 

We will be reducing down to 1 post per month starting in November. Thank you

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please rake your entire disturbance within the bunker, including all of your footprints, not just the area from where you hit.

 

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

Golf Cart tips

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Collar sod and replacement program

After a tough summer, some turf repair work is common. Although we have healed nicely, we still have some sod to replace on the collars, which we will be tackling this week.

Any non-Bermuda grass struggled this past season. Hot, wet, and dry times all occurred through the summer, and we lost some turf as a result. The bentgrass on the collars was no exception and we spent time seeding to promote recovery in September. That seeding effort was very effective and provided very nice healing. The natural shift in the weather has played a significant role in changing the fortunes of the collars as well. Now we are left with only the larger areas that couldn’t fully heal in the time from when we seeded until now; those spots are what we will be sodding this week. Luckily, there are very few of these trouble areas left to fix and once they are complete, we will shift to our continuing effort to manage the Bermuda grass growing into the collars.

In addition to the areas that are still left over from the summer, we will also be continuing our program of sodding out Bermuda grass that has invaded the collars, especially along the front edges where the approach transition to the collar. Back in 2021, we renovated all collars on the entire course because the previous turf was no longer adequate for our expectations or management. But nothing stays perfect forever, so since then, we have also worked on keeping the collars clean from encroachment  from Bermuda grass. The last two years we have worked through both practice greens, and holes 1-13, leaving holes 14-18 for this year. We remove the sod where Bermuda grass has moved in across the front of the greens to redefine the transition point, and fresh bentgrass sod is laid. Because we can’t truly prevent the Bermuda grass from growing into the collar, this replacement program is a continual process- next year we will start over going forward from #1. But this is most straightforward way to keep the collars clean, and that is our goal.

Laying this new sod on the collars at this time of year is perfect- the weather is conducive for fast healing, and the new sod will grow in and be unnoticeable very shortly.

 

 

 Starting in November, we will reduce down to 1 post per month through February. Thank you

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please rake your entire disturbance within the bunker, including all of your footprints, not just the area from where you hit.

 

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

Golf Cart tips

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Leaf season is here

With October here now, the next biggest task on the Grounds staff agenda is leaf cleanup. For the next 6 weeks, keeping the course clean will take a significant portion of our time.

One of the most difficult parts of leaf cleanup season is how long it lasts. Leaves have already started to come down, though slowly, and will continue until Thanksgiving. Getting the course clean one day and then showing up again the next day with leaves everywhere as if we never blew them at all, can be discouraging. Add in windy days where the leaves can’t be corralled where we want them no matter how hard we try, and it leaf season can really drag on.

We do have several powerful blowers that do a good job of moving the leaves off fairways, tees and rough. We use smaller blowers for greens and bunkers. It takes a coordinated effort for everyone to work together: smaller blowers move the leaves off the greens, through the bunkers, and out far enough from the bunker edge that the bigger blowers can pass through and continue to push the leaves out further. At that point, it depends on what day it is and what the golf schedule looks like to determine our next step.

We have two distinct processes for leaves. First, is simple cleaning of in-play areas. We blow greens, tees, fairways and bunkers so that golfers aren’t battling through all the leaves just to play. We do not use this strategy as our leaf removal process. Cleaning like this would be for end of the week and weekends, or days when we may have an outing or tournament. This is meant to be faster and allow for the best playing conditions possible. Our second program is where we focus on leaf removal. We still blow all the surfaces, but we don’t focus on making them perfectly clean for playing. Instead, we work on rounding the leaves into piles so that our vacuum can suck them up and haul them to our waste areas. When we are removing the leaves, there will be areas of lower concentration that we skip right over to focus on where the leaves are heaviest. Trying to work on removal during a busy Friday or Saturday would be counterproductive for us and terribly annoying for the golfers. We would be in everyone’s way, the playing surfaces wouldn’t be clean and golf balls would be lost, and we wouldn’t be efficiently managing our time.

Breaking our leaf program into two parts makes it easier to communicate with the staff about what work is to be done. And it provides golfers with the best experience during this fall season.

 

 

We will be reducing down to 1 post per month starting in November. Thank you

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please rake your entire disturbance within the bunker, including all of your footprints, not just the area from where you hit.

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

Golf Cart tips

 

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org