Another round of deep tine aeration

As you read this, we are working on deep tine aerating the putting greens, which we will wrap up on Tuesday. This is a great late-season practice to help the greens manage the winter.

We have followed this program of November deep tine aeration for many years. You can read a past blog from all the way back in 2015 when we first started the annual aeration. Continuing the aeration every year since then has helped the greens improve every year including this past season.

The principles of why we perform this aeration have remained the same as when we first started, but in particular with the onset of the strong El Niño this year, it could be even more critical. While the winter weather will still be variable and the forecast could change many times, the early report is that we could have a wet winter. Whether that precipitation is in the form of snow or rain doesn’t matter- having deep aeration channels in the greens will help the water drain. Moving the water off the surface keeps the greens playable, but more importantly, during winter, it helps to prevent ice buildup on the surface.

Building and sticking to a program for any aspect of turfgrass maintenance is important. But especially when dealing with the putting greens, being consistent in our efforts leads to consistent, healthy greens during the season.

 

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

 

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

Golf Cart tips

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Bent grass collar sod work

Our Bermuda grass has a long list of benefits: less water use, less pesticide use, traffic tolerance in the summer, and more, but one of the drawbacks is Bermuda grass encroachment into unwanted areas of the course, specifically the collars and greens. Each fall, we remove the Bermuda grass from the collars and lay new bent grass sod.

During the summer, the Bermuda grass grows so vigorously that it will move into the bent grass collar and contaminate the cool season turf. There are no surefire ways to kill Bermuda grass, it can only be stunted or defoliated. It will grow back without fail. And the herbicides that are used to injure the Bermuda grass will undoubtedly kill any of the other grass on the property. So, controlling the Bermuda grass in the collars is a never-ending battle.

We chose to keep the collars a cool season turfgrass variety when we renovated them back in 2021. Another option would have been to make them all Bermuda grass instead but having a small strip of Bermuda grass encircling the cool season green, and between the green and the cool season rough, would have looked strange, but more importantly would have been an even bigger nightmare to manage. The bent grass collars have performed well and have provided a much better playing surface and are much easier to maintain from an agronomic perspective. Bu
t once per season, we must remove the encroaching Bermuda grass and put new sod back in its place. This helps reset the boundaries of the collar versus approach and keeps a buffer between the Bermuda grass and putting greens.

Each year, we work through 3-5 holes, depending on how much sod we purchase and how much Bermuda grass needs to be removed. And then we rotate through the course over a 2–4-year period. The process is simple enough: we remove old sod, only where the Bermuda grass has invaded; next we aerate the bare soil to give the new bent grass sod channels for root development; we then lay the new sod. The new sod will take a few weeks to truly heal in place, but headed into winter, that won’t be an issue. We will spread some sand over the new sod to give it some protection from any bitter cold and to help level any uneven areas. By spring, the new sod from the previous fall will hardly be noticeable.

Keeping up on the maintenance of the collars is part of our program. The collars provide great playability, and the clearly defined lines are pleasing aesthetically. Most importantly, the collars have proved to be much easier to grow, so keeping them nice is positive all around.

 

 

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

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

If you drive your motorized cart into a bunker, please rake the tracks. 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

Second SDS application

We have reached the requisite days since our first Spring Dead Spot (SDS) application to make our second, which was applied today.

The key driver for both applications is soil temperatures. The trigger is when the soil temperature drops below 65 degrees for 5 consecutive days. This year, that happened for us at the end of September. Once the first application is made, the second needs to follow 21-28 days later depending on the soil temperature trends. If the soils warm back up and stay warm, then we would aim for the 28-day interval. However, if the soils continue to cool down more or stay close to or just below their mark from the first application, then we would apply closer to the 21-day interval or just after. Either way, we don’t want the second application to extend beyond the 28-day interval, or the fungus population can climb back too high for adequate control.

Despite the record warmth we had for a couple of days last week, the soil temperatures only spiked slightly, and now with the cold weekend, they have dropped back down well into range for the second SDS application. The application itself takes 10-12 hours total so it can’t just be squeezed into any day. So, contending with regular use of the golf course, along with outings and other events, makes planning and execution very difficult and leave us with only a few options. Today fit within our timing interval and we were able to find a Monday without anything else happening so everything aligned.

Regardless of the challenges and difficulty, these two applications are the most important ones that will be made to the Bermuda grass all year. Fitting them in and making sure they are done correctly is paramount.

 

 

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

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

If you drive your motorized cart into a bunker, please rake the tracks. 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

Maintenance shop water line repair

Sometimes we have work to do around the property that has nothing to do with the maintaining turfgrass. Last week, we finally wrapped up a repair of the drinking water line that supplies fresh water to our maintenance shop.

Working on a large, older property comes with its challenges. In this case, the drinking water line at the maintenance shop is as old as the facility itself. We have had many years of stable conditions, but this year we did have a leak develop. Unfortunately, the pipe is underneath our parking lot, so it requires removing asphalt to get started. Not only that, but the pipe is about 7 feet deep, making for quite the excavation to expose the problem.

Because of the depth of the pipe, it could have been leaking for some time before the water finally reached the surface. A contractor helped us with the excavation, and we had to deal with very saturated soil as we worked. Eventually we reached the pipe and found the leak. The actual repair was very easy. We recharged the line to make sure there were no more leaks before backfilling what had become a very large hole. Once we were in the clear, backfilling went smoothly. All that was left was asphalt repair which concluded last week.

The golf course needs attention every day, some days more than others. But we also must maintain multiple other areas and infrastructure around Bretton Woods. Even though it took more time than we wanted, it was nice to get this repair finished up.

 

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

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

If you drive your motorized cart into a bunker, please rake the tracks. 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

Look ahead to fall

Fall has finally arrived, despite two days last week climbing to the upper 80’s! The cooler weather brings several changes to the golfer’s experience also. So here is a preview of what to expect.

Fall is arguably the best season of the year. Temperatures are comfortable during the day, and bring crispness in the evening, and leaves start to change color. The leaves also start to drop and that means lots of cleanup. Our blowers will be out daily, with the vacuum right behind. If we could condense our cleanup to one week a year and have every leaf drop at the same time we would gladly take it. Unfortunately, it will last until Thanksgiving. So please be patient as we work through the process- some additional noise from the machines, piles in the rough waiting to be picked up, and especially on blustery days, leaves scattered in every direction.

Before long those crisp nights will drop low enough to give us our first frost delay of the fall. Frost is a tricky and annoying evil of the season. Frost covered turf will be severely damaged or killed from traffic- golf and maintenance carts, our machines, and even foot traffic. We work diligently to allow golfers onto the course absolutely as soon as possible after a delay. But we must have time to prepare the course, even minimally, before it is too crowded. Sometimes this means that the frost has started to clear, but we have not opened the course yet because we are still doing some work. Please obey all signage and check in with the Proshop for updates. We will open as early as possible.

Lastly, fall is a great time for the Grounds department to start some projects. Drainage, bunker renovations, and new collar sod are the three main items we tackle at this point. The weather is great for growing grass, which means new sod can heal in quickly. But most of the established grass, especially the Bermuda grass, has slowed its growth enough that it no longer requires daily mowing and attention. Therefore, we have the time available for projects now also. There will be bunkers that are under construction or new turf that must be protected. We will reopen these areas as quickly as we can, but please be aware and careful when playing through our work.

Fall is the best season for golf because the course is in great shape and the weather is perfect. These reminders will help everyone enjoy this season.

 

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

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

If you drive your motorized cart into a bunker, please rake the tracks. 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