Bermuda grass sod

Bermuda grass makes up a large percentage of our managed turfgrass and 99.99% of that turf survived winter and is off to a great spring. Nevertheless, the .01% is still something we are working to improve and repair. Last week we were finally able to get sod for the worst areas.

We had temperatures in the 90’s in mid-April, and then a dramatic cool down. All the way into mid-May was cooler than normal, especially overnight. We have also been very dry throughout that same stretch. Neither of these factors are conducive to strong Bermuda grass growth, so our best option for the particularly poor areas is sod. Unfortunately, our local sod producer experienced the exact same temperatures and lack of rainfall as we did, meaning they struggled to get their Bermuda grass sod ready for harvest. This is what caused the time between seeing the need for sod in these struggling areas and the time when we were actually able to make the repairs.

Nevertheless, we were able to secure sod last week and
we wrapped up the work in just a couple of days. The sod was laid at #1 white tee, #2 approach, #3 approach, #4 gold tee, #7 approach, #14 approach, two spots in #15 fairway, #15 approach, #16 approach, and our Bermuda grass soccer field. Several of these areas are repeat offenders that we continue to work hard on improving. #1 tee has been a shade issue, which we were able to alleviate this past winter, so we expect improvement in this area moving forward. #4 tee will have tree work performed this fall/winter to address its shade issues. Several of the approaches had new drains installed this winter and the sod that we laid back over the drains is what didn’t survive. This is likely due to the extra stress of winter work on warm season turf. And the other spots where work has previously been done but continue to struggle, we hope can be improved with the Verti-quake, which we have already used once this spring and will continue to use through the summer. (The link describes the Shockwave, but we bought a Verti-quake- identical machines, different names.)

Having Bermuda grass as a dominant turf for any surface in this region is risky. We are further north than the Bermuda grass would prefer. So, having some repair work to do in the spring is really just par for the course, and being able to limit it to such a small amount is a huge victory. We are happy the sod is done and we can look forward to the rest of the season.

 

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please enter and exit all bunkers on the low side. While this may result in slightly more distance to rake, it will keep the sod on the face of the bunker from tearing. It is also much safer! 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

Improving the stone on the course

Taking care of the turf and grounds on the property takes up nearly all our time and focus. But we realize that there is more to the experience of being at Bretton Woods than just the grass. Especially on the course, we try to make the entirety of the round enjoyable, from the turf to the landscapes and hardscapes. We have started the process of updating the stone around benches and water coolers to enhance the visual appeal.

Many years ago, loose gravel was placed around most of the benches and water cooler stations. Stone or gravel of any type does serve a very important purpose in these locations. These are areas that we don’t want grass- or any weed for that matter- and the stone keeps plants at bay. It also allows to easily spray herbicides to kill any weeds that do break through without damaging any other turf. Stone can also provide a nice visual contrast from the surrounding grass.

However, the stone that was in place has outlived its welcome. In fact, it likely needed to be changed long before this but now is when it has made it to the top of the project list. Over the next several weeks, we will be out updating the stone around the course. We started last week and will be working on this project at any available time throughout the season.

We have chosen a larger size stone this time. It is a nicer looking rock, rather than gravel, and it is sturdier also. The larger size will help it withstand being moved from water and from our debris blowers. Staying in place better will help it last longer and look cleaner more consistently. We still have the benefit of weed suppression and herbicide tolerance from the previous gravel, but with a new, updated appearance.

Not all the stone on the course is gravel though. More recently, though still many years back now, we placed nice stone under a few trash cans and mulch washout areas. Because it has been so long, some of these areas need refreshing. Over time, some of the stones have sunk into the soil or been buried by debris washed over the top. So, as part of the hardscape enhancement, any previously placed stone will be lifted, cleaned, and reset for a renewed appearance also. In some instances, some fresh stones may also be added to fill in any gaps.

This will likely be a “summer long” process exchanging stone on the course. But the improvements will be noticeable and worth the wait.

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please enter and exit all bunkers on the low side. While this may result in slightly more distance to rake, it will keep the sod on the face of the bunker from tearing. It is also much safer! 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

First cut of native areas

May is usually a great month for plants. Trees, flowers, grasses- even Bermuda grass- start really ramping up their growth. Additionally, the grasses in our low-maintenance, native areas start to fill out as well. Early May is when we start our maintenance in these native areas to prepare them for the season.

Just like most aspects of grounds maintenance at Bretton Woods, the native areas are managed on a program. That program has taken several years to develop to the level it is at now, and we likely are not done tweaking it, but at least right now, the native area process starts in May. As mentioned, everything starts to grow about as vigorously as it will all season in May. This makes it a good time to cut the tall grass down, including cutting back any weeds that have started. Waiting too much longer and the grass- and weeds- will get too tall and the mower will struggle to cut. Last week we worked through this first cut using our Ventrac tractor. It takes about 3 and half days to complete everything but it is a smooth process.

Mowing is the main part of our native-area maintenance program. Next, we’ll apply herbicide to control any broadleaf weeds. The grass will quickly rebound from this trim and mature nicely for the season, leaving the native areas ready for another summer.

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please enter and exit all bunkers on the low side. While this may result in slightly more distance to rake, it will keep the sod on the face of the bunker from tearing. It is also much safer! 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

Tee flowers and shrubs

Remembering that we manage the entire property can get lost sometimes when we focus so much on turf health and playability. Taking time to beautify the surrounding areas can go a long way in enhancing the member experience. We recently added some new greenery around the course.

Bretton Woods is more of a natural landscape than a perfectly planted garden. We do have some shrubs and ornamental trees, but they are limited in diversity and scope. We need plants that are very low maintenance, deer resistant, and hardy. We don’t have a high landscape budget or dedicated staff, so low input species are important. Nevertheless, we did recognize that we had some gaps in our landscape, especially on the course, that needed something installed. So, over the last few weeks we have been working on introducing some new plants in specific locations.

A key point for us to make this work is to start small. Planting hundreds of new plants and then not being able to keep up with watering and having some suffer defeats the purpose. We also are trying out several different species to see what might work better in our microenvironment and withstand the deer population. If we find that a couple of our choices are not the right fit, then we don’t have too many to replace because we started smaller in scale. Lastly, we made a few of our selections based on what was available at local nurseries in the area. For this round of planting, we chose a mix of both small and larger flowering shrubs, as well as some small trees to place in several mulch areas around the course:

                Crape myrtles- 1 each near #1 red tee and #3 red tee

                Swamp rose mallow- near #16 tee

                Black lace elderberry- #15 tee

                Virginia sweet spire- #1 black/blue tee

                Ninebark- #11 tee

                Northern bush honeysuckle- #8 tee

                Wrinkle leaf goldenrod- #17 tee

 

Our only setback thus far has been the very cold night we endured last week, which killed all the young leaves on the crape myrtles. The swamp rose mallow wasn’t damaged, but it is also a heat loving plant, which has been absent thus far and so it has been slow to get going.

 

So far, the plants look good, and we are excited to watch them mature.

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please enter and exit all bunkers on the low side. While this may result in slightly more distance to rake, it will keep the sod on the face of the bunker from tearing. It is also much safer! 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

Bermuda grass green up

It seems like the last several blogs have all started with a recap of how changeable the weather has been. And that changeable weather has played tricks on the Bermuda grass some more. Overall, the Bermuda grass is very healthy and will get its green color back, but last week’s cold night (26 degrees!) postponed any quick start to its growing season.

Breaking dormancy for any turf is a process that can’t be rushed. More importantly, it can’t really be controlled either. We have a few tactics that we employ, more so in the fall than in the spring, to help aid the Bermuda grass, but Mother Nature is in charge and we must adapt.

Watching the Bermuda grass green up each season can be fast and slow at the same time! Sometimes it feels like the fairways and tees will never be in mid-summer form when enduring spring days of 50-degree highs and mid 30’s overnight. Then suddenly, just like this year, we hit a few upper 70 or higher degree days and- boom- the Bermuda grass seems to fill in overnight. Recently, the USGA published a short time-lapse video of Bermuda grass greening up in spring in North Carolina and it helps to illustrate the process the turf goes through and that it is not always a linear process. You can watch the video here: https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/course-care/green-section-record/64/issue-07/spring-greenup--a-turfgrass-transformation.html

After watching the video, there were a couple of things that stood out to us. First, high traffic areas don’t green up nearly as fast as other spots. Especially areas just off greens where foot traffic concentrates walking on and off greens. There are a couple of areas that aren’t even fully green within the timeframe of the video, even in a considerably warmer climate than ours. This is very similar to several of our trouble spots- like 3, 14, and 15 approaches. While traffic isn’t the only issue, it is clear from this video that it is a significant factor.

A photo looking back down 10 fairway

The second key detail we noticed from the video relates to drainage, which we got a glimpse of from the rainstorms that occurred during the video. Areas where water puddled or was slower to drain or move off the surface are places where green up was slow again. In the video, some of the same areas that had concentrated wear were also slow to drain. This relates to compaction stemming from the increased traffic. We can draw similarities from the course in the video to Bretton Woods again relating to drainage. The same trouble areas in the approaches are areas where water has been slow to drain. Even if the area is sloped, the soil is poor enough that it becomes waterlogged and can’t dry down. This is especially bad during the winter months, when freezing temperatures can kill overly hydrated Bermuda grass.

Over the last several years, we have worked to install drainage in these specific locations- 3 approach was done a few years ago, 14 approach 2 years ago, and 15 approach was completed this past fall. Although the drains haven’t solved the issue- we still have repair work to do in all these areas- it has improved our chances of Bermuda grass survival. We have also started a deep aeration program aimed at these spots in particular using our vertical aerating machine  which will help open the soil down much deeper than regular aeration. The Verti-quake is literally a very slow machine- we must drive just under 1 mph- but it is also a slow process to change soil structure, so it doesn’t cure conditions overnight, but coupled with our compost program , we are on the right track. (Note- the blog post discussed the Shockwave, but we purchased an identical machine from a different manufacturer called the Verti-quake)

Although the Bermuda grass has a yellow hue right now, it won’t last all season. As daytime temperatures and soil temperatures climb up to their summer peaks, the turf will naturally regain its color. And we will be working alongside making sure we are helping in any way possible.

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please keep carts on cart paths for the entirety of par 3 holes.

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