Rough around greens

Many of you have asked about the condition of the rough surrounding the greens. In some places it is thin and patchy, other places there are only weeds, and still even other places there is very little cover at all. I can assure you that this problem is on my radar and is being addressed from several directions.

First, due to the weather and timing of other agronomic practices, seed was not able to be put down around the greens this spring. To prevent more weeds from encroaching, a pre-emergent herbicide needed to be applied. Unfortunately, this herbicide will also prevent grass seed from germinating and maturing. Therefore, so as to not waste seed, I chose to not seed now, but I will seed extensively in the fall. By waiting until fall, air and soil temperatures are most conducive to grass seed germination. Also, the pre-emergent herbicide applied in the spring will have worn off and will no longer inhibit the seed. Finally, with a new seeder purchased this spring, and thorough aerating of the green surrounds, we will see an increase in turf quality.

Next, fertilizer has been applied in the rough around the greens to encourage the existing grass to thicken up. While this will not help areas that are bare, since there is no grass for the fertilizer to help, it will be a benefit everywhere that the current turf is located.  Close monitoring of the health of the surrounds will allow for additional applications of fertilizer throughout the spring and early summer. Once summer hits, the health and nutrition of the plant will be strong enough to carry it through the heat. Additionally, fungicides may be applied to help protect the turf as well.

Lastly, post-emergent, selective herbicides will be used around the greens as well. This particular chemical will target broadleaf weeds such as dandelion, clover, chickweed and other common weeds. The benefit to this product is that it does not harm the turf. Therefore, after application, all that will remain is the healthy stand of turf grass and no weeds.

While this process may not show the most immediate effects, there will be some short-term improvements and long-term success will be better. I, like all of you, am impatient when it comes to making and seeing improvements to the course. However, I know that hurrying to improve the quality around the greens by over seeding now would only be wasteful, forcing it all to be done again in the fall.

 See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Easter

Easter

Happy Easter! The course is starting to green up nicely. We have had some warm days which have helped the cool-season grasses tremendously. Cool-season grasses, which are the grasses in the rough, tees, and greens (all the grass that is green), enjoy moderate warmth. With daytime temperatures in the upper 50’s to 75 degrees, these plants can flourish. They begin to struggle and need intense management when temperatures reach into the mid 80’s and above, but right now they grow vigorously.

The Bermuda grass fairways have also begun to awaken. Again, the air temperature over the last couple of weeks has been positive, but the Bermuda grass, a warm-season grass, is really dependent more on soil temperatures. Soil temperatures tend to lag behind air temperature because of the difficulty in changing the temperature of the soil. By the end of the warm spell we just had we just reached the 65 degrees that the Bermuda grass really needs to begin to break its dormancy.  As you are out you will notice slopes and areas angled toward the sun have jumped out ahead of other areas. Once we get into the heat of the summer, the Bermuda grass will be alive and strong, thriving in the temperatures in which cool-season grasses start to weaken.

 

 

The warm daytimes have also been accompanied by some cold nights. Again, both cool-season and warm-season grasses are affected by this swing in temperatures. The cool-season grasses are far more tolerant of the drop in air temperature and only slightly adjust their growth rate, slowing marginally. The Bermuda grass is another story. Due to the lag in soil temperature behind air temperature, the soil just reached the needed temperature before falling back slightly with cold nights. It is very difficult on the fairways to begin to emerge and then be shocked by the cold nights. Luckily, modern varieties of Bermuda grass, like what we have on the fairways, are much more cold tolerant than their predecessors. The Bermuda grass will pause until air and soil temperatures climb up and then resume growth.

No one likes the swing in temperatures. Golfers get the dust off their clubs and enjoy some very comfortable weather. Everyone gets back outside to do some spring cleaning. Then the cold nights hit and temperatures dip back down and only the hardiest golfers stay out. The same is true for the turf. Both the warm and cool-season grasses jump when those warm days hit. Just like the golfers who put their clubs in the corner, the turf is shocked by the wide difference in temperature. We all know it won’t stay cold for long and even the turf knows summer is on its way.

 Again, Happy Easter and I hope you and your family have a great holiday.

 See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Seedheads

Tee Off With Joe

Annual bluegrass, or poa annua, the predominant species of turfgrass on the greens, is a very tricky grass. For several reasons, it is one of the best and worst turfgrass to manage. It can tolerate very low mowing heights and can make a very nice putting surface. One of the reasons that it can give a superintendent headaches is the seeds it produces. As any golfer who has played on poa greens when seed heads are prevalent can attest, it greatly affects the playability of the greens. As a turf manager, there are a few things that I can do to minimize and strive to eliminate seed heads altogether.

First, we must understand the basics of what is happening within the plant causing the flush of seed heads. Annual bluegrass has two bio-types within the species, a true annual and a perennial. The true annual type is the most troublesome because it is the plant that produces the most seed heads in the spring. It is generally classified as a winter annual, meaning it germinates in the fall and matures in the spring. Once mature, the plant will produce seed heads before slowing its growth going into summer. Each individual poa plant can produce up to 100 seeds in 8 weeks. Without doing an extensive study to count the number of plants on a green, I can safely assume there are many thousands. That equals a lot of possible seeds produced in a short amount of time.

What do all these seed heads mean to golfers? They give the green an ugly white cast and take away from the natural green color. Secondly, and most importantly, they greatly affect ball roll. Because of the inconsistency of seed heads across the green when a golfer putts, the ball wobbles and bounces instead of rolling smoothly. This can be very frustrating because no matter how well a putt is struck, it may or may not roll truly enough to go into the cup.

To control seed heads is an art as well as a science. Timing is everything. Historical knowledge of the specific plants on a courses’ greens is very important to minimizing seed heads; poa on one course may not seed at the same time as poa on another courses’ greens. Most superintendents use Growing Degree Day (GDD) models to help predict when poa will begin producing seeds. Over the years, these models have become quite accurate. I use the GDD 32 model. The model works like this: take the high temperature for the day and the low temperature for the day, add them together, divide by two and subtract 32, anything greater than zero is a growing degree day. There are no negatives.  When the accumulative growing degree days reach a certain threshold, poa seeds will start to emerge. Based on this model, I can time my herbicide applications more effectively.

Reducing seed heads is a benefit for the long term health of the plant as well. Each plant expends a great deal of energy to produce the seed, taking away from growing strong roots. Strong roots enable the plant to take the stress of the summer months. The more seed heads I can prevent the better each plant will be at handling the heat of the summer.

With diligent monitoring of weather and a little luck, seed heads can be greatly reduced. Fewer seed heads and golfers enjoy putting and I can have stronger, healthier plants heading into the most stressful time of the year.

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

 

Frost Delays

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As we break out from winter, a dreaded phrase comes back to life: “Frost Delay.” I can assure you I hate frost delays MORE than any golfer. Not only is the turf grass that I agonize over at risk, but the golfers I aim to please are frustrated.

First, I want to explain more about frost and when it occurs. Frost is the moisture from the air coming in contact with a surface that is below freezing, thus forming ice crystals on that surface. Many factors can influence the formation or lack of formation of frost. For example, clouds and wind are two reasons that frost may not form. Conversely, a clear sky and cold soil can both aid frost development. Tree cover can prevent frost, while an open area is perfect for frost to set in. There are also different stages or severity of frost. A light frost forms only on the upper leaf tissue of the plant, furthest away from the soil. Light frosts usually occur when air and soil temperatures are warmer, like later in spring or early fall. Damage from a light frost can still be significant and very unsightly. This type of frost also does not usually form on shorter mowed surfaces such as greens or tees because they are closer to the soil, which is warm enough to prevent frost from forming. Instead, it is mostly found in rough and sometimes fairways because these plants are further from the warm soil. Heavy frosts can be much more damaging. A heavy frost will cover the entire leaf tissue of the plant and may even reach to the soil surface, freezing the crown of the plant. Freezing of the crown is very dangerous for the plant. The crown is the most important growing point of the plant- any damage to this part from pressure and the entire plant will die. Not only does a heavy frost cover most or all of the outer surface of the plant, often times the water within the cells of the plant will freeze as well. Again, this is potentially fatal to the plant. When weight is applied to the frozen cells they are punctured, explode and the plant dies.

Both light and heavy frosts can occur in one area and not another. For example it is possible to have a frost at the golf course but not at your house because of different environmental factors at each location. Another aspect to keep in mind is that frost can occur when the ambient air temperature is above 32 degrees F. Outside ambient air temperature is measured approximately 2 meters above ground, therefore any air below that height may be colder and form frost on the plant. Also, the soil temperature can influence the air temperature just above the surface, cooling the air below what may be measured and reported as the current temperature. So the thermometer in your car may say 35 degrees F but that can be vastly different than what is happening near soil level on a green in an open area.

One final thought about the formation of frost has to do with when frost forms. If the sun warms the earth all day, then the earth begins to cool at night, starting when the sun goes down. The earth then cools gradually from sunset through the night. Following this logic, the coldest part of the night/morning is just before the sun comes back up to begin warming the earth again. Therefore, frost will be its heaviest, or “set in” just before sunrise. This again can be deceiving to golfers because they may leave their house before sunrise to get that first tee time, see no frost, and arrive at the course and see a frost delay.

With all that being said, many still wonder what the actual risks are to a plant from frost. As mentioned above, the risk to the plant is death. When weight is applied to the frozen plant and the cells are crushed the plant will die. The density of turf grass plants means that weight is never applied to only a single plant, therefore many plants die and what is left is the mark from where the weight was applied. The most recognizable example of this is footprints. People walk across a frost covered green and every one of their footprints is visible. However, plants can become hardened off against frost damage. Sometimes, stepping on a frost covered plant does nothing at all. This means that the most difficult piece of the puzzle is there is no way to accurately know when a plant will die from frost damage. Therefore, to be on the safe side, light or heavy frost, springtime or the fall, play must be held back.

There are some things that turf managers can do to combat or reduce frost. The most common tool is water. By turning the irrigation heads, frost can be melted from the plant. Because the irrigation water is above freezing, it is warmer than the frost on the plant and thus it melts the frost. However, water applied too early will melt the frost temporarily but then re-freeze because the surrounding temperature is still too cold.  However, probably the greatest tool we have is communicating with the golfers. By educating golfers on frost and its risks, it can mitigate some of the frustration that frost delays cause.

Frost delays are not going anywhere soon. But with some patience, and an increased understanding of the science behind frost, maybe the future delays won’t be as difficult for any of us.

Welcome

Tee Off With Joe

Welcome! My name is Joseph Villegas and I recently took over as Superintendent at Bretton Woods Recreation Center. This is my first of many blog posts. For those of you who do not know me, I grew up in Washington State and attended Washington State University. I earned a Bachelor of Science in Soil Science with an emphasis in Turfgrass Management. Right out of school, I worked for three years at Columbia Edgewater Country Club in Portland, OR. From there, I moved to Columbus, OH where I worked for two years at The Ohio State University Golf Club. Most recently, I worked at Burning Tree Club in Bethesda, MD for three and a half years.  I have been married for three years and my wife is a high school chemistry teacher at Springbrook High School in Silver Spring, MD. I have been at the center for a month now and things have been great. I look forward to spending many years at the facility.

As for the course, the weather is dictating everything right now. The cold temperatures have been the norm for almost four months. The two most important concerns about the cold are how it will affect the greens and how it will affect the bermudagrass. Luckily for each, most often the coldest temperatures have followed significant snowfall. The snow acts as a blanket for the turf, protecting it from the harshest conditions. Each time the snow has melted and temperatures climb the greens have looked strong. As for the bermudagrass, dormancy is broken by warmer air and soil temperatures, meaning it will still be a few weeks before the fairways liven up. However, to simulate how the bermudagrass will respond when warmer temperatures arrive, we have three plugs in the office and each has greened up extremely well. This is a good sign.

The weather has also delayed spring cultural practices. Greens aeration should be occurring as I post this blog. We have altered our original plan so as to get done as fast as possible and make up the lost time.

The cold has not kept us from doing some work on the course though. I know you have seen the stump holes from all the trees that have been lost over the last couple of years. We have started the process of sodding the holes that are in play. We are throwing aerification cores into the holes that are more out of the way. We have also been through every bunker in detail, readjusting sand depths evenly throughout and pushing sand back up onto faces where it has washed down through the winter.

I have many ideas for improvements and changes that I think would benefit the membership of Bretton Woods. I also know that golfers have ideas for their course and I welcome the opportunity to discuss these improvements as well. Please feel free to contact me and we can discuss the changes that may make Bretton Woods better for everyone.

I can’t wait for the season to get going and I am sure you all are anxious as well. I inherited a golf course with a great amount of potential and I hope to make this season the best yet.