Project update: Aeration, new tee sod, #15 green expansion

Summer is winding down and the fall golf season is just around the corner. It is a good time to update some projects that have been mentioned in past blogs.

Greens aeration went very well. We did have some issues with rain and that cost us almost an entire day. The grounds staff worked extremely hard though and we nearly got back on schedule, making up over half of the time lost. By gaining this time back we were able to ensure that everything healed at relatively the same time, rather than having half the greens healing two or even three days later than the other half. We are just hitting the two week mark since the greens were aerated and it is nearly impossible to tell anything was done. After aerification is over it is easy to think that summer is over and the turf can take a deep breath and our staff can relax. However, letting up now would be a mistake because making it through August is still a challenge that must not be taken lightly. Following aerification and up until now, we have been keeping the greens a little slower and “healthier” to promote healing and to survive August. As September hits, overnight temperatures drop and sun angles change, the greens can be managed more aggressively with less fear of irreparable damage. Because of this, greens speeds will increase into the month of September and the fall golf season.

The rain was a factor in the aeration of the fairways as well. Again, in order to complete the task on schedule we decided to use solid tines instead of hollow tines. Solid tines make a hole but do not remove any material. It was the only option once the rains came. Using hollow tines was not practical based on the weather during our scheduled aeration window. Postponing would have meant two separate weeks of golf interrupted by aeration, which we were reluctant to do. So, by using the solid tines we stayed within our allotted timeframe and still were able to provide some benefit to the turf grass.

The new Bermuda grass sod that we laid on the back and forward tees on holes 5-9 has taken nicely and those tees have been open for over two weeks now. The plan is to continue the renovation of the remaining tees on those holes next year. Again, this process of re-grassing the tees is beneficial for both our staff and the playability of the course. Bermuda grass requires far fewer inputs than the ryegrass tees, which means less money to maintain. Also, having only one species of grass on all the tees will make maintenance much simpler. Finally, when the summer time heat strikes, the Bermuda grass will thrive and playability will not suffer as can be the case with the ryegrass tees.

In addition, the small expansion of #15 green is progressing nicely. The plugs have all taken root and have begun to grow. The area has been fertilized twice, top-dressed twice, rolled several times, and mowed once. This process of fertilizing, topdressing and mowing will continue for some time before the new section completely matches the current green. However, the key to this process happening quickly is to “train” the grass to grow short. By mowing the grass early on, it never has a chance to grow tall and immediately it adapts to being mowed at a low height. Luckily, because these plugs were taken directly from #15 green, the grass was already accustomed to being cut short. So not allowing it to “forget” that it was cut short will make the transition as smooth as possible.

 

 See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

#15 green expansion

There are a lot of changes happening on the golf course right now. Many of those changes have occurred on the 15^th hole. While most of the work has been handled by an outside contractor, one small change was done by our staff. As you play in the next few weeks you will notice that we have slightly expanded the 15^th green.

Rather than sod or seed this new section of green, we decided to use aerification plugs. There are several benefits to using plugs versus seeding or sodding. First, we would not be able to use seed that would match the current turf on the 15^th green. We would have to seed with bent grass, and although bent grass is a good greens’ turf grass and there is some currently in the greens, it would not blend well with the existing green and would look and play different for a long time. Sodding would have been the fastest way to add putting surface area. However, similar to seeding, we would not have been able to match the existing green. It is also very hard to avoid creating layers of different soil types when sodding, especially on a green. These layers can lead to many long term problems that were not worth the risk.

This was not a decision based solely on the fact that the other options were not the best. Using plugs actually eliminates some of the issues that would result from seeding or sodding. First, we used the plugs directly off of the rest of #15 green, ensuring that the new part of the green will be as closely matched to the rest of the green as is possible. Also, the soil beneath the turf will match perfectly as well, which will help to eliminate any layering issues.

The goal was to add some square footage to the front right of the green. This was done for a couple of reasons. First, gaining putting surface area in that corner will allow for more pin locations in that lower area. By expanding the green by the little that we did we have added about two more pin locations. This is positive because more pin locations mean we can allow more time for old plugs to heal before we have to rotate back to the same place. Also, adding pin locations means that there is increased variety of setup options. Now there will be some variety of location when the pin is placed in the lower right bowl of the green.

The second reason we expanded the green was to help accentuate the new design of the steep face of rough that will guard the green. By bringing the green forward where we did, the bunker in the front now looks like it pushes further into the green. Also, the corner of rough that wraps around the front right corner of the green will have a much nicer, round look to it based on the new shape of the green. Prior to this minor change, the rough would have had a very angular, sharp edge that would have looked fabricated. Now, the turn will be smooth and natural looking.

This section of expanded green will take some time to mature. It is not an immediate surface like sod. However, once mature, the result will be better than sod and will play more like the rest of the green.

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Fall aeration

Fall aeration will be in progress as you read this. Few things are as beneficial to the turf grass as aeration. Few things are as frustrating to golfers as aeration. We try to minimize all disruption to play and finish our cultural practices as quickly as possible. Similar to spring aeration, the greens and tees will be aerated, however in the fall we add fairways into the mix.

The greens aeration is handled by our staff. We have one aerator for this process but it is one of the fastest machines on the market. We will do the front 9 greens on Monday and the back 9 will be open for play. On Tuesday, the opposite will take place. We will aerate the back 9 greens and the front 9 will be open for play. On the greens we will use a combination of solid and hollow tines. This will reduce the amount of cleanup required but will still put as many holes in the surface. Although the greens will be less than ideal for a time, aerating now will allow for ample healing time heading in to the fall season. As the day lengths get shorter and overnight temperatures drop, we will be able to push the greens more and make the putting surfaces very nice all fall. If we waited to aerate it would impact the play in September and October a great deal more. Tee aeration is also handled by our staff using the same machine we use on the greens. Once the greens are finished we jump straight to the tees.

The tee aeration will require much less cleanup work though because we will be using solid tines that do not pull a core on most of the tees. Also, all master plan tees constructed this year will not need to be aerated. This makes the aeration of the tees almost a non-issue to golfers.

The biggest difference between spring and fall aeration is with the Bermuda grass. In the spring the Bermuda grass is just breaking dormancy and aerating it at that time would not be productive. The grass would not be growing vigorously enough to handle the disturbance and the holes would be open for a long time. Therefore, aeration of the Bermuda grass is done in summer when the plants are growing at their highest rate.  This will allow some much needed oxygen to penetrate the soil and spark the Bermuda grass. Another positive aspect that we hope will have long term benefits is the relief of compaction that aeration will provide. There is a correlation between compaction and spring dead spot. Although there are several contributing factors, anything we can do to help alleviate this problem in the Bermuda grass will be valuable. For the fairways we will have a company come in and perform the aeration for us. Because of the acreage of fairways, man-power needed, and equipment required, it is not feasible for us to undertake this task. The fairways will be aerated on Tuesday. Any new sod on holes 3, 15, 17 will not be aerated at this time. This will help to speed the process and should allow for all fairways to be completed in one day.

Spring and fall aeration are about a week of disruption combined. The disturbance to play is minimal and the turf grass heals very quickly. So while it may seem as though “we are aerating again already?” the true impact on golfers and the playability of the course is far from intrusive.

 See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Superintendent tools

Just like any profession, a superintendent has tools of his trade. There are variations and one superintendent may have preferences for a certain tool or type of tool versus another, but there are a few tools that you would probably find handy at any golf course.

Soil probe: A soil probe can be invaluable during pretty much any time of year. By taking a core sample, we are able to observe several things in a short time. We can monitor moisture content, root structure, anaerobic soil conditions, soil texture and structure, just to name a few. Each of these plays a role in the health of the turf. With this one tool we can gain insight into the health of the plant and the soil. We carry the typical stainless steel probe seen below. But we also use a modified golf shaft for quicker, smaller samples. The golf shaft is something that is never far from our reach starting in March all the way through to October. It is most efficient for monitoring soil moisture, and far less disruptive than the larger probe.

Thermometer: This is not a tool that was designed solely for turf grass managers. It is no different than any other thermometer. We use it to measure soil temperatures. So many factors regarding health of turf, possible pest increases, timing of agronomic practices, and stress rely heavily on soil temperatures. Cool season turf has an optimal range of soil temperatures for growth which is 55-80 degrees Fahrenheit. If we can monitor this and know when the soil has reached the lower limit we can plan cultural practices. Likewise, through monitoring, when the upper limit has been reached and passed, we know that we need to be aware that the turf is under severe stress and plan accordingly.

Paint/paint gun: Paint and a paint gun can hardly be labeled as agronomic tools, but they can play a key role in projects occurring on the golf course. We paint lines to mark edges for new sod lines during sod projects. When adding or replacing grass, painting lines allows us to see where new lines of grass will be and how this looks rather than cutting and replacing sod and realizing it is not correct. It is also easy to tell our staff to replace everything “inside of a particular rectangle”, or “everything to the left of a certain line” without having to be there. If we have to dig, to prevent accidentally breaking the irrigation lines, we will paint the approximate location of the pipes prior to breaking ground.

Whether it is tools truly meant for a golf course superintendent or not, certain items are key to almost any operation. Simple tools that allow for insights into the health of the turf grass are critical to the daily maintenance of the plants.

 See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org