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