Chipping green

The chipping green is a very important aspect of the golf facilities at Bretton Woods. Because it is widely used and vital to many golfers’ practice routines, the green should play as similar to the course greens as possible. This green also serves as patches on other greens. Recently some sod was used for work on number 17 green. Our maintenance routines regularly include the chipping green and it receives all the inputs that the other greens get, but it needs a little more work. To repair this open wound and also to continue to make this green more closely resemble the other greens, we did an extra aeration to the chipping green on Wednesday 10/1.

The chipping green has built up more thatch than the other 18 greens. Thatch is the dead and decomposing plant material that is just below the living tissue and above the soil. Managing this layer is vital to healthy greens. Controlling the amount of thatch is also key to managing the playability of the green. High thatch content can lead to greens staying too wet, which can lead to disease. When mowing a green with too much thatch it is far easier to scalp the turf, causing injury and again leading to problems. Playing on a green with too much thatch is no fun either. The green is very soft and spongy. It is also bumpy which affects putting. So when a green with too much thatch receives a shot it does not take a hard, firm bounce and roll out. Instead it makes more a “plop” sound and stays very near its pitch mark. Due to the higher thatch content in the chipping green, when practicing on this green, shots hit in do not react as they would on the course. It is difficult to truly practice one’s short game when the facility does not play like the course.

To alleviate the thatch problem, we are performing an extra aeration on the chipping green. Aerating removes organic material, or thatch, thus lowering the overall percentage contained in the green. The extra aeration will be minimally invasive and only slightly impact the playability of the green. Taking this step now will make the green better overall in the long run.

Recently, as part of the master plan work, a patch of poorly performing turf on number 17 green was sodded. The sod came from the chipping green. Many of you may have noticed the missing turf visible on the chipping green. One of the easiest and fastest ways to repair an area like this is through the use of cores. We are able to work on two problems at once by aerating the chipping green now. Not only will we be removing organic material from the green, but we can use some of the cores to fill in where the sod was removed. This will replace the sod with turf that matches exactly the current turf of the green. This area will progress similar to area we extended on number 15 green.

Although the chipping green is important, we feel that we can execute this extra cultural practice and only disrupt the golf experience slightly. Plus, the long term benefit for the green’s health and the golfer’s game will be improved.

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org