Pylex treatment on 4 approach

The evidence of chemical treatment has rarely been as clear as it is on #4 approach over the last week. Small and medium splotches of bright white turf mixed in with the green has made for a very different appearance. It is unsightly, but it is not without reason. Each spot contained a weed called goose grass. It is a weed that appears at a similar time to crabgrass and can be equally as difficult to manage.

#4 approach was especially hard hit by Spring Dead Spot (SDS). The reason or reasons that this particular area was more severely affected than other areas is only conjecture. What we do know, though, is that because of the severe disease infection, it allowed bare areas to be infested with goose grass. The Bermuda grass is very slow to heal across the patches and the opportunistic weed pounces. Similar to other areas of the course, there was some less than desirable pre-emergent weed control on this spot also. When combined with the disease-weakened Bermuda grass, it was only a matter of time before the weeds filled in the voids.

In years past, goose grass was very difficult to control chemically. The most effective defense was pre-emergent control. Once that was defeated, hand-picking the weeds was the most effective tactic; but for this situation, there were too many small plants to hand pick efficiently. Recently, a new herbicide has been developed that does a tremendous job controlling goose grass. However, it is also tremendous at injuring Bermuda grass. This is why #4 approach is dotted with white spots. The herbicide works by disrupting carotenoid biosynthesis, which directly affects photosynthesis. Treated plants slowly turn white as chlorophyll is depleted, and the weeds can no longer produce food causing them to die.

The treated spots are easily visible. However, imagine if everything within the black lines was as white as the spots from a broadcast spray. Spot treating was the best option in this case.

We spot sprayed #4 approach with this new chemical and were very diligent to spray as little as possible on any Bermuda grass. Goose grass was intermixed directly into the Bermuda grass so we were unable to keep the herbicide off the Bermuda 100%; however, we were far more successful than if we had done a broadcast spray across the entire approach. We were willing to tolerate some injury to the desirable turf in order to treat the weed issue.

The good news is that Bermuda grass is extremely resilient and will only be injured by the herbicide not killed. The extensive root system of the Bermuda grass allows some of its leaves to be affected but also allows it to still be able to translocate food to the main growing points of the plant and outgrow the herbicide damage. Over the next couple of weeks the color will return to the Bermuda grass but not to the weeds. They will still be visibly white until they turn brown, shrivel and die.

In related work, we are also plugging new Bermuda grass into other SDS areas in the fairways. By taking unaffected turf from our nursery and introducing it into the bare areas, we hope to establish some viable Bermuda grass.  We cannot 100% control SDS, but healthy Bermuda grass is the first defense, so getting these thin areas to fill in as much as possible before winter is key. We will also continue our other planned SDS control measures. Between the plugs and other means we will continue to reduce the quantity and severity of the Spring Dead Spot issues

Bermuda grass is a tremendous turf for our situation at Bretton Woods. Spring Dead Spot is its one Achilles heel, but between new herbicides and our increasing knowledge for handling and treating for the disease, we continue to try and improve the Bermuda grass conditions at Bretton Woods.

Etiquette Reminder of the Week

Thank you for using the green sand to fill your divots on the course. Please remember to not overfill the divots. A mound of sand will damage our mowers.

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Knowledge gained from last year

There are still a couple of loose ends to tie up with regards to this year’s construction, i.e. paving and trees. However, the overall course construction is finished and as of this past weekend everything is open and ready for play. As everyone enjoys the new designs, you may notice that the Bermuda grass seems a little shaggy.

Last year was a great learning experience for incorporating large amounts of sodded areas into our regular maintenance routine. We had such large areas of disturbance that our goal was to get everything into immediate playing condition as quickly as possible. This year, while we opened everything as quickly as possible (tees were actually opened quicker this year than the tees last year), we are being more careful with the new Bermuda grass sod.

In our eagerness to incorporate the sod last year we unknowingly set up 5 different test trials on managing the new sod. We mowed the fairway sod as soon as we could with our heavy mowers at the same height as the rest of the fairway (trial 1). We mowed the approaches with our regular approach mower at the same height as other approaches (trial 2). It was the same scenario on tees (trial 3) and with the step-cut (trial 4). The tees were mowed with an even lighter walk mower and the step-cut was mowed at the highest height of cut of all the sod. We also had 2 acres of Bermuda grass laid on the new soccer field (trial 5). This sod we didn’t touch. We spread compost on it and sprayed it for Spring Dead Spot control. But we never mowed it. Each trial was simply us doing our normal routine, but we learned something from each area.

Each area described above produced differing quality of turf this year. From this we gained some clues as to how we can aid the Bermuda grass sod survive the winter and come out in spring as healthy as possible. Everyone saw how poorly 3 and 15 fairway sod did early in the year. We are still just getting those areas into shape now. About mid-summer we began to see a distinct difference between the sod that was in the fairway and the sod in the approaches and tees. The approaches and tees began to heal and fill in much faster than the fairways. All of this sod was laid within a few weeks of each other; some well-performing sod was actually laid later than poorly performing sod. Lastly, the soccer field came through winter almost perfectly and it was laid the latest of all. Zero death from direct winter kill, the Spring Dead Spot instances could be counted on one hand and none bigger than a volleyball, all healed by the 1^st of July. Though there was zero traffic on the soccer field after it was laid, it still gave us some clues for management.

What was the difference? No two years are exactly the same in weather, conditions, turf or anything, so while we have gained some experience and we have new tactics, we cannot say for certain the definite causes of every circumstance. However, we were pretty clearly able to see that mowing with a heavy mower, at too low of a height of cut was very tough on the Bermuda grass. Through the remainder of the summer and into the fall last year, the sod was seemingly fine. It looked and played great, but was never able to store enough energy to survive the winter. Conversely, the approaches and tees that were mowed with lighter machines and at a higher height of cut stored ever slightly more carbohydrates and were able to recover sooner, as best illustrated by the soccer field.

What does that mean for this year? Armed with this new knowledge, this year we have not mowed any of the new sod with anything but our lightest walk mower. We have not lowered the height of cut too low and we have not mowed too often. This is why the new tee, fairway, and approach sod may seem a little shaggy at times.

While we will continue to provide the very best conditions we can the remainder of the year, we are looking out for the best interest of the sod for the future. Having the course play perfectly this fall provides a few weeks of great golf but brings with it the potential for damaging the Bermuda grass before winter, and setting us back months next year.

Etiquette Reminder of the Week

Please obey all signs on the course. Cart exit posts, “No carts” signs, “Please keep off” signs, “Ground under repair” signs, and others are there for the benefit of the turf and to help keep the course in the best condition possible.

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Weeds on tees

The battle against weeds is a never ending fight. Basically, a weed is any plant out of place. When defined at that most basic level, the total number of weeds can skyrocket. We are currently struggling with weeds on some of our tee boxes. Most notably, goose grass and crabgrass have taken hold on the tee boxes that have not been converted to Bermuda grass.

Our first step to managing weeds is to apply a preventative, pre-emergent herbicide in the spring. We apply this to collars, tees, fairways and a limited amount of rough. The goal of this application is to create a barrier across the soil that does not allow new seedlings to germinate and emerge above soil. Our application was made April 1^st. At the rate we applied our material we should expect 3-4 months of weed control. However, beginning the day the material hits the soil it begins to break down. Based on the percentage of active ingredient applied, conditions of past weed control and chemicals used, weather, maintenance, and site conditions all help determine if the 3-4 month suppression will be reached. The downside of this approach is there is no real sign that there may be a problem with the “barrier” until weeds begin to show. We had a breakdown in the prevention of weeds in our third month after application.

The biggest factor that caused the preventative weed control to break down was the high amount of rainfall that occurred during the month of June. At Bretton Woods, we recorded 10.5 inches of rain. Not only does that much rain dilute the chemical, it can also push it further down into the soil. When a gap is created between the chemical down deep and the soil surface, it leaves room for weed seeds to germinate in between, either because the chemical is too dilute to be effective or it has been eliminated completely. Secondly, the weed infestations are on the tee boxes that are ryegrass. Ryegrass is not a very dense growing grass, which leaves gaps for weeds to fill. Also, ryegrass does not spread laterally to fill in bare areas as bent grass or Bermuda grass do, again leaving gaps that weeds fill. These gaps may be caused by poor maintenance of the tee, environmental stress on the existing turf grass, or by something as simple as a divot. If we thin the turf with our maintenance routine, we stress the plant and create an opportunity for weeds. If the weather stresses the plant, weeds can take advantage. Even something as simple as a divot- the preventative chemical is removed with the chunk of turf- can create an opening for a weed.

Unfortunately, this is the case on some of our tee boxes. Nothing mentioned above are excuses. We believe the weed control, or lack of, is as embarrassing as any member. We will be making adjustments to our program for the future. Also, the continued conversion to Bermuda grass tees is a huge advantage because of the density of the Bermuda grass, the weeds have no place to establish themselves.

In the meantime, we have already made post-emergent chemical applications that have begun to kill the weeds. You will see the crabgrass turning reddish-brown and dying and the goose grass will be turning white, and dying. We will also be changing our mowing height to encourage healthier ryegrass and seeding where necessary. We continue to take steps to correct this issue because it is as unacceptable in our eyes as yours.

Etiquette Reminder of the Week

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

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Hydraulic leak

As you are out playing over the next several weeks you will see splotchy dead areas across #4 and #7 greens. We had a hydraulic hose break on our greens’ topdresser and leak hydraulic fluid across both of these greens.

Aerification is a vital, yet nerve-racking time for the Grounds department. During aeration, we put very disruptive machines on our most important surfaces- greens, tees, and fairways. While these machines perform well 99% of the time, things can go wrong.

The topdresser is the machine we use to put the sand on top of the surface of the greens. We use it regularly throughout the season to apply small amounts of sand, and at aeration to apply a heavier rate of sand to fill the holes.

With an accident like this, once the oil hits the turf grass, the grass is dead. Initially anywhere the oil hits, the heat from the oil literally cooks the cells and the plant dies. Sometimes, cooling the plant with water immediately after a leak occurs can lessen the damage to individual plants, but may spread the damage to a greater area as the oil moves with the water. Over the next few days following a leak, the damage will progressively get slightly worse as plants nearest to the oil, but which were not directly hit, begin to contact the oil that remains in the soil. These plants may die or become very weak and turn yellow-brown in color. Finally, a clear definition of death will be seen and the full extent of the damage will be known.

Immediately after the leak occurred

2 days after leak

Planning for recovery of these damaged areas is the biggest step to be taken once a leak occurs. The oil cannot be taken back up from the soil, so moving forward with a plan is crucial. Since this leak occurred as we were aerating the greens, we expect to see about 5% recovery naturally as the greens heal from aeration. Next, once the greens are almost completely healed from aerating, we will come back across with the same aerating machine and aerate only the lines of dead turf. If we don’t wait for the surrounding area of the green to heal from the initial aeration, we could risk ripping out too much turf and being left with large chunks of the green missing. Following this second aeration, we will fill those holes with sand and seed. Then we will fertilize both greens and keep the lines moist throughout the day to encourage seed germination. We will maintain these two greens differently than the rest of the course in order to protect the new seed. We will mow at a slightly higher height of cut and we will use a lighter mower. Once we see significant recovery, we will gradually move towards reincorporating these two greens into our regular routine.

100% recovery in the shortest amount of time is our goal. To accomplish this though, there will be an impact on the playability of these two greens. We will do everything we can to make them as similar to the entire course as we can.

2 days after leak

4 days after leak

6 days after leak

6 days after leak

Etiquette Reminder of the Week

When parking your cart at a tee or green, please keep all 4 tires on the cart path.

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Master plan construction update, aeration

This year’s Master Plan construction work is moving along right on schedule. Seeing the changes move from rough dirt piles to completed bunkers and tees is very exciting.

Currently, all work done around 1 and 10 greens is open for regular play. The sod at the greens is still young, so we continue to maintain it separately from our regular routine, but it is plenty mature enough to handle golfers. As the construction progresses back towards the tees, each new aspect will be opened as it is ready. Next will be the fairway bunker complex between 1 and 10, followed by the right fairway bunker on 10. Sod was laid on 10 tee this past Saturday. Since 10 is not a par 3 hole, the tee does not face the same abuse as a par 3 tee would; therefore, we expect 10 tee to most likely open within a couple of weeks. If this had been a par 3 we would have kept play off longer in order to allow the sod to mature further and withstand the divoting better.

This upcoming week is also aeration time for the course. We will be aerating greens, tees, and fairways. This schedule is slightly earlier than last year because it will provide benefits to the Bermuda grass. Since we are in the middle of the best Bermuda grass growing conditions, aerating it now allows it to utilize all of the benefits- relieving compaction, oxygenating the soil, among others- while also being able to grow and heal quickly.

For the greens, even though it is still hot, the turf has been dealing with the stress of summer for a long time and opening up the soil is like a big exhale for the grass. While we must still be diligent with our afternoon monitoring of stress, letting the greens breathe increases the amount of stress they can tolerate. Also, getting the aeration out of the way now paves the way for healing to happen quickly and provides a smooth transition into the busy golf schedule of September.

This is a week of balancing between intense course cultural practices and construction. With construction only a couple of weeks away from completion, getting aeration out of the way as well, will set us up to get the course into terrific shape as we head towards our Member/Guest tournaments.

Etiquette Reminder of the Week

Please leave bunker rakes inside the bunker once you are finished.

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org