Drain lines

A couple of posts back, we discussed the new infrared camera the Grounds department had begun using. We used pictures that included the drain lines present on some of the greens. We received a suggestion that it may be informative to discuss the drain lines themselves in more detail. It would be a good reminder for those who remember the original project and it would be useful information for any new members who may not be aware of the project at all. So, we have included the original project post that our former superintendent and current Director of Grounds/Food and Beverage Director/Assistant GM, Bryan Bupp wrote back when the project commenced:

Bryan's Bytes 03-12-13

On Monday the 19^th, we are starting a capital improvement project to improve drainage on our worst draining greens. I’m sure there is no surprise to you that we will be improving number 7, 13, 14 or 16 green but you may be surprised to know that numbers 1 and 10 also drain poorly. 

With the first four, more obvious problem greens there are compounding problems that create extreme growing environments during the heat of the summer. Number 7 is the worst. The drainage issue on 7 is two-fold with very poor surface drainage (water sits in the middle of the green) and almost no sub-surface drainage (the soil stays wet below the surface, with nowhere for the water to exit). Additionally, there are numerous large trees that create shade and block airflow. Grass needs sunlight to convert water and nutrients into energy and, which also helps with drying wet areas. Grass also needs oxygen which can become limited if the air circulation is impeded by trees. This is why number 7 tends to be the most problematic green at Bretton Woods.

Some of the same issues affect numbers 14 and 16. Although sunlight is not a limiting factor, the relative elevation of those greens limit air movement and their drainage is poor. 13 green may have better air movement but surface drainage is worse than others and the air movement is somewhat limited. For 1 and 10 the sunlight and air movement are adequate but the drainage is very limiting. We have not seen the catastrophic type of damage like we have on number 7 but there is danger lurking.

We will address the drainage by improving the infiltration of water into drainpipes that we will install in the greens. The method is quite simple, we remove the turf where the pipes are to be installed (herringbone design), install the pipe and put the sod back. It takes about two days to complete one green from beginning to end and it will be ready to play as soon as the work is done. We will have a contractor on site performing the work and there will be a temporary hole location in the approach while the work is under way. All the work will be done during the week and no greens should be closed over the weekends.

After the work is complete, there will be both short and long term benefits. In the short term, the firmness of these greens and the quality of the turf will improve quickly. In the long term, we will see marked improvement in each of these greens turf quality and the potential for summer decline is greatly reduced. If Mother Nature cooperates we expect to have all six of the greens done in 3-4 weeks.

Now, over 3 years later the drains are still performing well. Turf quality on these greens has been good. From a golfer’s standpoint, the only real issue with the drains is aesthetics. The lines of sod are very noticeable on most greens, especially #13. A few months after the drains were installed, the original sod became water-logged from a rainstorm and swelled. The grass was then scalped off and had to be re-seeded and regrown. Therefore, the current grass on those lines is still very young and genetically different from any of the grass around it, giving it a much different look. As the turf on the drain lines continues to mature, the contrast with the rest of the green will slowly disappear.

From the Grounds department perspective, the drain lines are working exactly as they should. They remove water from the greens in which they are installed beautifully; so well in fact, that we have to be careful that the lines themselves don’t dry out too fast. We have had some instances where the drain lines are the only dry parts of the green and we have to water directly down the lines.

After 3 years we are still happy with the decision to install the drainage in those 6 greens. The turf grass is much healthier which is great for the Grounds department and golfers are happier because the worst performing greens are as good as all the rest now.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Golf carts must always remain on cart paths once past the green and white posts, through the next tee complex. This is not weather dependent!

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Plugging Bermuda grass

Spring dead spot is a difficult disease with which to deal. There are no surefire controls and no 100% guarantees. We have employed several strategies over the last few years that seem to be improving our defense against the disease and also our recovery from infection. You can read more about our spring dead spot control here and about one of our defense tactics here. Sometimes, however, the best remedy is to simply remove the poorly performing grass and replace it with healthy turf.

No matter what we do we will most likely never eradicate spring dead spot. We continue to strive for zero infection but we know that we will have to address some death each year. Most often, healthy Bermuda grass, from outside the infected area, will overtake the bad spot and cover it with healthy tissue early in the season. However, sometimes it just does not happen fast enough. Starting this past week we have been taking sod pieces from our Bermuda grass nursery and putting it into some very bad areas on the course. We select Bermuda grass that does not show any signs of past infections, and move it onto the fairways to replace areas that are not healing.

The light spots in the foreground are newly transplanted Bermuda grass.

By doing this sod work we hope to accomplish two things. First, in the short term, the bad areas are replaced by healthy turf. The dead spots are gone and, aesthetically, the fairway looks covered completely in grass. Also, we are minimizing the chances of a ball finding a dead spot and a golfer having to play from a poor lie. Secondly, long term, by removing the dead tissue as well as some of the soil beneath it, we hope to be removing at least some of the fungus that caused the spring dead spot in the first place. These spots that we transplant now may not be as severely infected or infected at all in the coming years.

Our plan is to continue to do this throughout the course until all of the most severe spring dead spot sites are removed. By completing this early in the season, the new sod will have time to take advantage of the summer to grow and thrive before fall and winter arrive.

Also, please note that all play will be using the alternate, over-the-water tee on #2 to better judge the importance and impact of this tee. Here is a copy of the email sent to the golf membership:

2nd Hole Alternate Tee

Dear Golf Member, The Green Committee and BWRC Management overseeing the re-building of the 2nd and 18th holes met with our course design architect Joel Weiman Tuesday afternoon to review the current plans as well as go over possible alternate options in the design. We discussed at length the alternate tee (over water) on #2 and the bunkering around the green.  Over the next few weeks we will be using the alternate tee (over water) to determine the preferences of the golf membership.  Additionally, we will be monitoring the pace of play using this tee on busy days. After a few weeks we will send out a brief survey regarding both the original (behind #1) and the alternate tee (over water).  This survey and its results are not to determine whether to abandon one of the tees, but to gauge the amount of investment in the development of this tee as well as the effect on the pace of play. The issue that we want to address: are these tees a big enough improvement to make a few minutes longer round worthwhile. The plan would be to lower the front of the tee and using that earth to raise the back of the tee to make the water more visible.  Shown below are the current view and a simulated view, showing a re-alignment/re-design of the tee that exposes the water feature as well as cleaning up the lake banks and surrounding area.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Golf carts must always remain on cart paths once past the green and white posts, through the next tee complex. This is not weather dependent!

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

The little things

We are proud when a member or guest has a good experience at Bretton Woods. We strive every day to make the course better than it was the day before, or the week or year before. Often, the little things do get noticed and the recognition is terrific. But, sometimes the little things we do go unnoticed. This is not a rant about wanting recognition. In fact, we know we are appreciated and do not work for the pat on the back. The point of this post is to mention a few of the little things we do that are examples of the detail and care that we feel for Bretton Woods.

Let’s discuss this past weekend as an example. One of our major club tournaments, the Stroke Play Championship, was contested. We have made an effort to increase our staff this season, not only to accomplish the many day-to-day tasks that are required, but also to do extra things for special occasions. This past weekend we mowed the fairways for the tournament. We mowed 9 fairways on Saturday and 9 fairways on Sunday. That, by itself, is not a new thing; but on the 9 holes we didn’t mow each day, we dragged the dew off of the grass. Most people will never know, but the first few groups out may have. There are many agronomic benefits to taking the dew off, especially if you have cool-season turf grass as the fairway grass. There are fewer benefits for us because we have Bermuda grass. But we were doing it for the benefit of the golfer. A drier, dew free fairway to play from is much nicer and much better for a tournament. It gives the impression that the entire course was prepared for the day, even if our staff and time allowances don’t allow for that to take place.

We also put out all new white cup liners inside the cups. All new flags were put out as well. A few people may notice, or many may notice, but the idea was to do one more little thing that made the tournament better, not to see how many people notice. Fresh cup liners make the cups look brand new. They are much more visible and clean. The brand new flags are spotless and the red, white, or yellow is brighter and more vivid.

Lastly, we developed a device to help us keep the intermediate cut of rough, or step-cut, a consistent width. We have been using this tool as long as we have been mowing fairways this season, but this was the first major tournament in which the results were on display. We have tried other tactics in the past, which you can read about here, with mixed results. The reasons we want the consistency remain the same, but we are trying a different way of achieving it this year. We haven’t created the next great invention, we simply stuck a broom handle, cut to our specifications, in a slot on the fairway mower cutting reel. When the fairway mower operator cuts around the edge of the fairway, the broom handle extends to the far edge of the step-cut. As he keeps the stick extended over the step-cut, his cutting reel automatically cuts in the correct position on the fairway. This, in turn keeps the step-cut a consistent width all the way around. Why does this matter? It doesn’t. We have never had a complaint about the width of the step-cut and only a few people may ever notice. We made this change to make the course look better and play better for all member and guests. Now, places that should be fairway are cut appropriately, and likewise, areas that should be rough are mowed accordingly.

Dragging dew or putting out new flags are small improvements that may not affect a single golfer’s round. We did them because we take pride in Bretton Woods and wanted to do something extra to make the course better, and for this weekend, the Stroke Play Championship better.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Golf carts must always remain on cart paths once past the green and white posts, through the next tee complex. This is not weather dependent!

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

FlirOne camera

We recently added another tool to our arsenal in the Grounds department: an infrared camera for a smartphone. There are several different models on the market, but we went with FlirOne.

The camera is very small and plugs directly into the smartphone and once the corresponding application is downloaded, it is ready to use. The camera is plugged in, the app opens, and the entire screen of the phone becomes an infrared camera. As the phone is panned across in front of you, the screen shows temperatures in real-time.

Because it is so new, we have not found all of its possible benefits yet. We have been out experimenting at all times of the day and all weather conditions to see if we can find any correlations between what we see the turf doing and what the different temperatures are showing. Just through experience, we know certain areas on greens that get hotter faster. Now, with this camera, we may be able to see atypically warm areas and see them before they become stressed. If we then cool that hot area early enough, we can give those plants the water and relief they need to make it through the rest of a hot day. Conversely, prior to having the camera, on hot days we were waiting for areas to get stressed and then cooling them down. We expect now to be one step ahead, and see areas that may not feel dry initially but are warming up much faster than other areas.

Another use that we have not experimented with yet is for positioning fans. We have one portable fan, but many courses have several fans. We have heard of other courses using the camera to check temperatures, and directing where the fan needs to be blowing, as well as if it is actually cooling the intended target. When we do need the fan on the course, we will test this practice.

While the whole green is warm, the drain
lines are noticeably warmer in some
locations.

This picture is the same as the one to the left,
Only we have marked the drain lines
so they are easier to spot.

Lastly, you can also take pictures of the infrared readout on the smartphone screen. If anything is particularly striking or important based on the temperatures, it can be saved for future reference. We have included some of the pictures we have taken thus far just to give you an idea of what the camera is capable of showing us.

This new camera will not completely revolutionize our practices, but we do believe there will be added benefit. Any tool that gives us more information can help in managing the turfgrass.

The same green and drain lines
now pictured after watering the drain lines only.

Another picture after watering the drain lines.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Golf carts must always remain on cart paths once past the green and white posts, through the next tee complex. This is not weather dependent!

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org