Bermuda plugs

Every year is different and every year brings new challenges. So, every year we try new strategies to deal with what we are facing. The difficult part is that sometimes we have to wait an entire year to see if the tactic we tried was even worth it, or even worked how we hoped it might. One such example is the Bermuda grass plugging we did last year.

Spring dead spot is the most troublesome disease for Bermuda grass. You can find a more in depth discussion regarding spring dead spot and some of the things we have tried to combat it here. The dead areas can be small or large, randomly located, and cannot be entirely prevented. Last year we started taking plugs from our Bermuda grass nursery and putting them in these dead spots. You can read more about that process here.

We put the plugs in the fairways in late spring and through the summer, so they performed very well. Pretty much all of the Bermuda grass performed well last summer because of the record warmth. So, we weren’t able to accurately gauge the effectiveness of the plan until this spring. We made a calculated decision with an expected outcome, and many man-hours were put into the project, but we had no way of knowing the results for an entire year.

So far this spring, we have seen some encouraging results from the work, though. First, our overall spring dead spot incidence is lower than years past, the Bermuda grass overall is performing as well as it has in my tenure, and we now see some of the places we placed plugs healing faster this year. Since things in nature are rarely symmetrical, it is easy to notice areas where nearly perfect squares or rectangles appear in the fairways, which was the shape of our plugs. While the idea was that we may be able to eliminate the spring dead spot in each particular area that we plugged, that wasn’t our only goal. We also knew that introducing some Bermuda grass that had not been previously infected by spring dead spot may help to heal an infected area, starting from the inside of the diseased area working out. Combined with healthy tissue working towards the center of the patch, the healing should occur much faster.

Having to wait so long for results can make it hard to pull the trigger on trying new things. But not making the effort to make things better is worse than having a new strategy fail.

On a side note, somewhat by accident, we took pictures from a similar location on the same date, one year apart. A picture April 19^th, 2014 was followed by another picture in 2015. To keep a record of one singular area as a representation of Bermuda grass progress, we have now taken a very similar picture in 2016 and 2017. Below are the 4 photos:

10 fairway, April 19th, 2014

10 fairway, April 19th, 2015

10 fairway, April 19th, 2016

10 fairway, April 19th, 2017

You can see the status of the Bermuda grass on the same day in four different years. You can also see the progress in controlling spring dead spot. These pictures have more to do with weather than anything, but it at least gives the Grounds department the belief that what we are doing for the Bermuda grass is not detrimental.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please don’t take any type of full swing on a putting green. Damage from spikes or divots may occur.

Divot on 18 green

Divots on practice green

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

                                               

Cherry tree work

Prior to any mulch

Earlier this year there was some concern about the health of the cherry trees between #9 pond and the clubhouse. Since they had been donated and were an important asset of the club, we had a professional arborist examine the trees and make some recommendations moving forward. There were some minor corrections to be performed, but overall the trees were all in good condition with no signs of trouble.

There were four main recommendations made by the arborist: 1. Trim the cherry trees to eliminate dead wood, reduce overlapping branches, raise the height of the canopy, and lessen some weight on some of the branches; 2. Fertilize the trees; 3. Remove dirt that had buried the crown as well as trim any girdling roots; 4. Mulch the entire grove. Bartlett Tree Experts performed the trimming, fertilizing, and root collar dirt removal.

Exposed roots that were buried in dirt

The first step was to trim the trees. Normally, we perform a lot of the trimming on the property; however, as the season was getting under way and the weather was turning, our staff was being used on other tasks. The height of the canopy was raised and overlapping branches were removed as needed. Taking out these branches also helped to lessen the burden of weight overall on the tree. Also, any dead branches were taken out.

The addition of mulch

Next, the trees were fertilized. The arborist recommended that the trees be fertilized with a standard injectable tree fertilizer to be done by a trained applicator. There were no drastic deficiencies, but rather this will give the trees a boost for the season.

Third, a professional from Bartlett Tree removed dirt that had built up around the base of the trees. Some of the trees had been planted slightly too deep, had sunk after planting, or gathered dirt around their crown in another way. This dirt can cause several issues for any type of tree, so cleaning that dirt away is an easy way to help the tree thrive. At the same time, any girdling roots were cut as well.

Completed project

Lastly, in any circumstance, trees and grass are in competition for the same resources: fertilizer, water, light, etc. In most instances on the golf course, our goal is to help the turf grass survive, but this time, our mission was to help the trees. Over time, the branches had dropped lower and lower and it had become impossible to mow under the cherry trees. This allowed for grass and weeds under the trees to steal away those resources. The arborist recommended mulching under the entire grove of trees. The grounds staff just completed this task last week. Not only will this benefit the trees, but it looks fantastic compared to previously.

Completed project

Again, the trees were in good condition, but we made a few adjustments to help them perform better and improved the all-around look as well.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Blue flag cart riders, please obey the recently updated handicap cart rules.

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Stick cleanup

There has been little consistency in the weather so far late winter and early spring. We have had mid-70’s and low 20’s and everything in between. One factor that has been constant though has been wind. We have had a windy last few months and the debris cleanup has been nearly as constant.

Going back to early February there have been many days of sustained winds above 10 mph and a handful of days with sustained winds in the 15-18 mph range. Also, there have been many days with gusts of 20-30 mph as well as several days with gusts of 35+ mph. What all this wind amounts to is a mess on the course. Luckily, there are no leaves on trees right now with which to contend. However, there has been plenty of other debris to keep us busy.

With winds that strong and that consistent there is the likelihood of small branches, limbs, and even entire trees coming down. In addition, the evergreen trees have needles that are blown of the trees and can be difficult to clean as well. Since the wind has been a common theme lately, the Grounds staff has been tasked with cleanup repeatedly. Each wind storm that comes through finds new debris to dislodge from a tree. It can take us several days to comb over all of the property and pick up all of the sticks, limbs, etc. It has felt like before we finish cleanup from one storm, the next has already been through so we finish and start right back over from the beginning.

Stick cleanup is about as unglamorous as it sounds. We haul a trailer behind our cart, start in one location (for example at #1 tee), work down the right side of the hole and up the left side, then move on to #2. We have had a few dry enough days for us to get our carts into the grass to get closer to the debris, but most of the time the staff picks up the stick and carries it back to the trailer. As you can imagine this is time consuming. However it is necessary to try and keep up with the job or it can get unplayable and overwhelming. If we didn’t cleanup after each storm, but instead waited for several storms to come through, the mess would cause winter golf to eb very difficult. Also, cleaning up the mess after many storms would take more time and progress much slower than keeping up as the storms hit.

Right now, we are working on another round of cleanup of the property following the storm that came through on 4/6. We should be finished this early this week. But for now, if you see some sticks out on the course, just know we are working our way there soon.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Blue flag cart riders, please obey the recently updated handicap cart rules.

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

New bunker sand

Over time, bunker sand ends up in many places other than a bunker. It is blown out, washed out, purposely removed, and taken out by golfers. This sand needs to be replaced in order for the bunker to remain playable. Last week, we added sand to several bunkers most in need of more sand.

Sand can be blown out of bunkers in one of two ways. First, the wind can move the sand out of the bunker, especially from the low end. When the sand gets dry and fluffy and strong winds move through the area, the top layers of sand can be removed. Similarly, when the Grounds staff has to blow debris out of the bunker, inevitably some sand is blown out as well. We can’t control the wind, but we do make an effort to blow as little sand out as possible on our own. We reduce the throttle on our blowers so there is less force applied to the sand. We also hold the nozzle of the blower at a softer angle so the force of the air is not directed down at the sand as severely.

Water can also move sand out of a bunker. If the rain is coming down faster than the water can drain through the bunker, a puddle can form in the bunker. If this puddle gets to the point that it overtakes the lip of the bunker, it can carry sand out of the bunker.

Sometimes the sand within a bunker becomes contaminated by soil. Especially during heavy rains, dirt can be carried into the bunker, or dirt from underneath the sand can be exposed to the surface and mix with the sand. When this happens, we remove the dirt and the contaminated sand. We try and remove only what is necessary but nevertheless, sand is removed. Done perfectly, dirt would never remain in the bunker and new sand could continue to be added to replace the sand taken out. However, it is very difficult to remove all of the soil when it contaminates a bunker. Eventually, the sand becomes so contaminated that it no longer allows water to drain through efficiently and all of the sand must be replaced.

Lastly, bunker sand is removed from bunkers by golfers. When a golfer hits a shot, a portion of sand is blasted out of the bunker. Extrapolated over hundreds of golf shots, and the amount of sand removed is significant. Similarly, each time a golfer exits a bunker some sand is removed by their shoes. Most golfers are at least conscious of this fact and try and knock the sand of their shoes back into the bunker before continuing on. However, not all golfers do this and a small amount of sand can be transferred to the surrounding grass.

We were lucky that each bunker we worked on this past week was still draining sufficiently, but was short on sand. We did not need to remove all of the existing sand; we only needed to put new sand on top of the old sand. We worked on the green side bunkers of #4 and #8, the left green side bunker of #9, and the practice bunker at the chipping green. Each of the bunkers on 4, 8, and 9 had been reconstructed several years ago and were due for an addition of sand and the practice bunker needed new sand due to heavy use from golfers.

We will continue to catch up on the previously rebuilt bunkers. Then, as the more recently redone bunkers age, we will monitor their sand as well and make additions and adjustments as necessary.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Blue flag cart riders, please obey the recently updated handicap cart rules.

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org