Fairway plugging progress

We have written before about our efforts to plug Bermuda grass from our nursery into the fairways. This year, we are doing the process again; however, we have far less area to cover this year.

We believe that some of the programs we have instituted to help the Bermuda grass fend off and recover from Spring Dead Spot (SDS) are working. We compare pictures from previous years, we take notes about the first day we mow each year, and other indicators. We can also determine some of our progress by how many or how few areas of actual SDS remain later into the season.

This year we have seen fewer spots remain than in years past. We just recently wrote about how we had seen some success plugging Bermuda grass from year to year. We also originally broke the idea two years ago, which is detailed here. We are continuing the process this year. However, this year, we only need to do certain holes, rather than across the entire golf course. Thinking back on the weather in May, it was cool, cloudy, and wet, which are three of the worst conditions for Bermuda grass. Our Bermuda grass proved this point. It was lackluster, flat, and thin in several areas. In the last two weeks we have seen the best, and truly only, good Bermuda grass growing weather all year. The turf responded accordingly. Most thin areas have resolved themselves, the turf looks and acts much more vigorous, and good growth has started. Due to this, many areas that were weak from SDS have already recovered.

The SDS areas on holes 5 and 11 are the worst and we will be focusing our efforts here first. We will follow the same procedure as the past and fill in as many areas as possible with healthy grass from our nursery. We will also be adding another test product on both of these fairways that will provide another experiment to go with the others detailed here.

Staying aggressive against SDS is the only way to combat the disease. We will continue our compost, our chemical applications, our cultural practices, and test products to help the Bermuda grass. In the end, putting healthy grass in these areas is the last resort. However, we are seeing progress and as always, once the weather cooperates, the Bermuda grass is off and running.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

In addition to repairing your own ball mark on every green, please repair at least one other as well.

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Test products

Turf grass is a living, breathing, evolving entity. There is no one way to manage and no one tactic that solves everything. There have been some best practices developed that lead to healthier turf grass, but no recipe for perfect turf. Therefore, we are constantly looking for new and different ways of maintaining the grass. Likewise, we are always looking for new and better products to use on the turf grass. There is no better way to see how a product might help us than to use it in the field. This year we are testing several different products.

We strive to improve the conditions of the turf grass every day, week, month, and year. We also look for ways to be more efficient and more environmentally sustainable. Similarly, the entire turf grass product research and development industry is looking for ways to be more environmentally sound as well. Since Bermuda grass covers a large majority of our playing surfaces, we are testing several new products on the Bermuda grass this year. We are currently running a test on the Bermuda soccer field, tees, #15 fairway, and #18 fairway. We are also testing a new product on #9 green. Most of our testing started in May and runs through at least August or September, so results are not in yet, but we will monitor throughout the season.

Four of the products are natural bio-stimulants. This means that they are derived from natural sources and are supposed to enable the plant (our turf grass) to defend itself better against stress, pests, and other factors. These products are seaweed derivatives. Each of them is slightly different and claims to help in slightly different ways, but with the ultimate goal of making the plant stronger from the inside.

We are also testing one product that contains beneficial soil microbes. The idea behind this product is that it improves the soil beneath the turf. The product increases the population of microbes that help to release nutrients that are bound up in the soil, improves soil structure and texture, and naturally fixes nitrogen from the atmosphere, which is then available to the plant.

So, we do apply pesticides to the turf grass. However, we do consciously select what to spray, when to spray and evaluate the chemicals effectiveness constantly. We also test new products that may give us better results and have a lesser impact on the environment.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

In addition to repairing your own ball mark on every green, please repair at least one other as well.

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Salvaging construction sod

Construction on holes 2 and 13 started recently. We are working in an area that has the least amount of disturbance to play and therefore allows the construction crew to work earlier in the season. As portions of the tees on #2 and 13 have been demolished, we have taken the opportunity to salvage some good grass and use it other places on the golf course.

First, we stripped some Bermuda grass from #2 tee that was behind #1 green. This tee had been converted to Bermuda grass about 5 years ago and had good performing turf. However, with the renovations, new turf was installed. Instead of throwing all of the good Bermuda grass away though, we salvaged enough to make a repair in another area of the course. You may remember that this is not the first time we have saved sod from construction. Back in 2014 we used fairway sod to renovate some tees on holes 5-9. You can read more about that here. There is a drain about 20 yards into the start of #8 fairway where soil had eroded away from around the drain. We were able to clear around the drain, seal the leak in the pipe that caused the washout, and use the salvaged Bermuda grass as sod after completion. We used very little sod, as you can see in the picture, but nevertheless, the Bermuda grass that we used was healthy, adapted to our environment, and free.

We also need ryegrass sod for come collar areas where Bermuda grass is intruding. You can read more here about the problem and some steps we have already taken towards a solution. We were planning on waiting to use the approaches form holes #11 and 13 for the majority of our work, and we will still use that material. But, we also salvaged a small section on #13 tee, without removing any teeing ground. Again, even though it was only a little bit of sod work that we did, we were able to cross several Bermuda areas off of our list. We renovated collar sections on holes #6, 7, and 12. This work consisted of sod we weren’t necessarily planning on using and finished 3 areas ahead of schedule.

Being able to repurpose sod already on site is a huge boost. Our to-do list gets shorter and we save time and material costs.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

In addition to repairing your own ball mark on every green, please repair at least one other as well.

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

GDD model for PGR's

We use plant growth regulators (PGR’s) regularly on most of the playing surfaces on the course. We also use them on the driving range and both soccer fields. PGR’s play an important role in maintaining the turf all around Bretton Woods and this year we have fine-tuned the timing for application. We are now using a Growing Degree Day (GDD) model for all of our PGR applications.

PGR’s do exactly as their name implies, they regulate the growth of the plant. They do not stop growth (unless applied at very high rates), but limit the amount of growth that occurs. By limiting the growth, grass can become healthier because the plant’s resources can be used for other things. This is certainly a positive aspect for the Grounds department. Also, there can be surges in growth as a grass plant comes out of growth regulation, which is not healthy for the plant. So, by maintaining a relatively consistent amount of the PGR in the plant, the grass does not go through big swings of growth and stays generally healthier. The PGR effect extends to the maintenance side of our work as well.

PGR’s allow for less mowing. Less mowing means less labor, less fuel, and more time for other jobs. We can reduce the amount of times we have to mow greens or tees or fairways from every day to every other day or every third day depending on other circumstances. This leads to monetary savings and man-hours to be used elsewhere. All while not diminishing the product presented to members and guests.

There are many different varieties of PGR’s and several different modes of action. Without getting too technical, the bottom line is they all work to alter the natural growing habits of the plant. However, trying to time when you apply the PGR used to be very subjective. We would monitor how much grass clippings were in our bucket after we finished mowing, or visually inspect the fairways to see how long the turf was compared to when our last cut happened. Each of these methods can be useful and still provide information. However, in the last few years, more and more research has been conducted showing that by using GDD models, we can accurately monitor the amount of regulation the grass is under and time our next application based on the breakdown of the chemical inside the plant.

GDD models have been used for years and years to time all sorts of things in all agriculture. We have been using a GDD model for seed heads on the greens for several years. But, with this new research we have extended their use to include our PGR application timing. One of the lead researchers has even developed a spreadsheet and an app, both of which can be downloaded and adjusted to individual course needs to help monitor GDD. The research has determined at what point the amount of PGR still in the plant is too low to provide adequate growth regulation. This has been converted to a simple number of growing degree days. For example, for the PGR we use on greens, we need to re-apply every 200 GDD.

We are using the spreadsheet to monitor the fate of our PGR applications on the greens, all of the Bermuda grass, the driving range, and both soccer fields. We simply plug in the mean temperature of each day and the spreadsheet calculates the approximate percentage of chemical still in the plant. Once we reach 200 GDD, the percentage of chemical in the plant is below our needs and we re-apply. This number is different for different chemicals but the idea is the same.

Now, we can apply our PGR’s with more objective data. Keeping an eye on the weather, which we do anyway, no enables us to be more efficient and effective with our PGR applications as well.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

In addition to repairing your own ball mark on every green, please repair at least one other as well.

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org