Aeration and pond update

The weather has been up and down for a while now. Mild days, cold days, wet days and dry days. With all the fluctuation, we took advantage of a couple of dry and mild days to aerate the greens last week. We worked Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. We still have the practice greens to do, which we hope to finish next week.

We often are asked why we aerate so early, especially compared to other courses around the area. There are a couple of reasons that it works for us. First, our greens are comprised of almost entirely Poa annua instead of bent grass. Poa annua is the grass that is discussed for being bumpy, producing seed heads, and generally not as desirable as bent grass, but can provide nice putting surfaces under proper management. One of the issues with Poa is its seed head production, which usually starts by the middle  of March, and has been discussed before. These seed heads can be reintroduced back into the green and create new Poa plants. If a course desires bent grass, the seed heads are very difficult to manage. Opening aeration holes in the green just ahead of this seed head production is very inviting to the tiny seeds, so most courses try to wait until after the first flush of seeds before they create holes. We don’t have to wait because we are not concerned with the seeds germinating in our greens.

Another reason we try and aerate early is due to the methods we use for preventing the seed heads. Plant Growth Regulators (PGR’s) are chemicals that inhibit the growth of plants, in our case, grass. One such PGR that we use is extremely effective at preventing seed heads by being extremely effective at stunting growth, which is further discussed here. We typically begin applying this chemical by the middle to end of March. If we can separate our aeration from this application, it is more time for the greens to heal. If aeration and the PGR are too close to one another, the PGR will keep the greens from healing.

Excavation of mud from erosion

Our actual scheduled aeration isn’t until the 3^rd week of March. We put this on the calendar in order to hold a place to complete the task if we haven’t finished prior. But there is no counting on the weather just because we put something on the calendar. We may have great weather for a few days before our scheduled time and terrible weather during, which then just pushes everything further into the season. However, by going early, at the first stretch of nice days, we don’t let the weather interfere. Also, this allows the first truly nice days of Spring to be uninterrupted by our maintenance practices.

Filter cloth over concrete rubble

Straw mat over new soil

On another note, we have done some basic stabilization of the outfall of #9 pond drain. The hillside along the cart path eroded each time the pond drained. It also eroded from the rain we have sustained early this year. In order to prevent more loss, possibly even of the cart path, we had a contractor back fill the bank. First, concrete rubble was dumped in the bottom of the pit through which the water could flow. Then a filter cloth was laid over the rubble to prevent soil contamination. New soil was then added to fill the trench all the way back near its original grade. And finally, we put seed and a straw mat down to stabilize the new soil. This is temporary, but necessary, to ensure that the current status doesn’t change prior to the new pipe installation.

Looking forward to seeing everyone out as spring approaches.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

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

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Bunker etiquette

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org