Soccer and sod

Just because the week of aeration is over, doesn’t mean the work stops. Once past that busy week, we turn our attention to soccer and a few small side projects on the golf course.

From the middle of August thru the middle of September, the upper soccer field is closed for maintenance. We aerate, seed, and sod out a few of the worst areas. It gives the field a nice break and refreshes it for the fall season. Once the seed matures and the sod knits down, we put the mowers back on it at a higher height of cut and gradually work it back into playing shape. Despite last year’s fall armyworm outbreak, the timing remains good for us and the soccer players.

A step back showing the area we sodded
behind 8 green

Usually, we have some left over sod once the soccer field is finished. Sometimes we order a little more to add to the leftovers and tackle a few green surround areas that are struggling towards the end of the summer. This was the case again this year and we were able to knock out some of the worst areas. But it didn’t go totally to plan. We encountered three different issues all at once:

1. It was still hot. The sod suffered some damage just from cooking itself while rolled up on the pallet. We laid the new sod as soon as we could, but even just the few hours that it was rolled from when the grower harvested it, to when we laid it, was enough to overheat some of the grass. Most of it will likely recover, and we will be inter-seeding into it in a few weeks to repair what doesn’t recover.
2. Our sod cutter had a small gear oil leak that went unnoticed for most of the time we were using it. We use our sod cutter to remove the trash sod and prepare the area for the new sod. The oil leak wasn’t too big of a deal on the grass we were taking out but maneuvering the machine in the area and driving it across adjacent turf that was not being removed, resulted in some grass inadvertently being killed by the oil. These are the dead or thin areas very near the new sod. It was not that we neglected to repair those areas- they were fine until the oil from the sod cutter killed the grass.
3. We had a malfunctioning sprinkler. The sprinklers have internal gears that makes them rotate. As they wear, the gears can stop working, and the sprinkler stops turning. A sprinkler that won’t turn on at all is much easier to spot than one that is not spinning, so we are not sure how long it was working incorrectly. However, judging by the fact that we had to replace sod right near this particular sprinkler, it likely wasn’t working for quite some time which led to the decline in turf. But now it has also led to poor sod health as well, before we replaced the sprinkler with a new one.

The dead grass to the right of the white line was killed
from the sod cutter gear oil. The dead
grass in the sod pieces is a result of being too hot
while it was rolled and sitting on the pallet.

Not all three of these issues happened at each location, or even happened at all in all locations that we worked. Nevertheless, the improvements we were making did not turn out as good as we had planned. But we will keep pushing and working to get things as good as possible.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please don’t apply bug spray or sunscreen while standing on greens, tees, or fairways.

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

Golf Cart tips

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

USGA visit

On Monday, 8/8, we had a USGA Green Section Agronomist out for a course consultation visit. Our focus of discussion was the Bermuda grass and the struggle we have seen this year. It was a productive meeting.

We will post the full report at the bottom, but here are a few highlights:

• - Bermuda grass across the region has struggled this year. Overall, there was a higher-than-normal infection rate for Spring Dead Spot. Spring Dead Spot is a disease that can only be managed, not cured, or eradicated.
• -  Weather trends over the last 5-7 years have shifted (the cause is irrelevant). May and June are cooler than in the past; July heat does not arrive until the 15^th or later; the summer stretches well into September and even stays seasonably warm into October. So, seeing green Bermuda grass in April and May is great, but it will continue to be late June, July, and early August until the Bermuda grass reaches its full growth potential and fully heals any damage from the winter.
• -  We discussed the impact shade has on Bermuda grass, and in our case particularly on #5 fairway. The USGA Agronomist reminded everyone that Bermuda grass needs at least 8 hours a day of quality sunlight. It was recommended that 4 trees be removed along the right side of #5 fairway. However, it was noted that the right half of #5 fairway is highly prone to disease and winter death, and it will not be cured by removing some trees. The idea is to do all that we can to provide the best growing conditions possible.
• - We covered our current and proposed weed control program. Prior to this meeting, and in fact as early as this past June, the Grounds department started evaluating our current program and looking for ways to improve. After speaking with several other Turfgrass Weed Scientists, and proposing the new program to the USGA Agronomist, he agreed that the new program would improve upon our weed defense. More importantly though, we devised this new program to aid in the recovery of the Bermuda grass from the winter and he agreed that it would also provide the best situation for the Bermuda grass to heal.
• - We also covered our current and proposed Spring Dead Spot control program. Like our weed program, the Grounds department also evaluated our Spring Dead Spot control program. While this year was a bad year across the board, we also felt that our particular control was worse than normal. In discussing the disease with a university pathologist, we are looking at switching to a new chemical. Again, the USGA Agronomist agreed that we were due for a rotation and probably did in fact see less efficacy this year. He also agreed that new products would certainly improve our control.

      Like we have posted and stated many times: the health and playability of the grass is our focus, and it frustrates us as much, or more than the members when it is not right. We have already started the steps to improve for next year. The USGA consultation visit provided good confirmation that we are on the right track.

USGA Report

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please don’t apply bug spray or sunscreen while standing on greens, tees, or fairways.

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

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Aeration and turf decline

We are now starting our second week after aeration. It was a very tough stretch for aerating cool season turf and we have some areas that did not respond well (It has sparked some serious rethinking of the whole program as well as timing for upcoming seasons). In the meantime, we are focusing on healing and repairing.

The weather couldn’t have been more perfect for the Bermuda grass. It received a boost of oxygen to the roots, some fertility, and it reached its highest growth rate of the season. It is ready for the late summer and fall golf season.

The weather couldn’t have been worse for the greens and collars. High heat, high humidity, and high soil temperatures are never a good combination for cool season turf. Add in the stress of aeration and some turf did decline. These areas will show great improvement as the weather breaks, which has already started: highs in the 80’s and lows in the 60’s. However, turf never recovers as fast as it declines. This process will take time. But we will be doing all that we can to make sure it improves as quickly as possible.

Looking forward we will evaluate all the issues that led to the poor performance of some of the turf. Several factors were caused by the Grounds staff and the things we do during the aeration process. For next year, we are already planning a few tweaks to the procedure, all to help the grass better withstand all the stresses. However, we are also looking at the overall trends of the last few years- weather during aeration has been getting warmer and warmer and likely isn’t going to get cooler. Another part of the post-aeration evaluation is whether the first week of August still makes sense as the date for aerating the greens and collars. It has long been the scheduled date for aeration at Bretton Woods, but that does not mean it always has to be. October weather would be much better for the turf, but healing would likely take longer, especially as the golf calendar keeps moving further into the fall. Nevertheless, it is still a viable option that we are assessing for years to come.

Now that aeration is behind us, we will focus on getting the course back in shape for the fall golf season. We will work diligently to make sure that the turf that did decline through the tough weather and aeration stretch is back in top condition as quickly as possible.

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please don’t apply bug spray or sunscreen while standing on greens, tees, or fairways.

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

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Tee edges

Over time, especially regarding Bermuda grass, the edges of tee boxes can shift- the tee can change size and also twist in relation to the line of play. We have been out painting new edges and will be working on straightening the tees out.

During the summer, particularly on the sunny side of a tee, the Bermuda grass from the teeing surface can migrate out into the rough. The mower operator, possibly missing the correct edge by half an inch won’t really be able to tell the difference of what was tee and what was rough. This leads to the tee slowly shrinking as each cut follows the “new” edge. Similarly, the opposite can happen: the Bermuda grass moves into the rough, it looks just like the tee surface grass to the operator, so they mow it. Now the tee starts to get bigger as each cut follows this “new” edge. In each case, the area of the tee box can change- it can grow wider, or it can shrink.

As you can see, the white line has been
painted out from the current edge. This 
indicates that the tee box has shrunk slightly.

It is also difficult to maintain a straight edge for the length of a tee box, so realignment is necessary in that case also. The edges can swerve slightly, angle in the wrong direction, or even bow in the middle. And once these long edges start to get off, the front and back edges tend to follow suit. What is left is a tee box that may or may not be square to itself but is also not aimed correctly down the hole; it has slowly twisted on its plane and now does not align with the intended line of play.

This edge and corner as still very close
to as originally built

We are out to correct these two scenarios by painting in straight edges that are in the correct position and correctly aimed. We will then mow to the paint lines to correct the issues. Since the Bermuda grass is growing so vigorously right now, areas that we must scalp down to correct, will be able to adjust to the new mowing height and heal in before it gets cold.

Nothing is static. Just like we must regularly strip the edges of bunkers to redefine the perimeter, we must regularly reshape the tee boxes. We will finish up this round this week and be ready for when the edges need to be reworked in the future.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please don’t apply bug spray or sunscreen while standing on greens, tees, or fairways.

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

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Aeration

We begin aeration of greens, tees, and fairways today. Although disruptive, aeration is critical to the health of the turf.

For the Bermuda grass, it is growing at its fastest rate of the entire year. Providing some oxygen down into the soil will give it the last boost it needs to finish the season strong. But more importantly, the growth that is occurring now means that it is also producing carbohydrates and storing them for the winter. Helping make that energy storage process as efficient as possible is a key defense against winter injury.

We will also be applying our twice annual compost at this time as well. This is a part of our Spring Dead Spot control program but is also generally very beneficial to the turf and soil, giving a boost of energy to the turf, and a source of food for the soil organisms.

On greens, we are less aggressive due to the time of year and stress the turf is already facing. However, letting the greens breathe is still worth the work. Timing the aeration now, also allows for an uninterrupted fall golf season on greens that are healed from the summer stress and ready for more.

We also time some of our more extensive work on the soccer fields for this same window. Equipment is already hooked up and ready and the staff is in “aerating” mode. Both soccer fields are aerated, composted, and the upper field gets new sod in worn out areas.

Some of our regular maintenance is postponed during these busy few days, but grass doesn’t stop growing so we still have mowing to fit in. After aeration is complete, we try to have everything back together and in the best shape possible by the weekend. It is a whirlwind few days that most golfers despise, but it is critical for the long-term health of the course.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please don’t apply bug spray or sun screen while standing on greens, tees, or fairways.

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

 

 

 

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org