Greens stepcut

In consultation with the Golf Committee, we are beginning a test of a greens stepcut. This will be an intermediate height of grass between the collar and rough.

Around the fairways, we have an in-between height of Bermuda grass: we call it the stepcut, as in it is a step higher than the fairway but shorter than the rough. We are now taking that same concept to the green surrounds. The reason we are starting with only a test is twofold: 1. The current grass around the greens is not ideally suited to be cut at this new lower height and we want to make sure it can take the change; 2. We need to make sure this is a job that we can successfully add into our program without sacrificing other jobs. Now is a great time of year to check both things. The weather is conducive to putting a little pressure on the turf without killing it and some of our other jobs are winding down allowing for room to practice and see how a new job fits in.

It has taken us lots of time and effort to improve the green surrounds. It is still something we are working on and will continue to work on. Each year has shown improvement, to the point that sometimes the rough immediately off the green is very thick and lush. It can be difficult to play from. The goal is to allow a shot that rolls just into the rough to be slightly easier to play. We will mow 2 passes with a rotary push mower around the green at lower height of cut compared to the rough, but higher compared to the collar. As you move further off the green, the next shot becomes for difficult. To begin, we will be mowing this new stepcut on holes 1, 5, and 13.

Be on the lookout for this new height of cut around these greens. Hopefully it will make the next shot easier if a green is missed and the turf will tolerate this change.

 

Beginning in October, and lasting through February, we will drop to one post per month

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

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

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

Upcoming bunker and drainage work

As day lengths shorten and overnight temperatures drop (Finally!), the Grounds department is looking toward project time. Like other years, we will tackle more drainage work as well as our annual bunker renovations.

For the most part, our bunker renovation routine stays the same, year after year, we just rotate which bunkers are due for the work. Our staff has learned the process well and the work goes smoothly. This year we are tackling holes 2, 5, 6, and 7. Some of you may recall that we have already done work on #7 in the past- #7 bunker work. It has been 7 years already since that work. We won’t be doing everything listed in that past post, but it is good for general information. We typically expect a bunker edge to last 5-7 years, so we are right on schedule. Though we are circling back to bunkers that have already been through this process, it doesn’t mean that all bunkers have been renovated. Instead, some of the bunkers were built during the Master Plan construction more recently and are not quite due for more work. We track when each bunker was built, rebuilt, etc. and have a spreadsheet indicating which bunkers will be done each season. If we spend the time to rebuild the bunkers on this rotation, it can extend the overall life of the bunker many, many years.

Our other project that we consistently work on in the fall is drainage. Often we do work on greens- #17, #8 and #9, and #4 and #15. We have also tackled wet areas in approaches, fairways and rough- #3, #7, and #10 . This year we will be focusing on #17 fairway, #15 approach, and if we have time, #1 approach. We are slowly making progress on wet areas around the course, and we will eliminate a few more this season.

Some of our regular maintenance starts to slow down or stop completely soon. This allows us time to focus on these projects which are vital for the course to be in its best shape for the next season.

 

Beginning in October, and lasting through February, we will drop to one post per month.

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

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

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

SDS and soil temperatures

Spring Dead Spot (SDS) isn’t the only disease that affects Bermuda grass, but it is the only one that we worry about. It will very soon be time for our first of two applications to preventatively treat for the disease.

We have discussed some of the nuances of SDS treatments in the past, which can be found here and here. The difficulty with treating for SDS is that we must treat in the fall but have no indication of whether the treatment was effective until the following May. And, even if the fungicide worked well, if the winter was too harsh for the Bermuda grass, we may still have a lot of disease and possibly winter kill.

Regardless, our program still follows the best available university research. We are working on adding in the newest and best chemicals for our applications. We water the applications down into the soil where the target pest is located and use enough water to fully penetrate the thatch at the surface. But most importantly we monitor the soil temperatures to accurately time when the applications should be made. Soil temperatures need to be below 70 degrees for 5 consecutive days. This sounds simple but it still takes monitoring and recordkeeping.

 

Soil temperatures follow the same trajectory as air temperatures but do not swing as wildly or rapidly. There is a gradual cool down as we head towards fall and not many spikes, even if we have a very warm day. Since we have been diligently checking these temperatures, our first application has been applied sometime between the September 20^th and October 1^st.

Starting September 1^st, we check soil temperatures every 5 days and wait to hit the threshold. Once we do, then we start to monitor every day so that we know when it has been 5 in a row. Finally, we must find a window to actually make the application. To have the best chance at success we must apply when Mother Natures says so, not just whenever we want. And it is a slow process- spraying all 47 acres of Bermuda grass as well as watering every sprinkler for 15 minutes afterwards.

All of this comes together to make these the two most important applications to the Bermuda grass all season. We expect to get it right and for the control to be as good as it can, but it will be 7-8 months before we know for sure.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

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

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

Native area update

Our second native area mowing of the season occurs in August, and we just wrapped it up last week. The new areas that we marked earlier in the summer are slowly maturing and will be ready for a cut in December. We are also working on getting red stakes out to mark all the native areas.

Our regular mowing schedule for the native areas is May, August, and December. The cut in May helps to give the grass a jump start for the season and trimming back any weeds that are infiltrating as well. The August mowing is a good reset after a long summer of growth. Some of the grasses are at their tallest and thickest of the season and it helps to keep them from getting laid over and too unsightly.

The new areas that we established earlier in June are not quite ready for a cut yet. Most of them are still wispy, thin, and uneven. A few more months of growth and we will give them a trim. At that point they will much more closely match the existing native areas. The density will continue to improve, weeds will be managed, and soon it will be hard to distinguish old from new.

All our native areas are also marked as penalty areas with red stakes. The old areas in some cases had overgrown the stakes and made them difficult to see. We paid special attention this time around to getting the stakes set out, trimming the edges of each native area to prevent further encroachment out into the general rough, and reestablishing an edge for the stakes to be placed. We also finally received our order of more stakes (ordered in June- delivered in August!) to be placed around all the new native areas. This will ensure that all the course is marked appropriately and consistently.

Slowly the new areas are filling in nicely. We mowed the old areas, and the new ones will be ready to cut soon. In a short time, it will be like they have always been there.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

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

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