Strange metal pipe

We have been working on plugging out bad areas of Bermuda grass in the fairways over the entire summer. Last week, while working on this project, we found a piece of metal in #17 fairway.

Our plugging program has been going on for several years. Though slow, it is an effective way to mitigate the Spring Dead Spot infection areas and provide the best surface possible. This year is no different; we have been working on plugging the fairways since June. We cut 2-3 inches down into the fairway to remove the dead grass as well as some of the infected soil and in one particular location on #17 fairway we found the piece of metal only about an inch from the surface.

The location of the metal piece in 17 fairway

After discovering the metal, we excavated a little more around it and were able to pry it free and remove it from the fairway. We packed some fresh soil back into its place and were able to finish the new plug of grass over the top.

What is more interesting though is that we have no idea what this metal object is. It is about 4-inch diameter metal cylinder with 4 plastic tabs attached to the side. The metal piece is about 6 inches tall and about a 1/16” of an inch thick. We found it almost exactly at the 100-yard mark in the center of the fairway. Though our most tenured employee does not know what it was for and has never seen anything else like it on the property, we are guessing that it could have possibly been an old yardage marker. If any members recall anything like this from back when the course was built, we would love to hear from you.

This where the metal pipe was in the ground just after we
loosened it from the soil

It is also amazing that it has taken until now to find this thing. Every year, dating back at least 15 years, we have aerated #17 fairway. Tractors with ¾” tines pound down into the soil. It is remarkable that we never hit or dislodged this piece of metal in all those times across the fairway.

Not only is it remarkable that we didn’t hit this metal with an aerator, but in the several years that we have been plugging Bermuda grass, we never put a fresh plug in exactly this spot. Based on the way that we take out several inches of soil, if we had plugged here, we no doubt would have encountered the metal.

The metal after removal from the fairway

Sometimes it is amazing what you can find in the soil around the property. In this case, we found something we had never seen before right in the middle of a fairway.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

When parking your cart at a tee or green, please keep all 4 tires on the path. See pictures below for a visual aid:

 

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

Soccer work and green surround sod

Last week was our big push for maintenance on the upper soccer field. Aeration, seed, sod, compost, and fertilizer are all accomplished. We also had left over sod from that work, so last week we also sodded a few spots out in the green surrounds.

We usually lay some green surround sod every year at this time, usually with left over sod from soccer. What is significant this year is how little we had to do. With only half a pallet (about 25 pieces), we were able to get to all the worst areas around the golf course. Small sections at 2, 3, 4, 7, 13, 14, and 17 were all completed. While that is a long list, we only needed to do 3-4 pieces of sod at each hole.

We believe that a few factors have led to the improved health of the turf around the greens. First, while it has been dry, it has not been an overly hot summer. We have sprinkled in a few hot days, but not a prolonged heat wave of many days in a row. Anytime the weather is cool, the rough will be better. Second, we have managed the dry conditions by diligently sticking with our hand watering program. Lastly, the significant effort we have made to over-seed the rough around the greens is paying off. We have slowly started to shift the dominant species of turf around the greens to one that is more tolerant of heat, traffic, and drought. We will continue to work on everything that we can control and are optimistic that improvements can continue.

Did we sod out every single little bare area? No, because at a certain point, the bad areas are too small to sod because the sod won’t survive, or the area is a better candidate for another recovery strategy. We will still work to improve the places that didn’t receive sod- first, with seed a little later into the fall, and second, we will have more sod to potentially use when we do bunker renovations or other work later in the year.

We must share resources between the golf course and other areas of the property, including soccer. Most times, it is the golf course sharing with soccer. But in August, soccer gives sod back to the golf course for late summer repairs.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

When parking your cart at a tee or green, please keep all 4 tires on the path. See pictures below for a visual aid:

 

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

Aeration review

Last week we previewed our upcoming aeration. This week we will recap how the process unfolded.

One of the biggest changes this year from year’s past was our plan for greens. We used bigger tines, but fewer of them, and we applied the sand prior to the aerator doing its work. We tested the plan on the chipping green on July 31^st to get a sense of what the process would look like.

Last week we headed onto the course to try and mimic what we did on the chipping green. The results were terrific. First, as we expected the process was much less labor intensive. We were able to use staff to get mowing done ahead of aerators, drag sand and compost, among other things. This was a huge bonus for having the course ready for play as soon as possible. Aside from using less labor, the result on the putting surface was far better than before. We were able to get much more sand into the holes (which is the idea) all with less disruption to the actual putting green. We didn’t have any extra foot traffic from shoveling, we didn’t have to drag as many times, there was less sand left on the surface which resulted in less abrasion to the grass plant. All of this adds up to a much cleaner, healthier final product. And now, one week later, the healing is incredible. We will be back to regular putting surfaces in less than 10 days.

Aeration of the fairways and tees, and our compost application also went off just as planned. Though we didn’t change this process, it still takes a lot of coordination and execution to go smoothly. Mowers go out first, followed by flagging of sprinklers quickly right behind before the aerators start. The compost spreader comes in just after the aerators. Finally, dragging the compost into the holes and turf canopy.

Our only hiccup for the week- 1.35” rain came Monday night. Although this was ideal for washing the sand into the holes on the front 9 greens, it made everything too wet to aerate the back 9 on Tuesday. We had to suspend our operation, but luckily only for one day. We were able to complete the fairways and greens on Wednesday and tees on Thursday.

Everyone did a great job, and the aeration process went just as we hoped. The changes we made look very promising, and we look forward to fine-tuning for next year.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

When parking your cart at a tee or green, please keep all 4 tires on the path. See pictures below for a visual aid:

 

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

Aeration preview

Aeration starts today. It is very common to hear the comment “just when the course was getting good, it is time to aerate and ruin it.” Well, we aren’t running the course by aerating, in fact, a large part of why the course looks good is because we aerate.

We are trying a new process this year, though, during aeration of the greens. In the past we have pulled cores- material- out of the greens during this summer aeration using a combination of solid and hollow tines. We would follow that up with a layer of sand and then drag the sand into the holes.

You can see the new brush attachment down low
behind the machine.

This year we are switching up the order, and not removing any material at all. First, we will mow the green ahead of any aeration work. Next will come the sand- prior to making any holes. Over the winter at our national turf conference, we came across a new tool that attaches to our aerating machine and brushes the sand into the holes for you as the operator aerates the green and we bought it to try at Bretton Woods. So, after the sand is applied, the aerator works the green making holes and brushing the sand into them immediately. Finally, we roll the green and cut a new cup and the process is done.

In the foreground is following the aeration and brushing
and the background is prior to the machine. One of our issues
is the sand being a little too wet to fully brush into the holes. 

So why the change? First, this is far less stressful on the turf. Solid tines do not pull on the grass and cause any upheaval, and the process is faster, so we are done before the afternoon heat sets in. Second, it is much less labor intensive. Instead of 6-8 guys working behind the aerator shoveling material into a cart, we can now work on some other aspects of our aeration program.

We tested the process on the chipping green last week and saw positive results. We have a few things still to figure out and a couple of factors that make it difficult for us, but overall, it went smoothly. Healing after summer aeration is always quite fast, and the chipping green is on, or ahead of the normal healing pace. We expect the course greens to be on par with what we have seen from the practice green.

We are also aerating fairways and tees this week. Both of those surfaces will also get solid tines only, and both will get compost as well.

Many courses have been topdressing with sand before aerating for several years, so we are not inventing the process, but after seeing the positive results that those facilities are having, we decided to give it a try. Changing the process after many successful years is hard, but we expect that this could lead to even better results.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

When parking your cart at a tee or green, please keep all 4 tires on the path. See pictures below for a visual aid:

 

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