More on frost

We had our first frost last week, but it was light enough to not cause much of an inconvenience. Coming up this week it looks like at least two days with temperatures cold enough to warrant a delay.

Frost has been discussed on the blog many times before. For some more background information, we direct you to those past posts: here and here. But for some quick topics that come up repeatedly, here are a few reminders for the frost season:

There will be more than one occasion where golfers may leave their house and have no frost, but we can easily have frost here at the course. Our temperatures can get colder than in town.

During the delay, all areas of the course are closed. While frost can form in some areas but not others, trying to direct people frost/no frost areas would be too difficult. A frost delay equals a full closure. This means no mingling in the grass around the putting green or first tee.

Walking on frost can cause damage or death to the plant, but carts are especially destructive because they are heavier. We must consider the cart traffic that will occur on the course when managing a delay.

Lastly, after most frost delays, some form of course preparation must take place. Anything from a full setup to a minimum of changing cups and blowing leaves, takes time. Here is the tricky part: we can’t go do that setup until after the frost- the Grounds staff is delayed too. So, we must balance allowing the golfers out onto the course as soon as possible, while also leaving time for some work. Frost may be clear near the clubhouse as golfers wait, wondering why they aren’t allowed out yet, but it may be because we are getting our work done.

Without a doubt, the Grounds staff dislike a frost delay more than golfers. Nevertheless, at this time of year we all have no choice but to manage our way through the cold mornings.

 

Starting in November, and continuing through February, we will shift to 1 post per month. Thank you.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please don’t stand in one place for an extended period of time to practice putting. Your footprints can be worn into the green.

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

More on leaves

We are moving deeper into fall and the leaves have started to ramp up. Sometimes it can seem as though we never make progress, but we do have a process for this yearly task.

Blowing the course everyday is time consuming and monotonous. And losing golf balls in piles of leaves is frustrating. Nevertheless, for several weeks a year, leaves are at the forefront for golfers and the Grounds staff, and many other tasks take a back seat. Keeping the surfaces clean keeps the course playable, but we also must focus on removal of the leaves, otherwise we are just pushing them around from one side to the other.

Generally, early in the week we try to focus heavily on leaf removal. Racing around the course and simply cleaning the greens, tees, and fairways takes at least 4 hours. Doing this daily wouldn’t allow enough time to clean up and we would start to fall behind. So, we sacrifice the days early in the week to blow piles and pick them up. The trade off is that during these days, the playing surfaces may not be entirely cleaned.

But later in the week, usually Thursday through Sunday, we shift our attention to making sure that the course is clean and playable first. Most of our rounds occur on these days, and especially during the weekend, we are aiming to have the best playing experience possible. Our strategy is to work around the course clearing each surface out into the rough at least far enough that a mildly errant shot can still be found. Then, once the course is clean, we do then shift back to making piles for removal.

It takes weeks and weeks to battle the leaves and we never get every single one. While our process isn’t perfect- leaves tend to interfere with golfers and our staff one way or another- we do at least have a plan of attack.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please don’t stand in one place for an extended period of time to practice putting. Your footprints can be worn into the green.

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

Collar sod replacement

Two and half years ago we replaced our old collar turf  with a new variety. This past week we worked back through several holes to take out spots in the collar that had been contaminated with other species of grass.

Here is a Bermuda grass spot marked for removal.
Looking closely you can see the different color of the
Bermuda grass compared to the bentgrass

The work we did in 2021 was to replace our old collars that consisted of very weak turf- mostly Poa annua and ryegrass- with bentgrass. The previous collars could not handle the heat and stress of the late summer and would decline or die each season. Despite our best efforts, keeping the collars in the condition we expected was not feasible with an inferior turf stand. Bentgrass on the other hand is much more heat and stress tolerant. So, we initiated the project of a full renovation of the collars to a monostand of bentgrass.

A larger spot marked for removal.

Although bentgrass is a vastly improved turf species for this application, it is not bullet-proof. Both Poa annua and bermuda grass will grow their way back into the bentgrass collar. This is something we knew would happen and can’t really be prevented, especially with the amount of bermuda grass that we purposely grow on our property. There are a few ways to manage this contamination of the collars. The small Poa annua spots can be hand picked out, which we did, and will continue to do on a regular basis. For both the Poa annua and the bermuda grass, there are chemical options, but in the case of the bermuda grass, the chemicals are only partially effective. We also are not in favor of more chemicals, the labor required, to obtain less than ideal results. Another option is to remove spots where the Poa or bermuda grass is located and replace it with new grass. While all these options are labor intensive, replacing with new sod is the best answer for our operation.

With all of this in mind, last week we started the process of removing bad spots. Our goal is to complete several holes each fall to stay on top of the problem. We don’t plan on doing every hole each year because we also have lots of projects, leaf cleanup, and regular maintenance to complete at this time of year so we don’t want to be tied up for too long. For this year, we completed the Putting Green, holes 1-5, and part pf #6. We will pick up where we left off starting again next fall and continue until we have completed each hole. Depending on how the process goes, we may have a year gap before we start again, or we may finish just in time to start back at the beginning.

Here the old turf has been removed and new sod is 
being laid down. Notice that we only removed contaminated turf,
not the entire collar.

A section of completed new sod

While it may seem odd that we are replacing grass that is only 2½ years old, being proactive against contamination will help to keep the collars in the best shape possible.

 

Starting in November, we will shift to 1 post per month for the winter. Thank you

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please don’t stand in one place for an extended period of time to practice putting. Your footprints can be worn into the green.

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

Leaves and frost

October is beautiful around the area, and our property is no exception. Leaves are changing color, the turf is rebounding from a long summer season, and the weather is near perfect. So, as we head into the 2^nd week of October, it is time for our annual discussion regarding leaves and frost.

We have not had any frost yet, but the leaves have started to come down. So, our blowers and vacuum will be out in full force for the next several weeks. Here are a few things to keep in mind during this time of year:

•  If it is frosty or wet, we may have to wait until later in the day or for another day entirely before we can resume cleanup. Similarly, if it is windy, trying to corral the leaves is nearly impossible. We may choose to skip trying to clean the playing surfaces until a calmer day. So, playing through leaves may happen.
• Blowers will be running for several hours or more each day. They cannot stop for every golfer that is within earshot or we would never finish. The same is true for the vacuum. Please be patient.
• We make piles for the vacuum in the most efficient places. For example, blowing a large amount of leaves the entire length of a hole does not make sense. We make piles where most of the leaves are already located. Sometimes this will be near the line of play and balls can easily be lost in the piles. Unfortunately, this is a fact of fall golf. We will make every attempt to keep our piles away from play as much as possible.
• Lastly, while leaf cleanup overwhelmingly dominates our course prep attention, we do have other tasks we are trying to accomplish. We must balance our efforts. So there may be days where there are clearly leaves to be blown, but the Grounds staff is working on other things also.

As for the nuisance that is frost, we are not too far away from our first occurrence of the season. We can promise that we hate frost more than golfers. Nevertheless, we can’t control it and must deal with it also.

We make every effort possible to provide the best conditions each day. This does not mean conditions are the same every day- the course will not play the same on a rainy spring day as it does on a dry, early summer day- but our goal is to make each day the best it can be. All our maintenance is aimed at improving turf health and providing good conditions. Frost makes this particularly difficult.

Typically, a frosty morning happens before a day of nice weather and a busy tee sheet. We have lots of people wanting to enjoy the course and the Grounds department is not able to adequately prepare the course due to the delay. We achieve everything we can, but sometimes it is not feasible to fit an entire morning of maintenance in between when the frost lifts and when golfers are ready to play. This is hard to manage.

We also must be weary of causing damage to the turfgrass. We must wait also. While our time is not wasted while we wait (there are ALWAYS things to do!), we still are not able to start our regular morning routine. We cannot get our machines on the grass and most times we cannot even walk on the grass (the exception being when the frost is in some areas but not others). Protecting the turf is important, so we wait just like the golfers. All of this comes to a head when the frost starts to break: we hurry out and try to get the course prepared as quickly as possible, but we also try to let the golfers go at the earliest possible moment. Care must be taken not to rush back onto the grass though.

The golf course is in terrific shape. Between leaves and frost, Mother Nature tries to spoil the beauty of October and a good course, but we will work through it. With a little patience from everyone, the fall season will go smoothly.

 

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please don’t stand in one place for an extended period of time to practice putting. Your footprints can be worn into the green.

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

Traq Matz

Traffic wear has always been a problem on golf courses. Traffic from carts or walking can thin grass out very easily. Last week we initiated a test of a product designed to help the turf withstand repeated trampling.

Our first step was to lay the mats out in place to
determine the exact area we wanted to protect.

Especially since COVID, the increase in rounds has caused an increase in all types of traffic. Areas that used to withstand a season’s worth of golfers now gets worn out quickly. Areas that were bad when rounds were lower are now getting really thin. Often, rerouting traffic can alleviate the stress for long enough for the turf to recover. But sometimes there is no other route to take- golfers must walk on and off a tee or green in a certain location because of the design of the hole or other obstruction.

Next, we removed the old grass, aerated the area to help
the new sod grow, and then laid the new sod.

We are testing a product known as Traq Matz near 17 back tee. The walkway leading to this tee is a recurring problem because there is only one place to walk due to the pond on one side and a ditch on the other side. Every golfer headed back to the white, blue, or black tees must walk in this same location and the turf takes a beating. So, this particular walkway is a perfect place to test the mats.

This is not a new product, many courses have used this brand or other similar brands for years, but it is new to us. The particular brand we used, Traq Matz, is a rubber mat that is laid down on top of sod. In a few weeks the sod starts to grow through the openings in the mat. Then, as golfers walk across the area being protected, they walk on the very tops of grass blades and the mats, not the crown of the grass plant. The mats take the stress of traffic and keep it away from the turf.

After the new sod was laid, we then laid the mats back
on top of the new sod. The new grass grows up through
the mats but is protected from traffic.

We have several areas around the property, especially at tees, where the mats could prove useful. But we wanted to test it first and 17 tee was a good location. It won’t be a quick conclusion; we must wait for the turf to grow through the mats fully and then survive next season. However, if the results are positive, we could start to tackle one or two bad areas each season.

It is exciting to try a new solution to a problem. We hope that these mats will help us solve the thin grass in high traffic areas around the course.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please don’t stand in one place for an extended period of time to practice putting. Your footprints can be worn into the green.

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