Putting Green Reclamation Part II

   

 

    I need to back track a little on an earlier discussion of expanding our greens.  It just didn't make sense to me how the greens could have shrunk as much as we originally thought.  I went on a recon mission and discovered there use to be another height of cut between the greens and where the collars are now.  As a way to save on labor, this second cut was eliminated, leading to perceived shrunken greens.  The consensus is still that some greens would be better suited if they were expanded, but others like #16 are plenty large enough.  We will continue working on #9 throughout this season and reevaluate this fall where we may want to expand elsewhere.  Sorry for the confusion. 



Divots 101

I have discovered there is some confusion about what to do with divots.  Although we have green divot sand on the carts, it is always best, when possible, to replace a divot with the actual piece of turf.  If there is not enough turf to replace the entire divot, then the remaining void may be filled with the green divot sand.  If the divot explodes into a million pieces, then green sand is the best option. 

            I always view replacing a divot as the world’s smallest sod job. There are definitely benefits to divot replacing.  First, replacing a divot is filling a void with the desired turf species for that particular area.  It also keeps the playing surface level and free of voids for trailing golfers.  An open void in the turf is a prime spot for weeds and Poa to fill.  Although sand is better than nothing, too much can be bad.  When sand is piled higher than the grass, it goes through the reels on our mowers and instantly dulls our cutting edges.

Just some food for thought.  Happy hacking!

Putting Surface Reclamation

 

            Simply stated, our greens have shrunk.  Over the last year and a half there has been a lot of questioning on the various sizes of our collars around the greens.  Resent discussions have determined that the greens have actually decreased in size since the fairway re-grassing.  At that time, the collars were established at approximately 60 inches wide, which is the width of the mower designated to cut these areas.  16 of our 19 collars have expanded from inches up to 4 plus feet.  This means the putting surfaces have decreased by the same size. 

            In order to reclaim the intended putting surface, we will need to measure and mark the collars at the original 60 inches.  Then, we will have to mow the areas that are supposed to be part of the greens.  The height of cut will need to be lowered slowly over the ensuing weeks until it reaches the same height as the greens.  The weather is always one of the largest variables when putting a plan like this into action.  The time frame on achieving an end result of smooth, expanded putting surfaces depends on the health of the grass as it is placed under continued stress. 

            There is a wide range of things that could happen.  Worst case scenario is death in the areas we are trying to train down to greens height.  Best case scenario is expanded greens and uniform collars by June.  Since there always seems to be a little bad with all good things, my recommendation is to fall somewhere in the middle.  We have already started the process on #5 and #9 so we have examples to show what the previous brain clutter is talking about.  I would encourage doing 2 more this spring to get a good idea on the timing of the process and work out any unforeseen issues.  Then, in the fall we can start working the rest down to greens height with a finish date approximately a year from now. 

             

#9 Green before expansion

#9 Green after expansion (first lowering of height of cut)

The yellowish, narrower strip around the edge of the green is the area we have mowed.  

 

 

This picture shows how much #9 green has shrunk in a little over five years.

 

Bunker Renovations

 

My apologies for not posting any information since October.  We have been outside taking advantage of some nice late fall weather.  As many of you know, there are a handful of fairway bunkers on the course that do not serve much purpose anymore.  They take away from the beauty of the course and can be a labor nuisance.  More importantly, they act as a double penalty because they are now located behind mature stands of trees.  The first bunkers we are focusing on are #4, #5, #10, and #16 fairway bunkers.  We are simply closing them off and we will plant grass seed in the bare soil in the spring.  These areas will become part of the rough the same as the old bunkers on #13. 

 

 

#4 before

 

 

 

#4 finished

#4 is completed and waiting seed in the spring.  We had to remove nearly 60 tons of contaminated sand and haul in 24 dump truck loads of soil.  Some of the sand was spread out in the rough with our topdresser, some was hauled back to the dump, and some was mixed in with the added clay to amend the soil.

 

 

#5 and #10 before - from #10 tee

The bunkers on #5 and #10 need black dirt hauled in and graded out and they will be completed as well and waiting for seed.  We hauled over 20 dump truck loads of soil to #5.  There was not as much sand in these bunkers and all of it was mixed with the clay to improve the soil structure.

 

#5

#10

 

The bunker on #16 will be worked on as weather allows.

 

 

Frost Advisory

 

We have had a couple frosty mornings now, and will begin having more as we move deeper into fall.  The black and soon to be brown foot prints down the middle of various fairways reminded me not everyone realizes walking on frost covered grass typically results in death.  During conditions that favor frost, the moisture in the grass plants and the dew produced by the grass freezes.  When pressure from animals, people, vehicles, etc is applied to the frosted grass, the cell walls of the plants shatter.  It is similar to breaking spaghetti noodles before they are cooked in boiling water.  The grass typically can not recover and begins showing signs of death within a few hours of when the pressure was applied during the frosty conditions.  Death is more prominent in greens, tees, and fairway because of lower mowing heights.  The crown, or growing point of the plant, is not as protected and more likely to be damaged than taller maintained turf.   

People tracks from walking on frosty grass

Deer tracks from playing on frosty grass

Aerification Update

9-07-12

            The greens have now been aerified.  Weather forced us to slightly alter our plans, but we managed to finish one day later than expected.  I would say it was a success overall.  The front nine greens were aerified and topdressed with sand on Tuesday the 4^th and the back nine and practice green were finished Thursday the 6^th.  We are already seeing great progress on the front nine with the holes closing and the sand settling down into the crowns of the plants.  One big mistake we can make is mowing the greens before they are ready or while they are wet.  This will bring the sand back to the surface and slow the recover process.  With a little patience and cooperation from Mother Nature, we will hopefully be mowing regularly again very soon.  We had grand plans of beginning work on the fairways yesterday and today, but the weather is forcing us to wait for more favorable conditions.  We will start aerifying them next week as weather and event schedules allow.

Aerification Season is Here

 

Its hard to believe Labor Day weekend is here already.  This means aerification season is right around the corner.  I want to let everyone know our tentative schedule and the process we plan to implement. 

Tuesday September 4^th  - Front nine greens and practice green

Wednesday September 5^th – Back nine greens

Thursday, Friday, and the following week until complete – fairways

We will be pulling cores out of the greens the same as we did in the spring.  We will be collecting all the plugs this time, instead of dragging and working them back into the soil.  After collecting the plugs, we will apply a heavy layer of topdressing sand and brush it in to fill the open holes.  Fertilizer has already been applied to promote growth and help the holes close as quickly as possible. Another application of fertilizer will be made at the end of next week.

 

 

We will also be pulling cores on the fairways.  We will drag metal drag mats over the plugs until the soil is pulverized and worked back into the ground.  The thatch will be blown off into the rough and mulched or collected as needed.

 If your asking in your mind about the tees, we aerified them in June.  Since they are Zoysia, they need aerified in the hot weather.  Punching holes in the tees now could leave openings underground leading into the dormant season.  This could potentially result in some winter kill of this warm season turf.

Plans for aerification may be impacted by weather (i.e. Hurricane Isaac).  Revisions to the schedule will be made accordingly.  Thank you in advance for the cooperation and understanding as we will work hard to have the course back in tip-top shape as quickly as possible.