Working on the Greens

We have made it through the most difficult time of the year for the Bermuda. Since March we have seen very good recovery on some areas on greens, through sound cultural practices, supplemental irrigation, hand watering, and most importantly mother nature. We seem to have skipped spring and gone directly into almost summer temperatures since mid march, this has been a top factor in the recovery of the weak areas throughout the golf course. Also on Friday April 10th, we sodded out what we as a department felt was the worse areas, back of #1, back of #2, back and front left of #4 and back of #9. #5, #8, & #12 will be addressed Monday.  We will pay extra attention to these areas going through the aerification schedule and also during the summer to ensure that the condition of these areas improve next season.



April 9th we began the process of removing sod on these areas. Pictured is back on #1.

 

Early morning on April 10th we began the process of replacing with healthy Tif-Eagle sod.

 

 

We are expecting this sand to be washed in through the weekend with hand watering and overhead irrigation.

 

As expected the sand has worked into the low areas and turf leaving us with a much nicer appearance.

 

We had to cut sod from the putting green to finish up, we will be replacing this on Monday afternoon.

 

 

Update on Foliar Fertility.

Beginning in November we started to make foliar applications of fertilizer to the fairways and tees. Since that time we have seen a huge benefit in playability and color response on these areas, most notably the fairways. The property is in terrific shape and we are very excited for the Club Championship this weekend.

#8 Fairway maintained at .450 3-24-15

 

Very nice look down at #17 Green. 3-09-15

 

Effects of Winter Weather.

We field a lot of questions about discoloration and recovery of turf during the winter months. The cooler temperatures during the winter make the Bermuda less active across the entire golf course. We are very proactive and use due diligence when we see a cold stretch coming in, we will manage the plant health and tissue as best as possible. Raising of mowing heights, additional fertility application prior to, and use of pigments to keep the canopy of playing surfaces as warm as possible. While day time temperatures have been close to the historical average, we have been well below the average during the nights with temperatures in the mid 40's to lower 50's.

#18 Taken on Dec. 8th just prior to the most recent cold event

#18 Taken on Dec. 14th, after 3 consecutive nights in the 40's, with a noticeable color difference on the fairway and also the putting green 

 

 

For more information on this topic, please follow the link to the USGA Green Section article. Cold Weather Blemishes.

Foliar Fertility

As the temperature continue to cool down we have had to alter our fertility program for the winter months. As soil temperature drops the bermuda become less active, we will be supplementing foliar fertility in with our existing granular program. By definition this is the application of foliar sprays of one or more nutrients to supplement traditional soil applications of fertilizers. There are several advantages to foliar feeding, also known as spoon feeding, such as rapid plant response and low burn potential but some disadvantages include lower rates and increased applications. We currently use this process on the putting surfaces and we are going to be extending this outward on to the tees. We are very excited to see the results as we move forward into this new aspect of our management program.

We recently replaced our old shelves in our pesticide building. All products have been classified and alphabetized.

These are two of the main products we will be applying to all areas of the golf course. 

A foliar fertilizer package being applied to the greens. 

Drainage Improvements

We are in the final phase of our major project season. We have started to correct some drainage issues around the golf course. We are currently installing a new catch basin in the middle of #17 fairway to help the performance and playability of the landing zone. We appreciate the patience as we know it is unsightly but we have sodded the area to celebration bermudagrass. It will remain ground under repair until the new sod is able to be played from. We are very confident that this will improve not only playabilty from the area but also aesthetics as the area was very unsightly.

Here we see where the turf remained under water for several days resulting in turf loss.

Efrain removing sod and getting ready to start the grading to the drain.

Quinonez is putting the final touches on the main line connecting to the bunker drainage.

A look down the line before the installation of the drain. 

The work continued into the morning and here the staff is preparing the last lines.

Project is complete and Celebration has received a couple mowing's

Practice Facility Divot Patterns

The most efficient way (in terms of range tee usage) for hitting practice balls and creating divots is to use a linear pattern.

The three patterns of divots in the picture above are traditionally seen on practice facilities. The scattered and concentrated patterns take up large amounts of space on the practice facility, allow for fewer and less efficient tee set up practices and requires a greater frequency in tee rotation. A consistent linear pattern, as suggested by the USGA, leads to a more effective use of the practice facility as well as quicker turf recovery.

Practice Facility Progress

DST Sports Turf construction has finished grading and re-grassing the chipping and putting green surrounds behind the half way house and we are looking forward to opening it in the near future. The tif-sport bermuda in this area was extremely weak. The area was regraded to allow for more efficient water runoff movement, and the practice bunker was restored back to its original shape. We replaced the Tif-Sport Bermudagrass with Celebration Bermudagrass, a heartier variety better suited for our practice facility.

The original practice area just before the construction and regrading began.

With the sod stripped, the surface was regraded and the bunker restored to its original design; the greens remained unchanged.

The sod has been laid out, and requires water, topdressing and time in order to become properly established.

The final step in the process consists of a heavy topdressing and brushing regiment in order for the turf to tighten up and become ready for play.