TURF BROWN OUT WARNING, CONSERVE ENERGY

Sometimes, in the summer, during extended heat waves, your Power Company might issue a Black Out Warning, meaning if everyone uses their air conditioners and other electric consuming equipment, they, the Power Company, might not be able to meet the energy demand which would trigger a network shutdown or a Black Out.

Well, I'm not the Power Company, I'm a Golf Course Superintendent and I'm issuing a Brown Out Warning for the cool season grasses, Bent and Poa Annua. When temperatures get hot and humid for extended periods of time, Bent Grass and Poa Annua will use more energy than they can produce. This energy deficiency weakens their whole vascular system and the normal wear and tear of mowing, rolling and foot traffic that had no effect on their health during cooler times now has a drastic consequence of turf thinning or outright kill. So, much like the Power Company asking you to conserve power during high demand periods we will conserve energy by raising the green mowing height slightly from .095" to .11", mow the greens every other day rather than daily and roll every other rather daily, by making these simple adjustments we reduce the stress on these weakened grasses. Yes, this will slow green speed down but it will also conserve energy and get these grasses through, this hot weather period, with minimal damage.

SWEEP-N-FILL BROOM PLUS PLANETAIR DELIVER GREAT GREENS

Pictured above you see the Sweep-N-Fill broom flicking up grass blades that are mowed off by the walking mowers creating openings for the sand topdressing and followed by the PlanetAir with its 1/8" knives penetrating to a depth of 1 1/4" allowing oxygen a pathway to the roots and severing stolons to generate new growth and control organic build up. Put it all together and we just increased green speed by 1 foot.

DRYJECT SAND INJECTION COMPLETES ORGANIC DILUTION GOAL

Each August we audit our green maintenance program by taking undisturbed core samples off of 5 of our greens which represent five different eras of green construction on our course and BenchMarking them against samples taken in previous years, our testing is done by ISTRC (International Sports Turf Research Center). We test the infiltration rate, air porosity, water holding capacity, bulk density and organic matter accumulation in the top 4" of the green and the results dictate our management program for the next 8, growing season, months. Last year, because of 23" of rain in 8 weeks and the resulting weak turf it left behind we were unable to perform routine minor management practices throughout the summer so our ISTRC test result indicated we were in need of a more aggressive program which started with a DryJect late last August followed by aggressive core aeration the last week of October and finally the DryJecting last week. Had we been able to perform our summer program there is a good chance the aggressive coring last October would not have been needed.

OK, so what does all this mumbo, jumbo me to me the GOLFER??  Smooth, fast, firm, healthy, consistent greens are a result of having the right balance of drainage and dead and living grass roots in the surface 4" of the green and that balance, inturn, renders the correct balance of oxygen to water that grass roots thrive on. Let me also say, grass root growth, itself, depletes oxygen pore space by pushing it out with new root growth and old roots die off naturally all season long leaving behind a mussy residue that  plugs the soil reducing water infiltration rates. Well, this is a simple explanation of the dynamic world of grass root growth on a green and is the reason why we sand topdress, spike, knife, dryject, hydroject, solid tine and sometimes have to core aerate to maintain a prescribed soil balance that renders a fast, firm and smooth putting surface. 

Pictured; DryJect sand injection. Profile of injected sand. Sweeping surface sand. Finished. 

SAND, LOTS OF IT = FAST, FIRM, SMOOTH, HEALTHY BENTGRASS FAIRWAYS

Why sand the fairways? From a golfers perspective; longer drives, consistent ball reaction with bump and run approach shots, firm up-right turf for excellent club to ball striking performance, swing plane angle superior due to positive foot, leg and hip pivoting on the firmer surface, no plugged lies, less fatigue pushing a cart or caring your bag, use of golf cars more frequently after rains, no muddy core aeration or multitudes of earthworm casts to interfere with THE GAME.

From an agronomic perspective; less disease, better drainage, deeper rooting, superior wear tolerance, fewer earthworm poa planting casts, competitive advantage for bentgrass over poa annua means less winter-kill potential, fewer summer stress situations, organic matter control, less scalp potential, fewer chemical inputs, better drought avoidance means fewer irrigation events and the ability to use equipment much sooner after heavy rains and snow melts. All of this equates out to economic and quality sustainability.

To reap all of the above you need at least a 2" layer of sand and the maximum you can safely apply in the cooler spring and fall period is 1/4" per application and this is best done in two 1/8" applications with incorporation of the sand into the canopy between the 1/8" applications. During the summer months 1/20" to 1/16" should be the target so as to avoid the smothering of turf and tissue damage that would be caused by incorporation techniques of higher quantities.

Our goal is to apply 3/4" of sand per year with a ultimate target depth of 4". Once the 4" depth is attained our yearly total will be reduced to just over 1/4" for maintenance of the surface.

THREE PRONGED ATTACK SOLVES #6 DRAINAGE PROBLEMS

To solve any problem you first have to determine the causes. The causes, for the wet area left of the willow on #6 and to the left of the silver tee box on #9 were a corroded, leaking Water Level Control Device for #17 ponds, plugged 1930 era cement drain tile and a low area where the predominant soil is clay.

Last fall we replaced the corroded Water Level Control Device and a good stretch of pipe that carries that water to #5 pond, now the challenge was to locate the 1930 cement drain tile, no blueprints existed just a reference from our Westmoor History Book that in 1930 drain tile was installed. With Mark Mejchar at the controls of the Mini-Backhoe we located the tile and it gust water to the surface, we pumped the water out and inserted a tracer wire into the tile so we could locate it and dig it up again about 30 yards down grade, once again water gust to the surface and we continued down grade where we found, as you can see in the middle picture above, a mass of willow roots in a 4" cement tile. We cleaned the roots out and continued our tracing all the way to the pond. With the tile now functioning we placed vertical, clean out basins, over the drain tile about every 30 yards. With these clean outs in place locating the tile and cleaning it out is simple. Unfortunately, the 1930 drain tile is 4' deep and the lower 3' is in clay soil, so this drainage network, although functioning, would be slow due the water having to go through the clay to get to the tile. So to speed drainage in this area we added shallower trenches with solid, willow root proof, pipe and surface drain inlets as you can see in the last photo above.
Now we have a drainage network that will keep this area dry and playable all season long and will be easy to maintain in future. Playable and sustainable, a good combination.

DRIVING RANGE DRAINAGE WORK COMMENCES

Mark Mejchar, our Operations Manager, in the mini-backhoe, and Assistant Superintendent, Bryan Bergner, with rake in hand, start the first of four drainage pipe installs. The first, pictured here, is on the driving range just in front of the renovated practice tee. Mark and Bryan along with the help of Second Assistant Superintendent, Zac Houfek and Nick Narlock, Assistant Operations Manager, will install 6 catch basins, connect them with 4" drain pipe, all of which, will intercept and collect rain and irrigation runoff water from the tee and target green and transfer it underground, into the city storm water drainage network.

The second drainage install will be on hole #6 in the left rough near the willow tree about 170 yds off the tee. Third, will be a Water Level Control Device and connecting pipe install between #5 pond and #4 pond just in front of #5 tee.  The final install will be on hole #11 on the fence-line to the left of the green. With these all in place by May 6 we will enjoy a full season of golf on much drier turf.

MARCH 19, 2011 A LOOK AT CONDITIONS

# 7

#15

#12

#7 green looking to #15

#8