Get Your Roll On!

“How often do you roll?” is a common question I get asked.  There is no set schedule for the frequency in which roll.  The goal is to maintain stimpmeter readings between 10.5 and 12.  Research has shown increased rolling of putting surfaces provides more consistent speed day to day compared to mowing alone.  There are four different mechanical options:

                     - No Mow or Roll – Yellow Square

                     - Mow Only  - Blue Square

                     - Roll Only – Red Square

                     - Mow and Roll – Green Square

 

After the mechanical practice is performed a stimpmeter reading is recorded on a specific green( #3) giving us a daily reading.  That reading helps me decide what practiced will be performed the following morning.  The quantity of clippings collected is also monitored each morning, if the greens are mown, to help determine the following days practice.  The mechanical practice is recorded on a calendar with a coordinating color, at the end of the month, the calendar looks like the one below. 

 

◄ Jun 2015	~ July 2015 ~					Aug 2015 ►
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30	31

 

The frequency of each practice varies month to month because of growing conditions of both cold weather and warm weather.  Greens will be mown less in February v. July as the grass doesn’t grow as much.  Mowing excessively places undo stress on the plant causing it to be susceptible to disease.  During heat waves mowing and rolling are alternated to not place undue stress on the plant.  Providing consistent green speed is a goal, but having healthy putting surfaces is the priority. 

 

	~ February 2015 ~
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
						1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28

 

The table below shows the number of  times the four practices have been performed during each month.  (I excluded the January dates because we were closed for nearly 10 days due to cold weather.) 

	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Tot.
N/A	14	12	8	4	4	3	2	47
Mow	6	10	9	9	6	9	8	57
Roll	5	8	9	4	7	10	4	47
M/R	3	1	4	14	13	9	17	61

Having A Heat Wave

The dry summer of 2015 keeps on rolling.  The last few days have been a relief and a chance to catch our breath and see many areas recover from the stress of this heat wave.  I’ve been asked by many members how we handle the high heat and long days. 

As temperature and/or humidity rise adding more water doesn’t make all our worries go away.  Increased moisture compounds the problems of the heat.   Grass doesn’t need additional water because the temperature goes up, it needs adequate moisture.  Excessive moisture in periods of high humidity increases the probability for disease which directly effects turf quality. 

You will see us using a tool called a TDR or moisture meter to gather information needed to determine adequate moisture.  It combines what we see with a specific data point to more uniform surface. It works by measuring the volume of water between the probes you see at the bottom of the instrument. 

TDR

At the push of a button an electric pulse is delivered between the probes.  Water conducts electricity; volume is calculated by converting the time it takes into a percentage.  Our target range on greens in between 16 and 22 percent. (16% - 22%).   

 

All twenty-two greens are checked each morning to determine an average and identify areas that need more water and areas that need no extra water.  Areas below the target are watered with a hose to correct the deficiency. 

Hand-watering is necessary to maintain a firm golf course.  I heard a great quote recently, “golf is played on a surface, not on color.  It is our job (Superintendent) to prepare a surface.”  The combination of proper overhead irrigation at night and hand watering during the day gives us the best opportunity to accomplish our goals.  Hand watering to correct deficiencies and treat hot-spots puts the water in places that need it.  Excessive use of overhead irrigation results in wet soils and soft surfaces that decrease turf quality and the playability goal of firm and fast. 

 

 

Direct High Temperature Kill

What causes those tires tracks?

Those tire marks are from golf carts.  This damage is the same result of driving across grass that is frosty.  The cell within the plant is so hot that the added stress of the cart driving across it, ruptures the cells within the grass, killing the tissue.  The plant will grow out of this damage if their has been no damage to the crown(the point from which grass grows).   

 

In this photo you can see where the tread pattern of the tire saved the grass it didn't make contact with, hence the straight line. 

Change in Seasons

Four weeks from today marks the official beginning of summer.  Where has the time gone?  As the golf course makes steps forward into firm and fast summer mode, it's easy to forget how much mother nature changes the landscape season to season. 
If I take a few days away from the property I am always amazed at how much change I notice. 


October 30th, 2014
 

If I notice change in just a short few days, what will change look like over time?
I have been taking a picture every other month since October to document change from a specific location. (I can't find the January photo anywhere.)  The visual change to both turf and trees is stunning. 

March 4th, 2015

 



May 18th, 2015

Going forward I plan on taking a photo more often to document the changes closer together and add more locations to the program. 

 

Dryject by the Numbers

Two questions keep coming up about Dry-Ject

 

1. How long did it take?

 

It took three (3) machines from 7am to 6pm to finish all 19 greens (Putting Green and 1-18.)  Three people work with the machine at all times.  The operator who works for the company that owns the machines and two of our crew members, who keep the hopper full (green bin) while the machine is in action.

2. How much sand was used?

The non-specific answer is a lot, but being a numbers guy even I wanted to know a specific total.

The total area done with Dry-Ject was 123,000 square feet.  We knew that the sand pile had 62 tons in it before the day began and over half the pile was gone at the end of the day.  Over 31 tons of sand was injected into the profile.  That's over 500 pounds per thousand square feet or nearly 11 tons per acre.  (A dump truck holds on average 31 tons of sand per delivery.)

"How much was put out on fairways?"
 
That's the question I thought to myself immediately.  I ordered 14 truckloads of sand to be used for topdressing.  When the week was over the storage bin was empty.  The golf course has 27 acres of approaches, fairways, and tees.   
Using a 31 ton average per truckload over 16 tons of sand per acre was incorporated into the profile.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Tools for an age old process

Aerification is just around the corner and the turf is ready for a breath of fresh air.  In a previous post I discussed improving the environment through tree removal which increasing the amount of sunlight.  This is only half of the environment we must focus on to provide quality turf.  The other half is below our feet while we play.  A healthy profile(soil) is required to provide a medium for the turf to grow. 

Creeping Bentgrass and Poa annua, also known as annual bluegrass, have different environmental needs and desires. Bentgrass naturally grows deeper roots if given the opportunity and requires less inputs(fertilizer, water, fungicides) throughout the season.  In the continued effort to maintain bentgrass as our dominant species we must provide an environment that tips the scale in its favor.

Twice a year for the past 15 years aerification has been performed at a depth of 3 to 3.5 inches. Repeating this time and time again has resulted in a layer which slows water and oxygen infiltration into the profile.  This environment favors a shallow rooted plant like annual bluegrass.  The layer is a result of the fines(smallest sand particles) settling at the bottom of the holes.  Disrupting this layer results in increased oxygen exchange and water infiltration through the profile.  The further oxygen and water move into the profile the greater chance there is for bentgrass populations to thrive.

 

DryJect Machine

For aerification this Spring we will be using a process that has never been used before at Aldarra, known as DryJect. (This link shows a video of the machine in action) The machine works by using water to create voids in the profile.  Water at nearly 3200 psi is injected into the profile (think fracking) creating a void 6-8 inches in depth. As water vacates the void the machine injects sand into the space filling it completely.  On average 500 lbs of sand is injected into the profile per 1,000 square foot area. This is a specialized form of deep-tine aerification.

Dry-ject will take place April 20th and 21st during the scheduled week of aerification. The process was done this week at both Sahalee Country Club and Broadmoor Golf Club. Surface disruption is very minimal and should be ready for play Thursday. There will be no regular core aerification on greens this Spring. 

A view of the surface following DryJect

During this same week my staff and I will also aerify approaches, tees, and fairways. If Mother Nature cooperates everything should be completed by Monday April 27th.

If you have been out playing the past two weeks you might have seen a new machine punching holes in the fairways. The machine below is a deep-tine aerification implement that was recently purchased. 

The new machine in action on #5

It uses a tine nearly twice as long as a conventional aerification implement. 

Left : Deep Tine              Right: Regular Tine

The benefit of this practice is similar to dry-ject. The more water that moves through the profile, away from the surface the faster things can dry down and the firmer fairways will be.

Fairways will be deep-tined before conventional aerification and topdressing(sand). Deep tine aerification will be conducted both Spring and Fall and supplementally on certain fairways and other areas that drain poorly. The benefits of deep-tine aerification will take time to show through but it should result in a firmer golf course.