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.

Bunker Renovations

Each spring we identify bunkers that need to be rebuilt.  The goal of this project is to help maintain the original shape and look of our bunkers.  Over time due to many reasons the shape of the bunker can change dramatically.  Most of the time the bunker gets smaller in size, the grass encroaches into the sand.  The aesthetics of the bunker is a large part of this project.  The slopes become contaminated with undesired grass species, moss, and deteriorating edges.

4 Greenside - before

Where do you start? The first step is to pull away all of the sand around the edge of the bunker.  This gives us an area to work from that minimizes the amount of contamination.  Next is the sod cutter.  We have gotten pretty good over the years using the sod cutter on steep slopes in teams of 2 or 3 to cut away the unwanted grass.  Two or three complete passes are made around each bunker.  

As many as ten cart fulls of spoils(grass and dirt) can be removed from a bunker depending on its size.  The most efficient way for us to haul it away is by placing plywood on the edge and driving the cart in the bunker.  The unwanted material must be removed before we can move onto the next step.  This is the longest part of this process, but also the most important.  Crew members using shovels and rakes remove the soil(dirt) and organic matter below the grass until the shape we desire is achieved,  others crew members cleanup behind them as they go.

 
The picture below shows how much sand can build up on the face from golfers blasting balls towards their intended target.  (The shovel blade is 10 inches tall) 

4 Greenside

The architects from Fazio golf marked the edges of the bunker with orange paint indicating to the workers behind them where the grass line ended and the sand started.  This line is still visible after the grass and dirt is removed, it provides a guideline for how the bunker should look when it is finished.

After all of the old grass and excess soil is removed the placement of new sod can commence.  Sod is laid starting at the bottom and working to the top.  Each piece is cut to fit and sod staples are placed to hold the grass to the edge.  The gaps along the top are filled in once the edge has been laid.  Once all of the sod has been laid the final step is removing contaminated sand and redistribute the sand to proper depth. (Four inches on the bottom and 3 inches on the faces)  From start to finish, for an averaged sized bunker, the project takes 4 crew members one day to complete. 

Ready for Sod

Before and After

The sod laid on the edges needs time to establish roots into the soil.  Please use caution when entering or exiting to not damage the new sod.  The slopes are not designed for entry and exit!

Tree Evaluation and Removal - A process

The tree evaluation and removal plan of Aldarra Golf Club has two key components.  First; improve turf health by evaluating and/or removing trees that block adequate sunlight to a playing surface.  Second, maintaining the original sight lines and intent of the golf course design.  Here is an example of each.

Number ten green receives the least amount of sunlight during the winter months (Nov – Feb) due to the low sun angle.  This green is monitored, specifically the back half, more than any other with regards to cup placement, mowing or rolling requirements, and if the green needs to be closed longer during a cold period.  Sunlight, air, water and nutrients are the fundamental components for proper plant health.  Think of each component as a cup that must be filled to a minimum level for the plant to grow.  Minimum requirements don’t provide proper levels of growth, so you must find ways to increase the amount in each cup.  Removing selected trees allows direct sunlight to reach the canopy of the turf, resulting in improved turf health.   

The next two photos show before and after tree removal around 10 green.  The top photo(before) was taken 9am on December 21^st, 2014.  Most of the green is shade.  The bottom photo (after) was taken January 10th, 2015 

10 Green - Before

10 Green - After

The pictures were taken at the same time of day to show a direction comparison.  Additional trees are being evaluated for removal to increase the direct sunlight to the front of the green.

Seattle Times Article August 2, 2001

When the Fazio design team lasted visited Aldarra in 2009 they told me many of the trees had been planted with the intent some would need be removed over the years as they outgrew their space.  Trees grow both taller and wider.  Most people notice when they grow taller, but we rarely remember how wide they can become.  Research shows that a tree can grow 1 to 2 feet wider each year.  Many of the trees on the golf course were planted in 1999 and 16 years later we forget that a tree has the maximum possibility to be 16 feet wider and much, much taller.  An article was written August 2, 2001 in the Seattle Times featuring a photo of number thirteen.

September 2014

Two large trees were removed in 2009 to restore the original line of play down the right. Trees don’t stop growing until they are removed or die of natural selection. The evaluation process must continue to maintain the original intent of the design.  Species of all sizes must be evaluated.  Smaller trees are much more manageable to remove in-house keeping costs down.  The picture above was taken in September of last year.  It is important to constantly evaluate these areas to keep the original intent of the design.