Well it has been ten days are we are recovering from greens aerification right on schedule. For the most part all of the holes are filled in and the greens have digested the sand topdress. Over the next two weeks we will increase are rolling frequency in order to firm and smooth the putting surface. In the addition to the rolling, we will also be lowering our cutting height to increase our smoothness and speed. The Club Championship is just two weeks and we are on the right track to provide smooth, firm and fast putting surfaces. Just as a side note speaking of putting, I picked up one of the new Taylor Made Spider putters that we now have in the pro shop. Now I know why all the Champion Tour Pro's are using them. They line up so well from 10 feet and in, it makes you feel like you can make everything. See Craig or one of the guys in the shop for a demo, this might just be what your game needs to win the Club Championship.
Our irrigation pump was finally reinstalled before last weekend's prelude to a summer heat wave. Many ask about how we irrgiate the golf course. Well this time of year we try to irrigate deep and infrequent. This means heavier water cycles every other to every fourth night. Research has shown that this is the best irrigation method to promote a deeper root system. In our case this style of irrigation is also promoting our transition back to the more heat tolerant Bermuda grass for the summer. Currently our transition back to bermuda is going well. Through the use of growth regulators, proper fertility, deep and infrequent watering, and lowering the height of cut we have seen a good population of bermuda already. During the month of May we will be aerifying fairways and fertilizing them to really get the bermuda growing strong. After our strong effort over the past three years to increase our bermuda population I hope to have a good transition and maintain a dense stand of turf on the fairways for the entire summer.
Coming up next week is tee aerification. We plan on aerifiy the Front Nine tees on Wednesday and the Back Nine on Thursday. This will require a one tee start both mornings. In conjunction with aerification some of the tees will be topdressed to improve the soil structure on the tees.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Aerification is Complete!
We have successfully completed our spring greens aerification. All went well till we woke up today to hurricane force winds. Through a little extra hard work, the staff weathered the elements to get things completed. I would expect that the recovery from Aerification should be good this year. A heat wave is expected this weekend which will help warm soil temperatures and encourage growth. Typically we see complete coverage of the aerification holes within ten days and the greens return to normal putting speed within 14 days. By the time the Club Championship gets here the beginning of May the putting surfaces should be excellent.
Here are a few photos from the last three days:
This is the Vertidrain Machine attached to a tractor. It uses a 3/4" in Diameter solid tine that is 10" long to shatter the soil at a depth of 6-9". This machine is crucial in making sure water will flow through the soil profile.
On the right is the machine that pulls a core out of the surface of the green. This time we went with a 1/2" diameter core to a depth of 2" and set on a 1.25" by 1.25" spacing. The removal of the core is crucial in allowing water to penetrate the dense turf canopy.
This is the labor intensive portion of the job. All of the cores are wind-rowed and then picked up with shovels and removed from the greens. After that back pack blowers are used to remove any leftover plugs and debris.
The greens are then mowed to help clean off the surface and then the sand is applied. We use 75 tons of Dried #30 Silica Sand. Remember that 75 tons equals 150,000 pounds. It is a big job to get all that material moved around the course and applied to the greens. Once the sand is applied the drag mat is used to work the sand into the holes.
After the dragging of the sand, a granular fertilizer and large amounts of water are applied to help settle the sand into the holes and start the recovery process. Over the next week the greens will continually be rolled to help promote surface smoothness and brushed with push brooms to aid in the absorption of the sand by the turf canopy.
Here are a few photos from the last three days:
This is the Vertidrain Machine attached to a tractor. It uses a 3/4" in Diameter solid tine that is 10" long to shatter the soil at a depth of 6-9". This machine is crucial in making sure water will flow through the soil profile.
On the right is the machine that pulls a core out of the surface of the green. This time we went with a 1/2" diameter core to a depth of 2" and set on a 1.25" by 1.25" spacing. The removal of the core is crucial in allowing water to penetrate the dense turf canopy.
This is the labor intensive portion of the job. All of the cores are wind-rowed and then picked up with shovels and removed from the greens. After that back pack blowers are used to remove any leftover plugs and debris.The greens are then mowed to help clean off the surface and then the sand is applied. We use 75 tons of Dried #30 Silica Sand. Remember that 75 tons equals 150,000 pounds. It is a big job to get all that material moved around the course and applied to the greens. Once the sand is applied the drag mat is used to work the sand into the holes.
After the dragging of the sand, a granular fertilizer and large amounts of water are applied to help settle the sand into the holes and start the recovery process. Over the next week the greens will continually be rolled to help promote surface smoothness and brushed with push brooms to aid in the absorption of the sand by the turf canopy.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Aerification is coming!
I guess some would say it is about that time. Time to screw up the greens just when they were looking so good by punching holes in them and putting sand all over the place. Well, I guess there is some truth in this, but the more important way to look at aerification is preventative medicine. Think of it like going to the dentist for your twice-yearly check-up. The same holds true for aeration. You can skip a visit to the dentist, but you will contribute to problems over the long term. You can skip one of the aerations, but this can result in a faster turf loss. And once you lose turf the recovery process is a long road. Aerification generally is done in our region of year round golf two to three times per year, and sometimes more often if certain problems exist.
An important purpose of core aeration is the physical removal of unwanted organic matter in the upper portion of the root zone. The removal of this organic matter is important for allowing the movement of the water, oxygen, and nutrients into the rootzone.
Like so many things, the quality of a good putting green is more than skin deep. In fact, the condition of a green has a lot to do with what goes on below the surface. In order to keep grass healthy and smooth in a stressful environment such as a putting green, you need to have deep and healthy roots. Good roots demand oxygen, water, and nutrients.
The old phrase “pay me now or pay me later” rings true with core aeration. Core aeration is the most vital preventative maintenance practice we can do to ensure that we have healthy greens throughout the summer. With all that being said, we are scheduled to aerify greens, collars and approaches on April 7th, 8th, and 9th. If all goes well, the greens will be completely recovered in 10 to 14 days.
Our schedule is the following: On Monday we will use the deep tine machine set to a depth of 8" with solid 3/4" tines. We will use most of the day to do all the greens. We will then start core aerification on the putting green. On Tuesday the front nine will be closed for us to core aerify and topdress all of the front nine greens, collars, and approaches. On Wednesday the front nine will re-open and the back nine will be closed for the same core aerification proeess.
Check back to the clog for pictures and updates for how our aerification went this year.
An important purpose of core aeration is the physical removal of unwanted organic matter in the upper portion of the root zone. The removal of this organic matter is important for allowing the movement of the water, oxygen, and nutrients into the rootzone.
Like so many things, the quality of a good putting green is more than skin deep. In fact, the condition of a green has a lot to do with what goes on below the surface. In order to keep grass healthy and smooth in a stressful environment such as a putting green, you need to have deep and healthy roots. Good roots demand oxygen, water, and nutrients.
The old phrase “pay me now or pay me later” rings true with core aeration. Core aeration is the most vital preventative maintenance practice we can do to ensure that we have healthy greens throughout the summer. With all that being said, we are scheduled to aerify greens, collars and approaches on April 7th, 8th, and 9th. If all goes well, the greens will be completely recovered in 10 to 14 days.
Our schedule is the following: On Monday we will use the deep tine machine set to a depth of 8" with solid 3/4" tines. We will use most of the day to do all the greens. We will then start core aerification on the putting green. On Tuesday the front nine will be closed for us to core aerify and topdress all of the front nine greens, collars, and approaches. On Wednesday the front nine will re-open and the back nine will be closed for the same core aerification proeess.
Check back to the clog for pictures and updates for how our aerification went this year.
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