Don't worry about those yellow rings

The greens healed up nicely from the March 11th aerfication.  Speed and firmness are nearly back to normal and ball roll is pretty smooth besides the occasional ball mark.  One cosmetic problem you may have noticed is some yellow rings on the green surface.  This disease is called brown ring patch or Waitea Patch.  As far a diseases go, this one is fairly new to the United States.  I believe it was first spotted in Japan, made it's way to Canada, and has since moved south into the United States.  So what are we doing about this unsightly world traveler?

Last Monday, we sprayed a fungicide to control this disease.  There is little concern about turf loss as this is a weak pathogen and mostly cosmetic.  As the fungicide does its job, the rings will turn more green than yellow and then fade away.

Something else that's been fading away is some Poa annua in the greens and fairways.  More on that in an upcoming post.  Thanks for reading.

Lake Renovation: Draining Begins

We found some water, we installed a pipe to get it to the reservoir, and soon the lake will be under full renovation.  Before the contractors get started, we need to pump out and dry down the pond.  We started this process over a week ago, pumping for 8 hours a day.  Progress is being made and we are finding many tee markers that somehow ended up in the lake over the last few years.

As the pond gets lower, there will be the uncontrollable smell of wet, pond bottom.  This, unfortunately, is part of the renovation and will only be with us for a short time.  We will pump as often as possible to get the water out and the soil dry to eliminate the odor.  Also, I encourage all members to stay out of the pond to keep your shoes clean and the rest of you safe from slips and falls.  I know the balls are appealing, but they found water once and they'll find it again.  You'd be better off with a brand new sleeve from the Golf Shop.  

Today's Updates

Well Line
The pipe is all laid from the well site to the reservoir and backfilling should finish today.  Yesterday, we crossed the path near the 18th tee and worked around countless drain lines between the 11th and 18th tee complexes and 10th and 17th green.  All the wires and pipes that were damaged were carefully repaired before soil and sod were replaced.

There will be some rough looking sod and some bare soil areas along the installation zone.  This will be marked ground under repair until it heals up and fills in.  The cartpaths will be repaired next Monday while the course is closed.



Greens
We aerified the greens eleven days ago and the holes are about 80% healed.  By two weeks time we should be healed completely and the surface will continue to firm.  We may do a very light verticut next Monday to smooth the surface and bring a little sand back to the top.  I had a comment the other day, before we had sharpened mowers, "the greens were faster last week when they were covered with sand."  That is exactly right!!  A little sand is a big help in smoothing the surface and truly increasing speed.  Light and frequent topdressings, which we've been practicing for over 6 months now, will be a standard practice to manage our greens to their highest potential.






Bermuda
I had to stop and take this picture yesterday, as I mowed the driving range tee.  I'm seeing this gorgeous, blue-green, dew covered turf springing up throughout the course.  Driving range divots are filling with bermuda grass much quicker than ryegrass seed can germinate and fill.  The tees on the course are all starting to push bermuda to the top.  The fairways are waking up too and so are the green surrounds.  So if you see me crawling around on my hands and knees with a big grin on my face, this is why.  A month ago you may have seen the same thing while I was softly cursing the bermuda to wake up and get going.  Spring is here and the bermuda is coming.

24 inches X 8 inches X 2000 feet

Those are the dimensions of the trench we just finished.  We crossed the driving range, two fairways, a couple of cartpaths, countless water lines and drains.  The trench was finished in two days, but we still have about 800 feet of pipe to lay and a lot of backfill work.  The crew is exhausted so we are taking the rest of the month off.  Please pick up a weed eater in the pro shop and trim wherever your ball lands.  Just kidding.  We'll catch up with our mowing and detail work very quickly.

I'll summarize the project with a few photos and captions.  Needless to say, I'm very impressed with the efforts of the entire crew.  We all should be very proud of this group and the substantial funds they saved by tackling this portion of the project in-house.  Well done.

We started by removing the sod on the driving range.

Every employee was assigned to the project, even Izzo in a supervisor role.

This white stuff is our soil, and it is especially hard on the driving range.

Each irrigation line must be excavated by hand using picks and shovels.

With the trench complete across the range, the crew prepares for pipe installation.

One stick at a time.  I called out the third one, "three down, 97 to go!!" to a chorus of boos.

The box blade, compacter, tamper, and many shovels worked to backfill the trench.

Here, Santiago has finished the driving range and is moving on to #1 fairway.

The trencher had no trouble with shallow tree roots, making quick work of this section.

The trench complete and a new look to the 18th hole.

Aerification Recap

Monday was a long, yet excellent day with perfect weather for our spring aerfication.  We got started as soon as we could fire up the aerifiers and worked on 9 green and the chipping green.

During this process, expect the unexpected, which was a mechanical problem right off the bat.  The aerifiers have a part called a turf guard that holds down the green's surface while the tines pull plugs.  On one machine, the turf guard was about 1/4 inch above the surface and allowed the green to lift up.  This is fairly common with the aggressive setup we were using, but the results are a bit scary.













The depressions you see in the green are footprints as the crew works to clear the plugs.  The surface was raised over an inch.  We adjusted the machine and traded out some tension springs to lessen the impact, but we had to settle with some lumpy greens.  This is nothing that a roller can't fix with a few passes on the green.  On Tuesday, the roller was busy smoothing out the surface and the results are nearly immediate.


You'll be seeing some more work with brooms, rollers, drag mats, and shovels as we get the sand just right.  There are many factors that determine the time required for the greens to heal.  Temperature, fertility,  and moisture all play an important role.  Most important is the hole size, which is relatively small at 3/8 of an inch.  We were able to take out more with small holes at close spacing than large holes at a wider spacing, so it's a win-win for the greens and the membership.

The other factor that makes a major difference is the amount of sand on the greens.  In the photo to the left, we are removing some excess sand from #1.  We only had a few greens with too much sand and we had zero greens with too little.  Each hole needs to be filled to the top and "capped" with sand.  If the greens have too little sand, each hole will become a dimple and heal time is greatly increased.  Even worse, after the hole closes, there is still a depression and perhaps a darker circle of turf at each aerification hole.  In summary, sandy greens are a good thing.




Finally, the crew tells me that this is the first time they finished all the greens in one day.  I was very pleased with the efforts of every single person and they will be rewarded with one of our afternoon cookouts, sponsored by the club.  I can smell the carne asada now.

Aerification is Monday, March 11

So, what's the most important date of the year for Bernardo Heights Country Club?  I'll give you a few hints: It coincides with the first full day of daylight savings time, it involves poking a lot of holes in the ground, and most golfers don't care for this day at all.  Yes, it's this Monday when we get to open up the greens with some 3/8 inch tines.  Out with the bad and in with the good.

The bad is old layers, thatch, and compacted soil.  The good is high quality sand, organic fertilizer, and slow release nutrients.  Soil temperatures have been steadily climbing and will aid the greens in the healing process.  Another huge help is the full inch of rain that came in last night.  I'd say it was perfect timing to flush the salts and allow the soil enough time to dry before we begin Monday's process.

It is very important to test all the machines before we get started on Monday, because we only get one shot.  If the aerifier breaks down, or the tine setup is too aggressive, we will spend a lot of time changing the plan, which isn't fun at all.  This is already a dark AM to dark PM full day event, so we can't have any hiccups or down time.  Therefore, we not only tested our machines on the nursery green, we also experimented with an area with very shallow roots due to little sunlight.  The back left corner of the 6th green held up nicely, so the rest of the greens will be fine.

Our machines are all tuned up, the staff is ready for a long hard day, and the weather looks perfect.  We have fertilizer ready to go with the rates and spreader settings already figured.  The crew already knows their assignments for the day and the importance of the day has been made very clear.  Of course, that has lead each and every one of them to tease me with threats of calling in sick.  That's not going to happen.

So, we are ready to roll.  We also have two huge piles of sand in the shop.  By day's end, Izzo will need to find another beach.

Well Update: 2000 foot delivery

As we've said all along, finding water is only the first step in our irrigation renovation project.  Now we must get the water to a reservoir so it can be pumped into our irrigation system and onto the golf course.  Plans for the reservoir are in full swing and bids will be coming soon.  Most of the work is much too large for the maintenance staff to handle, but we do have a major assignment of our own.

In a couple of weeks, hopefully, on March 18th, the maintenance staff will begin installation of 2000 feet of 6 inch pipe.  This pipe will carry water from the well, across the driving range, across #1 fairway, and down the length of #18 to the lake on 11 and 17.  We will be renting a trencher capable of digging an 8 inch trench to a depth of 18-24 inches.

The pipe will be delivered next week and we placed the order in just in time.  You may not know this, but the price of pipe is closely related to the cost of oil and shot up 10% last Friday.  We beat that increase and now just have to wait for the trencher and the right Monday to do the job.

Next Monday is not going to be the one because it is the most important day of the year.

Nothing can compare to the impact of aerification on a green.  Next Monday, they get opened up and the 2000 foot trench, the improvements in landscaping, the mowing of anything, and the attention to details all take a backseat to the most important cultural practice of the year.

Yes, you'll get tired of hearing this, but it's true and the results will speak for themselves.  I'll have more on Monday's aerification tomorrow with some examples of what to expect.