Lake Update

On Monday, the wet well was installed at the site of our new pump house.  The wet well is a water-filled vault (will be water-filled soon) that is positioned under the pump house.  The motors that were delivered Tuesday will draw up water straight from the wet well underneath.  The pad for the pump house will be poured on Thursday and pump house delivery is  next Monday.

The well pump was lowered into position on Tuesday and we'll be working on the power source over the next few days. Here are some more pics from our recent events:

Summer Aerification, 1/4 inch tines

It may seem like we aerify greens just when they are starting to play their best, but the reason we do it is to keep them playing their best.  Today, we opened up the greens using some small, 1/4 inch tines.  This process was different than our spring and fall aerifications in a few ways.  For one, the holes are a little smaller meaning faster heal time.  We also dragged the plugs with a mat before picking them up to return some soil to the greens and speed the process.  Finally, we did not "cover" the greens with sand, but we will apply our regular, light topdress later in the week.

Here are a few pics of the work:

The first green nearly finished at 7:30

A very small plug with some nice roots

#16 

Dragging the plugs on #12

We expect the greens to be all healed up in about 3 days.  I'll be sure to share a photo of many white roots climbing down the channels we just made.  This process will benefit the greens for the rest of summer and is timed well for the upcoming, warm weather.  

We also had the wet well go in today.  Here is one picture for now with more to come tomorrow

Plans for the Rough

The maintenance department's priority list extends from the cup outwards.  So greens come first, followed by collars, approaches, fairways, tees, green surrounds and rough.  Just because rough is last, doesn't mean we haven't been working on it.

The rough at Bernardo Heights Country Club, like many other clubs, is a combination of many types of grasses.  Some turf types fare better than others with our soils, irrigation water, and climate conditions.  Bermuda is nearly indestructible and is the preferred grass for our roughs.  However, some areas have very little bermuda.  In these locations, we'll have to do our best with what we have.

Here is a short list of some of the problems in the rough with our intended solutions:

• Problem: Wrong turf type
• Solution:  Let the bad turf die and the good turf flourish
• Solution:  Seed, sod, and sprig what we need
• Problem: Tight soils
• Solution: Aerify  (In the middle of our second aerification in the last 3 months)
• Problem: Water quality
• Solution: Apply wetting agents to improve infiltration (2nd app just finished yesterday)
• Solution: Use organic acids to break up sodium  (2nd app is out)
• Problem:  Fertility
• Solution:  Include rough in regular fertility program (done)
• Problem:  Irrigation efficiency
• Solution: Change nozzles in sprinkler heads (fairways are finished, rough is next)
• Solution: Raise low sprinkler heads (an ongoing battle with steady progress)
• Solution:  Trim trees to allow path for irrigation (10 more trees today alone)

Notice that not a single solution involved more irrigation.  Once again, more water is not the answer.

Now for a few pictures:

 First up, a photo of the rough between the bunker and fairway on #17, much improved going into this summer.  The main reason was the two shots of fertilizer applied so far this season.  Most of our rough is not this thick or dense.  This is a good example of a blend of ryegrass and bermuda, the best of both worlds.  If the rye losses out to the heat, the bermuda should fill in easily.

 The picture to the left is an example of some problem rough.  This is mostly ryegrass and bermuda with depressions or pits where the poa annua has died.  If we have a lot of bermuda here, it will slowly fill the voids.  If there is mostly rye, then these pits are going to be a problem for a while.

Most of these areas have a bunch of thatch which comes from the annual cycle of Poa annua germination and subsequent death.  The roots left behind add to the 2-3 inch mat that already exists.  We have to remove this biomass to get grass to grow with some roots in the soil.  This will be achieved with aerification.  Once the Senior Amateur Qualifier is concluded next Monday, we get a break from tournaments and will really go after these areas.

The next two photos are different angles of the same area.  There are clumps of poa annua and ryegrass in a low bed of bermuda.  Here we will remove the cool season grasses and encourage the bermuda to fill in and grow strong.

Finally, our rough suffers from many forms of compaction, but none so common as the beloved golf cart.  I support a handicap flag program and agree that this course is fairly difficult to walk. So please, by all means, take your carts and drive where you need to go.  Just keep this in mind: if you find yourself this close to the cartpath, you might do us all a favor and walk the extra four feet.  The grass will thank you.

Lake Update

We are making steady progress towards the goal of a new reservoir and irrigation supply source.  Last week, Cook and Solis Inc. installed the first portion of the concrete rim along the 17 hole side of the lake.  The trucks drove up the right rough of the 11th hole and into the lake basin without incident.  Next up, a "cut-off wall" will be poured just outside the rim along the 17 side of the lake.  This is to protect the edge and the liner from damage from a 100 year storm.











Pouring for the wall is scheduled for Wednesday to finish up this side of the lake.  Soil is being stripped from the rest of the lake to cover the remaining liner which will be going down later in the week.

This morning, the construction crew began staging the rocks for the new wall around the 17th green.  The previous wall had to be removed so the liner could be installed, protecting the green and drain lines from the new water level.