Closed Week Update #1

This will be a very busy week at Bernardo Heights even though we will not record a single round of golf. This period will impact course conditions for years to come as we complete some important projects along with our standard fall maintenance.

 On Monday, we punched (aerified, but I'm going to say punched because spell check keeps changing it to verified and I'm tired of fixing it) all the greens, punched the driving range tee, and verticut all the areas we intend to overseed, which are few this year.

Our contractors trenched another 300 feet for a new 10 inch mainline up the left rough of #18.  Last week they installed about 400 feet of pipe in a very complicated area with many new valves, transition from our existing system, and re-configuring a 3-way mainline junction.  Tomorrow will be smooth sailing with 100 more yards up the left rough before crossing the 18th fairway and heading over to our connection near the 1st tee.

While they were busy with the 10 inch install, our talented staff handled the installation of HDPE pipe in the tunnel crossing between #'s 2 and 3.  Our mechanic, Santiago welded a side bar on our front end loader to raise the pipe above the support brackets.  We used a couple of ladders, another tractor, and a bunch of manpower to move the pipe in place while Santiago drove from one end to the other.  

Up next for our staff is bunker renovation on #8.  More on that tomorrow.

Maintenance practices move to summertime

As we switch from a base of ryegrass to a solid stand of bermuda, our maintenance schedule will shift to accommodate the plant’s needs.  Bermuda grows best in very warm conditions, the hotter the better.  Practices like aerfication and verticutting need to be performed when the grass is growing at its best to recover from damage.

You may wonder why we do all this damage in the first place.  After all, it looks fine before we tear it up so why not leave it alone?  Bermudagrass is a serious thatch builder and can form a dense mat between the leaves and soil in a very short amount of time.  This mat of thatch will restrict water movement to the point that a 1/4 inch of rain will force us into a cart-path-only situation.  Nobody wants that.  It will also restrict root growth, harbor disease-causing organisms, trap fertilizer, and cause unsightly scalping.  

This photos of #8 fairway was taken after it was verticut and mowed.  Today, the fairway is green, smooth, healthy, and free of scalp marks.

We are finished with verticutting for this season, but we’ll be back at it next summer.  The process not only removes thatch, it also reduces grain and promotes new, healthy growth.  The ugly brown lines only last for a week and there is very little change in playability.  

Aerification is also being moved to the summer months to encourage rapid healing and promote root growth.  We may do some work with solid tines during the off-season to encourage movement of rainwater which I hope comes down in biblical proportions.  Until then, I will be enjoying the heat and the effects it has on our new stand of bermudagrass.

Aquatic Weed Control

Our new irrigation pond adjacent to the 11th tee and 17th green has performed very well in its first year, handling it's primary job of storing water.  Of course, the pond is also important to aesthetics and as a hazard guarding the 17th green.  Weed control in an irrigation pond is somewhat limited because, as you may suspect, we can't treat the pond with herbicides that would eventually be applied to turf via the irrigation system.

For most of the year, we've had some subsurface weeds growing in the lake and they were getting thicker as time went on.  Lucky for us, they have started to diminish for whatever reason.  Perhaps the plant's lifecycle is coming to a close, or the soil is no longer supporting growth, or salt build up may play a role.  I'm just glad to see less plant life than more, without any expense to the club.

We do have some cattails growing around the edges and we will remove those by hand.  Just the other day, we had Huckleberry Rafael out on some floating pallets pulling the reeds with Marvin guiding the raft.  We do have a small boat for such purposes, but they were having so much fun making quick work of the problem that I just took a pic and moved along.