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.

Lake Update

Shoreline ready for concrete.

Today, our lake contractors, Cook and Solis Construction Inc. will begin to install a liner in the lake.  Over the last week, they have been scraping back a foot of soil to be used as cover on the liner and hand digging the keyway for the wall.  Concrete will get poured next week, starting Tuesday when trucks will drive right into the lake basin and pump concrete to the shorelines.  During this process, it is very important that golfers stay clear of the haul road.  That means that no carts will be able to park on the right side of the 11th green because the concrete trucks will need to keep moving, not waiting for play.  A staff member will be on site to help guide traffic and prevent delays.  Click on the link above to see some of the handy work by Cook and Solis.

This is the path for concrete trucks, near site of future pump station.

 The liner is a thick, waterproof membrane that will be welded at the joints and even to drain lines entering the lake to ensure it remains watertight.  When the 17th green is open to play this weekend, players will not be allowed into the lake for any reason to protect the liner.  That means no retrieving balls or playing from the hazard.  The lake edge will be lined with caution tape and signs to help relay this message.

Installation of new overflow pipe.

Also, the pump house is "on the rack" finishing up assembly.  It will come ready to go and completely assembled.  I'm sure everyone is eager to get the course back to a normal 18 and start realizing the water savings this project will allow.  The wait is definitely worth the reward, so thank you for your patience.  Don't hesitate to contact Mike Spayd or myself if you have any questions about the status of this project or any course conditions.

Water News

Water is always a major topic around the club.  The frequency of a water-related discussion has only increased since the discovery of our new water source and the construction of the reservoir.  Visions of lush green turf from one corner of the property to the other can't help but creep into the minds of everyone who believes that more water is surely the answer.

I believe that more water is rarely the answer when it comes to growing turf.  We already use plenty of water, but we need to use it more effectively.  Quantity is not the limiting factor and adding more water will not solve all the brown spots.

I apologize if this is too technical in nature, but I've had this conversation dozens of times with individual members and it's time to put it on the blog.  So here goes the explanation of hydrophobic soils:

Soil particles sometimes repel water and refuse to get wet.  Water passes around the soil, through the soil, over and under, but does not stick.  The roots certainly cannot take advantage of water that is not there.  Adding more water does nothing to solve this problem.  That's just more water finding a drain line or recharging San Diego's ground water supply, and maybe our well.

You've all seen hydrophobic soils before.  When you let a house plant become extremely dried down and attempt to water it, the water hits the counter or floor as soon as it leaves the watering can.  The soil is still bone dry and the plant is no better off than before your attempted irrigation.  This is hydrophobic soil.  It is cause by organic acids that build up on the soil particles.  The soil needs to be treated with a wetting agent to get it to accept and hold water.

Here are a couple of pictures of the 4th fairway:

The brown spots and the green spots get the same amount of water, but they obviously are not performing the same.  This area is all hybrid bermuda and needs very little water to succeed.  The brown locations are suffering from what we call localized dry spot.  This is hydrophobic soil that repels water.  We could stick a hose or sprinkler here all day and the green spots will get wetter, the brown spots will not change.  This was all green a week ago, but our wetting agent has worn off and needs to be reapplied, a scheduled event, starting soon.  Today we dealt with a power outage (which also knocked out irrigation) so we'll have to wait another day.

You've all seen hydrophobic soils and you've all used wetting agents.  The soap that helps you do dishes or wash your laundry are both wetting agents.  The primary purpose of these products is to break surface tension.  The wetting agents we use break surface tension, facilitate water movement into the soil, and may also hold or move water in different degrees.

So, more water is not going to work on #4 and we don't want to waste water regardless of the source.

There are many other issues we need to address when trying to improve irrigation efficiency.  I'll explain some of our other efforts in another post because this one is much too long and probably put you to sleep.

Tournament Time

Today is the final day of the Heights Classic, the annual Men's Invitational.  Since we try to provide the best conditions possible, day in and day out, the tournament is not greatly different from any other day. However, there is a little more detail work, a few extra rolls of the greens, and of course, early start times to get the course prepared.

The staff did an excellent job in all respects of tournament preparation.  We handled an irrigation power outage to half the course without anybody noticing and no turf loss.  Greens were rolling a consistent 11 on the stimp meter from start to finish.  We also experienced zero mechanical breakdowns besides one flat tire.  All in all, it was a great tournament week.

To reward the crew, we joined in on the fun and conducted a putting contest of our own on the creative design prepared by Jacob and Mike from the Golf Shop.  The theme was "great moments in golf," but was more like ridiculous moments in golf such as Sergio in the tree on #10 at Bay Hill and Phil slipping on the rocks at Pebble.  There were trees, bunkers and water hazards and many tight fairways with OB on both sides.

The crew had so much fun on this track in a competitive outing.  At the end, it came down to a playoff with a two-way tie at +1.  Jose Luis completed an impressive round, carding two aces after an opening double bogey.  Juan was the early favorite and followed through to tie for the lead.

The five hole playoff, watched by the whole crew, wasn't decided until the final putt lipped out on the fifth hole, a replica of #18 at Augusta.  Congratulations to Juan Mendoza, this year's champ in what is sure to be an annual event.

Leveling #17 approach

We took advantage of the hole closure on #17 to tackle a project I've been eager to complete.  The approach on 17 had a large mound just before the green around two sprinkler heads.  (Photo below) I'm not sure how it got there, but I bet that many golfers have played victim to a vicious bounce toward the lake.


With the hole closed for the lake project, we had plenty of time to do this project and to do it right.  The sod was cut and arranged in the same order it came out.  If the sod gets put back in a different order or orientation you'd be able to see the difference between each piece.


We used the sod cutter to remove layers of soil until the grade was about right.  Unfortunately, the soil beneath was nothing short of awful.  It reminded me of the blue clay we found at 300 feet during the drilling of our well.  We could have cored out a section and replaced with sand, but then that portion of the approach would behave differently than the rest.  Instead, we aerified, mixed in some native soil and sandy material, and added some good fertilizer.

The sprinkler heads needed to be lowered by nearly 6 inches along with the surrounding soil.  When everything was tight and level, we put the puzzle back together in a very picky fashion.  We put it down, pulled it back up, added more sand or took some out until it was just right.

Six people helped out with this project, which was simple, but a great learning tool.  I really enjoyed how picky the crew was with how the sod went in.  I also liked the way they debated and hassled each other to get the job done right.  Good job.

The last pic shows the finished product.  It might not make a difference in most rounds of golf, but if you want to chip and run or if you come up a bit short, your ball will stay on the same line as it should.