Office Hour Notes

Last Saturday, the club hosted a session we call Office Hours, which is a short presentation followed by a Q&A dealing with course conditions and maintenance.  Today, I'd like to share a summary of the topics discussed for those of you who were not able to attend.

For the new subscribers, this post is many times longer than a normal post.  We covered a massive amount of information, much of it fairly technical.  I'll try to keep this as short as possible.

Fairways

Yes, this is the main topic of debate at Bernardo Heights Country Club and for obvious reasons.  There are many thin lies in the fairways since bermuda is not growing well during the winter months.  We just passed the worst of it with five days of heavy frost near New Years Day.  Some members are wondering why the fairways look this way however I'd like to explain why the fairways have never been better positioned for the future.

The bermuda fairways are young; some have only been pure bermuda for four months.  By pure bermuda, I mean that there is no other grass growing in the fairway.  There is no perennial ryegrass leftover from our overseeding days and there is no Poa annua that has been allowed in during winter months.  Most of our fairways are pure bermuda and will only get better as temperatures increase.  

The par 3's and holes 13 and 15 have not been sprayed to eliminate the cool season grasses, but they will very shortly.  By the end of this summer, we will have 100% bermuda fairways.  We have made it past the ugly conversion stage and can now enjoy the maturing process that will produce the carpet-like bermuda we've been waiting for.  I've been smiling lately because it's closer than you think.

Take a look at this picture of the fairway on #2 that I took this morning:

Now compare it to a photo taken on the 14th of January just a few weeks ago:

Hopefully you see a difference and an improvement.  We've moved from a two grass cycle to bermuda year-round.  Overseeding is really successful in Palm Springs, but we are not Palm Springs.  We do not receive a return on a ryegrass investment.  It is much better to suffer for a month or two and enjoy excellent conditions the rest of the time.  Once the bermuda is matured and filled in, by the end of this summer, next winter will not be so bad at all.  We originally promoted the fairway conversion as a three year process back in 2012 and we are right on time.  Get ready for some beautiful fairways this year.

Greens

Just like the majority of golf courses in San Diego, our greens are mostly Poa annua.  This includes Torrey Pines, Rancho Sante Fe, and San Diego Country Club.  I would love to play those greens on a daily basis.  Stop being afraid of Poa because it is truly a remarkable putting surface.  

The greens at Bernardo Heights are starting to roll very well with the bentgrass waking up with warmer temperatures.  We have a blend of bentgrass and Poa, and they are really starting to even out and blend together.  Soon, we will begin light topdressing to fill slight imperfections and the occasional verticut to control puffiness.  This morning, greens were rolling around 10.5, a bit faster than they've been in previous weeks.  We plan on keeping the greens between 10.5 and 11 on the stimp meter, a very reasonable speed for our greens.

Sodium issues that come about from our irrigation water are under control, especially with the nice rains we received in December.  We need more of those rains to flush salts through the root zone.  Toward the end of last summer, we changed the way we flush greens and now feel we have a good handle on this practice.  Read about that and some changes to the fertilizer program in this previous blog post: Adjustments to the Greens Program

Collars

Another major topic at Saturday's meeting was the condition of the collars around the greens.  We have paspalum collars and have to live with that grass type for now.  In the winter, this turf will go dormant and lose a lot of it's leaf tissue.  This results in a very thin stand of turf, sometimes right down to the soil.  Last year, we scalped the collars down to the soil and overseeded with ryegrass.  This made the collars look nice, but they did not play very well at all.  There are varying opinions on this year's strategy of using colorants and no seeding, but the overall consensus is the collars play better this way.  The paspalum is beginning to green up again and we are mowing it low to knock down the tufts of ryegrass leftover from last year's seeding.  

The collars just passed the center of winter and low point of growth potential.  Like the bermuda fairways, they will only get greener and smoother as temperatures warm.  

Well Water

We've been tracking the water level of our new well since last May and readings have been very positive.  In May of 2014, the water sat 310 feet below the ground.  The fracture from which we pull water sits at 980 feet.  Our pump sits at 600 feet below ground.  The last reading, taken on January 30th was up to 307 feet below the surface, three feet higher than May of last year.  

We are committed to maintaining this source of water in a sustainable fashion.  Without overseeding, we will be using very little water throughout the cooler months.  We have and will continue to remove turf from areas out of play.  Over five acres were removed from the irrigation grid over the last two years and we are exploring a turf reduction program to remove up to an additional 15 acres.  

Water quality is not excellent, but it is manageable.  Regular water tests have shown the well water to have the same amount of sodium and bicarbonates (bad things for turf) as when we first started drawing water.  We expect the levels of salts to remain constant and we have found the proper maintenance practices to grow turf in spite of less than perfect water.

Since the time the well was put into operation, the club has saved over $560,000 minus electricity costs.  We also have saved the City of San Diego over 90 million gallons of water by utilizing an untapped source of water that would not be useful in most situations.  I think we can be proud of this investment, both for the dollar savings and the reduction of the draw on our drinking supply.  Water is a precious resource and we are dedicated to using every drop as efficiently as possible.

Rough

Now that the rough is back on the fertilizer program and undesirable grasses are being removed, we are getting very close to where we want to be.  Last Monday, I sprayed over two acres of rough with a product that will eliminate ryegrass tufts.  We will continue to spot fertilize thin spots and push our bermuda stand.  Once we eliminate the tufts that cause most of the bad lies, we will have nothing standing in our way.

Summary

You may be hearing a common theme in most of these sections: ryegrass is in our way.  Overseeding has caused us many pains.  The bermuda was weak, bare spots emerged in late summer, and a huge cost was imposed on the club for good winter conditions.  San Diego's winter is so short, it kinda blends with the other seasons and today, it was 80 degrees.  

We have direction now.  The fairways will be bermuda.  The rough will be bermuda.  The green surrounds will be…..  you guessed it, bermuda.  This grass type takes less water, handles sodium, and can provide excellent playing conditions year round.  

For the last two years, half of my job has been killing turf.  I'm good at it.  If we never get rid of the ryegrass and poa that have starved the bermudagrass, the conversion can never take place.  Well, we are almost out of grass to kill.  

To wrap up the longest blog post I've written in five years, I like where we are sitting right now.  We have a stable water source that saves us money.  We've converted to a grass that wants to grow here.  We have a  fantastic layout and some members who really love being here.  And shame on me for not mentioning my wonderful staff last Saturday or until the final section of the blog.  They care about this course, they are really excited about the bermuda fairways, and they are the best Turf Maintenance Soccer Team in San Diego.

Thanks for reading.  

Bermuda Fairways During Winter

Well, it's winter time.  The coots are here doing what they do, the trees have finished dropping their leaves, and the bermuda is as sleepy as it will get.  The weather is not too bad, but it's far from what we expect in San Diego, 80 degrees and sunny day in and day out.  This time of year is the least hospitable to the game of golf in our location.  Isn't it crazy to think how Bernardo Heights used to spend well over  $50,000 to achieve the best conditions of the year in the middle of winter?  In addition to the expense, overseeding would practically ruin the month of October with soft, wet fairways and strict cart restrictions.  To top it off, that overseed would punish any existing bermudagrass, resulting in thin and bare fairways by August.  The month of September would be spent dreaming of another seeding followed by another wasted October.  It didn't make sense then, and it certainly doesn't now.

Here we are, three years out of overseeding and most of the fairways are 100% bermudagrass.  Even better, the grass is still green.  Here are a couple of photos of the fairway on #2:

The photo on the left was taken on December 29th, days before a cold system moved into San Diego.  The grass was still green and growing.  Above, this photo was taken on January 14th after five straight days of frost.  The green patches are some hybrid bermuda varieties that faired very well during the cold snap.  Most of #2 is common bermuda and more susceptible to frost induced dormancy.  Below is a pic of #2 that I took today.  The green is making a comeback, just a week since the white leaves greatly outnumbered the green ones.  My point is, bermuda does not remain dormant for very long in San Diego.  We can have our green grass nearly year round without wasting a bunch of money, sacrificing playability in the fall, and running out of turf in the dead of summer.

The grass you see in the photo is all bermudagrass and when the summer heat arrives this grass excels.  There is no high temperature that is too high.  It does not mind the sodium in our water and the tight soils are not much of a problem.  Tomorrow will be 1 minute and 30 seconds longer than today and I'd bet we are done with frost.  So this turf is just going to get better.  Also, next year we will have a thicker stand going into the winter, better lies, and more green.

The transition to all bermuda has been a multi-year campaign which we have promoted as much as possible.  We had to eliminate the other grasses and improve the health and population of existing bermudagrass.  We did that with additional fertilizer, herbicides, and a very effective pre-emergent that would keep our new stand of bermuda free from invading winter annuals.

When bermuda grows free from competition, it doesn't take long to fill in thin spots and improve density.  Historically, the grass will really green up by the end of February, measurable growth begins towards the end of March, and we are off and rolling by late April, requiring a couple of mowings a week.  By mid summer we won't be able to put the fairway mower away and all fairways, include #13, #15, and the par 3's will be converted to bermudagrass.

To sum up the winter fairway analysis in one sentence: The fairways at Bernardo Heights Country Club have never been in better shape for the future.

Adjustments to the Greens Program

We are constantly adjusting how we maintain the greens due to weather, soil conditions, and seasonal growth patterns.  This time of year, bentgrass is slowing down and Poa annua is popping up everywhere.  By the middle of winter, most of our greens will appear to be 100% Poa annua.  In spring, this process will reverse and by mid-summer, the greens will be nearly 60% bentgrass.  These turf types require different inputs and management strategies to produce good playing conditions.

 Currently, we are ramping up our fertilizer applications to get the new crop of Poa annua to fill in and tighten up.  We are also using products that limit shoot growth and increase density and another product that will keep the Poa from seeding.  Our fertilizer type is also different this time of year, utilizing fast release nitrate fertilizers instead of slower forms like urea, which we use more in the summer months to limit excessive growth.


Another recent change to maintenance practices focuses on our salinity management strategy.  Most water has some amount of salts that can adversely affect the condition of turf.  Our well water has over twice the amount of the potable water we had been using.  To get the sodium out of the soil, we have to apply large amounts of irrigation water that will flush out the system.  On most greens, a two hour shot of water will move the sodium out of the root zone for a month or so, depending on weather.  However, this practice has not been effective on some of our greens, especially those with low spots near the collars that act as collection areas for all the nasty stuff that comes with the water.

We are now flushing these areas with 24 hours of low-output irrigation.  You may have seen this practice on the putting green a week ago.  Other greens receive this heavy dose of water throughout the evenings or during Mondays when we are closed.  Some troublesome greens include #'s 10, 15, and 17.  The new method is working and a little rain in the forecast will really make a difference.

One other change, which has been a tough pill to swallow for me personally, has been increasing the amount of nitrogen we put on the greens.  I have always liked the lean and mean approach, limiting growth and puffiness to attain a good speed.  I've now accepted that all this increased flushing requires more nitrogen than I'm used to.  When you flush out the bad, the good goes with it and needs to be replaced at a higher quantity.  Potassium is too low, calcium is flushed out, and nitrogen is needed.  Our water, while having some salinity, is very low in nitrogen unlike reclaimed or purple pipe water.  We don't get that benefit, we actually get stripped of nitrogen and need to replenish nutrients in the soil.

A few quick adjustments and the greens will be back up to speed and as healthy as ever.  I think you'll see the difference in just a few days.  Happy Thanksgiving!!

New Kicks for the Crew

The month of October was an intense and productive period for the maintenance staff.  The annual course closure was filled with long days of physical labor, non-stop projects, and a consistent effort and attitude by our proud employees.

When members returned to the course, they took notice of all the work that was accomplished in a short period of time.  We heard more compliments and appreciation than I'd ever expect.  A few members decided to start a collection for the crew and it quickly ballooned to a sizable sum.

About a week ago, we put those funds to good use with a little field trip to lunch and a shoe store.  I've always wanted to buy good work shoes for my staff, but I've never had the budget to do so.  These guys are on their feet all day, often in wet conditions.  Cheap shoes really take a toll by the end of the day.

Thanks to this member support, we had an excellent and hilarious lunch at a local Korean BBQ restaurant.  It was a unique dining experience to say the least and nobody left with any hunger pains, most of us didn't need dinner that evening.

From there, it was on to Boot World where the guys could choose their own boots, get properly fitted, and even picked up some inserts that make quite a difference in comfort.  You'll see the guys on course with their fancy new shoes, and they appreciate your kindness so much.

From all of us at in the maintenance department, thank you for your generosity and thoughtfulness.  Every day is a little more comfortable, and maybe even more productive.

Closed Week Closing Out

It's been a long, hard, productive week at Bernardo Heights Country Club.  The members returned to the course today to meet some sandy greens, some renovated bunkers, and many signs of work in progress.  The most common quote from returning members, "You've been busy."  Yes we have.

More work continues today as we put the finishing touches on the bunkers on #8.  The front bunker saw the most changes.  The front edge was moved away from the green by 4 feet, close to the original dimension of the bunker.  Over the last bunch of years, the edge has creeped in and up making a narrow and very deep hazard.  We removed over three feet of sand to reach the original grade and then added over a foot of clay to reduce the severity of the slope and produce more playable floorspace.  The existing drains worked well, so after packing down the clay, we hand dug down to the old drains and added new drainage right on top.  The view is much different, nearly doubling the amount of sand visible from the fairway.  It might just make somebody think twice of going for a tucked pin.

The back bunker actually had a entire sub grade full of large crushed rock making a vault style drain that was covered with liner.  Changing this design would have taken more time than we had, and since it was still functional, we regraded to remove high spots, tacked down the liner, and added our sand.  

Both bunkers are now more player friendly and have fresh sand that will allow for properly played explosion shots.  They will be just like our other renovated bunkers on holes 5-7 after the sand is matured and compacted over time.  We used a vibratory plate compactor and a decent amount of water today to pack down the sand.  It will get the same treatment a few more times to reduce fluffiness and fried egg lies that is commonly associated with new bunkers.

The contractors have finished up the tunnel connections and are now tying these into our existing mainlines.  We planned on moving on to #5 today, and still will this afternoon, but first must finish our connection through the first tunnel.  Starting tomorrow morning, we will have well water supplying every hole besides number 5 and 6.  This is ahead of schedule due to a change we made yesterday to the configuration.  A good change in hindsight, saving money right away.

This project is rolling along and the BHCC staff still has a mountain on it's plate so stay tuned for more updates as we work to make the course better on a daily basis.

Closed Week Update #4 (Thursday)

These numbered updates represent the days of the week, but I'm falling behind as the week rolls along. This post recaps our work on Thursday and I'll have Friday and the weekend coming up next.

The big event of the day was a deep tine aerification on our greens.  On Monday, we punched the greens with 3/8" tines with close spacing at a depth of 4 inches.  This is pretty aggressive and our standard aerification practice performed twice a year.  Since we remove plugs at the same depth each time, a hard layer can form just below the affected zone.



A tractor-mounted aerifier with 5/16 inch tines punched holes at 2x2 inch spacing at a depth of 8 inches.  What all that means is our greens are going to be feeling really good after so many holes in such a short amount of time.  This helps our roots, our drainage, and oxygen exchange.  Aerification makes everything better.  We followed the aerifier with a cocoa mat to drag the sand into the holes and a roller to smooth the surface.

Work on the 8th hole green-side bunkers continued as we shaped the floor of the front bunker by adding over a foot of clay.  The bunker was way too deep and narrow causing all shots to settle in the same location.  The renovated design will offer more playable space and less difficult shots which I suspect our members will prefer.

Finally, the contractors were busy installing the new valves that connect the 10 inch mainline to our 6 inch loop near the 1st tee. Also, trenches were dug along the tunnel walls and across cart paths on #'s 8 and 4.

Closed Week Update #3

On Wednesday, the project crew continued with the 10 inch main and nearly finished at the connection point near the 1st tee before darkness stopped work.  They are at it again today and working on cleaning up the trench, replacing sod, and moving machinery to work near the tunnel connections.

BHCC staff members sodded Teal Tees on #'s 14, 15, and 17 on Wednesday morning.  That only leaves two more tees, #'s 12 and 18 which will be finished up in the coming weeks.

Once the tees were finished, we moved on to the bunkers on #8.  The drain lines were exposed and tested and new contour lines drawn out.  Most of the excavation and grading will be done by hand so it's a very slow process even with 8 guys on the job.


When you're asking people to work this hard, day after day, you need to find some time to have a little fun.  For us, that means a friendly soccer game with the crew from United GLI Inc.  The game was very competitive, yet friendly, with more laughing than you'd expect.  Those who didn't play, parked carts in the shade to watch the action.  It's amazing that any of us have energy to work after playing hard for 30 minutes, but it seems to revive us and everybody grabs their shovels and heads back to the trenches.

More updates coming soon….