Rub of the Green: Course Notes, 4/7/18

While the calendar says Spring, Mother Nature has had other plans for us at Elcona. Although this weather has not been very conducive for golf, the staff and I have enjoyed working on other projects around the property so that when the weather turns for the better, we can turn our focus more onto the 2018 golf season.

When conditions have allowed, we have mowed and maintained on the golf course. All fine playing surfaces have been mowed at least one time. They just haven't had temperatures to grow since! One of the ways we have maintained putting surfaces during these times of very low growth is by rolling. If you have ever wondered why we roll greens, the USGA has produced a nice short video on that very subject. You may view it here.

The picture on the right shows an area of desiccation injury on 18 that I am monitoring. Desiccation is a drying out of leaf blades and occurs most often on open semi-dormant turf exposed to windy, low humidity conditions. Think of this as when we get chapped lips in the winter. There is new green tissue coming from these plants, so I am fairly confident that the turf will grow through its injury (when warmer weather comes), but have pulled a couple of plugs to make sure my assessment is correct. The right front of #9 has a bit of desiccation injury as well.

The timing also came for our first seedhead suppression application. As great as Poa annua is as a putting surface, one drawback is its annual seedhead production. Poa annua is a winter annual, meaning it germinates in the fall, overwinters, and produces seeds in the spring for its next generation. Think of Poa as backwards from an annual flower you would plant in your landscape.

Using a temperature based schedule, three total applications of growth regulator will be applied to suppress, not eliminate, these seedheads from impacting ball roll. As the picture to the left shows, I left 6 areas on the course untreated, as a check plot, to assess the success of this year's applications. These plots are located on the large Practice Green, 1, 3, 10, 13, and 16 and marked with white dots. I utilize these areas to gauge the effectiveness of this year's treatments and encourage you to keep an eye on them as well as you are out and about on the golf course.

The bulk of our time has been spent on the poolside hardscaping project. The terrain of the area has kept us on our toes thinking of the best way to store materials close while getting them down a 12 foot high embankment. The key process to build a wall, as you can imagine, is installing and compacting a level base layer of stone utilizing a plate compactor. Precise measurements are taken with some surveyor's tools to ensure the wall is at the correct depth compared to other features in the area. After the base is installed, stone is laid one at a time and leveled and plumbed.

Please enjoy some of the pictures I have taken throughout the process. I will continue to keep you updated on its process. If you have any questions, please email me at ryan@elconacc.com. I am more than willing to answer or find more information for you. Have a great day, wish for Spring to finally arrive, and I hope to see you out on the golf course!

Ryan