Greens Aerification update, 10/6/17

We successfully aerified the front 9 greens yesterday with what turned out to be a gorgeous day weather wise.  Below are some pictures of the process we are using this year. 

Plugs are chopped up with our verticutting machine, and the resulting soil is brushed back into the holes.

The grass left over is blown and removed by staff

A heavy application of topdressing sand is applied and brushed into the holes

The blower aids the sand into the holes and is the final step in the clean up process before the greens are rolled

The resulting product on #8

With the current muggy, cloudy conditions and the increasing chances of rain in the forecast for today, we will be postponing back 9 greens aerification.  We will perform this necessary practice on Monday, October 9th, which is a closed day for the golf course.  Fairway aerification will start the following day, with all 18 holes open during that process. 

Cores removed from aerification must be completely dry for us to remove them successfully without making a muddy mess.  The topdressing and brushing process also needs complete dryness for a successful result.  It is my opinion that we will not have an adequate drying window today.

For the weekend, the front 9 greens will be rolled daily.  The back 9 greens will be mowed and rolled as they would be normally.  Any additional sand that is necessary will be applied when weather allows. 

Thanks for your understanding!

Ryan

Course Notes, 10/9/16

The staff and I have had quite a busy September and early October.  The final days of the season had beautiful sunshine and warm temperatures, capped off with a successful Hole in One Stag tournament.  We are currently in the middle of our fall aerification.

Green tines vs. fairway tines

3/8" vs 5/8" tines

 For greens aerification this year, I decided to go with a slightly smaller tine size, for a number of reasons.  Each year, I look at many factors in deciding what is best for Elcona's greens, mainly our annual soil test results, current soil structure and rooting, and the amount of traffic the greens have received over the course of the year.  I also look at the amount of surface area impacted annually.  The USGA recommends that 20% of a putting green's surface area be removed or effected by an annual aerification program.  With our frequent venting (solid 1/4" tines) we performed this year coupled with our current soil structure and results, we went with a 3/8" coring tine instead of the traditional 5/8" tine, at a 1"x 2" spacing.  For your information, in 2016 the greens will have a total of 25.13% of surface area impacted by 6 ventings, one core aerification, and one solid deep tine in November.

Green surface after pulling cores

Each golf course is different in respect to soil structure and turf needs, so what is best for Elcona may be different that what would be best for other courses.  What is best for our greens can and may change year to year, so while these smaller tines are good for this year, we may have to go back to larger tines in future years if organic matter or thatch levels change dramatically.

After the cores dried on the surface, we verticut the soil from the thatch and turf, and dragged the material back into the holes while the staff cleaned the thatch up by hand.  Fresh sand was then added to fill the holes as best as possible.

While we were overall successful in this fall's aerification, we did have a few belt issues on a couple greens that caused a rippling effect on the turf.  We will be out repairing these areas over the course of the next week, as well as adding an additional application of topdressing to further fill any open holes.  Mowing and rolling will be done on an as needed basis to allow the turf to grow through the sand layer and create a more smooth surface in time, and would be done in the afternoon to create a dry cut that is best for the turf and limit the mess wet sand would leave.

Staff blowing sand into holes and thatch into a pile

Fairway aerification will be starting Monday, using 5/8" coring tines.  It looks like we will have fantastic weather for this process, and hopefully be complete be the end of the week.  Please be on the look out for our staff when you are out enjoying your golf course this week, as we will be busy coring and cleaning up in the afternoons.

The final product!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at ryan@elconacc.com.  There is still plenty of great weather, changing colors, and great golf ahead in 2016, so I hope to see you out on the golf course!

Ryan

Course Notes, 8/26/16

After a week of cooler weather, turf has begun to breathe a little easier and recover from July and August's stretch of weather.  Club championship week is in full swing and hopefully most of you have taken advantage of a break in the rain to enjoy your golf course.  

On the greens, rooting depth has increased in the last two weeks to an average of 2 inches, and they are turning color from brown to white, a good sign of a healthy plant.  I have continued to see new shoots pop out of areas that were effected by Pythium Root Rot, which I wrote about here.  

Rooting depth increasing

New shoots, 3 green

While I mentioned that recovery will take some time in these areas, we have taken another proactive step to help aide recovery by hand seeding these areas.  Below are some pictures of how this process works.  Further actions we will be taking include applying a light amount of granular fertilizer next week to help these areas grow in, and following Labor Day, a growth regulator application (normally applied weekly) will be skipped to further promote recovery.  

Hand spiker creating holes for new seed

Bentgrass seed applied

Seed smoothed into the holes and tamped down

End result

 If you have any questions, please contact me at ryan@elconacc.com.  I would be more than happy to discuss our recovery efforts with you.  Have a great weekend!

Ryan

A Good Brisk Walk

 One of the more enjoyable aspects of my job is taking a brisk walk around the golf course just taking in all that I can observe.  Besides tricking my body into exercise, it allows me to better look at things closer than I can driving around in a utility vehicle.  Last week provided me with that first opportunity at Elcona.  I liked what I saw, considering the harsh winter Mother Nature dolled out across the region.  We have work to do, but I like our position compared to the other possibilities if we had not taken the measures we did.

Close up of open aerification holes

8 green enjoying some sunlight

The vast majority of the turf on greens is in great shape. Our snow and ice removal plans worked to eliminate toxic gases from suffocating the turf.  The plants also were still hardy enough to survive the cold temperatures that came after removal.  Finally, thanks to having such a wonderful, dedicated staff, we kept up in managing the melting water from re-freezing on the turf and creating crown hydration injury.  The picture above right shows another reason why we were able to eliminate as much standing water on the greens.  The late season aerification Greg and his staff performed left open holes in the soil profile for the water to drain into, once the ground thawed out a bit.  A couple of low areas suffered some crown hydration injury, but samples pulled from those areas showed growth and recovery after warming up in the shop for a couple of days.

5 green

The picture of 5 green shows that we did have some superficial damage from our removal last month.  In moving slush and water off of the green profile, there was a fair amount of sand mixed in with it.  That sand worked like sandpaper on a piece of wood, and caused some bruising of leaf tissue due to its abrasive nature.  All of the sample plugs I have pulled out of this area have recovered, after a couple of days of warmth.  It may look bad right now, but there is a fair amount of green leaf tissue underneath and the crowns are healthy still.

Front right of 9 green

Another example of winter injury I have observed is desiccation, and the picture on the left shows some on 9 green. This is a high point on the golf course and historically gets wind burnt and especially dry as the winter goes.  Once again, the sample I pulled from this area greened up and started growing within a day or two inside.  Once again, it looks bad but no real worries here!

Shovel marks on the front left of 10 green

Finally, I have included a picture of area damage that we did in an effort to remove the thick ice that had accumulated on a couple greens.  While it may look real bad, these will go away and fill in as the temperatures increase.  We will be rolling a bit more in the next week, and lightly topdressing these areas to further smooth out and repair them.  Some areas will need some plugs from our greens nursery to repair turf that was damaged by the snow removal equipment, and our staff will be acting on that quickly as well.



Over the next week, conditions will improve even more, and we will be able to begin our mowing and rolling routines on the golf course.  Golf is near, and I could not be more excited to get the 2014 season started.  I appreciate your patience and understanding while we get the golf course back into shape following the historic winter it experienced.  In my mind, we experienced unprecedented conditions and had to take aggressive steps to prevent a more catastrophic result from happening. 

Ryan

An Icy Situation

To say that this blog update is a little overdue might be one of the biggest understatements of my career. A lot has happened since the last post. I have now officially transitioned into the position of the Director of Operations here at Elcona and we have hired Ryan Cummings as the new Golf Course Superintendent to fill the void that was left when I took my new position.  Ryan was a former Assistant Superintendent here at Elcona and was most recently the Golf Course Superintendent at Plymouth Country Club.  At this time, I won't provide all of the details regarding Ryan as I know he will be providing you with all of his information shortly via email and a blog update. Having said all of that, this will most likely be my final blog post as I turn the blog over the Ryan to provide you with updates that you have been accustomed to.

I trust that all of you that venture to warmer climates are keeping up to date with the winter that will never end here in Indiana.  I can assure you, you aren't missing much. The members that reside here year-round can attest to that.

This week the Grounds Department began clearing snow from all of the greens on the golf course in anticipation of a warm-up that is coming next week.  Historically we have not done this, but this year it is necessary because of a 1/2" layer of ice that has formed directly on top of the turf on the greens.  With our greens being primarily composed of Poa annua (Annual Bluegrass), we have a very small window of how long we can allow the ice to remain before we are at risk of losing turf.  Research has indicated that once we get beyond 45 days of cover, the turf can begin to suffocate and possibly die.  As of today, we are hovering around day 40 or so.  It's not a guarantee that the turf will die once day 45 comes, but we don't want to take that chance.  Several other factors come into play once the ice is removed, but given the time frame we are working with, removal of the snow/ice is our best and safest option. Click on the picture below for a larger view.

Small Putting Green

Small Putting Green Finished

I have included a link here for you to read if you would like some more information on ice covered greens.

#2 Green

#2 Green

Several sample plugs of turf have been removed from many of the greens and brought indoors to see how they react to warmer temperatures.  Based on how the plugs break dormancy will give us a good idea of what to expect when spring arrives. At this point, the greens look good and there is no reason for concern, but the weather conditions after the ice thaws will also play an important role in spring conditions.  We're certainly a long way from being in the clear, but all signs point to everything being healthy.

#15 Green

Going forward, you can expect updates from Ryan on how things are progressing and you can certainly continue to ask me as many questions as you would like.  The blog address will remain the same, but the profile information will be updated with Ryan's info since he is now the primary contact for all things occurring on the golf course.  Please reach out to him and welcome him when you have the chance.  We are fortunate to have him and I know he is excited to be here.  He can be reached at ryan@elconacc.com.

As for me, stop on in and say Hello whenever you have the chance.  Enjoy the remainder of your winter and lets hope that the end is near.

Course Update: Greens and Green Surrounds

By now it should not be a surprise to any of you when I say that there has been a dramatic change in course conditions in the last 4-6 weeks. The extreme heat has finally taken its toll on the greens as well as the turf surrounding greens.  Please indulge me while I make an attempt to explain what is happening in each of these respective areas.

While the stress from the heat on the greens may not be visible on the surface, there are plenty of symptoms visible below the surface. Throughout the spring and early summer we had some fantastic root growth thanks to a strong agronomic program and some great growing conditions.  Unfortunately, once soil temperatures reached 80 degrees and higher, the roots began to die off and will not return until temperatures consistently drop below the 80 degree mark again.  With the record setting high temperatures this summer and lack of rainfall, we saw some unbelievably high soil and canopy (surface) temperatures which severely impacted the health of the greens.  Please see the photos below for root depth comparison photos as well as soil and canopy temperatures. (click for larger view)

117 degree surface temp.  FYI: This is not good!

100 degree soil temp at 2" depth

Good rooting of the Annual Bluegrass on the greens
prior to the heat

Current root depth on greens. FYI: This
is not good either!

For those of you wondering why the greens are so soft and why green speeds have been slower even though the weather is showing signs of cooling off, this picture showing the current rooting depth is the reason.  When roots are this shallow, or even non-existent in some cases,  we have to be extremely cautious not to add any additional stresses to the turf that would give it a reason to die off.  We are constantly on the lookout for any signs of wilt and regularly syringing the greens to keep them cool. As you can imagine, it doesn't take long to dry out and for the condition of the greens to head in the wrong direction.  As Mother Nature hopefully begins to think about cooler weather patterns, new roots will be initiated and our regular management practices will return to normal. Ironically enough, we have now entered a rather wet stretch of weather that will help recovery, but with the lack of roots less moisture is being removed from the soil which also helps contribute to softer conditions. We continue to roll on a regular basis, but we are also promoting improved plant health which has led to additional growth. Please keep this in mind as you enjoy your round and stay tuned for an upcoming post on the hidden factors of green speed.

Regarding the poor conditions around several of the greens, we are once again battling our old friend Rough Bluegrass (Poa trivialis). This is now the third straight year of extremely hot weather, and it's no coincidence that this is the third straight year that we are facing poor conditions around the greens (this year being the worst). Under high temperatures, this turf, much like Annual Bluegrass, does not want to survive.  It enters a state of dormancy and will not recover until weather conditions are more favorable.  More often than not, full recovery, if at all, will not occur until the following spring. Because of this, we have elected to begin replacing these areas with Kentucky Bluegrass purchased form a local grower.  This will provide a quick fix to the problem and will also minimize the chances of these conditions returning in the future.

Rough Bluegrass on the perimeter of #8 green

Rough Bluegrass close-up. Notice how there are no roots
present, only the stolons.  Most of these areas can be rolled
just like a carpet because of poor rooting.

Click Video below for a more detailed explanation.

Please know that I am less than thrilled with these conditions however, given what we have been through this year, the overall health of the golf course is quite good.  Sure, we have plenty of black-eyes and are bruised from the fight, but we live to fight another day. Our gloves are still on as we have no plan on giving up and want to finish the year on a very positive note as we head toward the various club championships. Enjoy the remainder of the summer and hope for some cooler weather.

Tree Work: Before and After

I have been discussing and preparing you for the planned tree work around #12 green and #13 tee for quite a while and now the time has come to show you the results of our plan. For those of you that don't recall these discussions or reading about it in previous newsletters, I will give you a 'Cliff's Notes' version of what all the discussion was about.

 During the last two summers we have faced unusual spells of very hot weather coupled with extremely high humidity and excessive rainfall leading to very stressful conditions for managing turf (especially on greens).  #12 green has not responded well during these stressful periods and has led to a loss of turf on the putting surface which required us to manage that particular green differently.  Even with the fan running to help cool the surface and increase air flow, it simply hasn't been enough. So, what could we do to help prevent this from happening again?  The simple answer is to improve air flow even more and to increase the amount of sunlight the green receives.  In order to accomplish both of these goals, an aggressive tree removal plan was evaluated, discussed and approved.  Below, you will see several before and after photos of the areas around #12 green and #13 tee.  This post is significantly longer than my normal posts, so please take your time and enjoy the photos. Click on the pictures for a larger view.

The first two pictures show  before/after of the area directly south of #12 green (looking toward #7 green tee).  The goal with removing five very tall and equally large trees in this area is to improve the amount of sunlight that the green will receive in the spring and fall when the sun travels across the horizon at a lower angle than it does during the summer months. More sunlight = Healthier turf.

Before

After

The next two photos really show how many trees were removed with the goal of improving air flow coming from the west.  These photos were taken from the north side of #13 tee looking toward #12 green.

 While improving air flow from winds out of the west will be extremely helpful, we really aren't accomplishing much unless we evaluate how to utilize winds from the northwest as well as the north.  These four photos show the work that was done along the fence line on the northern edge of the property by #13 tee and #12 green.  We had been talking about cleaning-up this area as it always seemed rather unsightly. I think you will really enjoy the new view to the north, while #12 green will enjoy being able to breathe a little more easily.

Looking northeast from #13 tee - Before

Looking northeast from #13 tee - After

Looking northwest from #13 tee - Before

Looking northwest from #13 tee - After

And now for the big reveal! Many of you are probably extremely nervous about how the view has changed from #12 fairway looking toward the green.  While we did make some rather significant changes, I think you will find that the backdrop to the green hasn't changed much.  Yes, it does look different, but I feel very strongly that we were able to keep the same overall view for your approach shot while opening the area for improved air flow to the green and surrounding areas.

Before

After

What's Burrowing in the Greens?

Throughout the month of June and into the early part of July, you may have seen small mounds of sand on the greens as shown in the photo below.  These mounds are caused by a Seed Corn Beetle that is usually present around the course during the cooler and wetter times of the year (this year in particular). According to Entomologists at Purdue University, corn seed is not the primary food source for seed corn beetles. Rather, they feed on other things that they find in the soil, including other insects.  We also know that they are highly attracted to and fly to lights at night.  There are two generations per year, typically occurring in May/June and again in August.

Mounding on #12 green caused by the Seed Corn Beetle

Generally, treatments are not necessary because the damage is not severe and we also try to set a rather high threshold for situations like this.  The goal is to only treat when necessary to keep costs down and to reduce our impact on the environment.



Close-up view of Seed Corn Beetle removed from #12 green

In order to find out exactly what is causing the damage, a section of the turf about 2" deep must be removed where the mounding is.  By tearing the turf where the burrowing channel is, the beetle can be exposed and then identified. On the positive side, the channeling caused by Seed Corn Beetle can mimic the effect of aerification, which, in turn, can lead to better root growth and a healthier stand of turf.  Who could argue with that? Plus, the labor is free!