Driving Range Tee Sodded

The back of the large driving range tee was stripped off and replaced with new sod.  This area had been infested with weeds.  This will dramaticly improve on the appearance of this area of the golf course course.  We ended with extra sod that we used in some other bad spots in the rough on the golf course.

 The most severely infested crabgrass area on the golf course was stripped off and prepared for new sod.

This area has been on our list for a long time and we were happy to correct this long standing problem.

This sod will tack down quickly especially with the nice weather we have been enjoying.

Dr. Lucas Visit - His Observations

We have received the report from Dr. Lucas and it is being made available for everyone to view here on the blog.  We thank Dr. Lucas for taking the time and coming to have a look at our golf course and the current challenges we face maintaining bentgrass in this climate.

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November 5, 2011

The old Penncross bentgrass on the greens was in very good condition. You have done a good job in growing the bentgrass with only a few spots on greens with problems during the hot summer weather. The bentgrass had died in some places on the fairways. Factors associated with the problems are discussed below.

The Penncross bentgrass on the #1 green that was planted in 1983 was in excellent condition. I did not observe any Poa annua on the green, which indicates very good management. Aerification in the spring and fall has helped to maintain good turf quality. I suggested doing another aerification in late May with 3/8-inch tines to help insure good summer survival.

The #2 fairway was being aerifyed during my visit. Plugs about 2.5 inches deep were being pulled. This will help improve aeration and root growth in the top layer of soil. The heavy clay soil was very compacted below the aerification holes, which results in poor soil drainage and shorter roots. Installing drainage lines across the fairway is the only way that I know to help improve soil drainage in the compacted soil.

There were some bare soil areas about 100 yards from the green on the #3 fairway. The soil was very wet in that area and the bentgrass probably died from diseases such as Pythium blight and brown patch during the summer. I observed root inhibition on the bentgrass growing in that area. The preemergent herbicide that was applied in the spring had leached about ½ inch deep into the soil and was inhibiting root growth below that level. The herbicide had given very good control of crabgrass and other summer annual weeds. The shorter roots on the bentgrass made it more susceptible to summer stresses such as heat, diseases and damage from cart traffic. I suggested not applying a preemergent herbicide next spring to allow better root growth on the bentgrass. The negative of not applying the herbicide is that crabgrass might be a problem in some areas.

There was a very wet area on the #4 fairway near the green. It appears that the soil is slightly lower in that area causing it to remain too wet. The bentgrass had died in a drier area nearby. It is difficult to keep the soil moist in the drier area and not too wet in the lower area. You have had to apply some irrigation water to the area to help the new seeds germinate and grow in the drier area. Installing a French drain in the wet area and running the line across the fairway to the creek is the only way that I know to help solve the wet soil problem.
The bentgrass had very good quality on the #6 fairway near the creek. Drainage lines have been installed in that area and carts are not allowed on that part of the fairway.

A few areas of thin bentgrass were on the #7 green. These areas were caused by hydrophobic dry soil. The soil was still very dry in some soil cores that I examined. The large dead areas around the back edge of the green were caused by hydrophobic soil. Aerification, application of a wetting agent and watering enough to wet the soil will be required to get the soil wet again. More wind blowing over this green in the open area contributed to the dry soil problem. This green needs more irrigation in the summer.

The bentgrass had thinned in several areas on the #13 fairway. The area about 200 yards from green was caused by wetter soil from extra water running across the fairway, root inhibition from herbicides and cart traffic. A larger pipe could be installed across the fairway and across the #12 fairway to collect more of the surface water. The bare soil areas about 150 yards from the green were caused by a combination of diseases, compacted soil, root inhibition and cart traffic. I saw some pictures of dead streaks from cart tires in that area following very hot weather. The bentgrass should cover the bare spots next spring if a preemergent herbicide is not applied.

There was a lot of common bermudagrass on the south facing bank and fairway on the #14 hole. I would let the bermudagrass grow in that area since it is better adapted to hotter environment than bentgrass.
More bentgrass had died on the #16 fairway than any other fairway. The soil on the left side of the fairway was poor and compacted. The topsoil was removed from that area and moved to the right side of the fairway during construction. Also, water seeps out of the hill on the left side of the fairway and comes to the surface where the topsoil was removed. I suggested taking some soil samples in that area to determine if some nutrient problem such as low phosphorus is contributing to the problem. I think it will be a good idea to install some bermudagrass sod in that area next spring. It will take some time for bentgrass to cover that area. A bermudagrass variety such as Celebration, Patriot or Tifton 419 should grow well in that area with a southern exposure.

The bentgrass has grown well around the #17 green this year. The trees were thinned and lower limbs removed toward the #18 tees to improve airflow. Also, more fungicides were sprayed around the green during the summer to control diseases.

The bentgrass had grown well during the several weeks before my visit. It will depend on how long the weather remains warm this fall as to how much more coverage will occur in some large dead areas. I expect you will have good coverage in most areas by late spring next year.

I appreciated the meeting with the members. I hope I explained why some of the problems occurred. Installing many drainage lines will help to keep the clay soil drier in some areas on fairways. It will be expensive and the members might consider extra fees to help cover the cost of installing many feet of drainage lines.

The turf maintenance budget for the course with bentgrass on tees, fairways and greens is relatively low. However, it is what the owner can afford to spend and remain in business without increasing membership costs.

You have done a good job managing the turf on the course during the recent very hot summers. We might have a “normal summer” in that area one year. Let me know if I can provide additional information.

Dr. Lucas Visit - My Observations

Shortly I the visit from Dr. Leon Lucas I took the time to write down what happened and what was said as we rode around the golf course.  Here is the documentation I prepared after his visit.

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Dr. Lucus visited the golf course on October 24, 2011. We met him at 11:30 and talked for a short time in the parking lot about what we would be looking at on the drive around the golf course. We met up with Chet Garrison, David Amsler, and Mike Mulcahy at the clubhouse and drove out onto the golf course.

We all walked up onto number one green surface and he started to comment on the good health of the turf, as well is the small to noxesistant amount of poa annua in our greens. He pointed out that the cooler temperatures had already started to effect the grass as the different genetic offtypes of bent where easily visibly as patches in the green. He took a few soil samples and commented on how the underlying soil looked good, and drained well. Dr. Lucas also took this time to discuss the many different microclimates we have on the golf course. Different areas around the golf course recieve different amounts of rain, humidy, air movement, and sun exposure making it impossible to treat the entire golf course with the same tactics.

Second stop was number 2 fairway down in the approach. We had a discussion about drainage here. Dr. Lucus probed the soil a number of times as we dicussed the hard pan layer of clay that persists about 3 inches down throughout the area. The hard pan layer has been formed at that depth throughout a number of years do the compaction caused at the end of the 3 inch aerification tine. Types of drainage and costs of drainage where also discussed at this point. It was noted that to have a large impact with drainage in a short amount of time an outside contractor would need to be used due to the size and scope of the drainage required.

We proceeded to the approach area in number 3 fairway. This is an area that lost some turf due to multiple factors. These factors were then discussed. Compaction from traffic, heat stress, disease stress, moisture stress all were discussed at this point. The seeded areas were examined and Dr. Lucas found evidence of suppression on new roots due to pre-emergent herbicide still active in the soil. This is a problem that has hindered our seed growth and recovery all over the golf course. It was reccommened by Dr. Lucas to skip the barricade application for the following spring.

The next stop was 4 fairway, this area has a few areas of thin turf. The same conditions were observed at this location. Dr. Lucas pointed out the diffculty of keeping a good balance of water in an area the has a spot that is hard to keep moist and an area that is poorly drained and stays too wet. When both these conditions occur in a spot that is watered by the same sprinkler head then it can be very difficult to manage. In most cases the dry area is watered to keep it alive and the wet area just gets wetter. We see this in many places around the golf course. One way to help with this is the labor intensive practice of hand watering fairways.

Number 5 approach was noted as having nice turf. This hole has good surface drainage and receives no cart traffic. We also stopped and looked at number 6 fairway. This fairway was in good shape and receives no cart traffic either. We pointed out the we had done a few drainage projects on this hole that had really improved the quality of some of the turfgrass areas in the fairways and approach.

We stopped at number 7 green and talked about a few spots of damage. These spots were mostly localized dry spots caused by hydrophobic soils. Dr Lucas explained how in some sandy soils the decaying organic matter from the leaf tissues can release acids that stick to the surface of the sand particle and do no allow water to absorb. We use numerous wetting agents on the golf course to combat this issue, but sometimes when these spots get too dry they can be impossible to get wet again. He also noted the green surrounds have areas of dried out soils like this. This green has high exposure to winds and sun which help dry it out faster than some other greens.

Our next stop was number 13 fairway. Dr. Lucas further explained that a variety of different factors had led to the damage and not just one. The same things we talked about in 3 fairway applied to this fairway as well as all the others. It was noted that large amounts of surface water on this fairway helped lead to areas of scalding, wet wilt, or plant suffocation. These three terms all mean the same thing. Combining this with disease, heat, cart traffic, and moisture stress all helped lead to the damage we saw in late summer.

The next stop was on 14 where we briefly discussed the bermudagrass on the approach. This area has a large amount of common bermuda that is prevelant in the summer. The bermuda will out perform the bent on this hole during the summer months but does not fully take hold over the bentgrass. This does not cause any problems for golfers and is not encroaching on the green.

We proceeded to hole 16 were we suffered the largest amounts of damage. The same factors that we had discussed on other holes comes into play here as well. Dr. Lucas was concerned about the poor soils on this hole and suggested a soil test be done. Stunting of the new seedlings from the residual herbicide was also observed on this hole.

The wildflower area on number 17 was discussed briefly and Dr. Lucas noted that to be successful with wildflowers you need to reset the the area to sterile dirt every 2 years and re-plant your desired species. There are no long term solutions to having a nice wildflower area except for constantly starting over every 2 years. A more suitable solution may be to create landscaped areas or native tall grass areas in these spots.

The tour concluded around 2:15 and Dr. Lucas gave a short talk with a question and answer period at the end.

The solutions to our problems are very simple :

Increase the amount of drainage in wet areas.

Increase the fungicide inputs in fairways during the summer stress period.

Manage cart traffic better during extreme heat.

Double aerification of fairways in the spring and fall to remove compaction.

Skip application of pre-emergent herbicide in fairways only for one season.

Detailed audit of the irrigation system to identify problems with water distrubution.

Leaf Removal

We save all the large bags that we get our fertilzer in and use them for leaf cleanup in the Fall.  Once we get a large enough load we put them on the truck and trailer and take them to the top of the mountain.  These bags work great and help speed up the removal process.