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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.
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