Untimely Rainfall

Two and a half inches of rainfall on Saturday made for a very busy Sunday morning. The course handled the large volume of water considerably well, minus the havoc it wreaked within the bunkers. The last system passed thru at least 12 hours prior to opening, so carts were able to be utilized on the course beginning with the first tee time.

Removing standing water and repairing bunker washouts took the better part of the morning. I appreciate your patience while playing amongst the reconstruction. The practice round for the two day college tournament taking place March 1st and 2nd was underway and with very few open holes throughout the course, time was at a premium. I would like to applaud my staff for their hard work and sense of urgency when making the repairs and preparing the course for the upcoming tournament.

President's Day 2010

Winter Annuals

Twice per season we plant varieties of annual flowers at the club. The "winter annuals" are planted during the month of October and provide beauty and color throughout the fall, winter, and into the early months of summer. In May, the varieties capable of surviving the shorter day lengths and frost are switched out for "summer annuals" that are better adapt to withstand the summer heat.

Irrigation Spacing

In the southwest region of this country, an irrigation system is one of the most critical components of a golf course. Of the many components that comprise an irrigation system, the sprinkler head is responsible for applying water to the turfgrass. Many factors impact the performance of a sprinkler and one that has been identified as an issue at Arrowhead Country Club is spacing. We spent several months last season measuring triangulation and relocating the sprinklers that water the green's surface. The Toro 700 series sprinkler present on the course is capable of a 70' throw at 65 psi with correct nozzles. What we discovered was that every green had a minimum of one spacing issue and that most sprinklers did not have the correct nozzles installed to provide specified performance. The head spacing distances ranged from 58' to 96'. The photos below indicate correct and incorrect spacing and how that can impact water application.

Stretched spacing:

Correct spacing:

Tree Pruning and Green Waste

Throughout the year, we create a massive amount of green waste. A majority this volume is a product of the hundreds of trees that reside on the course. When not vacuuming up fallen leaves or cutting up downed branches, we spend a vast amount of time tree trimming. This form of maintenance is important for several reasons including player and staff safety, improving irrigation performance, protecting mowing equipment, and preventing insect and disease hosting. The debris is collected and stored in the nursery area until being ground into mulch and re-utilized on the course and at the clubhouse.

Tree impacting irrigation trajectory and performance:

Turf stress created by tree's impact on irrigation:

Green waste collection pile:

Tub Grinder making quick work of season's green debris:

Cooler Temperatures

Why do putting green grasses turn red, blue, or purple? The cool to cold temperatures trigger the color responses. During mid to late October, many regions experience relatively warm days (65 to 75°F; 17 to 24°C), but cool nights (32 to 55°F; 0 to 13°C). The sunny, bright, and warm days stimulate plants to produce large amounts of sugars (through photosynthesis) in leaf blades and sheathes. At night, the sugars must be translocated out of the leaves to crowns for storage or use in other physiological processes. When nights are very cool or frosty the sugars are not completely moved out of the leaves and they accumulate. There are many types of sugars. Glucose is a common plant sugar and sometimes glucose molecules are chemically bound with anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are pigments and their function in plants is unclear. They provide the red, purple, and blue colors in flowers. Anthocyanins are always present in leaves, but normally are masked by the presence of chlorophyll. They are expressed in the foliage of trees during cool and bright weather to provide the spectacular colors in autumn leaves. Hence, bentgrasses may experience a similar accumulation of sugar, and therefore anthocyanins, following the first cool or frosty night of fall. Frost injury may denature the green chlorophyll, thereby exposing the anthocyanin pigment. These colors may intensify and persist throughout winter months and slowly disappear in mid-spring after the turf begins active growth.