New Driving Range Mats

The driving range recently received an upgrade via the fundraising efforts of member Mr. Wayne Hedrix and the numerous members who contributed to the new individual Astro turf mega mats.  The easier to maneuver, individual mats will be stored nightly to prevent vandalism, theft, and additional irrigation cycles.  The ability to store the mats will prevent the "dreaded" hitting off of wet, saturated, artificial turf in the mornings when the natural turf is shut down for renovation or re-establishment.

Welcome Back

It is good to see familiar faces and play on the course again.  I hope everyone enjoys the course and the conditions post over-seeding.  As noted in my monthly newsletter, the ryegrass will be maintained at a higher height of cut until it matures.  With the day time temperatures still in the upper 80's/90's the soil temperatures have yet to drop below the critical temperature for the bermudagrass to be less competitive. 

Overseed Day 8 Oct. 11, 2011 GERMINATION

Day eight brings signs of significant Ryegrass seed germination.  The true leaves of the immature plant, which is intermingled within the recently over-seeded Bermudagrass canopy, have begun to emerge. With sunny days and temperatures in the mid 80's  (high of 92 degrees today) we were anticipating to see signs of seedling germination on the holes seeded on Monday of last week (Day 1).

Overseed Day 4- Oct 6, 2011

With the bulk of the seeding completed yesterday (prior to the rain), on Day 4 we finished up hand seeding some difficult to reach areas and re-seeding a few areas adjacent to cart paths where the rain washed the seed.  Rain following the spreading of the seed is always welcome, but hopefully the minor bouts of heavy rain did not create any large scale disturbances.  We received approximately 1.43" of rain Wednesday throughout the day and evening.

Overseed Day 3- Oct 5, 2011

Day three begins and we are greeted by drizzle and impending rain.  The extended hours put in the past few days have proven valuable and an intelligent decision.  We are working this morning to finish up seeding ancillary rough areas and applying a starter fertilizer to the green surrounds.  If the weather holds off, we will begin removing the seasonal annuals in preparation for the new "winter seasonal" plantings.  My hat is off to the staff for their dedication and efforts during this process. 

Drizzle in the a.m.

Overseed Day 2- Oct 4, 2011

Another extended, busy day in an attempt to out pace the rain.  We completed fairway, tee, primary rough, and collar seeding, as well as performing a second brush on the greens and an organic fertilizer application.

Pre-plant fertilizer being applied Sunday evening

Full Lely containing Ryegrass Seed

Hand Brush of the green prior to fertilizer application

Near empty seed storage- a very good sign

Overseed Day 1- Oct 3rd, 2011

The first day of course closure for the over seeding process was a productive one.  We elected to take advantage of the window of fair weather and work longer than scheduled in an effort to pre-empt potential delays due to the imposing severe weather warnings.  As a result of the extended shift, we were able to complete the topdressing and brushing of all of the greens, seeding of 85% of the fairways and approaches, and the complete seeding of all of the green surrounds, clubhouse lawns, and street entry ways. 

Subtle wind

Topdressing #1 green

#8 green - post brushing

Seeding #10 fairway (the second direction)

Rotary spreading seed in the green surrounds

Dragging in the seed on the fairway

Thursday's Windstorm

Late Thursday afternoon we experienced our first major windstorm of the late summer season.  The event littered the course with a tremendous volume of tree debris and presented quite a challenge when preparing the course for play on Friday morning.  Thank you for your patience and understanding during the clean up efforts.

Bugspray and Turf

Although our pesky nat/flying insect season is short, it happens to coincide with the peak heat of the summer.  We ask that when applying insect repellent, please do so when not standing on tight cut turf areas (ex:  tees, fairways, and definitely not greens!).  Below is a photo from #3 fairway illustrating the impact the aerosol chemistry has on closely mown bermudagrass.

Golf Business Article~ Oct 2010

Almost a year later and I've finally added a link to the article that was published in the October 2010 issue of Golf Business magazine, titled "Building a Better Product".  The article briefly touches upon the improvements to the club and how they were achieved from the perspective of former General Manager, Steve Henthorn.  

http://www.golfbusiness.com/flash/digital/2010October/default.html#30

Chipping Green Transformation- Poa to Bentgrass

For those members that have been following the two year transformation/improvement program of the poa/bermuda chipping green to bentgrass, here are some photos.  This is a unique turfgrass transformation project for Southern California:  poa to bentgrass.  I'm sure that it has been attempted elsewhere in this region, but not with the success rate that we are achieving.

The chipping green was previously sodded bermuda grass to test if the species should be the turfgrass of choice for the greens after several years of failure in the mid 2000's.  After the loss of the greens in 2006, Greenway was hired.  Upon Greenway recommendation, the decision was made to sod the greens with T1 & A4 Bentgrass.  The decision to sod versus seed was made to limit course closure time.  The entire project (including corrective shaping) was completed in four weeks, during the annual closure for the over-seeding process.  

Due to limited funding the bermuda green, which was failing to perform to previous consultants beliefs and subsequently transformed to more poa than bermuda, was not touched.  In September of 2009, the green was double aerified and seeded with A4 bentgrass.  The slideshow below illustrates the establishment of bentgrass, which now populates the green in the 90-94% range.

  

The green is maintained in the same manner as the course greens in terms of mowing frequency and height of cut (currently .090")  To aid in the establishment of the bentgrass, the frequency of additional nitrogen applications is the only major alteration to our typical maintenance protocol.

 4/2007

6/2010

 9/2011

Forever Remembered...

Tennis Court Renovation Complete

The tennis court resurfacing is complete and ready/open for play.  The color scheme has been updated to Blue/Green, the color combination of the courts at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in NY- home of the U.S. Open of Tennis.

Improving D.U. (Distribution Uniformity)

One of the elements to water conservation is improving DU or distribution uniformity.  Distribution uniformity is a measure of how uniformly water is applied over a given area.  Sprinkler nozzles and sprinkler spacing greatly influence DU and have negatively impacted water consumption in the past.  The lower the percentage of DU, the longer a sprinkler head will need to run to "flood" an area.  The higher the DU percentage the less time a station or sprinkler will need to run to supply ample moisture based on ET.  At ACC we have corrected spacing issues on all of the greens and upgraded the sprinkler nozzles to increase uniformity.  The photo below is just a sample of the multiple nozzles present on the course.  One major issue discovered was that the main blue/rear green nozzles prevalent on the course can only throw 58' optimally at our sprinkler base pressure.  This poses a monumental problem when our sprinkler spacing is 70+ feet.

Venting

A common cultural practice that is monthly procedure here at ACC is venting the greens.  The 10" long, 1/4" diameter tines open a void to allow for gaseous exchange within the rootzone.  To establish and maintain roots to the depths we produce (6 - 9 inches), it is critical that we supply oxygen at these depths.  It is as simple as no oxygen, no roots.  In the heat of the summer, the moisture requirement of the plant increases.  With additional irrigation requirements, oxygen is displaced from the soil profile and most courses experience root decline.  Venting is critical to lessening or negating this phenomenon from occurring.  The minor holes do not impact ball roll and usually heal within three or four days after the practice is completed. 

Ugh... Summer in the I.E.

We have had a relatively mild summer here in the Inland Empire.  For those of you that follow this blog and were not aware, the weather in the Inland Empire is not at all similar to San Francisco, San Diego, or Los Angeles, but more like Palm Springs.  The average high temperature from late May to early September  is in the upper 90's.  This past weekend, we experienced highs in the upper 100's: 108 F & 109 F.  That drove soil temperatures at a depth of five inches to 90+ degrees.  A little extra attention and some supplemental hand watering was all that was required.  We still maintain root depths of 6-9" on our A4/T1 Bentgrass greens and feel fortunate that we are not managing poa annua.

San Bernardino County Water Conference 2011

This past Thursday I was invited to participate as a speaker and panelist at the San Bernardino County Water Conference in Ontario.  It was an opportunity to inform the community of our water conservation efforts on the golf course.  By introducing perpetual, comprehensive auditing to our conservation planning, we have conserved a volume of water equal to a 25% reduction from previous seasons (2006 versus 2010).  That equates to 60 acre foot of water per season.  Multiple additional components contribute to our conservation efforts including:  diligence in moisture monitoring, amended programming, hand watering versus overhead sprinkler operation, nozzle upgrades, and managing environmentally adapative species of turfgrass for our region. 

To visit the conference site, please click the link below:

 http://www.sbcwater.com

Hydraulic Leak

We experienced our first major hydraulic leak in two and half seasons on Friday.  The leak occurred on the left side of Hole #1 in the intermediate rough.  The hose of was quickly repaired and the machine is back in operation.  A photo of the damage:

Soil & Water Testing

Every season we collect samples of the irrigation water and soil from select greens.  The samples are sent to accredited laboratories and processed for elemental properties.  It is wise to utilize the same laboratory from year to year because extraction methods can differ between the labs.  This is beneficial when it comes to accurately comparing data and determining if the agronomic plan needs to be amended to account for an alteration in characteristics.  Dissimilar from industry standard, we do not attempt to address all imbalances within the soil.  Since we have no interest in yield and strive to produce and manage a surface, wasting monies incorporating non-beneficial nutrients to balance the soil is not required.

(Several soil sample locations on #17 Green)

Missed putts?

After borrowing the idea from a fellow Golf Course Superintendent, I enlisted the assistance of a few members willing to donate their time.  (Thank you both, Mr. Fike and Mr. Lynch)

The project was to identify golfer's un-repaired or incorrectly repaired ball marks on one Par 3.  The photos below illustrate the several hundred un-repaired or incorrectly repaired ball marks on Hole #15.  This exercise took approximately 45 minutes and clearly identifies that members are not taking the time to fix their ballmarks.  


The heat of the summer results in a larger moisture requirement for proper plant hydration.  This will create a slightly softer surface than typically experienced at the club.  


The next time your putt shimmies offline, there is a high probability that it is the result of  a ballmark.  Please show ownership in your golf course and help us maintain the best possible surface.