Bunker Rake - Out of Commission
The clutch in our nine year old John Deere bunker rake has failed. Repair parts have been ordered and delivery is scheduled for tomorrow. Hand raking has been implemented in the interim, but limited man-power this week has hindered our ability to reach every hazard prior to daily play. The compromise to conditions is temporary and we anticipate having the machine operational by Friday.
The Buzz surrounding Royal Melbourne
As many of you viewed the recent President’s Cup at Royal Melbourne in Australia, did you notice the “unique” color associated with the greens? The rich, deep green, almost purple hue is distinctly similar to the pigment reflected in the greens here at Arrowhead Country Club.
The color that has had the golf industry a buzz is the result of a ferrous sulfate (iron) application. "High" rates of ferrous sulfate, a salt based fertilizer/soil amendment, will refine the leaf blade if allowed to dry on the tissue. This provides obvious playability benefits from a surface management standpoint. Ferrous sulfate also provides mild fungicidal benefits, acts as a herbicide, and acidifies the very top layer of the soil with repeated applications. As a salt, it can act as a desiccant to any recently germinated seedlings and effectively control immature poa annua. Studies have shown positive effects on root growth, recovery from drought stress, and increased wear resistance.
Foliar applications of FeSO4 promote a quick response and increase in leaf chlorophyll, thus green pigment within the leaves. The rates we utilize as part of our agronomic program produce a deep green, almost purple hue when left to dry on the plant tissue. This is very similar to what was witnessed at Royal Melbourne.
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| Royal Melbourne |
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| #1 Green (Post FeSO4 application) |
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| #9 Green (Post FeSO4 application) |
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| "Glass Like" appearance of #12 green |
Quick Project
As a safety measure, we removed the uneven, rotten, railroad ties that posed as a walk path to the restroom located on Hole #7. The interior of the path was replaced with a DG product that will alleviate the slipping hazard and a small annual plant bed was added to provide aesthetic balance. In the future, some additional measures will be taken to "spruce-up" the entire area.
Step 1: Address Drainage
As noted, our sand hazards have multiple shortcomings on top of an inconsistent depth and/or limited volume of sand. An issue that arises during this portion of the "rainy season" creating the bunkers un-playable is the is the ponding of water. Many of the bunkers either do not have internal drainage or have a faulty drainage system. The bunker guarding the approach of #11 green has been the largest nemesis to our staff when dealing with weather events for countless years. Installation of drainage is the first step in remedying the maintenance aspect and playability of this hazard. Following drainage, the installation of erosion measures need to take place prior to installation of new sand.
During the closure for overseeding in October we began phase I of addressing the issues with the greenside bunker on Hole #11. We shot grade, hand dug the trench, and installed 4" ADS drainage pipe & approved drainage gravel. The trench was dug deep enough into the sub-grade to allow us to top up the channel with a minor amount of specified sand. We will look to address additional bunker drainage issues as time and funding permits.
Attached are a few before, during, and after photos:
During the closure for overseeding in October we began phase I of addressing the issues with the greenside bunker on Hole #11. We shot grade, hand dug the trench, and installed 4" ADS drainage pipe & approved drainage gravel. The trench was dug deep enough into the sub-grade to allow us to top up the channel with a minor amount of specified sand. We will look to address additional bunker drainage issues as time and funding permits.
Attached are a few before, during, and after photos:
It's That Time Again...
As you can imagine, it is never a "joyous" occasion when I walk onto a green in the morning and discover a huge divot in close proximity to the cup. It happens several times a year and my expression and body language upon seeing this situation hardly ever differs. As passionate as I am about our greens, the only thing that may change in that initial moment are the expletives that cross my mind. I have little patience for senseless acts like this, so brutal honesty is what you will receive.
This act of poor etiquette is NOT ACCEPTABLE as a member of this County Club. There is no justification, period. Respect your maintenance staff's efforts, respect your fellow members, and above all: Please Respect Your Golf Course.
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.
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| 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.
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| Pre-plant fertilizer being applied Sunday evening |
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| Full Lely containing Ryegrass Seed |
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| Hand Brush of the green prior to fertilizer application |
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| 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.
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| Subtle wind |
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| Topdressing #1 green |
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| #8 green - post brushing |
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| Seeding #10 fairway (the second direction) |
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| Rotary spreading seed in the green surrounds |
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| 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.
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
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