August 2013 Aerification

The last aerification of 2013 is complete and went great. Due to the temperatures constantly in the 100's on a daily basis, we only aerified the greens and collars. The greens had a 1/2" core pulled and were verticut prior to the aerification. Fairways, tees and approaches were verticut and topdressed. Everything is healing up nicely and the greens should be back to normal condition by the end of the week. Here are some random photos from the week of aerification.

Verticutting fairways

verticutting greens

Practice Putting green at 5 weeks

Turf Brush dragging in the sand

Fertilize greens

Putting Green Update

The Tif-Eagle sprigs have been growing for three weeks now and everything is on track to have it open in September. We have started to apply a heavy topdress twice and mow three times a week . There is also some work at the first tee to enhance the area with new rock work and steps from the #1 tee to the putting green.

Practice Putting Green is Complete

The sprigs were laid on Wednesday at 40 bushels per 1000 square feet and cut-in two directions. We will keep the irrigation frequent the first week and slowly back off as the plants develop and progress. It will take around eight weeks to fully grow-in and be playable. We had enough time to add a nursery green at the back of the driving range, which sits at around 5,500 square feet.

Cutting-in Tif-Eagle sprigs at the putting green

Ready for grow-in

Todd from Lepanto working on the nursery

Putting Renovation Update

The greens mix is in and graded to specifications. The green was fumigated this morning to sterilize the soil and we are on the final stages of the irrigation.

Day: 5 Putting Green Renovation

The layout of the new green is final and the installation of drainage begins. A good drainage system is very important in removing excess water away from the green profile. A heavily saturated profile is more deadly to the turf than a lack of water due to the low oxygen levels in the soil.

Day 2: Practice Green Renovation

The second step to this process, is to remove the old surface and mix in the greens profile.

Putting Green Expansion

With the club membership growing and the current layout of the practice putting green, we have decided to expand the green starting this week. The first process is to locate all irrigation heads, lines and identify where one of the main lines needs to be re-routed. We will update daily on the progress of the construction which should only take two weeks.

"Drill and Fill"

Over the years, low areas have developed in a few areas on the greens which will hold water. These ares will rarely dry out and just become more and more saturated, which is more detrimental to the turf than being too dry. We use a tool to measure our volume water content percentage called the TDR 300. Our normal healthy VWC % is between 15% and 19%, some of the saturated areas can be as high as 50% plus. To help alleviate this, we use a l" drill bit with a board that has been pre-drilled for uniformity and drill down to the gravel layer. Once the material has been removed, we fill the holes with Profile, which is a porous ceramic material that will help move moisture from the soil down to the gravel where it can be drained through the system. This process is a short term solution until we re-grade the collars to an acceptable level.

The drill and template

Drilling to the gravel layer

This black material is what we are after. It is void of oxygen

Filling holes with Profile

Reducing the Grain

Now that our spring time tournaments are over, we are focusing on an aggressive verticut program on the greens to reduce the grain. The schedule at this time is to verticut twice a week using our normal backtrack method. We will see how the Tif-Eagle reacts and adjust the number of cuts per week. This will be ongoing throughout the summer and will ensure a great putting surface for the future.

Spanish Oaks Aerification

Aerifying Collars

Over the years the collars have become raised and uneven along the green edges. This is due to topdressing the greens, sand builds at a fast rate compared to the greens and our goal this year is to reduce or eliminate the lips that have formed in some areas. One method that we are currently implementing is to aerify using a 1/4" or 1/2" hollow tine and watering and rolling behind. Any areas that are severe will have to be sod cut and re-graded.

New Tool for Topdressing

We recently acquired a Turf Brush 200 from SGM Industries for brushing in topdressing sand. It does a fantastic job of working the sand into the turf canopy, which can be difficult with the dense growth of Tif-Eagle. This brush will also aid in reducing grain and filling aerification holes. It will be a great tool for the tees and collars as well.

Verticutting Greens

Monday was our first verticut of the year. We went very light down and back on the same pass to help reduce grain, which was followed by a light topdress. This will be performed every two weeks through the growing season.

Up close view of a carbide tip verticutter blade

Edging Greens

On a monthly basis during the growing season we edge the greens with a stick edger. This helps keep the Tif-Sport from encroaching into the TiF-Eagle. It only takes a few days for the edging marks to heal and there will sharp line on the edge of the greens.

Topdress and Spike

On Monday, we went out with a light top dress and spiked with 1/4" solid tines on the greens. With the warmer weather, the soil temperatures are high enough for the Tif-Eagle to have a slow growth rate. This is the process we use to help with the smoothness of the putting surface and to increase the oxygen in the soil. Oxygen is crucial for the survival of the root system and the microbial population.