Greens Update

Today I am taking the opportunity to use my blog to explain something we have experienced on the greens over the past couple days. As I have mentioned in previous updates, we are on an aggressive program to resolve the issue we are having around the perimeters of some greens. Part of this process involves applying various products to these areas as many as 3 times per week. Last week one of the products we used to spot treat these areas gave us a tip burn. This is seen as small straw colored spots, and it is confined mostly to the perimeters. We also have a few areas where a hose was dragged across the green causing an accumulation of product and a concentrated tip burn.

This morning we sprayed a colorant around the effected perimeters. This will do 2 things: the first is aesthetic – it will make the tip burn less obvious. Second, and most importantly, it gives the surface a darker color which will help absorb heat and promote better recovery overall to these stressed out areas. As I mentioned, this is just a tip burn and the turf will quickly regain its color. I will be discussing this situation with my staff, and we will adjust our application rates and methods to prevent getting a tip burn again from this product in the future.

I realize that there is  genuine concern among our members over the lack of turf coverage, and loss of turf on some perimeters. I have looked at these areas with several industry consultants, and also former golf course superintendents that have switched professions and are now my suppliers. Following is some of the feedback and recommendations I have received.
Todd Lowe - USGA Regional Agronomist: This is common with new greens, which take several years to mature and form a protective mat layer. Todd recommended purchasing a soil meter to monitor moisture levels over the entire green. We purchased one of these, and I wrote about it in my blog last week. It has provided very useful data that we couldn't get before.
Mark Burrows - Tom & Mark Burrows Turfgrass Services: Water is wicking from green perimeters (USGA greens mix) to collars (native soil), and in towards the center of the greens. He recommended plugging the drainage vents to create a differential in surface tension required for the green to peculate properly. He spoke with Professor Robert Carrow of the University of Georgia, who has done research on USGA Spec greens construction, and he confirmed this. As a result of his recommendations the vents have been capped. (This was mentioned in a previous blog) Mark also recommended a weekly folliar spray program, which we have been following.
Nat Hubbard - Agronomic Consultant, the International Sports Turf Research Center: Nat felt that gasses were building up in the soil and recommended reinstalling the vents. He also recomended blowing air into the drain lines, which we are doing by modifying our tow behind blower. (Also mentioned in a previous blog)
Jim Glase - Owner, Glase Golf: Jim was our contractor for the 2010 GCIP and built our greens. Jim came back out to look at the greens, but had no idea why we were having problems on some perimiters.
I also have several former superintendents that are now chemical and fertilizer suppliers. I have hauled these guys out to look at greens and listened to their thoughts. Of course each one has a product that they sell to recomend. I have also talked with other local superintendents about how they handle similar situations.
As you can see there are many different theories as to why we are having such a challenge on these areas, but nothing points to a singular cause. I have listened to all input from all of these experts and applied many useful ideas and suggestions.  Am I satisfied with the condition of these areas? No. Are we going to loose any greens? Absolutly not! Is the situation getting better? Yes, and we can expect this to continue. Today's rain will help flush salts and bicarbonates through the rootzone, which will have a very benefical effect on the greens. Even more rain is forecast for the rest of the week which will hopefully bring up the water table level. Enjoy your time out on the course, and know that we will continue to fight the fight!

Early February Update

It has been a while since I posted my last blog entry. I guess it is a sign that we are deeply entrenched in our busy golfing season. Wow, are our members using the course! Rounds are up again from last year which means there are plenty of people out enjoying the course. Of course we have had an almost perfect winter so far, and that makes it hard to stay in the house. The warm weather we have been enjoying has helped the course hold up well to all of the cart and foot traffic. While the turf is not growing anything like it does in the summer it sure looks a lot better than when it is off color from cold weather!
I mentioned that the weather has been almost perfect. For me to label it as perfect we would need to have some rain in the mix. Since November we have only received 1" of rain, which is down from an average of 4.9". While we have been able to keep things looking good by irrigating the plants and turf, we are witnessing the dropping water table in the appearance of our lakes. This subject was brought up at the most recent Green Committee meeting, so this would be a good time to write about Stonebridge's lake system.

While the lakes serve a purpose to enhance the looks of the golf course and residential areas of the community, and also as a wildlife habitat, their main purpose it to hold storm water within the property. It is only released off the property when lake levels reach an engineered elevation.

This is a look inside one of our outfall structures. When the water reaches the bottom of the triangular opening it starts to exit the property. At Stonebridge the water outfalls into our wetland areas. As the lake levels get higher more water is released since the triangular opening gets larger the higher the lake level gets. There is a backside of this structure that is not pictured. It is a large opening covered by a metal grate. If the water ever gets to a set point above the triangular opening it spills over a baffle into another section. If the amount of water overwhelms the structure it runs out of the grate. If we ever see that we are having a flood!
We have the ability to refill our irrigation reservoirs through the use of two wells. We are permitted to use these wells to replace irrigation water that we draw out of the reservoirs on a 1 to 1 ratio. We are not allowed to use these wells to fill the lakes for aesthetic purposes.

As you can see, the lake on #13 looks higher than the others. This is a reservoir that is recharged. The other one is on hole number twelve. One of the challenges we have in filling these reservoirs is that we are basically de-watering the area around the wells. Since our reservoirs are not lined the water tries to equalize itself with the ground water table. This is where we are pumping the water to recharge the reservoirs from. So it is like a circle that we try to stay ahead of. We pump the water from the ground into the reservoir. The water leaks back into the water table, and we pump it back in. During this time of year we have to be careful not to pump water out of the lakes faster than we can recharge. This is another wrinkle that makes the job interesting!
On a final note about the lakes: I have heard comments that the lakes are lower now than they have ever been; even more than during the 2008 drought. I suspect that this is not the case, but we are seeing the effects of a wet summer that kept the lakes full, and many times over the control elevation. The high water would have killed the grass growing around the lakes up to a higher point than normal. I believe what we are seeing is not lower lake levels, only the perception of lower lakes since the grass line is higher up the bank. I think the following picture can illustrate this.

While the lake level does look low because there is a bare area between the water and the grass, the lakes are close to their normal average level. This is evident by the location of the aquatic plants. Many of the littoral plants are still in the water, or at the water line. As the lakes drop these plants will be more exposed and out of the water. While we have a while before we get any substantial rains that will raise the lake levels closer to control elevation, we can be confidant that they will come. In the mean time take advantage of the fact that it will be easier to find your balls if you go in that direction!


We continue to search for ways to improve the situation we are having with the perimeters of some of the greens. Our latest efforts are getting more technical. We have added 2 new tools to our toolbox in an attempt to resolve this issue. We have converted our tow behind blower to blow air into the drainage system of the greens. We have made an adaptor to fit over the blower nozzle that fits a 4” solid drain pipe. This pipe is connected to a drain clean-out, and the rest of the drain system outlets are capped. This creates a closed system that allows us to blow air into the green. This helps to get air into  the soil and helps to oxygenate compacted areas.

The blower has been connected to the greens drain system with an adaptor made from an old Igloo cooler. Air is forced through the drain pipe, through the gravel layer, and into the soil.
We have also purchased a meter that instantly measures the volumetric water content of the soil.

This portable meter works in conjunction with the Turf Guard Sensors buried in 3 of our greens. This allows us to identify the point at which we can dry the green before the turf starts to wilt.

We have shut the overhead sprinklers off and are drying the interiors of the greens while hand watering the perimeters as needed as indicated by the meter. This has been a difficult task without this tool, and having solid data indicating when to water is allowing us to manage irrigation with the most efficiency possible. Not only will this help us to manage the stressed perimeter areas, the greens will be drier and firmer creating a better putting surface.
I hope you enjoy reading this blog as much as I enjoywriting it. Managing a property such as Stonebridge is a challenge, that is a joy to show up to work for. My goal is to share our successes and challenges, so that our members are up to date on all that is happening in the Grounds Maintenance Department. Enjoy this almost perfect weather, and all that one of the best communities in the area has to offer!


Alan Bakos, CGCS
Director of Grounds