Our first aerification of the season is behind us, and it has been a busy week for the crew. While the aerification was scheduled to begin on Tuesday we got a head start Monday on the chipping and putting greens. We do this whenever we can, according to afternoon play and fortunately for us play was light. By getting this early start we are able to get the crew used to the steps of the procedure, plus work out any equipment glitches. As much prep work as is done by the equipment techs there is always a chance that there will be an issue with a piece of equipment. Monday was no exception but Wayne and Oscar made the necessary adjustments and repairs and got us up and running for Tuesday. While there are many other details that need to be done prior and during the procedure I will explain some of the major things that were done this week while the course was closed.
The fist step in the operation was to verticut the greens. Verticutting cuts into the turf vertically which cuts runners and removes thatch from the surface of the green.
This is an ants eye view of what the surface of the green looks like after verticutting. We get pretty aggressive with our greens. They were cut back and forth over the same pass, and then again in a different direction for a total of 4 passes.
After the greens were dragged the chaff was blown off the greens and picked up by the the clean up team.
Topdressing followed the clean up. Problem areas on the greens were treated with soil amendments. We have used 2 different kinds - one that prevents the soil from drying out in areas that tend to be dry, and another material where the greens tend to stay wet.
This machine spreads an even layer of sand over the green. An even application of sand is crucial so the green will recover without any heavy areas of sand.
A lot of the equipment that we have is only used for projects. This material hauler allows us to carry sand out to the field to reload the topdresser eliminating many time consuming trips back to the shop.
Finally it is time to aerate. For this aeration we used 2 machines, each set up with different tine configurations and sizes. This decision was based on soil tests and observations of how the greens have been performing relating to air and water movement in the top layer of the greens. Many holes were punched in the greens! Someone did a study a while back and discovered that if you run the second aeration pass at a slight angle to the first the likelihood of punching into another hole was reduced. You may think that the greens will take longer to heal because of the number of holes we punched, but that is not true. Recovery time is based on the hole size. A thousand holes in a green will heal just as fast as 10,000.
Much of the same process was performed on the tees. The big difference was the tine size used. On the tees we used a 11/4" tine which made a larger hole and also went deeper. Following the aeration process the course was fertilized from tee to green. A special blend was used on the greens which will promote root growth. Fairways, tees, and roughs were fertilized with a different blend based on soil test results. By Friday everything was cleaned up and we were ready for the last step of our spring renovation program - a Curfew application to fairways. Curfew is a fumigant used primarily to treat nematodes. An added benefit is that it also controls mole crickets, grubs, and ants. None of these insects are good for the turf. In addition, mole crickets and grubs are also armadillo food and they will dig up turf to get to them!
These machines slice the turf making way for a chisel that injects the material into the soil. A roller behind the chisels seals the soil, which is immediately watered in. The course will remain closed the day after this treatment and the property is marked with "do not enter" signs.
In addition to renovation week work we also have some other projects in the works. If you are still in town playing the course you will have noticed that we have an all out war going on with weeds. As a result there are brown spots all over where the weeds are dyeing. Since we are in our growing season these areas will quickly fill in.
This is a sign of a successful herbicide application. This looks like a patch of dead turf but it is not. This is where weeds have been sprayed out, have died, and the Bermudagrass is filling back in.
Another area we have been focusing on is the white tee on #15. Because of heavy shade during the winter this tee has been overseeded with ryegrass for the past two seasons. Because the ryegrass is a cool season grass it will not survive our summer weather. As a result it dies off during the spring. Because the base Bermudagrass is so weak we are treating it as a grow in.
We will continue to nurse this tee along to get it filled in again now that it is back in the sun. At the last Green Committee meeting this tee was discussed and we will be exploring our options for a long term solution.
While no one likes to play on a course that has just been aerified this is a great opportunity to get out and play one of the reciprocal courses. After a couple weeks of recovery the course will be back in shape, and you can be confidant that what was done to the course will pay dividends this winter. If we did not perform these aggressive practices it would only take a few years for organic matter levels to raise, thatch to build up, and the whole feel of the course to change. The staff has been busy working long days this week to insure that this doesn't happen!
Alan Bakos, CGCS
Director of Grounds
