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

First Update of the Year

I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday season, and all that traveled have made it safely back to Stonebridge. I seems as if all of the travel from north to south has created a draft that has dragged some cool weather our way. This is the first subject in this blog. To make it easier for me to explain, the following is from my monthly report submitted to the Green Committee:
On January 4^th we experienced our first frost of the season. Soil temperatures dropped to 43 degrees F and have remained in the 50s for most of the days following. We can expect the greens to go off color, little to no turf growth, and the areas that had frost will turn straw colored. We go through this most years and it is temporary. As soon as soil temperatures warm back up we will grow out of the cold damage. On a positive note the greens will be faster with no additional work required from the maintenance staff! Following are some facts about frost:

• Dew and frost are caused by water vapor in the air.
• Frost forms similar to dew. Dew and frost form when a surface, in this case the turf, cools through loss of infrared radiation to a point below the dew point – or frost point.
• Temperature readings are taken at an average of 4’.On calm clear nights the temperature near the ground can be several degrees cooler than that of the air several feet above it.
• It needs to be 32 degrees F or colder for frost to form. Even though local weather may show higher temperatures you can bet it has reached at least 32F if frost has formed.
• When we have frost on the course it is serious business. It is not so much that the frost damages turf, it is what a person walking or a cart driving on the turf would do. Frosted turf is frozen turf at the cellular level. Foot or cart traffic over this turf will cause cell walls to rupture and can kill the turf. When we have frost we delay all maintenance activity and do not allow anyone on the course. As the sun comes up and temperatures start to rise we run water on the frosted areas to melt it away. A degree or two can make a difference. If we start watering too soon the frost re-forms. It is only after all frost is melted away that we give the all clear. At this time the maintenance crew can get to their work of setting up the course.

If the forecast is calling for temperatures around 40F we are on frost watch. If you have an early tee time scheduled it would be wise to check in with the golf shop to see if we expect delays. We will do our best to communicate with the membership, and through this inconvenience know that we are taking necessary steps to keep your course in the best shape and health as possible.

This is an area of frost damage. Note the straw colored appearance. The worst of the frost damage occurred in low areas, such as around drains. Even areas of the course that didn't receive frost are feeling the effects of the cold. The grass isn't growing and the course is looking a little beat up. After the frost we did get some warm weather and we took the opportunity to run some fertilizer through the irrigation system to get things moving. One thing is for sure about cold weather in Florida - it doesn't last long! We will warm up, the grass growth will take off, and the mowers will be back out again. As I mentioned earlier: enjoy the extra roll on the greens!

The target greens at the driving range have been painted again this year. It was done towards the end of season last year but we decided to get an early start this year to spruce up the look for the Cocktails and Golf Balls event. In hindsight, I wish I would have taken a before shot of the target greens prior to painting. One thing it would have shown was the amount of wear the range ball picker puts on the turf. Prior to painting there were lush green spots around the flag sticks. This is because the range picker does not drive over these areas causing traffic wear. This is the same effect we get on the course from cart traffic. If you don't think we get cart wear take a look around one of the 150 yard poles. You will see a noticeable difference between there and the areas the carts drive on. During this time of year almost 100% of drivable turf shows signs of wear!

The target greens have been painted with a latex based turf paint. This will help the targets stand out during a time of increased wear and tear of the range turf caused by the range ball picker.


The following is a "before" shot taken from the white tee on #15. The picture was taken at 2PM. This tee has not performed well for the past 2 winters because of an extreme shade issue. Last year the tee was overseeded with Rye grass to get us through season. Last spring the tee was re-sodded with hopes that the turf would mature for a full growing season and be better able to deal with the shade. This has not turned out to be the case.

Once again the tee has been overseeded. Over the next couple of weeks we will see the seed pop up and the turf cover will continue to thicken. This spring we will transition from Rye Grass back to Bermudagrass. We have a couple options moving forward from there, and I will be having discussions with the Green committee on this topic.

This brings you up to date with what is happening on the course. Enjoy the near perfect weather we enjoy this time of year, the golf course, and everything else Stonebridge has to offer.

Alan Bakos, CGCS
Director of Grounds

Last Update of the Year

There has been a lot of activity on the course over the past couple of weeks as we prepare for our busiest months of the year. We have been working from tee to green on final details to set us up for a successful season. Before I get into the good stuff I need to let you know about a hydraulic leak on the 4th hole. One of our rough mowers blew a hydraulic hose and it leaked and sprayed oil over an area of rough. We have flushed the area, and applied a compound to help soak up the heaviest concentration. Time will tell how effective this treatment was. Much of the damage from an oil leak is from the heat of the oil burning the turf. Once we know the extent of the damage, which will be within a week, we will re-sod any areas that turn brown. Our Green Committee Chaiman, Charlie Murphy shared a quote that I had never heard before, but is very true. When it comes to oil leaks "there are 2 types of superintendents - the ones that just had an oil leak, and the ones that are about to!" It is a reality of this business that we live with, and deal with when it happens.

Damage from this hydrauloc leak will be repaired as needed.

Daily course rules signs have been installed at #1 and #10 tees. These signs have sliders that display different messages. Examples are "Course Closed", Fertilizer Applied", and "90 Degrees Rule Today" Be sure to check these daily.

We continue to look for solutions to the weak perimiters we are experiencing on some of the greens. To date we have managed irrigation to these areas by taking moisture readings daily and hand watering accordingly, dedicated a less agressive cut mower to cut greens perimiters, put these areas on a perscription fertilization program, and replaced drain vents with caps. Our latest effort was a multi step process.

The first step was to hand aerify the area. The device we are using is a hand made tool that our equipment technicians fabricated. This tool pulls a small plug and creates holes in the green.

This is a close-up view of the holes.

Next, a soil ammendment is poured onto the area.

The material is then worked into the holes and spread evenly over the surface. The product we are using is a greens grade porous ceramic. Each particle has microscopic holes that perform better than natural soil. By amending our greens mix we are greatly increasing pore space which will increase water and air movement, and nutrient holding capacity. The areas that we are having challenges with on the greens are persistent - they are the same spots we have been struggling with since last summer. As I have stated before, we will continue working on these areas until we have consistent quality turf throughout all greens.


Our last wall to wall fertilization was completed this week. This granular application will get us through until spring. We can expect a burst of color and growth as the quick release portion of the fertilizer kicks in. Then the slow release portion will feed the turf throughout the season.

This large spreader quickly spreads the fertilizer over the wide open areas of the course.

Push spreaders are used around tees, green slopes, bunkers, and lake banks. Blowers follow the applicators to move the fertilizer off hard surfaces and onto the turf. It is important for us to keep the fertilizer on target and out of lakes, preserves, and areas that could run off into drains.


As you can see we have been busy with last day preparations for our busy golfing season ahead. We are expecting a record season with not only a high number of rounds of golf played, but also high member satisfaction. As this will probably be my last posting of the year I am wishing everyone Happy Holidays, and a healthy and happy New Year!

Slicing the Golf Course, and Other News

We are taking advantage of the favorable growing weather, combined with the fact that we will be applying a wall to wall granular fertilizer next week, and sending out our slicer. This is the same implement that we use during the summer months to aerate fairways and roughs. The difference when we use it during fall and winter months is that we change from coring tines to slicing tines. The coring tines we use in the summer punch a hole in the ground and pull out a plug. This does a great job of relieving compaction and creating channels for water and air to move through the soil. The down side is that this is a disruptive process that takes a couple weeks to recover from. We can get similar results, without the disruption, in the fall and winter months by changing from coring tines to slicing tines.

This is what the course looks like following core aeration.

The slicer tines we are using now don't pull a plug - instead they cut through the soil.

This is how the course looks following slicing. It is a lot less disruptive than core aeration but we are still opening up channels that help with water and air movement. Aside from some bruising of the turf at the slices these treated areas will clean up nicely following mowing and have little to no effect on play. The fact that we are fertilizing next week makes this an ideal time to do this work since the slicing will allow the fertilizer to better reach the plant roots. The slicing in combination with the fertilizer application next week have us on track for success as we near our second season opening January first.

The fan installation at #17 is nearing completion. The fan has been mounted, the electrician is on site doing the wiring, and FPL is scheduled to install the meter next week. If all goes well we could have the fan running next week, and set the green on the road to recovery.


And some news from the shop......
On December 14th our Equipment Manager Wayne McDermott hosted a TESTA meeting at Stonebridge's maintenance facility. The Turf Equipment Service Technician's Association is comprised of local golf course technicians and vendors. They meet monthly at various venues to network, host speakers, and hold educational and training sessions. Wayne was proud to have them here to show off his shop and the equipment he cares for, and I welcomed them on behalf of Stonebridge. This was a great opportunity to highlight us as a first class operation!

TESTA members at their December meeting at Stonebridge.

What is that black stuff - and what is that smell?

Towards the end of last week you may have noticed some small areas in front of the red tee and in the fairway on hole #14 that looked and smelled odd. As I have mentioned in previous communications we have some weak areas on the course, and we are giving these areas extra attention until they are consistent with the rest of the turf on the course. The areas we treated last weak were a test to see how disruptive the process would be, how it would affect play, and see how the turf would respond. By Monday these treated areas were almost unnoticeable, so we are moving forward to treat more areas. Here is the process:

An organic fertilizer, similar to Milorganite, is spread over the area first. Then a rich organic soil is spread by shovel over the area. We are always looking for ways to conserve our resources, and the use of the organic soil is a good example of how we can do this. This soil has already served a purpose at Stonebridge. It was the potting soil that last years annual flowers grew in. The common grounds crew changes this soil each year to provide a good growing medium for the tender annual flowers. While this soil is no longer ideal for the annuals to grow in it can have a second life on the golf course. This soil is still rich in organic matter, which is lacking in much of the sandy soil that makes up the golf course. We work this soil and Milorganite into the sandy soil with the intent of changing the soils physical properties to better support turf growth. It also provides a better environment for microbial growth, which provides a lot of benefits that we cant see or appreciate without a microscope and a college diploma. So in reference to the title of this blog, the black stuff you see, and that "down on the farm smell" is the organic fertilizer and soil that has been applied.

We then run the aerifier over the material to punch holes in the soil.

A drag mat is then run over the area to work the material further into the holes in the soil.

After dragging the sprinklers are turned on to further work the material into the turf. We will continue to drag, water, and mow the area over the next few days. Each day the black look, and the smell, will diminish and the area will become more playable. We will be working on this project over the next several days so that we are finished and have good playing conditions in these areas by January 1st. Next spring we will be trucking more material in to treat more of these types of problem areas. It is worth noting that the small areas we treated last week have shown significant improvement. As I mentioned, our problem areas receive extra attention - at least 2 additional treatments per week of fertilizers and plant protectants. We will never know if it is one product that makes the difference, or a combination of products. The main thing is that we keep trying to make these areas consistent with the rest of the golf course turf, and we wont stop trying until we reach that goal.

Update December 9, 2011

Before I close up shop for the day I want to send out a quick update of what is going on around the golf course and grounds. The sleeve has been bored under the preserve between Manchester and #17 green in preparation for installation of the fan. Next week we will be trenching, laying conduit, and pulling wire. There will be some workers in the area, and some equipment being used, so we apologize in advance for any disruption to the serenity of your round of golf. We have purposefully scheduled this work in December when rounds of golf played is significantly lower than November or January.

If you played golf this week you may have noticed a brown ring around the lakes. This was caused by a change in the of height of cut from 4" down to 11/2". After  considerable thought and discussion the decision was made to change this mowing standard. The rough was maintained at 4" in the past in order to prevent balls from rolling into the lakes. An unintended consequence of this practice was a lot of lost balls in the tall grass, additional time spent looking for balls, and also the rules of golf call for different treatment of a lost ball than a ball in the hazard. The shorter grass will allow more balls to roll into the water, but the thought is that they will be easier to find. It should also result in fewer lost balls, and faster play. The good thing about this change is that if the general consensus is that it was better when the grass was long, we can let it grow back.



You may have also noticed that some work was done on some of the collars. Vents, instead of caps were installed on the greens drainage system when the greens were rebuilt. I have heard 2 different views on the benefit of vents s. caps from green industry consultants. It may or may not be significant, but many of the problem areas on the perimeters of some of the greens are adjacent to these vents. It is possible that the vents are causing the green perimeters to dry faster than the rest of the green and causing stress to the turf. We have taken the vents off around some of these areas, and replaced them with caps. Time will tell if this makes a difference. In addition to this drain work we are giving these bad spots additional water and foliar fertilizer, and plugging bare spots. In the upcoming days we will also be adding amending the soil to improve its nutrient, water, and air holding capacity. As you can see we are taking many different approaches to solving this problem, and we wont stop until we have 100% turf coverage on all greens.

The Floritam that was sprayed a couple weeks ago has been removed, and fresh sod has been installed. This sod will be receiving daily afternoon watering until a root system has developed that can sustain the sod. This will take about two weeks. We have also sprayed out the area between the road and the chipping green and will be re-sodding it soon. Most, if not all of the Floritam in Stonebridge is over 15 years old. We will do more replacement later this year, and will plan on doing at least a truck load of sod each year to replace some of the old and worn out grass. It is the wish and goal of the grounds maintenance team that Stonebridge is a place you can be proud of, and be proud to bring your family and friends to.