New sand bunker performance

Last weekend we doubled the monthly average for January rainfall in around 24 hours.  Nearly 4" of rain drenched the courses, providing a great example of the performance of our new bunkers on the Bobcat course.  The photograph below is from the Bear course where sand in nearly every bunker washed down to the bottom of the trap.  Repairing this condition is a very labor intensive process. 

The second photograph was taken the same morning on the Bobcat course.  As you can see the new sand held in place much better.  The sand in our new bunkers is manufactured by crushing Florida Round Particle sand into angular particles.  The angular (brand name: G-Angle) sand essentially locks in place and has become the gold standard in the industry for maintenance, drainage and playability purposes.



Green drainage cleanout

This week we conducted our semi-annual check/cleaning of the drainage pipes beneath the greens.  Below is a brief video detailing the process.  This is a crucial step in keeping the infrastructure of our greens working properly.

 

Needle tining Thursday morning...

Early Thursday morning your maintenance staff began aerifying the Bear course greens.  During our summer course closings we use hollow tines that remove plugs of grass/soil.  This time of year we use solid (AKA needle) tines with a diameter of 8 millimeters.  We poke these small holes and mow/roll the greens behind to smooth the surface.  This process provides HUGE plant health benefits and is a key part of our agronomic strategy during our busy winter season.  The small holes are approximately 5 1/2" deep and allow oxygen to easily get to our roots.  Many factors inhibit the root's ability to get oxygen this time of year, including compaction, excess moisture and salt buildup.   

 

 

New Greens Agronomy 101

New-Green-Agronomy 101

Since most of us have had some time to look at, touch and play the new Bobcat course greens for a few weeks now, let’s take a look at what lies beneath and examine the lifeblood of any plant: its root system. Roots are critical to plants because most nutrients are absorbed through the roots and all water is taken into the plant through the roots. So obviously, the more extensive the root system, the better chance for success. A general rule of thumb is that the shoot growth (above the earth’s surface) is equal to the root growth (below the earth’s surface). By this rationale a 50 foot tall pine tree has roots stretching 50 feet from the trunk, grass in the rough mowed at 2" has a 2" deep root system and greens mowed at .135" would have roots .135" deep. So you can imagine our delight with the photo below. This is a soil profile of the green on #18 Bobcat. At the very bottom, nearly 8" deep below the surface of the green, you will notice a small root poking out of the probe.

One question you may ask after looking at this soil profile is "how does this compare to the Bear greens?" The differences between a brand new green and a mature 5-year old green are remarkable.

As we know, the surface of a new green is firm, making shots more difficult to hold on the green. Here’s why:

Over time, greens develop an organic layer made up of decomposing stem, leaf and root material, not all that different from compost. The organic layer is softer/spongier than the new greens which lack this layer. The negative of organic matter is that it holds excess moisture, creating percolation and disease issues. This is why we aerify every summer and fill the holes with sand to dilute the organic matter and give water channels to vertically drain through the soil profile into the underlying green mix and drainage. The positive of organic matter is that it holds nutrients in the root zone longer than straight sand (or green mix). The presence of organic matter is obvious in the photo on the left below.

Typically after the first full growing season an organic layer will begin to accumulate on our new greens improving the playability of the surface.

We hope you have found this informative and we will be sending out your agronomy certificates shortly!
 

Throwback Saturday!

Hopefully you have had a chance to enjoy the newly improved Bobcat course in the past 10 days since it reopened.  It's hard to believe that 19 short weeks ago this video was taken!  

 

 

Foliar fertilzer...the facts

You may see this fine piece of machinery operating on the golf courses from time to time.  This state of the art Toro 5800 sprayer allows us to make precise applications of fertilizer, particularly the ultra-efficient foliar applied fertilizer.  True foliar fertilizers are applied to the plant as liquids and actually absorbed into the plant through the leaf, as opposed to older technology fertilizers which employ far more wasteful methods of root uptake.  The plant needs the same nutrients we humans utilize and ingest on a daily basis...magnesium, potassium and calcium.  Because this process is far more efficient, we can reduce the amounts of fertilizer that are used.

 

New arrivals at Golf Course Maintenance

Monday afternoon we experienced a little "Christmas in August" as we took delivery of our shiny new Toro equipment.

Below is a new Toro 2040 bunker groomer.  We demoed this machine in March and were extremely happy with its speed and surface finish in our traps. 

Below is another bunker grooming machine.  This model, the Toro 3040 is equipped with several attachments that will help us be more efficient in our operation.  In front your will notice the push blade that is used to move, level and grade materials such as sand or waste area screenings.  On the side of the machine you will see a reciprocating edger attachment.  This will help us keep nice crisp edges on the waste areas.  We also demoed this piece of equipment in the spring and were very pleased with its ability to help us save labor and provide a better product.

 

 

 

Below are our two new Toro turbine blowers.  These powerful machines will be crucial in helping us keep your fairways and tees clean this season.  We demoed these blowers earlier in the year and their power is remarkable.

 

 

 

 Below is the Toro Versa-Vac.  It is a PTO tractor implement that vacuums debris.  This will be especially helpful during summer cultural practices such as verticutting and aerification, but will also help us during season to vacuum debris throughout the courses and driving range.