Greens Aeration

We have completed greens aeration over the past two days and we were very successful. The 8th green, as I posted earlier, has some winter damage so we did not aerify that green but will go back in a few weeks with our needle tines after more moderate growth of the turf begins. Regular aeration is the most effective method for "loosening up" the soil to permit delivery of air and water to the roots. The sand that fills the holes and covers the putting surface will aid in the dilution of thatch, improve drainage, provide capillary space for the roots to grow and a allow for smoothing of the playing surface. Over the next few days I will be applying granular soil amendments according to our soil tests which include potassium, gypsum, magnesium, and an organic slow release fertilizer. Thank you to all the members for their patience and please pray for some warmer weather.

Grand Opening

Here is an article inlcuding pictures on the Madison Patch website about the Opening Gala of the new clubhouse.

New Trees

I am still not happy that two snow storms have delayed our greens aerification until next week but I was very happy to see our new trees arrive yesterday. Brian Feeley, owner of Locust Grove Nursery, and his nursery manager, John Connolly installed a 7 inch caliper Red Maple by the clubhouse and a 6 inch caliper Red Oak on the 5th hole. The Red Maple will anchor the extended first tee and was planted in accordance with direction from our architect Robert McNeil. The Red Oak on the 5th hole replaces the large Elm that was lost during a storm in August of 2010. Thanks to Brian and John the trees look great and the membership will enjoy them for years to come.

Aeration Postponed

Due to the snow this morning greens aeration has been postponed. We will try for tommorrow. Some holes will be closed at times this week until we finish aeration. Thanks.
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First Mowing

The greens were mowed for the first time of the season today so come out and enjoy the 70 degree weather.
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The crew has returned

I have had my crew back since Monday and we are very busy cleaning up the golf course, landscaping the new clubhouse, and laying sod. The course clean-up is taking a little longer then normal because we are splitting duties with landscaping and sodding the new clubhouse to get ready for the opening gala on Saturday. We will be aerating greens on Monday and Tuesday of next week in-house with our new Toro 648 Aerator. The 8th green has a good amount of winter damage caused by prolonged ice coverage. This green sits in the shade for most of the fall, winter, and early spring due to its low location and cypress trees along the rear of the green. Snow and ice tend to hang aorund longer in this colder micro-climate causing this type of damage. Another example of the shade issue on the 8th green can been seen on the rear portion of the green where the aeration holes from last October are still visible. There are signs of green by the crown of the plant but we will be holding off on aeration of the 8th green until its growing more actively.

Seedheads

Its that time of year again when I am watching "Growing Degree Days" to determine when our first application of Primo and Proxy should be applied to the greens to prevent the Poa Annua from producing seedheads. These chemicals help to prevent seedheads from forming thus allowing the traditionally weak Poa Annua to spends its energy on growing roots instead of generating seeds. Most members like the fact that the greens are smoother in the spring without the presence of seedheads but I am really controlling the seeds for the health of the greens allowing for longer roots and larger carbohydrates in reserve giving the Poa Annua a better chance at surviving the summer months. The following explains how I calculate "Growing Degree Days."

Definition and history: Degree-days are units of total accumulated heat that are used to forecast everything from plant growth to pest infestations. The value of using temperature to predict plant and animal growth was recognized by the French scientist Renè A. F. de Rèaumur in 1735. By adding together the daily average air temperatures that occurred during the life cycle of several different plant species, he discovered that the sum of temperatures for each species was the same from year to year, even though the number of days required for development varied. In other words, a specific amount of heat (what de Rèaumur called a thermal constant) was required for a plant to reach maturity, and this amount of heat was characteristic for each plant species or variety.

At the turn of the 20th century, scientists began to propose that the thermal constant be expressed in units which came to be called degree days (DD). Today, over 100 DD models now exist that forecast everything from the harvest dates of grains, vegetables and fruits to optimal crop planting dates to the best crop varieties for different geographical areas.

Calculating degree days: Each stage in an organism's life has a characteristic DD requirement. For example, from the time an insect egg is laid until the time larvae hatch from the egg may require 100 degree-days, while the time period between larval hatch and the emergence of a butterfly may require 175 degree-days. Each organism also lives within a relatively narrow range of temperatures, above or below which their survival becomes difficult. The lower developmental threshold is the temperature at or below which growth stops. The upper developmental threshold is the temperature at or above which growth slows down or stops. The number of degree-days accumulated in one day is the total amount of heat between these lower and upper thresholds.

For example, the development of annual bluegrass (Poa annua) has a lower developmental threshold of 50F (10C). When you hear about "degree-day base 50" models, it is this lower threshold that is being referred to. To calculate the number of degree-days base 50 that occur in a single 24 hour period, the following simple calculation is made:

average temperature for a 24 hour period minus 50 = number of degree days

If the average temperature is 50F or less, then there are no DDs accumulated for poa for that day. But if the average temp is 51F, there is one DD for that day, if the temp is 60, there are 10 DDs and so on. Counting DDs usually begins on January 1, so that the DD accumulation at any given time is the sum of all the DDs from the start of the year.

Members to the Rescue

We were dealt a difficult hand by the Morris County Soil Comission in regards to our Certificate of Occupancy for the new clubhouse. We informed that we needed to have all the landscape beds full of topsoil and mulch as well as turf areas seeded and cover with hay. Not really a big deal until you realize that I have no crew until next week and this work needed to be completed in 36 hours. In true MGC fashion the members rallied to help me and get the work completed so I would really like to thank Mr. Schessler, Mr. Speer, Mr. Verbaro, Mr. Megargel, and even our well dressed pro, Craig Lindsey, put on the boots and gave us a hand. On March 19th at the grand opening of the clubhouse please say thanks to these members for going above and beyond. Thanks again guys.

Article from Golfdom Magazine

A key to good greens in the summer -- patience now
It has been a long winter and golfers are battling cabin fever. They are anxious to play their first rounds of the year. Despite the yearnings of golfers to play and the calendar showing March, the snow on the ground and the weather tell us winter is not over. Early spring play has the potential to damage greens and put you in a position of playing “catch-up” all spring when trying to provide good putting surfaces.
Traffic on greens from early spring golf can cause the putting surface to become uneven due to footprints. The first few days of warm temperatures thaw the upper two inches of the soil profile while the soil below remains frozen. This means there is no place for the water to move that melted in the upper two inches of soil. Under these conditions, when golfers walk across the greens their steps displace the water and soil forcing the turfgrass to move, resulting in footprints and a bumpy putting surface. It is possible to shear roots when the soil and turfgrass is displaced further damaging the turfgrass. Restricting play is the only way to prevent this type of damage. Wait until the soil profile has thawed, water has percolated through the soil, and the surface is dry before allowing play.
Be patient with the first mowing of the year. Creeping bentgrass is notoriously slow to start growing in spring so don’t force it to perform until temperatures warm up and the creeping bentgrass starts to green up and grow on its own. If you need to smooth the putting surface to appease golfers, consider rolling once or twice a week for the first couple of weeks of nice weather to buy the creeping bentgrass time to get growing. The rolling will smooth the surface and increase ball roll while protecting the creeping bentgrass.    

 

-- Clark Throssell, Ph.D.

It's March, What are the greens rolling at today

Well maybe nobody has asked me that yet but it's right around the corner. I was out blowing off the greens today and they look like they have made it through the winter in pretty good shape. The fairways and tees are showing damage from the fungus pink snow mold which is to be expected considering we only treat the greens and approaches for this disease mostly due to cost. There are many White Pine branches littering the course from the last few storms although much less then in years before due to our tree maintenance program. The crew will be returning March 14th to begin really cleaning up the course. I plan to aerate the greens on March 21-22. This is all weather depending remembering that mother nature can still dump some of the white stuff on us in March.