Sandy Cont

6 won't be the same.
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Sandy

The golf course still has no power and we have lost 7 large trees that will not be able to be removed immediately. We are here working cleaning up the debris that our equipment can handle. I will update the blog as I have more information.
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Collars

Today we are aerating the collars with 1/4 inch tines removing some thatch and giving us another opportunity to overseed the collars.
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Course Update

The course has been wet for a few days now as we received 2 inches of rain Friday and there were showers yesterday with more predicted today. The main focus of the crew has been on cleaning up leaves and pine needles as well as cutting down the ornamental grasses and fescue areas. Normal years the ornamental grasses are not removed until November but with budget reductions I will be losing half of the crew next week so these jobs had to be performed earlier then in years past.  The ornamental grasses behind 8 green will remain until the spring to help provide some privacy during the fall months from Garfield Ave. The cutting down of the fesuce areas gives me an opportunity to spray for weeds in these areas as well as prepare them for the winter months. We have been mowing on a much reduced basis but the greens are being rolled on a daily basis. I will be aerating and seeding the collars and select approaches with small tines next week unless the Tropical Storm Sandy throws us a curve ball. It will be a year to the day almost of last years snowstorm that destroyed many trees on the golf course. I really hope Sandy blows out to sea.

USGA October Update

A Rough Time Of It

By Jim Skorulski, senior agronomist Northeast Region
October 17, 2012

Many New England golf facilities find themselves having to seed and renovate larger areas of rough damaged by disease, drought stress, insect damage or traffic.

Most of New England experienced its first killing frost/freeze of the season last weekend. For most, this marks the true beginning of the end of the 2012 growing season. The season’s drought and record heat created many challenges and pushed maintenance crews hard from the beginning of spring. The lack of natural precipitation in summer was, in hindsight, a good thing for golf courses considering the high temperatures. Humidity seemed unusually high through August and early September ramping up disease pressure, namely dollar spot and gray leaf spot, at golf courses. The majority of golf courses fared well despite the weather challenges and primary playing areas are in good condition as winter approaches. The one exception has been rough areas where the cumulative effects of drought, insect damage, disease (gray leaf spot) and increased weed pressure still remain noticeable and have caught the attention of golfers.

The demise of rough areas is not new. Let’s face it, there are only so many resources available and those are used first on primary play areas as they should be. However, the appearance and playability of the rough areas is on the radar, especially following a summer like this when traditional low maintenance programs were not effective. I anticipate that turf managers will continue to feel more pressure to improve the appearance and uniformity of rough areas going forward so be prepared with ideas on how to accomplish that or defend the practices currently in place.

The inputs required to upgrade the quality of the roughs are no secret to any experienced turf manager. The challenge is finding the resources and equipment needed to extend management programs to these large acreage areas. That may involve initiating some major regrassing programs to replace unwanted annual bluegrass and creeping bentgrass, extending irrigation coverage, implementing more aggressive shatter tine and core cultivation practices, managing cart traffic, removing trees, root pruning, and extending fertility and pest management programs. The programs required are comprehensive and will come at cost. Some memberships may not be able or willing to support those added programs and higher costs and that is fine so long as they too are willing to accept playing conditions and appearance that are less than perfect. Some would say it is a good thing when the biggest complaints we hear involve the roughs, because this is usually an indicator that the higher priority areas of the golf course are in quality condition and not a concern.

On another note, annual bluegrass weevils remain active in the region. I observed feeding damage on greens and collars on a Connecticut golf course earlier this week. The good news is the larvae have little chance of surviving the winter but the superintendent is not going to take any chances! The cooler temperatures, rain events and extended periods of dew have brought earthworms back to the surface in a big way. Their castings are making a mess. Those that have implemented topdressing programs are experiencing less surface activity. Applications of the Early Bird product, when timed with a soaking rain, continues to work fairly well. Mowing heights should be increased by this point if they have not yet been, to improve the plant’s ability to accumulate carbohydrates that will be required to survive the winter ahead. Finally, monitor the fall shade patterns closely and use that information to plan the next round of tree removal work.

Burning Bush

The Burning Bush Hedge on 1 that we planted this spring really showing its colors.
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Topdressing

It has been three weeks since we aerified the greens so I have resumed our normal light topdressings yesterday. Throughout the growing season I am topdressing every 7-10 days but with the cooler weather and shorter the days the turf has slowed down so I will be stretching our topdressing window to every 14 days until December. Once the turf has stopped growing I will prepare them for the winter including some venting, a heavy topdressing, possible deep tine aeration, and our snow mold protectant. The final step will be to use our three greens covers on our problem greens similar to last season.

In detail:

• venting provides voids in the soil to allow surface water from melting snow and ice a place to go. Reducing the chance for winter kill
• heavy topdressing will protect the crowns of the plant from dessication in the case of an open dry winter at the same time helping us dilute our thatch layer
• deep tine aeration allows for firmer and drier greens while providing deep channels for root growth; great time of year to implicate this procedure without disturbing play
• snow mold is a fungus that requires cold temperatures, free water (melting snow), and in-case certain cases snow coverage; our plant protectant will prevent snow mold from forming on the green and approaches

Frost

There is frost this morning and will be again tomorrow morning. Please call pro shop for updates.
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Seedlings

The seed on the tees has germinated and is looking great. Another sign that aeration works.
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Worm Casts

The fairways are covered in loads of small mud piles which is the result of equipment and carts running over worm casts. The casts are very dramatic on the 9th hole especially. The recent weather of cool wet and cloudy conditions combined with regular mowing and cart traffic has smeared these mud piles all over the turf. The reason some holes are worse then others is a direct result of where we have bentgrass n the fairways there are much fewer worm casts while areas that are predominantly ryegrass and Poa have much more casts. The bentgrass growing habit forms a tight dense "carpet" that the worms don't like to burrow through where as the ryegrass and Poa growing habit leaves voids where the worms make their way to the surface leaving the casts. Areas of shade created by structures or trees allow for conditions favoring ryegrass and Poa where as sunny locations favor bentgrass development.

Please check with the pro shop before your round to see if the "lift,clean,place" rule is in effect.

USGA October Update

The Long Season Comes At A Price

By Adam Moeller, agronomist, Northeast Region
October 2, 2012

Does everyone remember the excitement at your golf course when it opened early this spring? I didn’t think so. Golf facilities across the Northeast opened two to four weeks earlier than normal and the golfers certainly enjoyed using the course. Unfortunately, the earlier than normal start to the season has caused many facilities to exceed their pre-planned golf course maintenance budget. Higher than expected labor costs in the early part of the golf season now have many superintendents scrambling to maintain the golf course in the last few weeks of the season with a smaller than normal staff. If this is the case at your facility, it is important to realize that without adequate staff golf conditions are going to suffer, and the challenges of an early start to the season may now be evident.

The fall is a great time to get a lot of work done on the golf course. Teeing ground leveling, bunker renovations, tree pruning and removals and drainage work are some of the common fall projects at golf courses. These projects are similar to home renovations in many respects. There is some temporary disruption but ultimately they are being performed for the betterment of the golf course. In terms of their importance and priority, these are also similar to home renovations. Drainage work is like paying for a new roof. It can be costly depending upon the severity of the problems but there are not many projects that are more crucial.

Agronomic problems have slowed at most facilities in the Northeast. However, just a few weeks ago there were many golf courses that experienced significant disease in their rough, particularly gray leaf spot, leaf spot/melting out, and rust on perennial ryegrass and Kentucky bluegrass. In some cases this damage was severe and will require renovation and overseeding. Turf-type tall fescue is a great grass for rough because it is not susceptible to as many diseases as perennial ryegrass or Kentucky bluegrass, tolerates traffic well, and requires less nutrients and water than Kentucky bluegrass once it is mature. Fungicides can work well for disease control in the rough but their cost can be significant and the damage threshold may not justify their use for most facilities.

Annual bluegrass weevil damage was found on a golf course in New Jersey recently. This late damage is surprising but this pest continues to be the most challenging insect in the Northeast so anything seems possible at this point. Continue to scout for this insect over the next few weeks.

Is all this aerating working?

The answer visually comparing the greens from this season to last season would be yes but relying on the aesthetics of the greens alone could get us into trouble so we sample the greens to scientifically determine if we are making progress. The samples were taken from the 6th green in the rear section of the green where we experience thinning of the turf in the summer.

Green #6 is one of three USGA greens on a nine hole course that dates to 1896. The greens mix for the other two greens – which are not part of this report - was blended off site. Green #6’s sand and peat were mixed in the cavity with a rototiller. The comparison test data strongly suggests that the blending did not achieve an homogeneous mix.

This year’s test results found that the infiltration rate had increased from a sealed off 0.81 in./hr. to 6.69 in./hr. Air porosity similarly improved from 13.53% to 20.21%. Water porosity declined – a positive move – even though the amount of organic material in the top 2 inches increased substantially. 

Typically, an increase in organic matter equates to an increase in water retention.
The current hollow core program must be continued to reduce organic matter to more manageable levels. It is also needed to create consistency within the rhizosphere. Based on the comparison tests, we must expect that different areas will react differently based on having different properties. 

In simple terms we are making progress which will result in more consistent and healthy greens that can be maintained at a lower height of cut allowing for increased ball roll while maintaining a healthy plant.