June USGA Update

Seasonal Transitions

By Jim Skorulski, senior agronomist, Northeast Region
June 25, 2013


Another wave of heat and humidity has reached the Northeast Region. The transition to an abrupt heat wave is never easy, especially when it occurs in the wake of the record precipitation and moderate temperatures we have experienced in recent weeks. Squeegees are put aside for moisture meters and hoses. Once promising root systems seem to vanish overnight. Ah yes, summer is finally here. The golfers are happy anyway.    

The transition to the heat of summer can be tricky especially with the precipitation pattern that has set up over the Northeast. The turf has been growing in fairly cool and wet conditions for several weeks. Lush annual bluegrass plants that are less adapted for the abrupt change suffer the most. Turf growing on poorly drained sites also typically struggles due to its compromised root system. Disease pressure increases. Managers are forced into a more defensive mindset at least until the weather pattern breaks. This is a bad time to make a mistake and the summer has just begun.

There have been a number of reports of above threshold counts of stunt and lance nematodes on golf courses. Symptoms from the feeding are likely to become more apparent with the added stress brought on by the heat. A nematode assay is the only way to determine if there is a potential problem. A soil probe should be used to pull soil samples from areas expressing potential symptoms. Assays can be completed at the University of Massachusetts or University of Rhode Island for a nominal fee. Managers are trying to deal with the nematodes with holistic products, strong cultural practices, or spot applications of Nemacur if they still have it in inventory. Dr. Nathaniel Mitkowski, University of Rhode Island, reports that the product Avid is showing promising results for nematode suppression. Unfortunately, the product is not yet available in Northeastern states. Hopefully, that will change.

The wet weather pattern is likely to make things very interesting on golf courses should it continue into the summer season. A combination of wet weather and heat is often lethal especially where annual bluegrass, poor growing environments and limited drainage are paired with high expectations and a busy golf calendar. All the more reason to consider upgrading course infrastructure to create conditions that will make it possible to provide more consistent playing surfaces over a wider range of weather conditions.

We encourage you to give us a call if the transition to summer is not going as hoped or you are considering options to upgrade your facility. Stay dry, stay cool, and most important; stay focused. 

Course Update

Well this weather combination is about as bad as it gets for the golf course, frequent thunderstorms and hot humid weather lead to root loss and disease outbreaks. The golf course received another .50 inch of rain yesterday during a day that reached 92 degrees. So far the golf course is holding its own and looking good but we are doing things to keep it that way. The greens that hold the most water were vented on Wednesday immediately following the Women's Member Guest then doubled rolled to smooth them out. The fan has been running on the 5th green for the entire week, the greens were sprayed for the disease summer patch, and treated with a calcium/silica product that will buffer the sodium in our irrigation water and help strengthen the turf to help with heat stress.

Venting Greens Before We Rolled

The crew was treated to a BBQ on Wednesday for lunch by Mr. Joe Verbaro who not only purchased a charcoal grill for the greens department, supplied all the food, soda, and water but was also the smiling chef behind the grill. The pro shop staff even snuck down to the maintenance building for a little lunch as well. The staff really appreciated the BBQ as did I and we thank Mr. Verbaro for his time and generosity.

Mr. Verbaro the Chef

Fixing ball marks especially during the wet weather is very important to the health of the greens and the playability of the golf course. The following is from USGA:

Experts Explain: Ball Mark Repair Tools

Posted: 3/11/2013

By USGA Green Section

What is the best tool for repairing ball marks?

  

Ball marks vary in shape and severity so there is no one best tool. In fact, virtually any pointed tool will work as long as the proper method of repair is performed. This has even been the focus of several research projects in recent years where multiple repair tools were evaluated. Each study concluded that no particular repair tool was significantly better than any other when used correctly. 

With the understanding that it is the method, not the tool that is most critical to restoring a smooth surface and allowing turf to heal quickly, let’s address the keys to success for this important area of golfer etiquette. Begin by inserting the repair tool into the soil behind the rear of the ball mark at about a 45-degree angle. Gently pull the top of the tool toward the center. Continue working around the ball mark, gently stretching the surrounding turf toward the center until the indentation is filled in. Less is generally more when it comes to ball mark repair, so this should be done just three or four times; anything more generally adds injury to the already damaged turf. Use your putter or foot to tamp down the repaired area to make it smooth and level with the rest of the green. Avoid prying actions that tear live roots and bring soil to the putting surface. Doing so causes significant damage and greatly slows recovery.
 

Course Update

The golf course is drying up after the long stretch of wet weather that we have been dealing with. The greens have mowed with our brushes and rolled daily this week to bring the speeds back up to acceptable levels and in preparation for this weekends President/Vice-President Tournament. Some may have notice that we even did a few dry cuts in the afternoons on the greens to help with the shaggy look from the wet weather. Our topdressing program will continue on a bi-weekly basis now that the summer weather seems to be arriving. The greens will be vented at some point between the ladies member/guest tournament and the 4th of July tournament. The venting process allows gases to escape the root zone and allows oxygen to enter keeping the roots healthy during the long days of summer. Along with the summer weather is the process of syringing the greens that you have seen me out doing in summers past. Syringing is the conservation process of applying a light water mist over putting greens and approaches to keep the entire grass plant healthy and make for an even playing field. The syringing process is the single most important moisture management practice that we do on the golf course during the summer months along with the use of our TDR 300 moisture meter.

The club's pace of play policy has been posted on the first tee. The following is a pledge from the USGA that as a member you can take to make an honest effort to improve your pace of play.


Pace of Play Pledge

By USGA
June 12, 2013

Please join the USGA in our campaign to stamp out long playing times and end slow play. When you sign the pledge, you will be enrolled in a six-part educational program that will teach you the fundamental causes of slow play and suggest ways to improve your personal pace of play.

Click here to sign the pledge.

• As one who loves golf, I understand my critical role in improving pace of play.
• I will examine my own habits on the golf course to identify ways that I can pick up the pace.
• I will Tee It Forward and play from the set of tees best suited to my driving distance, in an effort to speed up play and have more fun.
• I will practice “ready golf” during stroke play; I will hit when I am ready to play, but only when it is safe to do so.
• I will serve as an example for those around me and I will strive to inspire and guide my fellow golfers to improve their pace of play.
• I understand that golf course design and setup can affect pace of play, and I promise to support those who manage the facilities where I play to find solutions for optimizing pace of play.
• I will seek out a golf professional to help me improve my game and my pace of play.
• I will embrace opportunities to play nine holes when my schedule doesn’t allow for an 18-hole round.
• I will encourage others to take the Pace of Play Pledge, for the good of the game.
• I will play more quickly, play better and have more fun!

Click here to sign the pledge.

MGC's Pace of Play Policy

 

USGA June Update

A Rainy Day Holds No Secrets

By Jim Skorulski, senior agronomist, Northeast Region
June 11, 2013

(L) “Collar dams” prevent surface water runoff from exiting putting surfaces. Where water collects is often the same areas that routinely experience winterkill injury. (R) Standing water in bunkers confirms that poor drainage is leading to poor playability.

Yet another rainy day in the Northeast; it sure seems like we have had our share of them in the past several weeks. Golf courses are wet. Everything is wet. Sure, we need the water, but enough already. Just when it seems like it may start to dry out, another wave of rain arrives further disrupting maintenance and play. So much for firm and fast. Fortunately, temperatures have been moderate during this stretch of wet weather and the turf has generally remained strong with good rooting and few disease issues. This can all change quickly, however, should this pattern of wet weather extend into the hotter days of summer. 

The heavy rains can help to point out drainage deficiencies and they usually tell a story or explain why playing conditions are the way they are. The pictures illustrate two common maintenance issues that are impacted by poor drainage. The image on the left shows a “collar dam” that is impeding water flow off the putting green surface. The area where the water is collecting was damaged this winter when water collected behind the collar and froze to ice. Standing water and similar winter damage patterns were observed on several other greens that morning and helped to highlight the extent of the surface drainage problems and their impact on winter turf survival.

The image on the right was taken on the same day at another golf facility and illustrates a puddled greenside bunker where there is an obvious drainage problem. Golfers at this facility complain of hard sands and inconsistent playing conditions. The picture is a helpful tool to explain how and why the bunker sands play the way they do. It is one thing to explain the process of fine soil particles such as silt and clay intermixing with the bunker sand, but this explanation is made quite clear with a picture like this that shows a puddle of dirty water. This illustrates the reasoning behind inconsistent playing conditions in bunkers, while also confirming the need for new drainage and sand replacement.    

Never let a good washout go to waste. Use the heavy rain events to chart water flow over the golf course, to identify problem areas, and to use as an illustrative tool to explain the impacts of poor drainage. The sun will come out again at some point but as Dave Oatis, director, Northeast Region, likes to say, “Best keep your powder dry.”



Source: Jim Skorulski (jskorulski@usga.org)

More Rain

The storm clouds are building as I write this and we are trying to get greens mowed and rolled before the storm hits us but the forecast is calling for another 1-3 inches of rain in the next 24 hours. The 4th green was scalped due to our need to mow the turf in wet conditions so that green was vented using solid tines yesterday to help aid in the dry down process. All the greens have been topdressed weekly with sand for the past 5 weeks but the 4th green has areas that remain wet which can lead to scalping. The greens mowers have also been outfitted with solid front rollers since the start of the season to help protect against scalping but sometimes conditions are favorable to this type of damage. Many of you are thinking well just don't cut the turf but at the heights that we maintain the greens skipping more than one day of mowing could lead to even more scalping. The 4th green will heal and the continued topdressing and aeration programs that we are using will fix this issue long term. Two years ago we dealt with scalping on multiple greens during saturated conditions but due to our aggressive cultural programs we are down to only the 4th green giving us problems. All of the fairways expansions were also aerated and topdressed with sand ahead of the storm allowing for the heavy rain to move the sand into the canopy of the turf. The aeration and sand topressing will aid in the protection of the new fairway areas as well as their firmness.

The chances of us mowing on Friday morning are slim if the forecast is correct so we will be mowing later in the day to get caught up for the weekend. I understand that it is an inconvenience for us to be mowing greens during play but mother nature is throwing us a curve ball and we need to make adjustments. Thankfully we drain well but I am anticipating no carts for at least tomorrow morning if not the entire day so please call the pro shop before arriving at the course.

I was fortunate on Tuesday to visit Merion site of this years US Open and it was really a special day. I have never been to a course that has such gnarly and natural bunkers to the tune of a 130 bunkers on a golf course that's only 120 acres. It was difficult for me to see all the mud in the spectator areas from over 6 inches of rain they received at Merion but 25,000 spectators a day will do that to turf. I know many members are not happy when our rough gets lush and thick but MGC fails in comparison to the rough the pros will be playing out of at Merion, 6 inches in spots. I hope Merion can still show its teeth even with all the rain.

Miscanthus in the Bunker on 18 at Merion

Huge Shrubs growing into the Bunkers on 14 at Merion

Rain

The course took 3.75 inches of rain from the storm so there will be no carts until noon today, Saturday. Greens will be mowed, bunkers fixed, and holes changed. The greens as you would expect are very soft so please fix your ball marks.

Very disappointed for the guys at Merion that worked so hard for the last 4 years to get ready for this week and now they have to deal with the 11th green being flooded and the bunkers washing away. Good luck to Matt and the crew at Merion, I know it will be great come Thursday.

Course Update

Unfortunately the men's one day member/guest has been canceled for today due to the inclement weather. A tropical storm from the south combined with a front from the west is adding up to some serious rain. The course has received one inch of rain so far this morning with 2 more inches in the forecast. Wetting agent applications were made to the tees and fairways on Monday which should help move this rain through the soil profile. Tropical Storms from the south have been know to carry disease spores with them including Gray Leaf Spot which damaged our rough late last year with Sandy so a plant protectant application was made to rough areas to prevent this disease. My crew did an outstanding job of getting the course ready, its too bad it got washed out. A date is being determined for a rescheduled event which will be sent out by the pro shop.

We completed some projects this week including replacing the range nets at the practice area and adding bunker sand to certain bunkers. The bunker on 5 is plagued with rocks so we added a significant amount of sand to this bunker to help with the rocks, this is a Band-Aid approach as compared to a complete rebuild of the bunker but should minimize the rocks for a few months. The other two bunkers to receive sand were the practice bunker and the left greenside bunker on the 9th hole. These bunkers will be softer then the other bunkers for a few weeks as the sand settles and firms up. The stumps along the cart path on the 6th hole were buried this week and finish our work from Sandy. These areas will be covered with leaf litter from the trees and return to their natural state in a few weeks.

I was repairing a broken sprinkler the other day between the bunker and green on the 6th hole when I was able to take a great picture of how much sand has accumulated in the years since the renovation on the bunker banks. The rough between the bunker and green has raised up 6 inches from sand being splashed out over the years. In recent years we have done some bunker renovations and I have explained the important issues like liners in the bunkers, dedicated irrigation for the bunker banks, new drainage, and firmer sand but I have not touched on how much material is removed from the bunker banks during construction to get back to their original shape. The picture below really shows how important this issue is during bunker renovations, as you can see the original soil line about 6 inches below the sand.

Ready for the Member/Guest

Burying Stumps on 6

Sand Build-Up on Bunker Banks