Heavy Roller on Greens

Following the last aerification process, I wasn't satisfied with the smoothness of the greens. This fall, I brought in the big guy to smooth things out. This is a process we would like to add to both the spring and fall aerification processes moving forward. I think we can get a quicker recovery and better product if we increase the amount of sand we apply to greens during aerification and use this roller the following week.

The first question most people might ask is "aren't you creating a compaction issue?" The short answer is no. Compaction is a huge issue on a high volume golf course, but less of a concern on the sand-based greens. The particle size and structure of sand does not lend itself to compaction like a heavy clay soil. Sand-based greens are far more prone to wear and tear damage than compaction. This allows us to get away with using a 1 1/2 ton roller on them.

This is not a fast process as it takes 20-30 minutes per green in addition to the transport time between greens. Hopefully it will prove worth the time and effort.

Fall 2013

Fall is, without a doubt, my favorite time of year. We had a successful golf season and now it is important we get a few major projects done before the snow flies. I was reviewing our greens management program today and was pleased to realize that we completed 13 topdressings on the greens between May and October. This is the most consistent topdressing season we have had since I started working at Indian Creek. Frequent topdressing takes a lot of work, especially on a 27-hole course. My mechanic and assistants worked very hard to help us get the job done. I hope to fit a few more topdressings in this fall and will aim to complete closer to 20 next season.

#3 Red Feather

Fairway aerification and over seeding were completed in the past couple weeks. This year's aerification process was by far the most thorough and aggressive since I started. We pulled 1/2"-1" cores to a depth of 4"-5". Every square foot of fairway was over seeded and aerified.

#4 Black Bird

#7 Black Bird

The next week will be spent fertilizing 120 acres of rough. We will also be spraying all the rough for broad leaf weeds. We also hope to finish up mowing our 50+ acres of natural areas. We are focusing on cleaning these areas up over the winter and throughout next playing season. It will be nice to treat these areas as an aesthetic element of the course as opposed to unmowed waste areas. It may take a season to get a real grasp on the weed control but I think we can take a big step in the right direction over the next 12 months.

 #2 Gray Hawk

Fall color on a Red Oak

Leaf cleanup always becomes a focus as the weather turns and many hours will be spent mulching what we can.

#5 Black Bird

Dividing Perennials



Time is running out to divide your perennials before the ground freezes. Perennials often benefit from division every 3-5 years and it's is a great way to get the most out of your plants. Please enjoy the how to video below.

 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuYW2Vj5JZ4&feature=youtu.be

Interesting Course Photos

Former Indian Creek Superintendent Bob Hall brought in some photos that he has collected over the years. In his collection was one that was taken of #2 Black Bird in early spring prior to the grand opening of Indian Creek Golf Course. Strangely enough, I had taken a photo of the exact same hole from nearly the same spot in the spring right before we reopened Black Bird after the renovation. My photo was taken without knowing the old photo existed. It gives us a great insight into how far the course has come over the years. I apologize for the poor picture quality, these are actually photos of photos taken with my phone.

Gray Hawk Warranty Work Complete

Duininck Golf was recently back in town to finalize some of the finishing touches on the Gray Hawk rebuild. With any grading and drainage installation project, soil settling is expected and ours was no exception. Last year's dry conditions made the soil very difficult to work with, so we expected a little more settling than in past years and we were right. A small crew was brought in to regrade the basins to recapture the intended slopes. In addition, some inlets were lowered and irrigation heads were leveled. Then, these areas were seeded and hydromulched. With a little warm weather and moisture, we hope to have these areas well on their way to being grown in by the time the snow falls. 

 

Is this the end of the settling? Most likely not. The course will continue to settle for many years to come. The rate of settling will change from year to year based on many factors, including seasonal moisture rates and the severity of freeze/thaw cycles, but we will continue to address the problem areas as they appear. You can play your part in helping reestablish these areas by keeping cart and foot traffic out of the roped and staked areas. 

1Gray Fwy

 

1 Gray Fwy

 

 

1 Gray Fwy



6 Gray Fwy

 



6 Gray Fwy

 

 

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Late Summer Heat and Drought Tough on Cool-Season Grasses

Late Summer Heat and Drought Tough on Cool-Season Grasses

In spite of a relatively cool summer, the extended heat and drought over the next week or more may take a toll on cool-season grasses. These grasses are at their weakest point in the year with their lowest energy reserves, and thus their lowest tolerance to stresses like heat, drought, and pests. Minor disease infection with summer patch in Kentucky bluegrass or gray leaf spot in perennial ryegrass, minimal grub feeding in almost all grasses, or traffic in excess or at the hottest part of the day can cause significant damage. The good news is that day lengths are becoming shorter and the heat should not extend for too long into September.

Considerations for turf health in late August heat:

•  On greens, consider skipping a day of mowing leaning instead to rolling. This maintains maximum photosynthetic area without sacrificing green speed.
• Hold off on any fertilization until temperatures cool in September.
• If the roots are very shallow, irrigate frequently and wet the soil only to the depth of rooting. This flies in the face of the “deep and infrequent” irrigation we normally recommend, but we may be soon be into damage control rather than sound turf management
• Water early in the morning on other turf areas to limit disease pressure as much as possible
• Syringe Poa annua in the afternoon to cool it slightly and increase its chances for survival
• Preventative fungicide applications are recommended for high value areas, especially with high Poa annua or perennial ryegrass populations. Brown patch, pythium and gray leaf spot are the primary target disease right now.
• White grub applications should already be applied but rescue applications with Dylox™ may be needed.
• Though crabgrass and yellow nutsedge are flourishing, they are at the end of their life cycle and applications are not needed. Almost any herbicide can cause phytotoxicity once temperatures are >85F so avoid applications.
• Limit topdressing, grooming, verticutting, dethatching or aerification until the weather moderates. If aerification is needed on greens, consider narrow, solid tines.
• Minimize and restrict traffic where possible and change traffic patterns frequently.
• If areas were seeded in the last two weeks, fungicides targeted for pythium/rhizoctonia should be applied to help protect the seedlings.

Zac Reicher, Professor of Turfgrass Science, zreicher2@unl.edu

Extension is a Division of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln cooperating with the Counties and the United States Department of Agriculture.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension education programs abide with the nondiscrimination policies of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the United States Department of Agriculture.

Easing Turf Stress

In response to the latest round of hot and dry weather, we will occasionally roll greens in the place of mowing.