Early Season Insect Pests

The University of Nebraska periodically sends out info sheets dealing with different aspects of lawn and landscape care. I am going to make a point of posting the articles on this site in hopes of helping out those who maintain their own landscapes. The following info sheet deals with turf insects and their early arrival this year. I have included photos of the insects discussed to help you with identification.

 

Warm spring and turf-damaging insects
April 23, 2012

 

With the mild winter and spring temperatures, we speculate that the development of spring turf pests (billbugs and cutworms) will be earlier than a "typical" Nebraska spring. It is always recommended to monitor for turf insect pests before a treatment is warranted. Black cutworms have already been found in the state, so watch for “C”-shaped scars around aerification holes especially in creeping bentgrass areas. Billbug adults can be found on sidewalks over the next few weeks, moving from mulched areas to the adjacent turf. A few billbug adults can be tolerated and unlikely to cause damage to the turfgrass. However, if numbers are high, preventative applications may be needed. Applications can be made from now until mid-May with any of the standard products. In order to get acceptable billbug control, the active ingredient in these products should contain imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, clothianidin, or chlorantraniliprole. It is still a little early to predict emergence, egg-laying, and the turf-damaging larval stage of Japanese beetles and southern masked chafers. Their life cycle will be largely controlled by temperatures (growing degree day accumulation) over the next few months. Once Japanese beetles are seen in the daytime or masked chafers flying around porch lights at night, preventative insecticides can be applied on those properties with historical problems with grubs and/or animal foraging for grubs.

 

Mitch Stamm and Fred Baxendale, Department of Entomology

mstamm3@unl.edu and fbaxendale1@unl.edu

Play a Round on the Superintendent

Sign up as a member of Indian Creek Turf Talk by May 17^th and you will be entered into a drawing to receive an 18-hole round of golf and a $10.00 gift card to the Indian Creek Pro Shop. In order to sign up, simply click on the “Join This Site” icon on the right side of the page and register through your Google, Yahoo, or Twitter account. The winner will be announced on the site on May 17th. Please be sure to join under your legal name so you can claim your gift.  The $10 sure would buy a nice divot repair tool!

Red Feather Grand Opening Date

The unseasonably warm spring has greatly assisted the Red Feather grow-in. The fairways have filled in well and are draining far better than they ever have in the past. Those of you familiar with the course are well aware of the drainage issues we have previously experienced on hole #6. Even a 1/2” of rain would result in a wet fairway for days. I observed the fairway immediately after the heavy rains we experienced on April 14th and it drained completely. I think you will all be very pleased with the new shaping and contouring.

Greens are currently being cut at .160” and will be lowered to a final height of .150” sometime in the next week. To give you a point of reference .125” is the same as 1/8th of an inch. I am very pleased with the way the greens have grown in at this point.

Greenside approaches and collection areas are the thinnest areas at this point. This is due to the compaction they have experienced during the shaping of bunkers and surrounds. Unfortunately, alleviating this issue will take years of aerification and soil modification. We should, however, see gradual improvements with the passing of each season.

These areas have recently been aerified and reseeded and our intention is to complete one more aerification process before opening.

We will be aerifying Red Feather on the 16th of May and intend to open the course the following day on Thursday, May 17th. This is 14 days ahead of schedule, but I am confident we are making the right decision. We are grateful for the patience you have all had during the renovation process and we hope the early opening is seen as a sign of Indian Creek’s appreciation.

The race is on to see who is the first to play the new course. You can contact the Indian Creek pro shop 10 days in advance to book your times. We hope you enjoy the improvements.

Red Feather Preview: Holes 4 & 5

As the grand opening of Red Feather draws near, I thought it would be nice to give a preview of the work that has been done. This will give you a chance to envision the new golf shots the improved layout will force you to hit.

#4 Red Feather

The perspective from the elevated tees really highlights the new fairway bunkers and greenside bunker. It also allows you to notice the grading changes and improved shape of the fairway. When stepping on the tee, you may notice how much more challenging the tee shot has now become. The addition of fairway bunkers on the left and right forces you to choose whether to layup, attempt to carry, or split the narrow gap between them. The left fairway bunker sits 237 yards from the blue tee and requires a 255 yard carry. The prevailing south winds will come in handy when challenging this bunker. The right fairway bunker sits 217 yards from the blue tee and should catch most shots missed right. The addition of these two bunkers definitely puts a premium on a well struck tee ball.

Your approach leaves you with an uphill shot to a green guarded on the right by a new greenside bunker. This bunker is deep and provides for a very dramatic bunker shot especially to a back pin. The miss on this approach shot is to the left where we have created a low mow roll-off area that hugs the front left length of the green. A chip shot from here is far more manageable than one from the bunker.

#5 Red Feather

The southern summer winds have always made this a challenging and intimidating tee shot. Combining the challenge of this tee shot with the elevated views from the box results in a pretty good golf hole. To enhance the hole, we only made a few changes. We started by shifting the left greenside bunker closer to the greens edge and wrapping it just slightly around the front of the green. We also added a greenside bunker on the front right edge of the green. These two changes should add to the aesthetic value and intimidation factor of this hole. However, in all reality, this hole should play fairly similar to the way it always has. The distances from the tees have not changed and the bunkers should only penalize those who miss the green. A well-played ball should have no problem finding its way to the green.

I hope you enjoy what you see and I will profile two new holes next week.

The Dreaded Frost Delay

Its pretty apparent spring is here and this years golf season is going to get off to an early start. Early spring weather brings with it dramatic temperature fluctuations and night time temperatures will most likely remain low through the near future. Morning frost delays are a given this time year and it is not uncommon for "frost season" to linger into May. I get the impression that not alot is understood about frost and its effect on turf so I hope the information below sheds some light on the subject.

Turfgrass relies on it’s elasticity to withstand the wear and tear of mechanical stress, i.e., golfer traffic. When the leaf blade is frozen, the turfgrass becomes rigid and its ability to withstand mechanical stress is dramatically compromised. Freezing temperatures can lead to ice crystals forming within the intercellular spaces of the leaf blade. Intercellular spaces are the spaces that exist between the plants cells.  

When mechanical pressure is placed upon the leaf blade, the sharp edges of these crystals pierce the plants cell walls resulting in cell colapse and turf damage. Imagine what happens when you peirce a water ballon with a needle and that is, essentially, what happens when ice crytals protrude the a cell wall. Once the plant loses the rigidity provided by the cells turgor pressure the plant will colapse. This is the primary reason we delay play on the golf course until we are frost free.

It is important to note that temperatures do not have to reach 32°F to experience frost. Also, keep in mind the golf course has a number of different micro-climates, the warmest of which is the one surrounding the clubhouse. It is quite common to be frost-free on the range and #1 Gray Hawk yet have frost on the holes in our low lying creek lines. For example there is a pretty consistnet 5-7 degree temperature difference bewteen the teebox and the green on #1 of Black Bird.

Here are a couple examples of frost damage:

Cart damage on frosty turf

Damage from foot traffic on frosty turf

No one likes frost delays. It puts pressure on the pro shop staff, prevents the grounds crew from prepping the course, and it throws off the golfer’s schedule. Unfortunately, it is a reality so please be patient and understand it is out of our control. We will have you on the course as soon as Mother Nature allows.

We appreciate your patience.   





       

Verticutting and Sand Topdressing

Last week we went through the process of verticutting and topdressing our putting greens and I’d like to explain the reasoning behind this.

Verticutting is the use of vertical cutting blades, similar to small circular saw blades, to cut the turf horizontally. This can benefit the putting surface in the following ways:

• It removes lateral shoot growth promoting an upright growing turf stand.
• The energy the plant used to support the lateral shoots can be directed back to the upright shoots and, hopefully, the root system.
• It can increase putting speeds and provide a smoother putting surface.
• It opens the turf canopy allowing topdressing to be worked in. This is very important as we grow in the newer and more aggressive varieties of bentgrass.

Some golf industry professionals would include additional sunlight as a benefit from verticutting but I believe this benefit is minimal and short-lived.

The picture below shows an example of a verticutting unit for a riding greens mower. These units are attached to the mower in place of the normal cutting units. The green is then verticut in the same manner that it would be mowed. This process is immediately followed by a greens mower which picks up the debris removed from the putting surface.

 

 

Once the putting surface is clean of debris, we begin the topdressing process. Topdressing is the application of a thin layer of kiln dried sand which is brushed into the canopy through the channels opened by verticutting. This process benefits the putting surface in the following ways:

• The sand works its way into and dilutes the thatch/organic matter found in the soil profile directly below the canopy.
• It results in a firmer and smooth putting surface. These two traits directly impact the speed of the greens.

Inconsistent and insufficient sand topdressing will result in excessive organic matter accumulation in the soil profile. Excessive organic matter is perhaps the most detrimental characteristic of greens that underperform during the heat and stress of the summer months. Soil with too much thatch/organic matter lacks the ability to drain water and exchange gasses effectively. This results in a compromised root system that is unable to support the turf through periods of stress. The symptoms of excessive thatch/organic matter are also expressed through soft, spongy, and puffy greens surfaces that result in a poor putting surface.

Over the past four years, I have implemented an intense verticutting and topdressing program in hopes of battling the thatch/organic matter that has accumulated in our greens profile. Verticutting and topdressing will take place every 2-3 weeks throughout the spring and into early summer. At the onset of hot summer temperatures, we will remove the verticutting from the process and rely on lighter, more frequent topdressing. This will continue until cooler fall temps allow us to add verticutting back into the fray.

Welcome to Turf Talk

The goal of this page is to provide insight into the agronomic practices performed to maintain Indian Creek Golf Course. Through the use of articles, photos, and video, I hope to illustrate our management practices and their impact on the health and playability of the golf course.

With the final phase of renovation set to begin on Gray Hawk on July 19^th, this site will also provide readers with an insider’s view into the golf course construction and grow-in process.

Thanks for visiting and I hope the page proves to be both educational and entertaining.