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.

Nebraska Turfgrass Association Tournament

The Nebraska Turfgrass Assocation's annual fundraiser will be at Firethorn Golf Club in Lincoln.  Check out this year’s new 4-person scramble format and fast play 2-putt rule.  Join us on Monday, September 23rd, with an 11 a.m. shotgun start, for a fun day of golf on a great course.

To register for the event, please click here.

Yellowing of Kentucky Bluegrass

Yellowing of Kentucky bluegrass

Similar to previous summers with adequate rainfall, Kentucky bluegrass has turned an off-color yellow in the last few weeks (Figs. 1 and 2).

Figure 1. Irrigated Kentucky bluegrass lawn showing severe yellowing on Aug. 6, 2011. Darker green areas are patches of tall fescue or different cultivars of Kentucky bluegrass.

Figure 2. Irrigated Kentucky bluegrass baseball field showing severe yellowing on Aug. 6, 2011. Darker green areas are patches of perennial ryegrass or different cultivars of Kentucky bluegrass. Rectangle of obvious yellow is a sod replaced in the last year.

We are still unsure of what could be causing this. What we do know:

•  Only the young leaves are yellow (Figs. 3 and 4), so it is probably not related to nitrogen or other nutrients mobile in the plant. However, iron deficiency could explain the symptoms because Fe is relatively immobile in the plant.
• There are no obvious lesions present so it is not mediated by above-ground diseases.
• We do not see it in tall fescue, perennial ryegrass, and some cultivars of Kentucky bluegrass (Figs. 1 and 2).
• We see it when soil temperatures are at their seasonal highs.
• We see it almost exclusively on irrigated turf and most frequently during wet summers.

Figure 3. Close-up picture showing the lower, older leaves of Kentucky bluegrass farther down in the canopy are retaining their color while the new leaves are chlorotic.

Figure 4. Close-up picture showing the lower, older leaves of Kentucky bluegrass retaining most of their color.

We know from past experience that this a visual effect and long-term health of the plant is not an issue. Therefore, immediate action is probably not needed other than to improve aesthetics. Reducing irrigation in the short should help. Increasing drainage and reducing compaction with more frequent aerification should also help in the long-term. We would not recommend a fungicide, insecticide, or > 0.5 lbs N/1000 sq ft (avoid almost any N in August except on greens or sports turf in use). We often see symptoms similar to this in the spring, but those are usually attributed to denitrification and Fe applications do not help then. However, a low rate of iron may be effective now. Since most the chlorotic leaves are the youngest and higher in the canopy, mowing should remove much of the yellowing.

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.

Fall Tree Planting

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Tree Care After Planting

By Kelly Feehan, UNL Extension Educator

Many trees are planted each spring. Once the right tree is selected for the location and planted at the correct depth, the next steps are correct watering, mulching and staking. Practices to avoid at planting and usually for the first year after planting are fertilizing with nitrogen and pruning.

Watering
Water is critical to root establishment. Even so, more young trees die from too much water than from not enough. This is especially common in denser clay soils or in over-irrigated lawns. Too much water suffocates roots because they require oxygen as much as they need water.

As a rule, maintain a consistently moist soil about eight to 12 inches deep and be sure to moisten the soil outside of the root ball. This will promote root growth outward into surrounding soil. The amount of water and frequency of watering needed to do this depends on the type of nursery stock selected, the soils texture, tree species planted, and weather conditions.

There really is no standard answer such as water once a week with a certain amount of water. This might be too much on a clay soil or for a red oak tree, but too little on a sandy soil or for a river birch.

As a general recommendation, the Nebraska Forest Service recommends watering trees immediately after planting and again the next day. Then water three days later and once again three days after that.
From then on, the key is to monitor the soil around the tree and irrigate as needed. During dry summer spells, balled and burlapped (B&B) trees should be watered about once every seven to ten days if planted in clay soils and about once a week if planted in sandy soils.

Sprinkler systems may provide sufficient water up until summer heat arrives. During the hottest, driest parts of summer, a newly planted tree is likely to require additional water. Container-grown trees will dry out faster than B&B trees. Monitor trees and soil moisture closely.

Mulch Mulch protects tree roots from extreme temperatures, eliminates weed and grass competition, conserves soil moisture, and keeps lawn equipment away from tree trunks. However, too much mulch can trap moisture at the base of the trunk and negatively impact root growth. If there is too deep of a mulch layer, roots will grow into the mulch. These roots tend to dry out and die during the heat of summer and are killed by cold winter temperatures. This adds additional stress to young trees trying to recover from transplant shock. When mulching, use organic mulch like shredded wood. Mulch the tree at least out to the trees drip-line (ends of the branches). Next to the trunk, keep the mulch only one inch thick. Outward, towards the edge of the root ball or at the trees drip-line, mulch can be up to four inches deep but no deeper. Staking Staking should be done on trees that are tall and leggy and planted in high wind areas. Keep in mind trees are staked to anchor the root ball, not to eliminate movement of the stem or tree canopy (branches and leaves). The goal is to prevent the root ball from rocking and tearing new roots. When staking, use materials that will not rub against the trunk and create wounds. Do not stake too high on the tree and only stake a tree for one year after planting. If large trees are moved with a tree spade, they may require staking for two years. Source: Nebraska Forest Service

Excess mulch application negatively impacts tree health.

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Ball Marks

                                    
The course had nearly 800 rounds of golf played over a two-day span last weekend. The picture quality isn't the best, but we counted almost 100 ball marks in a 15'x15' area on #3 Red Feather green. Please don't misunderstand me, we absolutely love the patronage (without it we don't exist), but it definitely takes a toll on the greens.

As badly as we want to keep the greens lean and fast, we also need to keep the turf growing to promote recovery, which is a tricky balance. You can help out in a couple ways. Next time you are on a green, fix your ball mark and another one that someone left behind. If you are playing with someone who doesn't understand the importance of ball mark repair, take a couple of moments to educate them.



Etiolated Tiller Syndrome

In order to continue to improve the health of some of the problem greens, I have enlisted the help of many others in the agronomy field. I have reached out to diagnostic labs throughout the Midwest, universities from both coasts, and the USGA. In this search for any and all possible problems (beyond the ones my eyes and experience can identify), we may have found one possible underlying issue. The last samples tested showed signs of bacterial streaming, which is the flow of bacteria from a cut leaf blade. Following a period of isolation, the bacteria proved to be Acidovorax avenae. The presence of this bacteria has been loosely linked to Etiolated Tiller Syndrome (ETS).

This is an extremely understudied syndrome that not many people know much about. In fact, there are many out there that still cannot agree on whether ETS is a symptom or the cause of a symptom. Research on this issue continues to increase and will hopefuly shed more light on the possible effects of this syndrome. I emphasize the word "possible" because it isn't known to what extent ETS is an issue. Many believe it is simply an aesthetic issue, while others are not sure.  I believe ETS is a secondary issue brought on by high moisture content in the soils combined with the use of bio stimulants and products containing plant hormones. It just seemed too convenient that we were seeing symptoms on our greens that consistently hold more water and also have a much heavier silt layer in them.

The physical symptom of ETS is elongated leaf blades that exhibit accelerated growth rates. These leaf blades appear lime green in color because the chlorophyll is dilluted over a larger surface area. I was assured that these leaf blades are photosynthetically functional and the root samples I have pulled have all been adequate to great. Even if the plant is perfectly healthy, I do believe the elongated leaf is structurally weaker and far more prone to mechanical damage and foot traffic.

Note the lighter green turf. These symptoms appeared around the end of June.

In an effort to get ahead of any issues, we have tried to remove as much mechanical stress as possible from our management routine, as well as give some of the newly constructed areas on Gray Hawk some timeoff. We have begun push mowing the troubled greens to eliminate the stress of the riding mowers and are keeping the greens on a much more aggressive venting cycle.  A concerted effort has also been made to increase air movement in some of our pocketed green locations. Every superintendent I have spoken with was adamant about the improvement they see from air movement and the use of turf fans. This explains the tree removal that took place on #5 Gray Hawk, as well as the use of the fans around that green. We are also experimenting with a different watering technique. With this method, we flood the soil profile and then gradually dry it down until the moisture looses contact with the root system, at which point we flood it again. It seems to take about a week to complete this cycle. We hope this will provide adequate moisture without keeping the profile bogged down.

As I walked the greens the past few weeks, and my wife will attest that I have walked them alot, I really feel like they are healthy. The root systems seem dense and deep. We need to continue to keep an eye on our watering techniques and try to manage water away from the surface by pushing it down toward the root system. We also need to manage wear and tear in certain areas and allow areas of new or stressed turf to have a break every now and then.

Roots system on #5 Gray Hawk green

Use of fans and tree removal on #5 Gray Hawk green site

10 Lawn Irrigation Tips

 

As we approach the hot stretch of summer, water management becomes extremely important. The UNL extension office has put together a list of things to do and look out for while fine tuning your system for the summer months.

Top 10 Lawn & Landscape Irrigation Tips
By John Fech, UNL Extension Horticulture Educator

The good news about lawn and landscape irrigation is that you can have your cake and eat it, too! Lawns and landscapes can be designed and maintained to be good looking and water conserving. From the home office in Wahoo, NE, following are 10 useful tips (David Letterman style) to accomplish both objectives.

10. Monitor system output. Measure the amount of water applied in a 15 minute period using collection devices such as tuna or coffee cans. Adjust the run time to deliver the required amount.

9. Know how much water is needed. Kentucky bluegrass lawns, in general, require 1 inch per week in April and May, 1-1/4 inch per week in June, 1-1/2 in July and August, 1 -1/4 in September and 1 inch in October.

8. Measure water penetration. Use a screwdriver or soil probe to measure moisture (rainfall + irrigation water) penetration into the lawn.

7. Water to the bottom of the roots. Use a small shovel to determine how deep the roots are. Actually the soil should be kept moist to about half an inch deeper than the deepest roots to encourage downward growth. Roots are shallow in summer and deeper in spring/fall.

6. When watering on a slope, use “delayed starts.” Run your sprinklers until you notice runoff, then stop. Wait 3 hours, then resume. Aerate to increase infiltration.

5. Water in the early morning (4am to 10am). This allows the grass blades to dry, making them less susceptible to foliar diseases. Watering is more efficient in morning due to less evaporation and wind speed. Change the time that your system runs monthly, or at least seasonally. Contact a lawn sprinkler professional if you need help.

4. Observe your sprinkler system once per month. Look for heads that don’t turn, heads that spray into the street or onto a sidewalk, bent or damaged heads, clogged or worn nozzles or orifices, turf growth around heads that impede water delivery, puddling and runoff.

3. Monitor the spray patterns. Adjust heads as landscape plants grow larger and begin to block the spray pattern. New installations of benches, decks, etc. can also decrease irrigation efficiency.

2. On days when temperatures are above 90°F, run your sprinklers 5 to 10 minutes per zone in the afternoon to cool the turf and reduce stress. This is called “spritzing,” and it reduces the symptoms of summer patch disease.

1. Create water zones by putting plants together that have similar water needs. Each turf species has a different water requirement which is also distinct from ornamentals. Ornamental plants should be grouped into low, moderate and high water users. Each zone of plants should be irrigated according to its needs.

Vandalism

Three divots were discovered on greens today as a result of someone swinging their club on the green. This is the fifth instance of this type of damage this season. This is far more than any other year at this time. If you see or hear of someone doing this please step in and say something to them and inform the golf shop. If you are caught doing this, you will be asked to leave the course immediately.

Course Update

The course seems to be handling the spring fairly well. The putting surfaces were lagging slightly due to the cooler, wet weather, but with the recent warm temperatures and sunshine, they seem to be waking up. Hopefully not too much.

We have dropped the height of cut on Red Feather and Black Bird greens quite a bit and anticipate that, in time, this will result in smoother, quicker greens with a much finer texture. Unfortunately, the greens on Gray Hawk will be maintained at a slightly higher height with higher nutritional inputs to aid them through their first year. This will result in greens that are slightly slower and maybe not quite as smooth. We contemplated leaving the greens on Red Feather and Black Bird a bit taller to provide consistency between courses, but it is time that the older greens are maintained the way they are meant to be.

       

#9 Gray Hawk from the new black tee

The grow-in of the fairways on Gray Hawk has suffered the most from the cool, wet temperatures. The soil temps couldn't seem to maintain adequate levels to promote germination and growth. We will continue to push these fairways, but the heat of the summer is right around the corner, which, for all intents and purposes, will shut down any further improvements in density. Cart path restrictions on Gray Hawk will be lifted this Saturday with the understanding that any indication of major traffic stress throughout the summer, the restrictions can be reimplemented. With as little maturing time as those fairways have had, it will be important that we "baby" them as much as possible. The more turf we can get through this first year, the better they will be entering 2014.

 

#4 Red Feather from the black tee.

Aerification Recovery

Greens are recovering pretty well following the removal of a 5/8" diameter core during aerification last week. This process always puts some stress on the turf and last week's brief heat wave only made it worse. We plan to push growth for week or two to ensure a quick and complete recovery. 

A photo of the green six days after the process.

Aerification Plug Processing

Below is a video of a piece of equipment we are looking at using for aerification clean-up. It has the potential to make aerification a much cleaner process and less of a hassle on both us and the golfer.

In the past, the core clean-up process on greens required 13 people hand-scooping everything.

The old fairway clean-up process left fairways full of dirt for weeks. You can see here that the clean-up and recovery is pretty quick. This picture was taken five days after aerifying the fairway on #7 Red Feather. 

Following a few modifications to our cart beds and some work on our aim, the dumping process worked out great.

#6 Black Bird Drainage Install

The collection area along the left side of the green on #6 Black Bird has always been too wet, due mostly to surface runoff from the cart path and surrounding tee complex. In the hopes of firming this area up, we installed some drain tile and a 12" catch basin in order get the water underground and away from the area more efficiently. 

 Trench excavation

Plywood allows us to save as much turf as possible.

 Prepping for pipe and gravel install.

 

New basin to catch water on the cartpath.

Backfilling and grading is complete and the area is ready for seed.



#8 Gray Hawk Main Line Repair

It never fails that the spring charge-up of the irrigation system brings with it a few repairs. In most cases, we are dealing with small diameter pipe, lateral feeds, and broken heads. This year, however, we faced something a bit more daunting. We found the couplers on the 10" mainline leaving the Gray Hawk pump station had failed and were leaking extensively. These had to be repaired to prevent a catastrophic mid-season failure.

Careful excavation was critical to avoid any contact with power and signal wires

as well as any collateral damage to the stable pipe.

We found that the gasket within the band coupler (not the best choice for this particular joint) had failed and water was escaping from this point.

We removed the old couplers and schedule 40 pipe and spent the next couple days trying to find new pipe somewhere close by. All we found in the area was schedule 40 140lb test pipe and I wasn't comfortable using this. We finally found the C900 pipe which should be well suited for this application.

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To avoid the same problem down the road, we upgraded to a mechanical joint/mega lug coupler. These are pretty heavy fittings and a bit cumbersome to work with. Fortunately, our pipes lined up and the couplers slid on relatively easily.

All that is left to do is splice our power wires, backfill the hole, and charge the system. Nate Phillips, Jeff Moeller, Tyler Welp, Kurtis Burden and Rich Lee all played a role in fixing this pipe. Their work is greatly appreciated.

Dewey

Those of you who have been playing Indian Creek for several years surely remember Pat O'Hara, our former golf professional. He worked with Dewey for a number of years and, upon word of Dewey's passing, wrote the following letter. James Severin has passed it along to me and we both feel it needs to be shared with as many people as possible. It sums up Dewey up perfectly.

"Dewey Ehrenberg to his friends, Dwight on the formal documents in life and probably when he was in trouble as a child or with Helen. Starchy, to the customers at Indian Creek. I was fortunate to call him Dewey.

I met Dewey in July 2000 when I started work at Indian Creek. He always worked the open to noon shift Monday-Friday, April –October. At first Dewey was a little skeptical of me. I was of him. We got to know each other quite well as we worked side by side many early morning shifts during our 6 years together. At first, I wondered what this “cow milking, pole climbing old guy” was doing working at a busy 27-hole public golf course. In the pro-shop no less! I quickly found out why. He was good!

I thought I and the rest of the staff would be working circles around him…We didn’t.

I thought he would be resistant in adapting to MY way of doing things… He wasn’t.

I thought he was going to be a liability to the operation…just the opposite, a true asset.

Who was this guy? I found out over the next 6 years as our friendship grew. I liked Dewey because I saw things in him that I hoped one day people would see in me. Honesty, compassion, friendship, loyalty, integrity, faith and love. I saw one or more of those every day I worked with Dewey.

A few life lessons I learned from Dewey:

• Don’t shake hands with someone who spent a lot of time milking cows. Looking back on it, I would say that was a big reason he sliced the golf ball.
• If you say you’re going to do something…do it!
• Twelve noon is “Miller Time”.
• Help those who need help.
• Don’t be afraid to mention that there is “No gambling on Tuesdays” to all the golfers as they walk out the door to the first tee on Tuesday.
• Finish the job!

Many people measure their success in life in dollars and cents. Dewey measured his in the relationships he had with family and friends. Dewey, was a very successful man! And I will be forever grateful for my 6 years working with my friend Dewey.

Pat O’Hara"

Patrick O'Hara, PGA

Golf Operations Manager
Recreation Centers of Sun City West
C/O Pebblebrook Golf Course
18836 N. 128^th Ave.
Sun City West, AZ 85375
Office - 623.544.6499
Cell – 623.236.5240
www.suncitywestgolf.com

How the Cold Spring Sets Us Back



I am sure you are keenly aware that this spring's weather has been the polar opposite of last year. Cool, wet temperatures have kept our soils saturated and our soil temps well below average. The moisture is a welcome nuisance as it helps restore soil moisture lost during last year's drought, but the low temperatures are not doing us any favors.

We need to seed, and seeding requires a few things to ensure germination: seed-soil contact, moisture, and adequate soil temperatures (50-55 degrees). Without one or more of these requirements, the germination becomes inconsistent at best. Our soil temperatures at 3" were 57.6 degrees as of March 6th last year. We have yet to reach that temperature this year, which puts us 44 days behind last year. Considering the germination period for Ryegrass is five days, we could have had seedlings well on their way to maturity by this time last year.

Golf course superintendents and home owners alike have an uphill battle this year when it comes to repairing turf damage caused by last year's heat and drought. Be patient. The soil will eventually warm and, with any luck, we will have time to get grass out of the ground and mature before the stresses of summer arrive.

Below you will find an article published by the University of Nebraska on this very topic.

When will turfgrass seed germinate this spring (if ever)?
April 17, 2013

Though some of the dormant and winter seedings are germinating in the warmest of areas, spring temperatures are currently averaging two to eight degrees Fahrenheit lower than normal across Nebraska (Figure 1) and the northern Great Plains. Table 1 lists the optimum germination temperatures used in germination testing, but germination will begin at temperatures lower than listed. Temperatures below optimum will slow germination and also development of seedlings. Will seeds eventually germinate and seedlings develop? The answer is a resounding “Yes”, and germination is often seen when soil temperatures near the seed (surface) consistently rise to 50F during the day. Unfortunately, the later these seeds germinate and the slower they mature, the less able the young plants will be to withstand summer stress. Thus irrigation and pesticide use will likely be needed throughout the summer. Another point of caution is herbicide applications may have to be delayed even beyond the label recommendations if the label recommendations are based on days after seeding or potentially days after emergence.

Figure 1. Departure from normal temperature 3/17/2013 to 4/15/2013

(Courtesy of High Plains Regional Climate Center)

Table 1. Optimum temperatures for seed germination.

Turfgrass Species                          Optimum temperatures for seed germination*Creeping bentgrass                         59-86
Annual bluegrass                            68-86
Kentucky bluegrass                        59-86
Tall fescue                                      68-86
Perennial ryegrass                           68-86
Buffalograss                                    68-95

*Temperatures separated by a dash indicate an alternation of temperatures. The first number is for approximately 16 hr and the second for approximately 8 hr, which would translate into cooler temperatures in the 16 hours of evening through morning followed by the 8 hours in the heat of the day. Adapted from Beard’s Turfgrass Science and Culture.

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

Dewey Ehrenberg

Dewey Ehrenberg passed away on Sunday afternoon after putting up one hell of a fight against cancer.

I have had the privilege of working with many special and talented people throughout the years, but Dewey was one of a kind. He was the first person I spoke to each morning. He would call at 5:00 am every day to see if I was awake and ask if there was anything he could do to convince me to "shave my damn beard." Seemed like he always had knowledge of a sale on razor blades at Walgreen's. I looked forward to that call. It was a bright spot in even the most demanding of days.

Dewey meant a lot to the people at Indian Creek. He has been here since day one and has been a consistent presence in our day-to-day operations. His loyalty and dedication will be missed.

What will be missed the most, however, is his personality. Few people have the charisma and zest for life that Dewey possessed. I never saw him unhappy. Grumpy maybe, but it never lasted long. He knew how to handle even the most difficult customer and I can't think of a better representative of Indian Creek.

He will be greatly missed.

Spring 2013

Omaha caught a few days of favorable weather in the past week and we were able to get the entire course mowed at least once. For the most part, the course looks like it is in good shape. We experienced a fairly good green up over the weekend and expect this to continue. We still need some warmer days to get the soil temperatures rising before the course really wakes up and we can assess how we overwintered. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like this week's weather will be of much help in that department. The forecasted moisture will be great, but the temperatures will keep the turf in a holding pattern.

As the fairways continue to green up, you will notice some patchy areas of straw-colored turf. This is dead Poa Annua and it's death is by design. The battle with Poa is an ongoing one. Each fall we spray a herbicide to help reduce its population, but the effectiveness of the application cannot be judged until the spring. This year it appears that we had a pretty good kill. As soon as the course dries up next week, will begin to overseed the areas with Ryegrass. The germination rate of Rye is very quick, so the damaged areas should recover quickly

Poa Control In Fairways

As a result of this years normal freeze/thaw cycle, you may notice that some bunker liners and staples have been forced to the surface of the bunkers. Repairing this is a priority and will be taken care of ASAP. Repairing this properly and in a clean fashion is important because we do not want to contaminate any sand during repair. Please keep an eye out for these areas when you are hitting your bunker shots.

Bunker Liner Migration

We recently pulled the covers from the greens on Gray Hawk and were very pleased with what we found. The greens seemed to have continued to fill in late into the fall and started up early this spring. They are on track for an opening day of June 1st. 

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#7 Gray Hawk Green Post Cover Removal

#9 Gray Hawk Green Post Cover Removal

Our main focus going forward will be interseeding fairways, roughs, and tees. We will also dial in our nutritional plan to help the turf recover from last year's stresses and get ready for this years aerification. It is really important that the plant be healthy and full of vigor at the time of aerification to help speed recovery.

As I mentioned above, I think we overwintered well and, with some cooperation from the weather, the course should really come to life in the next 10-14 days.