Your Questions Answered Here

The Indian Creek Turf Talk blog has been up and running for a few years now. It has been fun to manage and is hopefully insightful for those of you that take the time to read its content. I have always tried to write about topics that I think would interest the golfer, Indian Creek customer, backyard farmer, and/or turf professional. I hope I have done a good job of that.

We all know the off-season can be long and by late winter golf can be a distant memory. I would like to keep you all engaged in the game and Indian Creek this winter but I need your help. I would like to use your input to drive some of the topics and conversation for future articles. Please feel free to offer up and send any questions, observations, or conversation topics to jimnedrow@gmail.com.

 I have grown up around the golf industry my entire life so, although my specialty is agronomics, I would love to discuss any topic related to the game. This site is supposed to serve the readers so help me tailor my topics to best do that.

Here are few photos from the past season to help keep you inspired all winter long. Also, don't forget about the indoor practice facility/hitting bay's this winter. They provide a great opportunity to get some real swing feedback all year long.

Ever Improving Drainage

This past fall, a lot of time was spent making minor improvements to increase the efficiency of our fairway drainage systems. Major improvements were previously made during the course renovation, but the heavy rains this past fall pointed out a number of areas that need continued improvement. Unfortunately a handful of those areas will take resources and shaping skills that we cannot provide in house and, for those, a master plan will be developed. Each area will be prioritized and fixed when time and resources allow. As for the smaller, more manageable areas, we are able to address those ourselves and we already made good strides this past fall.

The areas we focused on the last few months were areas that didn't surface drain as fast as we needed. This was due to a number of issues. Some areas didn't have adequate fall and the velocity of the draining water wasn't high enough to remove it from the playing surface fast enough. In other areas, the water simply had too much ground to cover before reaching a basin.

We went about fixing the insufficient slope issues in one of two ways. We either increased the percent slope along the entire run of the waterway through grading or by lowering the basin itself. These promoted higher water velocities along the run of the drainway and entering the basins.

The areas that simply relied on surface drainage for too long of a stretch were fixed by grading in and installing small inlets throughout the entire run of the waterway.

 Below are photos of some work we did on Gray Hawk #1

 

Below are photos of some work we did on 1 Black Bird

You Asked: Divots

I am back! I know many of you have been anxiously waiting another “Turf Talk” post  (sense the sarcasm), so I appreciate your patience. I had great intentions to resume regular blog posts a few weeks ago, but autumn is always a busy time around here. Our summer help leaves us just in time for aerification and over seeding, which means I often find myself taking part in the work too. I am not going to pretend that I am busting my butt as hard as the rest of the crew, but I do get out there a little more often than normal which pulls me away from things like the “Turf Talk” blog. Sprinkle in a busy 1-year old toddler to supplement our 3-year old, and spare time has been hard to find lately. We had a pretty good fall, minus all the rain, and the course is in good shape right now. This is hands down the best season to play so get out here before the weather turns.


I had a great question posed to me the other day that I wanted to share. The question was whether to replace a divot, or use the sand and seed bottles provided at the pro shop and our first tee complexes. Sometimes I forget that what seems like common knowledge to me is not something that most golfers know (or should know for that matter), so I wanted to take a quick minute to answer the question.


In almost every instance, use the sand and seed mix provided to you on your carts, at the clubhouse, and the first hole of every nine. Ninety-nine percent of the divots taken on the course do not contain enough root mass to survive the reestablishment period. What doesn’t succumb to displacement by a mower or drag mat will most likely dry up and wilt before a solid root system can take hold. Also, remember we have ryegrass fairways and ryegrass has a very quick germination period. This, combined with a higher seed to sand ratio of our mix, allows divots to recover from seed very quickly.


If you don’t happen to have the sand and seed mix with you and your divot is substantial, then by all means replace your divot. There is a small chance for reestablishment and a small chance is better than no chance at all. If you have mix with you and your divot lacks any realistic chance of survival, toss it out of the fairway. This keeps things looking cleaner and a member of our crew will fill it while on divot patrol.


Thanks for the question! You know who you are and keep them coming. I will continue to address topics that I feel are important and interesting to you all, but remember I do this for a living so what may be obvious to me may not be to you. Your questions and comments go a long way in steering the direction of this blog so keep them coming. After all, the goal of this page is to inform, entertain, and provide insight to the golfer.


Autumn is the prettiest time of year on the course so enjoy some photos from the other day.

Key Staff Members: Dusty Keiser

 

Dusty Keiser grew up in Norfolk, NE, and spent the majority of his youth on the sports field or in the field hunting. Through sport and outdoors activities he learned the value of hard work, team work and also gained a deep appreciation for the environment. 

Dusty attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and was a walk-on tight end for the Huskers. He graduated in 2005 with a Bachelors degree in business administration and moved west to Sidney, NE, to take a job with Cabela's. He enjoyed his time at Cabela's and the outdoor opportunities that the Nebraska panhandle offered, but the corporate scene didn't light his fire. He eventually moved back to Omaha in 2009 and took a job as the Camping Director for the Mid America Council, Boy Scouts of America. In this role he managed 2,000 acres of land and 25,000 annual campers in both Iowa and Nebraska. Side note this was some of the best deer hunting ground I have ever seen.

The land management aspect of the his Camping Director role was the catalyst for his increasing interest in agronomy. Eventually this new found interest led him to Indian Creek 3 years ago. Dusty's passion for the environment and agronomy has enabled him to learn quickly and he was promoted to an assistant position earlier this year. He has been a valuable team member and continues to improve his eye for turf.

Outside of his role on the golf course Dusty has also started the Indian Creek "Micro Farm" a 10,000 square foot garden behind our maintenance facility. This "micro farm" is in its very early stages but we hope to someday provide quality produce at locally marketable quantities.  Who knows someday you can play a round of golf and leave with a bag of fresh veggies.

Key Staff Members: Jeff Moeller

Assistant Superintendent Jeff Moeller grew up in Wisner, Nebraska, and spent much of his younger years farming. The bowling industry has always been a passion for Jeff and eventually drew him off the farm in the late 90's when he owned and operated Coachmen's Steak House and Wisner Lanes. Bowling opportunities eventually brought him to Omaha in the early 2000's, but the call of the outdoors and agronomy led him to the golf course. His knowledge of golf course agronomics was limited in his early years but his farming experience gave him a solid foundation to build on. That foundation and a solid work ethic enabled him to work his way into the assistant superintendent role that he holds today.

Jeff has grown to love Indian Creek and the role he has in maintaining the course. He takes a lot of pride in the work he does and the team he helps manage. I have a tendency to want to push the envelope and can get a little high-strung in the summer, so the running joke is Jeff's role is to talk me off the proverbial cliff. He is really good at this and continues to grow in his role daily. We really appreciate what he brings to the team.

Key Staff Members: Shawn Tordrup

Something I have been meaning to do and should have done a long time ago is recognize the key members of my staff. Over the next few weeks I will introduce you all to the guys that are responsible for what we have been able to accomplish out here.

Shawn Tordrup joined Indian Creek Golf Course in October 2013 as one of the assistant superintendents. He has a lifelong passion for golf being first introduced to it at the age of six when his uncle taught him how to play. He was on his high school golf team in Superior, NE and spent five years working at Superior Country Club. In 2005, he graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a Bachelors degree in turfgrass management and a goal of having a career in the golf course industry. At that time, job opportunities were sparse so he took a landscaping job for one year, followed by six years working in the lawn irrigation business. However, the golf "itch" would not go away and the timing was right when he found the opportunity at Indian Creek. He is a member of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. In his free time, Shawn enjoys golfing, hunting and spending time with his wife Shauna, and three dogs.

Shawn has been an excellent addition to our team and we appreciate the skill set and attitude he has brought with him.

NTA Fundraiser 4 Man Scramble
12:00 Noon on Monday, Sept 29th
Host Course: Indian Creek GC

Indian Creek is proud to host the 2014 Nebraska Turfgrass Association's fundraiser golf outing. The 4 man scramble is scheduled for 12:00 pm Monday, September 29th. All proceeds from this event go toward supporting the University of Nebraska's turf research. As a result of this research, myself and my colleagues are armed with up to date information and tools that we use everyday to provide the best playing conditions possible.

Get a team together and join us. The day will include a BBQ lunch, sponsored by Syngenta, 18 holes of golf with cart and range balls, flag prizes, and flight winner payouts with hors devours to end the day. If you cant play please considering sponsoring a team or donating to the event.

Your participation or donation goes a long ways. For more information and the a sign up/sponsor form please visit www.nebraskaturfgrass.com.

 

 

 

New VFD for Pump Station

After nearly 20 years of service, the variable frequency drive (VFD) that controls the motors in the Gray Hawk pump station finally gave out and we had to replace it with a Watertronics VFD panel. The old drive gave out  a few months ago, but we were forced to limp along until we felt the weather could provide us with a couple days where we could survive solely off of the Red Feather pump station. Much to my surprise, against all historical weather odds, we experienced that perfect weather scenario in the middle of July. 

 

The old drive worked well, but finally showed its age and gave out.

 

A VFD is a device that directs the speed of an electric motor by controlling the frequency and voltage supplied to the electric motor. A motor's speed, measured in RPM's, is directly controlled by frequency, measured in Hertz. If the pump station is not watering at maximum capacity, there is no need for the motors to run at full speed. The VFD is programmed to react to my water needs and control the pump motors speed accordingly. The VFD will control the speed of the motor by controlling the frequency and voltage provided to the motor. A system like this is much more energy efficient and economical.

The new Watertronics drive weighs close to 2,000 lbs.

Installation of the VFD went through a hole in the pump station roof.



 

As you can see below, a panel like this varies quite dramatically from anything you might see in a residential setting and it requires a good technician to install, calibrate, and maintain. Andy Jones of Midwest Pump and Fountain out of Kansas City was onsite to oversee the install and start up of the new drive. The entire process took about a day and a half and the system has run smoothly ever since.

We had the same Watertronics VFD installed in the Red Feather pump station during the course renovation in 2011 and, outside of a cooling fan malfunction, it has worked flawlessly. Drives like this are not cheap and a lot of planning goes into the fabrication and installation of the unit itself, so we are very fortunate and grateful to have these drives controlling our stations. 



 

 The finished product

A huge thanks to Watertronics, Midwest Pump and Fountain, and Century Electric for getting this accomplished in such short order.



Needle Tine

What a wonderful week of below normal temperatures. We are coming off the weekend of the Indian Creek Invite and this cool weather really allows any stressed turf a chance to recover. We rolled a few extra times last week in preparation for the event so we are venting the greens this morning. We use 1/4" diameter needle tines at 3" spacing and 4" depth. We immediately follow that with one pass of a light weight roller to smooth out the surface and then we leave them alone. 

 

Venting allows for gas exchange and increased water infiltration. When air temperatures are as cool as they are this week this process also allows for some temperature regulation in the soil.

 

Of all the management practices we have implemented in our greens program the last two years there is nothing that has had a greater impact then consistent and well timed venting.

 

The process is minimally invasive and doesn't have any great impact on puttability besides slowing the speed down a little bit. We will roll the greens again Wednesday and return to a normal mowing pattern by Thursday. This is a process we try and do every 14-21 days. In this case we are 8 days removed from the last venting process but with weather as nice as it is and coming off of a tournament weekend the timing couldn't be better for another round.

Too Much Rain

2014 has been a particularly wet year thus far, and the cumulative effects of this moisture are starting to show up. If given the choice of having to deal with either wet or dry weather conditions, I would choose dry conditions every single time. Dry conditions allow us to supplement moisture with irrigation, whereas our ability to remedy wet conditions is extremely limited.

To allow the plant to properly perform its metabolic functions, the soil must be able to breath. Saturated soils do not have any capacity to exchange the gasses used or produced by the plants metabolic processes. Saturated soils can result in decreased levels of O2, which is the gas that plays a role in hundreds of metabolic processes. In addition, a buildup of toxic compounds such as sulfides and CO2 have been reported in saturated soils.

Denitrification is a symptom of saturated soils which we have observed on the golf course this year. Denitrification is a process that turns nitrate into nitrogen dioxide and dinitrogen gasses that are unavailable to the plant. This process is catalyzed by microbes that function in low soil oxygen environments.

Suspected denitrification and low soil oxygen symptoms

Here you can see the exact path the water takes as it drains.

The two photos above show the same areas after a few days of dry, cool weather and an application of a soluble fertilizer.

Saturated soils usually result in higher summertime soil temperatures. Although wet soils may take longer to heat up due to water’s higher specific heat they also take much longer to cool down due to water’s higher heat capacity. This can result in a sustained soil temperature above preferred  levels for optimal turf health.

Another issue we encounter with an abundance of moisture is disease. Wet and warm weather conditions create a prime environment for most turfgrass diseases. An ill-timed rain event could force an unplanned fungicide application, costing the golf course tens of thousands of dollars.

An additional nuisance effect of all the rain has been the need to keep golfers on the cart paths. At this point, soils are so saturated that even small amounts of precipitation have forced us to employ cart restrictions. I understand that this is an inconvenience and can really slow down play, but because of all the things I have touched on above, the plant is in a weakened state and is less capable of handling traffic stress. It is important to keep all carts off the turf until the surface has dried out.

If water is being displaced by the cart, it's still too wet.

An excellent question I was asked last weekend was "Why are we on paths and another particular course is not?" There are a number of factors to deal with in this situation. Moisture totals from storms can vary greatly from place to place. We have had storms this year that have dropped 7" in some parts of town, and “only” 2" in other parts of town. We have had situations in the past where one side of the course had significant rain totals and the other half did not. In this case, the course we were being compared to was 26 miles from our location and received 0.12" of moisture vs. our 0.50". The difference between cart restrictions and no restrictions could be as small as a couple tenths of an inch so these seemingly minute differences are important.

Also,  keep in mind that all golf courses have different soil types, topography, and drainage systems, which influence their ability to handle water. Some courses topdress fairways, which allows the water to percolate through the profile and away from the surface faster. And, some courses don't have cart paths, so cart restrictions aren't an option. I can promise you that cart restriction decisions are my least favorite decision to make. I thank you for your patience throughout this wet season and hope it starts to dry up a little bit.



Why No Intermediate Cut of Rough

Every spring a concern about rough height and density becomes an issue and the question "why don't we have an intermediate cut of rough" comes up. Playability is very important to us and our goal is to provide a challenging and fair golf course that a golfer of any caliber can enjoy. Catering to the high and low handicappers at the same time is a very difficult challenge. In addition to that challenge, our course, as with any business or household has to operate within certain budget constraints and what we try to do is provide the best (and fairest) playing conditions within those constraints.

That being said, why not have an intermediate cut? Essentially, it comes down to two things: cost and time. Years ago, there was a first cut of rough mowed three times a week with a five-deck contour mower, and green and tee complexes were mowed at a different height, with our other contour mower. The problem we continuously encountered was being unable to keep up on green and tee complexes using only one mower. The grass in these areas was always too long and once mowed, it was messy and produced poor playing conditions around the greens. We had to prioritize what was more important: a first cut around the rough, or a shorter, more manageable rough around the green? We chose the green complexes.

To solve this problem, we converted the intermediate rough mower into a tee complex mower and dedicated the other contour mower to green complexes. This allowed us to get all green and tee complexes mowed twice a week, providing a cleaner and more playable scenario around greens. The obvious downside to this plan is it leaves us unable to mow an intermediate cut between the fairway and the rough. This issue is exacerbated this year due to the moisture and decent growing weather we have had recently. In a normal year, heat and/or moisture stress would have already started thinning out the rough. Be patient I still expect this to happen as we get deeper into the summer season.

Why not get a new mower and start cutting this intermediate rough again? We actually tried to do this with our 60" zero turn mower last year, but  the results were ugly. For those of you who play the course regularly and find yourself in the rough often, you are aware that the grading in our rough is, well, rough. This uneven grading makes it very difficult to get a good cut with a mower that doesn't have independent floating decks. When we tried our zero turn, we dropped the height a mere 1/2" and mowed around a couple of holes, scalping more turf than we felt was acceptable. To do this correctly, we need the right mower. The contour or rough mowers we have found the most success with retail anywhere from $35,000 up to $74,000 a piece. On top of the cost of equipment, we would have the cost of an additional employee, fuel, equipment maintenance costs and time.

This is definitely a hot topic of discussion and one that we are genuinely including in our conversation about the future. No process we have in place is necessarily permanent and there is always room for change and improvement. Unfortunately, the cost of changing this process prevents it from being one we can address immediately. We will continue to look for ways to mitigate the problem in the meantime.

We could always change our layout to mimic the #2 course at Pinehurst. They have two mowing heights:  1) greens height, and 2.) everything else. :)

Lastly, I had a cool opportunity to contribute to the NGA's Nebraska Golfer publication that was sent out last week. Here is the link to that article.

http://www.nebgolf.org/nebraska_golfer/ngaedition4/index.html

The link below will take you to an article written to help the golfer understand the goal and vision of Pinehurst's #2 Course renovation. In regard to aesthetics, agronomics, and playability the site of last weeks U.S. Open was a far cry from venues of the past. Some liked it some didn't and I myself am on the fence. Regardless of preference the big picture thinking that went into this course renovation and set up is intriguing.

http://www.turfnet.com/page/news.html/_/commentary-us-open-brings-topic-of-sustainable-golf-to-the-masses-finally-r330

Course Recovery and Going Ons

With the warm temperatures and ample moisture we have received the last couple of weeks, the course has continued to recover well. My guess is that we are at 85% compared to where we were last fall. Increasing fairway and approach/roll-off density is what we will continue to work on.

 

#1 Gray Hawk - April 7th

 #1 Gray Hawk - May 11th

#1 Gray Hawk - June 9th

#1 Black Bird- April 7th

 #1 Black Bird -May 11th

 #1 Black Bird -June 9th

The week of May 26th was somewhat nerve-racking. The heat and humidity that week provided conditions perfect for an outbreak of the disease called “damping off.” In a normal year, with mature turf, I wouldn't be concerned about this particular disease, but juvenile turf plants under high fertility programs are the perfect host. Not wanting our recovery process to lose ground, we applied a preventative control product and made it through unaffected. This is by far the earliest in the season that I have ever pulled this particular product off the shelf. Hopefully we won’t need it again until pythium season gets underway.

The fallen cottonwood tree on #6 Gray Hawk has been cleaned up, for the most part. There are still a few branches in the lake and a giant stump that needs to be ground out, and that work will continue this week. Fortunately, we dodged a bullet last week when the hail storms in the area missed the golf course. I know of a couple of courses in the area were hit hard by these storms and repairing hail damaged greens is an incredible challenge. If you play a course that happens to have any storm damage, please try to be understanding and patient. I assure you they are working hard to get things back in shape.



#6 Gray Hawk (after tree cleanup)

Because last week’s storm missed us, we have been afforded some time to catch up on things that the spring recovery and tornado clean up had prevented us from addressing earlier. We are using every resource we have to keep up with the rough mowing. This is a full-time job and the guys are doing what they can to keep up. Once again, I have to ask everyone to please be patient (I realize I sound like a broken record). A spring flush of growth is natural and lately it has been exacerbated by high moisture and good growing temperatures. The turf will naturally slow its growth with the onset of summer heat. I can assure you we are not mowing it any higher height than we have in the last eight years nor are we fertilizing it any more than normal.

We have started edging bunkers again and this will be a season long process. We never found the time to do this last year, so it is a definite point of emphasis for this season.

On a less positive note, a couple of weeks ago (on a Tuesday) we had golfers vandalize some greens. Here is a picture of the damage that was found on the greens of #8 and #9 Red Feather. If anyone has any information that leads to these people being caught, there is a reward. Going forward, anyone that provides information leading to any individual who has vandalized the course is eligible for a reward. Details of this new "crime stoppers" system can be found at the pro shop. Thanks for your help.