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As we are going around the course and putting bunkers into play we are also adding sand where they are thin. This is the left green side bunker on #14. We removed the retaining wall today. This is one of the most difficult bunkers to maintain. The bunker slope is pretty steep and the grass is buried in the shade, so it doesn't grow so well. It gets a ton of traffic and golfers and golf carts trample all over the banks. Its a tough situation that we try to do the best we can with. If you think of it, its best if you can keep your carts off the banks and also avoid walking up any steep bunker banks. You may have to rake more, but you will help us save wear and tear on the steepest banks.

Timing is everything

Published March 14, 2012

My email and phone are “blowing up” these days with golf turf questions, comments, reports, inquiries about the record early Spring conditions. Golf course superintendents are asking about seedhead suppression timing with Proxy and Primo,wondering about soil temperatures and summer patch preventative control, and most importantly in the northeast US, annual bluegrass weevil sitings. With each of these issues, the old saying holds-timing is everything.
Seedhead suppression is among the most timing specific management practices employed on a modern golf course. Many feel if ideal is missed by a day it mean the difference between 30 percent and 80 percent suppression. The introduction of Proxy PGR several years ago allowed for application to made earlier with less injury than was associated with Embark and old standby PGR. The addition of Primo to the Proxy application not only enhanced seedhead suppression but extended the suppression, reduced the scalping associated with too many Proxy applications, and most importantly based on Rutgers research significantly reduced basal rot anthracnose as the season progressed.

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Some have embraced the Embark plus Primo combination that can be applied later than Proxy and provided longer suppression. Also the addition of Primo has lessened the injury previously observed with Embark and as long as the Primo program is continued anthracnose will be reduced.
The problem “du-jour” of the early 1990′s was summer patch. Properly characterized by Professor Pete Landschoot during his Ph.D. studies with Professor Noel Jackson at URI this root pathogen was about to spell the end of annual bluegrass. Professor Bruce Clarke and colleagues at Rutgers as well as Professor Joe Vargas at MSU began research projects that identified preventative options for an early Spring DMI fungicide drench and as important the use of acidifying fertilizers such as ammonium sulfate to reduce summer patch infection in the early Spring. In either case, research shows applications to the rootzone when soil is 65F at 2″ depth.
For the next 15 years or so summer patch literally became a non-issue in many areas until the 2010 and 2011 historic growing seasons across the US created summer stress periods that exposed weaknesses in control programs. We were lulled into a false sense of security, lowered application rates, played fast and loose with timing and “boom goes the dynamite”. We were reminded again that under stress annual bluegrass cannot survive well with a seriously compromised root system.

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Finally, annual bluegrass weevil. The latest crisis in pest management in certain sections of the northeast and now all the way to the Carolinas and west to Michigan. Where to spray?  Fence-lines or loops around fairways and greens or the whole place? When? forsythia, rhododenrdron bloom? What? pyrthroid-resistance, chlorpyrifos, adulticide, larvacide? Overlapping generations? what is causing the damage? Obviously more questions than solid answers at this point.


This is the one pest that will keep traditional IPM scouting alive and well. Soap flushes, checking web-based prediction, talking to your colleagues. All will help you be successful, but like all the strategies mentioned above timing is everything. Scout diligently and apply products strategically. We know turf loss is often worst
on perimeters so be sure to maintain uniform irrigation to these areas.

We may as well get used to the new reality of longer seasons that could mean increased revenue for some and nothing but more stress for others. No matter how this effects you one fact cannot be denied, the golf course superintendent is more important than ever to a successful golf operation. It’s a great time to be a superintendent-timing is everything!

Video of the flooding during tropical storm Lee. Here is the bunker on #1 getting washed away for the second time in a couple weeks.

Spring 2012

We are starting in on our Bunker work today. Here a couple of pics of the left front bunker on #1. Post Irene and after this morning with new sand added. Last fall we rebuilt the bunker wall with a gravel base, soil and sod. We raised the outside wall several inches hopefully deflecting some of the rushing flooding water around the bunker. The drainage was reset and this morning we added the new sand, which will be soft for awhile. We will be getting into the rest of the bunkers this week, checking sand depths and adding sand where needed. This is a very long process for us and may take us up to 2 weeks. We will be bringing more course supplies out this week as well. Next week we will be getting the irrigation system up and running. That is another lengthy process for us.  

Course Opening

The golf course will open for play starting Wednesday morning, March 21st at 8am. All 18 greens will be available for play. Carts are not available yet, but may be ready by the end of the week Reminder that there will be no drinking water available.

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Here is a pic of the 15th green. On the left is the portion that was covered and on the right the uncovered portion. You can see we had some minor damage to the poa on the uncovered portion. Again this really shows the value of our covering strategies.

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Here is a pic this morning of the 15th green. We obviously have areas of shade that prolong the ice and snow cover on our course.

Fw:

Here is a pic of the 7th green today. We began removing covers from our greens today. Several weeks earlier than normal. The 4th and 15th had snow and ice still on them. Our plan is to call staff in for next week and begin any cleanup. If the weather holds we can be open in March for the first time in a very long time. Unbelievable.
------ MMS ------
From: +14136527192/TYPE=PLMN
Received: Mar 12, 2012 12:54 PM

7 g. Front right.

Golf Course Superintendent

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Here is a pic of the first green taken yesterday before the snow. We had melted off pretty well and we were left with some minor pockets of ice on a few greens. The turf has looked pretty good even though we have gone through so many freeze thaw cycles over the last month. Hopefully we continue this way until spring.