Venting greens, Ground Shieldz and pump house problems.

The last two Mondays at Barrington were very productive for us because the course was closed. One thing we like to do when we have an opportunity like this is to vent the greens using the PlanetAir. As I've touched on before, venting the greens increases air exchange and water flow, resulting in a happier plant. This is a very non-invasive procedure that is very beneficial to the greens,while barely disrupting play; in fact, it actually increases green speed.

Slits for breathing and drinking. 

In case you were wondering, the white boards, called Ground Shieldz, at the practice green and driving range tee were a turf protection product we were trying out. These boards are used to protect playing surfaces when stadiums are hosing concerts or anything else that may damage turf. The idea for us was to let the boards sit in one spot for six days and see how the turf underneath looked after. The turf looked longer because we couldn't mow it but, besides that it looked great. We were impressed with how well the grass did underneath and will likely be getting some to use here for the many events that happen around the putting green. 

Boards. 

Grass after six days of cover. 

Finally, we had some issues at our pump house over the weekend which meant we went all weekend without watering at night. Evening watering is the best time to ensure that the plant takes up and efficiently utilizes as much water as possible, so when we miss nights that we want to water it's not ideal. We have the issue sorted out now, but we had a few less than fun days of watering this weekend. We fell behind in some spots on water but we'll catch up soon. I don't know what the opposite of the saying "when it rains it pours" is, but that's what we dealt with this weekend. 

Ian