Bunker edges, fairways and bluegrass weevils.

This week we started doing a few things with an eye on next year. One thing we started working on is getting a good edge on all the bunkers before winter sets in. As the weather cools and the days get shorter, grass isn't growing as aggressively so by edging bunkers now there will be minimal growth before the grass goes dormant. Next spring when the grass starts growing again we'll be in great shape to just go out and do maintenance edging instead of this more aggressive edging that takes a lot of time and people, both of which are usually in short supply early in the year.

Fresh edge.

Another thing we are trying out is a different growth regulator (paclobutrazol) on fairways that has a greater effect on annual bluegrass than bentgrass. This is a great product for controlling annual bluegrass, however the problem is when you first apply there is pretty obvious damage to the annual bluegrass. It doesn't kill it, but it makes it look like it would rather be dead. We actually sprayed it in June a few years ago and the fairways looked terrible for a few weeks and we went back to our normal program. However, the annual bluegrass does eventually develop a tolerance and after a few applications doesn't go off color anymore. With that in mind we decided that if we applied it now we could get the plant to start developing a tolerance this fall while the weather is cool and the stakes are low. Hopefully next year when we continue the program, the effects aren't as drastic and we can start reducing the amount of annual bluegrass in the fairways. To be clear, this doesn't eliminate the bluegrass, it simply gives the bentgrass an advantage which results in greater populations of bentgrass.

Slight yellowing of the annual bluegrass in fairways. It is much more drastic when sprayed in the summer.

Finally, the other day when cutting cups on the practice green I just happened to see an annual bluegrass weevil by my foot. I started looking around and in about a 10 square foot area I found about two dozen adults just hanging out on the green. When I showed this to Mark he decided that we should get out and spray them while they are still actively feeding and before they go to their overwintering spots. (They overwinter in leaf liter in the woods, so once they get there they are safe.) By reducing the population before winter we will be cutting into the first generation of weevils next spring because, one of the first things the adults who overwintered do in the spring is lay eggs. This will help us out all summer long too because they are multi-generational insects, so the lower their starting population, the lower their potential maximum population can be.

Weevil party crashing.

Ian

Post aerification.

A week has passed since we aerified greens and the warm weather and fertilizer have them healing in nicely. As you've no doubt noticed, the greens are shaggy and slow. One reason they are shaggy is because we raise the height of cut after aerification. We do this to reduce the amount of sand we pick up because the sand does a lot of damage to the mowers and picking it up defeats the purpose of putting it down in the first place. As the greens continue to heal and the sand works its way into the thatch layer we will continue to lower the height of cut until we are back to normal. This should only take another week or two. Another reason for their shag is because we stopped using growth regulators on greens a week before we aerified so that they would be growing uninhibited post aerification. We sprayed a growth regulator on the greens today which will also help control growth and bring the speeds back up to what everyone is used to. 

Another thing that you've likely noticed is that we have been mowing greens in the afternoon. We are doing this to minimize the sand picked up and get a better cut on the greens. When there is a heavy dew on the greens it's difficult to mow because the wet sand clumps on the drum and rollers and changes the height of cut. Also, this sand gets on the reel and bed knife which ends up dulling both and results in more tearing of the grass blade than cutting. Imagine cutting paper with dull scissors instead of sharp ones. When the sand is dry though, it doesn't stick to the cutting unit as much and greatly reduces the impact on the mower. 

Finally, if you're wondering why there are dashed white lines on some of the greens, it's to let our guys know where the collar should be. Over the course of the summer the greens change size as mowers either scalp or skip each day on their clean up pass. An inch or two a week turns into a foot or two by this time of year. So, we repaint where we want them and let them grow up to collar height when we already have the greens taller than normal.

Greens today (9/17) 

  

Afternoon mowing. 

White lines let the mowers know where the collar should be. 

As far as tees and fairways go, we are done! We finished aerifiying fairways on Monday and tees today. Thank you for your patience. The nice weather has let us get a lot of work done however, a lot of members have been taking advantage of the weather to get some golf in which has led to us being in a lot of people's way. We try to work around golfers at all times (our intent is to only bother each group once but that doesn't always work) but when we're doing things like this we end up being a bit of a nuisance. I assure you this is unintentional and we greatly appreciate your understanding because, if we waited on every group we wouldn't be close to done with this. All things considered, aerification went very smoothly this fall, but there is always some accidental damage. Proof of this is on #17 fairway where a roller on one of our collection units stuck and ripped up some turf. It looks bad but it should heal in pretty quickly. 

This looks bad, but it'll grow in soon. 

Ian 

Aerification week.

We have been pretty busy so far this week and, with the weather co-operating, we have been able to get a lot of work done. We finished aerifying and topdressing greens on Wednesday and today we will be finished aerifying through #11 fairway. This puts us right on pace to finish up fairways on Monday when we are closed again. Monday is also when we will start on tees. As I'm sure most of you know, we will be opening the course this Saturday.

Last Friday (9/4) we had a measly .12" of rain fall on the course over about a 30 minute span of time. In that time we had extensive puddling on greens. This was just further proof that we were in dire need of a good aerification. The greens are in much better shape today than they were last week and we will continue to be aggressive with cultural practices this fall and next spring so as to avoid a similar situation next year.

#3 green after Friday's rain.

#17 green on Friday.

Greens today. We fertilized Thursday and with this warm weather they will heal quickly.

Fairway aerifying.

Larger hole size than greens.

One of our thatch mountains.

Have a good weekend!

Ian

Canada goose success in Michigan?

Today my father sent me this article about how the Department of Natural Resources is encouraging Canada goose populations in Michigan. They can have them! We actually haven't seen many geese this year. I know they show up in the evenings and sometime spend the night on the course but, they seem to be leaving during the day when the course is busy. Rich, the assistant golf pro, told me that he is chasing the geese in the evenings whenever he sees them. He's alright for a Steelers' fan!

Canada goose population in Michigan

Ian

Heat wave.

The last few days have been hot, too hot for me in September. This is the time of year when things should cool down and allow us to enjoy some nice 70 degree days with a light breeze. However, we got stuck with a hot September this year and we're actually in pretty good shape considering how hot it's been. We put out some wetting agent last week and that has really helped the tees and fairways hold in there through this heat. I don't know because I haven't played, but it seems like the course should be playing firm. It looks like the heat is going to be around for a few more days so we should be able to keep the playing conditions this way until we aerify.

We've had a few sink holes showing up around catch basins on the course which I think is a result of all the heavy rains we had earlier this summer. Sometimes the heavy rain can cause pipes to cave in, resulting in a hole where pea gravel, sand and soil are then able to wash through resulting in a sink hole. We fixed one on #13 and one on #14 and if you ever notice one starting please let us know, we want to repair these as quickly as possible.

Sink hole on #14. 

No problem for Joe. Yes he did need that ladder to get out. 

A little expanding foam to fill the hole and we're back to good in no time. 

Next week we will aerify and it is just in time. The course is in good shape but is starting to show its wear a little bit. Aerifying and a few days off will do the trick. I covered some of the benefits of aerifying in this post last year. We tested out our aerifiers today on the target greens at the driving range and will keep our powder dry until Tuesday morning. Have a good holiday weekend and we'll see you after we're done punching a lot of holes!

I wasn't joking about Joe needing that ladder.

Ian 

Topdressing the rough.

This week we have been trying a new type of topdressing sand in rough areas that are habitually wet. The sand we are using is made up of more coarse particles and the idea is that these bigger particle sizes will speed up the process of firming up the wet areas. We usually do all of our topdressing later in the year but theses areas are difficult to do in the fall because they are always so wet and we cannot run the tractor and Ty-Crop through without doing significant damage. However, those same areas are very firm this time of year and the grass is growing quickly enough that it can grow through the sand in a short amount of time. Also, while most of these areas are near play, they are generally out of the way and shouldn't really effect your round.

Beginning of 14 fairway where carts enter. Notice the sand plastered to the tree. 

Area between cart path and blue tee on #3. This area can be difficult to walk through in the spring and fall because it is so wet. 

Ian 

Milwaukee Organic Nitrogen

This is a great article about how Milorganite, an organic fertilizer that we use on the golf course, is made. Great conversation piece for the next hole-in-one happy hour!