Summer Maintenance Update

It is always a grind to stay on schedule with our playing surface management during a busy summer golf schedule and the unpredictability of our weather.  

We have scheduled maintenance mornings every 3 weeks on each course and we use that time to sand topdress the greens.  All other surface maintenance must be performed ahead of play; which means a 3:30 am start on most of those mornings.  

A new TIP brush has been a phenomenal addition to our management tool inventory this season.  We have been using this unit right after vertical mowing on the Greywalls greens.  Dragging this unit over fresh vertical mow lines knocks any surface sand into the canopy plus it stands the grass upright for a clean cut just waiting for a mower to follow. 

Left side is Freshly mowed turf----

Right side is Upright turf after a vertical mow and a TIP brush.  

Depending on the surface needs we have two set of vertical blade reels we can use on the greens.  Pictured here is our tighter spaced set.  When using this set we use baskets to collect the debris and we do not go very deep.  Some might call this set up an aggressive surface groom since we are only going 1/8" below our Height of Cut (HOC)

Baskets are typically full and need to be emptied after every green.  

Pictured here is our wider spaced vertical blade set.  These units are set 1/4" or greater depth below the HOC.  

We do not use baskets when using these reels because the amount of debris we remove is tremendous.  A blower crew follows these reels to blow the thatch off the surface prior to a TIP brush.  

Pictured here is the blower crew.  Our new pull behind Toro turbine blower created a new efficiency this year.  Prior to having this unit cleanup was a 5 person job and it took 8 hours.   We now complete thatch cleanup in 5 hours with only 3 guys.  

Vertical mowing is still very labor intensive  so we try to complete that process the week prior to our sand topdressing day.  We utilize a day that we are not mowing fairways and Approaches so we have extra staff available.  

Sand Topdressing is the back bone of our cultural control program.  Dilution is the solution to properly managed putting surfaces and matching organic matter accumulation with sand is vital.  

The only way to have a firm/smooth putting surface is timely verticutting and sand topdressing.  

We use the wider spaced vertical blade reels on our tees also.  We try to complete this process about 3 times a year on the Greywalls tees and once on the Heritage tees.  We plan these vertical mowings before a potential fertilizer application.  

Up and at it early the crew is blowing thatch off the first tee at sunrise.  If we start verticutting tees at 4am we can have them blown off and mowed by noon.  

Fescue is up

High traffic on the Greywalls putting green had it screaming for help by early June.  We core aerified it and over seeded heavy with Chewings fescue prior to a heavy sand topdressing.  6 days later I took this picture in the morning.  3 weeks of walkmowing it at a little higher HOC and giving it some extra fertilizer has it on the road to recovery.  

Foam marker blobs can be seen here on 4 fairway.  

With the addition of a Toro 5800G 300 gallon sprayer this season, I was able to change the way I manage the Greywalls fairways.  To fertilize the fairways before I had to use a granular form applied using a broadcast spreader.  The spreader method works but it is not very efficient.  When spreading granular prills it is impossible to keep it only on the fairway surface.  Excess fertilizer always gets spread into the rough or worse yet the edges of natural areas where it is not needed.  Excessive growth would then occur in those areas increasing our mowing frequency.   

This year I completed one spring granular application fertilizing the fairways and the rough together with about 0.4#N/M

Utilizing the 5800G I can now use a soluble form of Urea Nitrogen mixed with water to spray it onto the fairway turf only and at a much smaller quantity (0.1#N/M).  

This method is so much more efficient I am financially able to add Ferrous Sulfate for color and Paclobutrazol to the tank as a form of poa control.  

Number 4 approach (pictured above).  These areas are also sprayed with soluble fertilizers and Paclobutrazol.

After a single spray application the poa is put in a weakened state allowing our desirable turf species a chance to out compete the invasive poa.  Paclobutrazol is a wonderful Plant Growth Regulator.  

We had some Localized Dry Spots (LDS) form on the Greywalls Approaches.  A solid tine aerification followed by a wetting agent application should remedy the situation.  

Weed control in the natural areas took place in early June on Greywalls.  We usually treat around 10-12 acres a year rotating the areas treated.  This must take place to reduce the broadleaf weed populations from taking over certain areas.  When selecting areas to treat a focus is placed on playability first and then aesthetics.  

We continue to loose trees during wind storms on Greywalls but it is never to much for our Stihl chainsaws to handle.  

A much needed bunker edging is taking place on the Heritage course.  The Green side bunkers are all complete and the crew will now be focusing on the fairway bunkers.  Over time sand accumulates in certain locations from mechanical raking.  When edging the bunkers, sand is moved where needed and new sand is hauled in as needed. 

We purchased two new grooming tools to help us manually groom the course.  Purchasing the top power units by Stihl is the only way to go. Theses units last a very long time and can be fixed/repaired if they ever have an issue.  

Here is a picture of a Couple crew all-stars grooming the rocks on number 2 Greywalls.