Strange Times & Course Update
As another week begins and we inch closer to the real golf season it's hard not to think how strange a time we are living in. This global pandemic has shaken things up quite a bit and life will not be the same on the other side of it. I hope this post finds you all safe and coping with the changes to our daily lives. In the interest of keeping you informed, here are a few pictures of the course and an explanation of what we are up to on the maintenance side. Please check back often or sign up to receive email updates when a new post drops. I will try to share some pictures of the course more regularly as we are out there maintaining it and you all are not able to play.
We pulled the rakes and ball washers to help reduce the potential spread of the virus while open. We also flipped the cups upside down for the same reasons. Well now we are closed entirely due to a statewide advisory. I am hearing some courses are open so it seems more and more like the Wild West as local governments try to figure out how best to keep people safe.
We pulled the rakes and ball washers to help reduce the potential spread of the virus while open. We also flipped the cups upside down for the same reasons. Well now we are closed entirely due to a statewide advisory. I am hearing some courses are open so it seems more and more like the Wild West as local governments try to figure out how best to keep people safe.
 |
| 5 green |
As we broke dormancy (what little there was) we had a few greens show signs of something wrong. Let me digress a bit. Dormancy is a state of rest for the plant. It can be a seasonal thing such as Winter where the plants will develop a bit of antifreeze so as not to freeze when cold temps arrive or it could be a defense mechanism brought on by drought stress for instance. Once conditions improve whether it be warmer temps in spring or needed rains after a drought the plant resumes normal growth. As I was saying we had a few greens exhibit signs of a disease. After sending off a sample to a lab to confirm the malady a corrective protectant or medicine can be applied. As it turns out the disease is a root pathogen so the product must be watered in to get it to the roots. This is hard to do when your irrigation system is off so we timed it around some rain this weekend. Helps planning when you know the course will be empty and you will not be working around players. Strange for sure.
 |
| Sunday's rain |
A really pretty sunrise one morning over 13 green.
The overall plan for the greens this year was much the same as last year. Try and get them as healthy as possible. Much like our current pandemic concerns are for the susceptible in our society if our greens are as healthy as possible they will resist disease better and be able to recover from stress quicker. This means starting from the bottom. Plants need a healthy root system. Without one it is fighting an uphill battle and more susceptible to disease and insect damage. Deep aeration equals deep rooting. Last year we did several deep tine aerations and the plan was to do as many as we could this year as well. We accomplished this last Thursday doing all 20. We were able to get them topdressed and brushed also. We then did a shallow aeration with closer spacing to make even more holes. These holes allow us to add more sand, create more pore space, add amendments or possibly seed. It was the same procedure as last Fall done in a slightly different manner. Without golfers we did each procedure on all 20 greens each day. The pictures below show 3 green after day one and day two. Notice the spacing of the deep tine vs the shallow tine. We will try to do some form of this in our normal May timeframe also.
 |
| a bit of normalcy? |
The overall plan for the greens this year was much the same as last year. Try and get them as healthy as possible. Much like our current pandemic concerns are for the susceptible in our society if our greens are as healthy as possible they will resist disease better and be able to recover from stress quicker. This means starting from the bottom. Plants need a healthy root system. Without one it is fighting an uphill battle and more susceptible to disease and insect damage. Deep aeration equals deep rooting. Last year we did several deep tine aerations and the plan was to do as many as we could this year as well. We accomplished this last Thursday doing all 20. We were able to get them topdressed and brushed also. We then did a shallow aeration with closer spacing to make even more holes. These holes allow us to add more sand, create more pore space, add amendments or possibly seed. It was the same procedure as last Fall done in a slightly different manner. Without golfers we did each procedure on all 20 greens each day. The pictures below show 3 green after day one and day two. Notice the spacing of the deep tine vs the shallow tine. We will try to do some form of this in our normal May timeframe also.
We decided since closed we would fill in the cup holes for aeration. These usually get damaged during the process anyways. Mike and I have discussed leaving them this way even if we get to open again during the pandemic. If you are truly just looking to get out and get some exercise then it should not matter. This is not the time to grind for a score. As of the writing of this post you still cannot enter scores for handicap anyway. People's health is far more important than keeping score. Save that for when this is all over. As the closure continues we also have to think about the overall condition of the asset and how to best maintain it under these difficult times. With a reduced staff it will be impossible to maintain the course to the status quo. Without revenue coming in any savings that can be found must be considered. What does that mean? It means don't fertilize to reduce the need to mow. Use growth regulators to slow the growth and use water as judiciously as possible. Put simply things will be less green and lush than normal. Think Open Championship and possibly US Open rough? Not really sure yet as this is all new to us as well. We will do whatever we can to keep our staff healthy and keep our turf alive. We will adjust as we progress and learn more. A colleague from Canada wrote a great blog post about the issues we are facing. See the link below:
http://www.turfhacker.com/2020/03/golf-course-fertilization-during.html
Also here is a link to another great article written by the USGA:
Comments
Post a Comment