Another good rain!

As of 8:00 AM this morning we have received 2.1" of rain in the last 10 hours. We have a river running down #1, #14, #17, etc. Standing water is everywhere. We are checking drains and for downed trees and any other damage.The soil is completely saturated and gives way when walking on slopes. Needless to say, the course is absolutely unplayable and closed for the day.

Getting better!

I took a walk today to see how the course was drying out following this weeks rain. In total we received 1.5" of rain between Tuesday and Wednesday. As of this morning we still have numerous areas that remain really wet. We will restrict all carts to paths today (Friday), but hope to get most, if not all holes open tomorrow. Not only is there potential for tire damage, but we must also consider the fact that we have a lot of young seedlings just starting to grow which are quite delicate and unable to withstand any cart traffic; and the use of carts on soft, wet soil will lead to future compaction issues.

Seeding Roughs

We began seeding the roughs this week with ryegrass. I'm hoping that the cooler weather and the possibility of rain will allow us to germinate some seed without any substantial extra water. NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) has recently reported that there is a 75% likelihood of an El Nino this winter. If we did nothing, poa annua would fill in the thin areas, but rest assured, it would die again next summer when our water restrictions are felt the most.

To say that we have a tough combination of soil and water on which to grow our fairways would be an understatement. Recent soil analysis has us at over 50% clay (under 20% is desired) with infiltration rates less than one inch per hour. Add to that a water that is high in salts and a three year drought and you have a perfect storm for stressed or dead turf. The heavy soil prevents the water from percolating down, thus encouraging the plants to keep their roots near the surface where the moisture lies. However, with very few leaching rain events over the last few years, the salts have also accumulated in the same upper soil profile that the roots occupy. The shallow rooted plants typically die, while those with a deeper root system have made it through the summer. The layer from the dead turf further impedes the water from moving into the soil, often creating  a layer of algae.

If this year's El Nino prediction holds true and we finally get some significant rain, we will see a reduction in salts, as the volume and weight of the rain will finally move water deeper into the soil profile. Where the water goes, so to does the salts....... 

We completed seeding the tee and green surrounds today. Some of the ryegrass that was planted over the last few weeks is really starting to fill-in as you can see from the photos below.

One of the most important aspects of a successful overseed is keeping the seedbed constantly moist. Although it is quite wet and sloppy right now, I think you will agree that the end product is well worth it.

I was very hesitant to vertidrain greens this week. They looked and rolled great, but I knew that infiltration rates were not right. Water was moving slow and we were seeing an increase in disease due to salt accumulation. Looking back, I'm really glad we decided to go ahead with this process. One tool that has been really beneficial in minimizing surface disruption is a Tru-Turf roller that I was able to borrow. This is definitely something I will be putting on my wish list for the future. Not only will it help reduce surface disruption following future aerifications, it will also allow us to keep the greens smooth and firm without reducing our mowing heights.

As if we didn't already have enough challenges, last weekend we had some vandalism on the 2nd hole. A car came on the course through the native area off Skywalker Drive and made a few passes across the fairway. The damage was minor and has already been repaired. It will take a few weeks for the scars to heal. I hope to install a split rail fence in the future to prevent something like this happening again.

On another note, we started seeding around the tees and greens this week. Our process is to scalp the area down, drop seed, aerify, drag, and then water. The process is pretty slow, but we should be done by the end of the month. Key to successful germination is keeping the seedlings moist, so expect these areas to be pretty wet for the next few week. 

One final note of information that I want to pass along is that we will be vertidraining greens this coming Monday (10/20). Infiltration rates are low and we are seeing increased salt stress and disease due to our inability to move water below the rootzone. We will increase our rolling throughout next week, as to minimize any surface disruption this process may cause.

Soils

I'm a data person. I like research and analysis and base much of my decision making on what picture the data paints. Soil and water analysis are great decision making tools when building a fertility plan. Fortunately, there is about 10 years of data for me to analyze and pull from. Unfortunately, the data shows that we have very challenging soils and water. We have heavy soils that are high in salts, magnesium and most especially soluble sulfur. In some locations the sulfur level is four times that required for healthy turfgrass. Infiltration rates are 1/3 of what is considered minimal.

Now add in the fact that we have a large percentage of poa annua on our fairways and you have a recipe for disaster. Poa is a fickle, shallow rooted plant, with very little tolerance to stress. Perhaps this year more than others, the poa has really struggled. Our goal moving forward is to convert all the fairways to Bermudagrass, which can tolerate our challenging growing conditions. Looking at the Bermuda that is out there right now gives me a lot of confidence in our future..........

Greens Update

The greens are looking nice following last months aerification. There are a few isolated areas of salt induced disease, however the majority of the putting surfaces are healthy and playing great. To aid in the recovery process, we were able to borrow a roller which was helpful in smoothing the surface and increasing ball roll. Although I am tempted to lower our cutting height for a little more speed, I don't think it would be wise, as the cooler weather will slow growth and speed will return naturally.

We were able to complete tee and approach aerification on Monday. As I have said before and I'm sure I will say again, aerification is one of those processes that I believe to be the foundation of any good agronomic plan. Aerification is not only for removing excessive thatch and organic matter, it is also beneficial in helping to move air, water and nutrients into the rootzone.

Now that all the short grass areas have been completed, we turn our attention to the roughs. We will start by reducing our irrigation inputs, as well as slowly lowering the height of cut in preparation for seed. This will take place over the next several weeks, as we hope to seed by mid October.

Greens Update

Greens aerification was 10 days ago and our putting surfaces are recovering well. We started mowing on Monday (9/15) at a little above 1/8 inch (.135"). We make it a point to mow without baskets, as we don't want to pickup any of the remaining sand. We also made a calcium and potassium application on Monday that should slowly feed the greens over the next six months. Tuesday, bentgrass seed was put down to continue to encourage a more sustainable plant type. Yesterday the height of cut was reduced to .125" (no baskets) and today through the weekend we will be mowing at .125" (with baskets). This coming Monday (9/22) we will again drop our height of cut to .115", which is our desired cutting height for the next few months. At that point, its fine tuning, as we will continue to lightly groom and topdress until the greens are completely healed. 

Thanks for you patience...........

Today is the beginning of our Fall aerification. This week we will be working on the greens, moving on to tees and approaches next week. The greens haven't been aggressively aerified in several years, which may be the cause of the excessive puffiness and scalping we have been fighting over the last few months. We are using 5/8" side-eject tines at a depth of 2.5 inches, followed by a heavy topdressing. We will then make an application of potassium, calcium, and lastly bentgrass seed. Expect at least two weeks for the greens to recover.

The video explaining aerification is for those of you with an interest in agronomy......Enjoy!

I snapped this picture the other morning, as it is very representative of challenges that we are facing on the fairways. You can see a sprinkler head on a slope and a distinct pattern below it, where the water tends to bleed out during operation. That area is almost 100% poa annua and by no coincidence, on the verge of death. The poa is suffering from salt stress and disease from the high salt content of our irrigation water. The surrounding healthy turf is bermudagrass, which is much more tolerant of high salts.

Fairway Disease

Summers at Saticoy are always a struggle and this one is shaping up to be particularly so. I recently submitted fairway and water samples for analysis and the results have me very concerned. After several years of drought, our water is showing even higher amounts of salt than it was just a few years ago. As salts accumulate in the soil, they inhibit rooting and dehydrate the plant. In their weakened condition the stressed plants are very susceptible to disease. This is exactly what we are seeing right now with the poa in our fairways. The fairway samples show both salt stress and disease. Spraying a fungicide will not help until we alleviate the salt stress. Seeding another grass like rye is an option, but the high salts hinder rooting and lower germination substantially. We continue to experiment with different products on the market that are designed to reduce salts, but have seen little benefit. The true cure is rain. If we have a wet Winter, we will be able to flush the salts from the rootzone, replenish the aquifer with clean water, and germinate some grass that has a fighting chance during the summer. Until then, this summer looks to be a tough one........

Selected reading

I try to keep up with what is trending in the golf maintenance industry, reading on the latest and greatest every chance I get. Every now and then something strikes me as a interesting topic for a blog. This is one such article that I thought might shed some light on cultural practices and why they are so important.

http://www.superintendentmagazine.com/article-10882.aspx

Venting Greens

With very little rain this year, we are seeing elevated sodium levels in the soil, which increases disease pressure substantially. To keep the disease in check, we have been making numerous fungicide applications, which is becoming quite costly. To curb our fungicide use, we have started a weekly to bi-weekly venting program on the greens. We use our walk aerifier mounted with needle tines, followed by our greens roller. While the surface disruption is minimal, the benefits are substantial.. Not only does this process help keep water moving, it also alleviates compaction and increases oxygen. The soil functions better, which allows the grass to function better.

From a standing position the aerification holes are barely visible

On closer inspection, the venting holes are easier to see

 

Greens Update.

The greens continue to heal from last weeks aerification. I have had a few comments and questions about their speed and want to assure everyone that everything is going as planned. Following aerification we allow the greens to rest for a full week, giving time for the plant to grow into the sand topdressing. We began mowing on Monday 5/26, but at a higher height of cut, without baskets, as to not pickup any remaining sand. On Wednesday we began cutting with baskets and on Friday we sharpened and lowered the greens units to our regular mowing height. It will take a few more days for the greens to return to their normal speed. All things considered, everything went as smooth as one could hope.

Greens Aerification

Due to last weeks heat, greens aerification was postponed, taking place this Monday. We slightly adjusted our process to be a little less invasive, making sure the greens would be healed on schedule. Instead of larger holes on a tighter spacing with a heavy topdressing, we decided to go with a double verticut, followed by smaller holes at a medium spacing. A fair amount of topdressing sand was applied to complete the process. The guys put in a long, hard day on Monday and the greens are looking great at this time. Although it is not what we had originally planned, I think our amended process just might be exactly what the greens need at this time. I appreciate everyone understanding our need to move this process back a week.

Greens Aerification Update

It looks like, for the first time in my career, that we are going to postpone our greens aerification until the following week. The weather forecast is calling for several days of excessive heat and the risk of lasting damage to the greens is too great. Our original plan was to go with 1/2" tines, tightly spaced, and a lot of sand. However, to have the greens healed on schedule, we will adjust our process by using smaller tines and less sand. Although this is not ideally what I would like to do, in the long run it will make little difference to the quality of the putting surfaces.

Heat Stress

The stress from the recent heat and wind are beginning to take their toll on the golf course. Although we have been working very hard to improve our irrigation uniformity, inefficiencies are easy to spot when the system is put to the test. While I do believe that we have improved how well we are able to water, we still operate at about only 80%. The greens are doing well, with only minor stress showing in a few locations.


Drought stress #14 green

Fairway aerification and seeding was wrapped up today, and we continue to water nightly to help germination and keep the new seedlings from going into drought stress. The poa obviously struggles the most in high temperatures. With a root system of only about 1/2 inch, poa quickly dies without repeated light watering.

Damaged poa due to drought stress

Hopefully, such extreme weather is only an isolated event and not an indicator of a tough summer ahead.

Pushing Roots

With summer just around the corner we have been doing a lot of work on the greens to prepare them for the stresses of warmer weather. Last months vertidrain helps to relieve compaction for improved water infiltration and deeper rooting. We are addressing particularly problematic areas with a micro-tine aerification as yet another beneficial cultural practice.

We have also recently bumped our fertilizer rates to try to push some roots as well. Routine spiking and grooming is taking place weekly to increase air movement in the upper soil profile. All of these practices are essential, as we want plant health to be at an optimum level for early May (12th & 13th) when we will be aerifying. If you notice the greens are rolling a bit slower, it is all part of the plan.........

Spring Cultural Practices

Thatch reduction

This week we started our Spring cultural practices on the fairways. Our goal is to reduce thatch, alleviate compaction and provide an ideal environment for the seed that follows. The process has many moving parts and is as follows: 1. Verticut 2-3 directions to reduce thatch. 2. Blow and collect clippings. 3. Aerify to reduce compaction. 4. Allow the aerification plugs to dry (1 hour). 5. Verticut, drag and mow to breakup the plugs. 6. Seed 7. Solid tine aerify to punch-in the seed. 8. Drag-in the seed.



Aerifying to reduce compaction



As you can imagine, the going is a bit slow. To keep the process moving as smooth as possible we will be closing whatever hole we happen to be working on at that time. Hopefully, this does not create too much of an inconvenience.

Springtime mowing

The Spring is always a busy time on the golf course. As soil temperatures are warming, the grass begins to jump, requiring an increase in mowing frequency. Our mowing schedule is seasonal to coincide with the rate of growth we are seeing in the field. Our spring/summer schedule has us mowing greens on a daily basis, all other short grass areas (tees, collars, fairways & approaches) three times a week and the rough twice. Native areas will be cut every 2-3 weeks depending on the growth. Mondays are always a great day for cultural practices, fertilizing, project work, etc. as we are often closed. This Monday is no exception as we are planning to spike, lightly topdress and fertilize greens with calcium. We will also work to complete the single rail fence next to the cart path on #10. And finally, we will be spraying fairways on the front nine to slow the rate of growth, as we will begin aerification and seeding by mid week. Fairway seeding will continue over the next few weeks until complete.

#10 Lake

I have been getting a lot of questions lately about the lake on #10. In recent weeks it has turned a murky brown, we have seen some fish die, and the smell is rancid. My first suspicion was that a faulty lake circulation pump had created the problem. But the the pump was only down for a day and a half; not enough time for such a drastic change. We have not made any recent fertilizer or chemical applications, so I could rule that out as well. Sabotage??? Surely not. I did some research and made a few phone calls and found the answer. The process is known as lake stratification. Basically, the lake is in the process of overturning itself, moving the warmer surface layer down as the colder water from below moves up. This stirring action is what is creating the murkiness and terrible smell, as the sediment from the bottom is rising to the top. We will be adding microbes to help move this process along and hopefully prevent such an occurrence in the future.

Wind damage

The Santa Ana winds returned Wednesday with a vengeance. Winds were around 30 mph, with gusts into the mid 40's. We lost a big Eucalyptus on the right side of the third hole. We also lost two large Pines on number 7 and number 11, and a Tulip tree near the eighth tee. Unfortunately, not one of these specimens was on our tree removal list. As of today, we are still in recovery mode as the course is littered with limbs and debris.

Aerification

We started tee and approach aerification on Monday, completing through the eighth hole. The remainder of the front nine and all of the back nine should be wrapped up by this afternoon. Often despised, aerification is one of those processes that has definite long term benefits. Not only does it relieve compaction, it also reduces thatch and organic matter, while allowing for better water infiltration and percolation. We typically follow this process with a light seeding and a healthy dose of fertilizer to have them looking their best in no time.

New equipment

Yesterday our new equipment arrived. It was like Christmas in March! We received a new fairway unit, a rough unit, and a trim mower. We also purchased a new greens aerifier. While the mowers are vital for daily grooming of the golf course, the aerifier is essential for proper cultural practices. All of these pieces of equipment should provide us with years of problem free use, saving us labor and repair expenses over time. We are very grateful..........

It was a good rain....

The ridge of high pressure that has been pushing most storm activity north of California finally broke, bringing with it our most substantial rain event in the last three years. It was a good, soaking rain with periods of heavy precipitation at times, totalling 5.05" between Wednesday night and Sunday morning. The golf course surface drains fairly well and we hope to allow carts off the paths by the middle/end of the week. Damage was limited to 1 tree behind #11 green, numerous branches and the typical bunker washouts. It sure is nice to finally get some clean water and flush the salts from the rootzone. With the soils being more balanced and warmer weather coming, I expect to see the grass begin to jump. It was a good rain....

A good soaking!

The first of several storms delivered 1.8 inches of rain last night, with more coming soon. Not only does rain help us in the form of free irrigation, it is also very beneficial in that it is a clean source of water. This good soaking has finally pushed the salts below the rootzone making for ideal growing conditions. Unfortunately, the course is extremely wet and I can assure you that carts will be restricted to paths through the weekend and most likely into early next week to avoid any damage and compaction.

Green spots!

You may have noticed small green spots on several of the greens. The spots are from a misapplication of rough fertilizer that got onto the putting surface. The darker green color is due to higher rates of nitrogen in that area. Fortunately, the damage is nothing more than aesthetic and should go away in a few weeks. I always view mistakes as an opportunity to learn and have used this instance as a teaching point for future fertilizer applications.

Stone Pine #16

Last week, we were very unfortunate to lose this large Stone Pine behind the 16th green. I really liked the backdrop it provided as you viewed the green from the fairway. Make no mistake it did cause some headaches, as it shaded much of the back half of the green and its roots needed routine pruning to keep them away from the putting surface. As the pictures show, several arms of the tree had been weakened from root rot, leaving only one member hanging over the back of the green. We felt this imbalance made the tree very unsafe and therefore had it removed. In time, we hope the remaining Stone Pine on the slope will provide the same beautiful backdrop that this one did.



As we are finally seeing temperatures to support some turf growth, we thought the time was right to reseed some of the areas where we didn't have much germination. To ensure better seed to soil contact, we verticut the area in question, followed by seed and aerification. This process gets the seed growing in the soil, as opposed to just growing in the thatch of the existing grass.

Busy Monday

Monday's are usually pretty busy on the golf course and this Monday was no exception. Aside from our routine maintenance practices, I typically have several to-do projects that we tackle. This Monday (2/10) we were able to fertilize all the tee and rough areas; spot aerify, verticut and reseed several unsightly areas around the driving range and #1 tee complex; and lightly verticut and topdress the greens. I am a big believer in light, frequent topdressing and usually combine the practice with a light verticut to help work the sand into the canopy of the greens. I plan on about 10 "dusting" applications per year on top of 2 to three heavier applications during aerification.

Rain!

Thursday afternoon we saw the first real rain of 2014. Although we only received 1/3 of an inch it has made the course pretty wet. We will restrict carts to paths on Friday to reduce any chance of damage. All too often, golfers think that if their cart is not leaving tire ruts, then no harm is occurring. Untrue, as compaction is possibly more problematic, as it is harder to correct.

Tree 254

Today I decided to pull the trigger on a removal I have been contemplating for quite some time. Tree 254 was a Carob tree in the left rough near the approach of the 6th green. Although the tree had been previously designated for removal, I really thought it held some strategic benefit. However, after considering its poor growth habit, poor health, and its effect on routing cart traffic from the hole the answer was clear.

Pink Snow Mold

With more winter-like weather recently returning, we have started to see an increase in disease activity on several of the greens. While scouting greens Monday morning, I noticed some Pink Snow Mold on the back of #11 and #16. By Tuesday morning the disease was showing on several other greens. We spot sprayed Tuesday afternoon and made another application to all the greens on Thursday morning. We have used a combination of fungicides to attack the disease both on the surface and systemically. Hopefully this is the last we see of Pink Snow Mold for quite some time.

The following is a short article published by Pace Turf, a science-based advice and information service for the turf management community. 

Managing in a drought emergency

Saturday, January 25, 2014

How prepared are you, with both a philosophy and a strategy, for dealing with drought if or when it hits at your location? We have a few ideas that will hopefully be of assistance.

With the lowest rainfall in over 100 years, extreme drought has now spread through most of California, leading California's Governor Brown to declare a drought emergency this week. California may represent the biggest single area of drought, but extreme drought is also indicated in pockets throughout the Southwestern U.S., while conditions ranging from abnormally dry to severe drought exist through most of western half of the country. Read more here about how scientists are weighing in on the severity of this drought.

Even in areas of the world where rainfall is heavier, a droughty month or season can strike at any time. Here are some strategies for you to consider.

Where can you cut? There are two major approaches to reducing water usage:

1. maintaining turf acreage at current levels and making across the board cutbacks in irrigation volume so that all turf receives 10 to 20 percent less water
2. reducing the turf acreage by 10 to 20 percent, and maintaining the current level of water usage per acre

In most cases, we believe that option 2 is the most agronomically sound and also, in the long-term, one that golfers and managers will appreciate the most as well. This is based on our observation that most irrigation systems are already tuned up to the max, with little wiggle-room to reduce irrigation volumes without causing big losses in turf quality and playability. In other words, if you could have cut back 10 - 20 percent and maintain turf performance, you would have already done so. For golf courses that face the demand to reduce water use by 10 to 20 percent, there is really only one option, albeit a painful one. Turn the water off, and abandon turf in selected areas of the course.
Identifying water reduction goals: As a rough guide, calculate the number of heads that need to be turned off to reduce your water usage by 10%, 15% and 20%. For example, if you have 3,000 heads on your course, you will need to turn 300 heads off to meet 10% reduction, 450 heads to meet 15% reduction and 600 heads to reach 20% reduction.
Turning the water off— in stages: Before implementing each stage below, write an irrigation controller program that calculates the water savings generated during a normal irrigation run when the specified heads are turned off. Label each program with a description of the areas that will not be irrigated (for example, "out_of_play_off" for the Stage 1 program below, or "under_rough" for the Stage 2 program).

• Stage 1: Abandon out of play areas (primarily aesthetic impact).
• Stage 2: Abandon under-utilized rough areas (primarily aesthetic impact, some impact on high-handicap golfers).
• Stage 3: Abandon non-landing areas in fairways and rough (heavy aesthetic impact, impact on high and mid-handicap golfers). With cooperation of the greens committee and membership identify primary landing area that is used by most golfers and maintain irrigation in those locations only.
• Stage 4: If the above three steps do not produce sufficient water use reductions, government restrictions will probably be extremely limiting. Extreme drought has resulted, in some cases, with only greens being irrigated. In this situation, the government has essentially taken irrigation management out of your hands.

Useful Resources:

• A simple irrigation audit that you can do on your own is described in detail in the PACE Update, "Shoe box irrigation audit"
• Challenges in achieving irrigation efficiency are described in this PACE Turf Insights, "Issues in irrigation: the uniformity myth", and this PACE Update, "What you see is not necessarilly what you get: check your irrigation system output to avoid drought.
• The U.S. Drought Monitor, mentioned above, provides several useful resources on the website, include drought maps (by region and state), an archive of drought data that goes back to the year 2000.
• The North American Drought Monitor provides similar, though less detailed, information for the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
• The Drought Impact Reporter, provided by the University of Nebraska, tracks the specific impacts that drought has had, county by county, all around the U.S.

Rapid Blight

We continue to see disease activity on several of the the greens. Rapid Blight is a disease common to the Fall season, which usually goes away during the Winter as the rains wash high salts from the rootzone. However, as we have had very little rain, we continue to see this disease persist. We are currently treating it with bi-weekly fungicide applications, vertidraining the compacted areas where it seems to be the worst, and weekly leaching to keep salt levels as low as possible.