Waiting on the rain

We continue to wait on some significant rain to help heal the golf course. With absolutely no rain in November and just a trace amount in December, the course continues to struggle. If and when this El Nino does occur, I think you will see a rather swift change in the condition of the golf course. Not only will a good rain provide a uniform shot of water, it will also, and perhaps more importantly, flush the salts from the surface allowing for a much improved growing environment. With our heavy clay soils, we have a very slow infiltration rate. Thus, we see an accumulation of salts near the surface when relying upon our well water for an extended period of time. Once we get a good, soaking rain, we will leach the salts below the rootzone, finally balancing the soils for optimum plant growth. I think the photo below speaks volumes....

Note the salt accumulation due to poor infiltration

Bermuda Dormancy

Although winters official beginning is still a few weeks away, we are definitely seeing the effects of the cool weather. With average soil temperatures hovering around 56 degrees we are seeing much of our Bermuda going into dormancy. The picture to the right was taken last week and shows the common Bermuda already has a straw color to it. Some of our hybrid Bermuda cultivars still have some color, however neither the common or the hybrids are growing much at all.

Irrigation Problems

With deteriorating water quality we are seeing an increase in irrigation related problems. Many of our isolation valves are failing, requiring us to shut down our mainlines to fix leaking or broken heads. In turn, the pressure fluctuation in the mainline is creating another break. This weekend alone we had one head and 2 mainline breaks. I sure hope this is the last of our irrigation problems for awhile......

6" mainline on #10

Overseed Germination

Rough overseeding was completed a week ago and we are already seeing quite a bit of germination around the course. At this point it is relatively spotty and inconsistent, largely due to our lack of thorough irrigation coverage. Once we get a little help from a rain event or two you will see much more consistent germination. Until then, we will continue to do the majority of our irrigation at night, with supplemental spot watering during the day to nurse the new seedlings along.

Overseed

Over the last few weeks we have been slowly lowering the roughs in preparation for next week's overseeding. Although labor intensive, it is important to get the height of cut down to insure good seed/soil contact. We have a busy week planned, as we will be drop seeding, slit seeding and broadcast seeding. Our goal is to complete all 18 holes next week and begin watering by the weekend. With any luck we will get a little help from mother nature in the form of rain and cooler weather. Please be patient and understanding, as the course will be a little wet as we nurture the seedlings along.

Scalped rough ready for overseed

Topdressing

This week we were able to put a topdressing application on the new Bermuda fairways. This should help to smooth some of the ribbing we are seeing and, in time, improve the overall soil structure. This week's application is hopefully one of many to come, as I hope to schedule three such topdressings on an annual basis.

Early morning topdressing on #3 fairway

20 tons per acre

Once dry, we drag in the sand

Divots

Fall has begun and we are slowly starting to recover from another tough summer. The new fairways continue to mature and improve. A question that I have been asked a lot in recent weeks is what seed are we now including in our divot mix? To avoid contaminating the new fairways we have taken all seed out of the divot mix. It is straight sand. Unfortunately, hybrid bermuda does not grow from seed; it is propagated vegetatively by sowing cuttings from existing plant material. The best way for the divots to heal is to fill them with sand and allow the rhizomes and stolons to fill-in from the bottom and sides. I think the pictures below do a really good job showing the progression.

New divot

Note the runners over top of the sand

Two weeks later almost healed

At three weeks it's hard to see where the divot was

Fall Aerification

Yesterday's greens aerification went well. With the threat of rain we worked late to complete all the greens. Looking back, it was a great decision. We are making a granular potassium and magnesium application today, using the rain to help water-in the products. Expect a light follow-up topdressing within the next two weeks to completely finish the process.

Verticut, mow and blow clean

Two passes removes a lot of thatch

Medium topdressing

Vertidrain to 8" depth promotes better water movement

Drag-in the sand

Roll smooth

A little fertilizer and water and we are looking good

Bermuda summer

With the recent heat we are seeing a lot of the poa simply melt away. As I have said before, it is extremely difficult to grow an annual plant perennially. The silver lining in this process is that it makes space for the existing Bermuda to fill-in. We have seen a better growing environment for Bermuda this summer than I can ever remember. Heat and humidity are key to good Bermuda growth. With timely fertilizer applications and judicious watering, we hope to encourage the Bermuda through the end of summer and into fall.

Note the Bermuda filling in where the poa has died

Native Areas

At last months Green Committee Meeting we decided to start mowing high play native areas at our regular rough height. During the summer months these areas grow very fast, making for a maintenance nightmare, as we are unable to keep up with mowing them. In using our rough units to cut these areas we will be able to maintain them on a much more consistent basis, saving some labor as well. While the lie might not be the best, our hope is that you will at least be able to find your ball.......

A New Threat

If the drought, poor water quality and inefficient irrigation system wasn't enough, we are now seeing a new threat in the form of Black Turfgrass Ataenius. These little buggers can be quite destructive to the poa in our fairways; feeding on the roots resulting in irregular dead patches. We will be making an insecticide application on Monday to rid ourselves of this problem.

It's hard to believe that fairways 1-5 were completed just two weeks ago. Rooting is at about 1.5" - 2" and plant density is improving almost daily. Although not to our desired height, we are mowing three times a week. Next week we will begin spiking, rolling and fertilizing to help push the grass along. Before the end of the month we hope to topdress to smooth the surface and fill the seams.

Unfortunately, the poa in some of our fairways is starting to decline due to drought, disease and salts. Try as we might, our efforts to save these struggling areas usually ends in failure as the fickle poa is too weak to recover. However, considering that we were seeing these conditions last summer in the month of June gives me a little bit of peace of mind.   

Project Update #4

We were able to get a fairway mower on the new sod yesterday, cutting holes 1-3. Although the sod came in a little inconsistent, we are seeing good rooting on all the holes and everything will even out with time. Our goal is to mow all the new fairways on Friday, opening for play Saturday. Please keep in mind that we are mowing holes 1-3 and 5 at a much higher height of cut as we allow the sod to tack-in. Once firmly established we will slowly reduce our height of cut to match the other fairways. Carts will be restricted to the paths for the next several weeks as we want to minimize wear due to traffic.

Project Update #3

West Coast Turf began to install sod on Monday (7/27). As of today, we have grassed the fairways through the third hole and are on schedule to finish Friday afternoon. A few areas in the rough (i.e. #2) will be finished by the end of the week as well. Completed holes are being watered twice during the day and once at night to keep moisture readily available to the new roots. Expect to see the new sod go a little off color for a short period of time as it acclimates to its new growing environment. I am already seeing some rooting and expect the sod to be fairly well tacked in by this time next week.

New (white) roots showing after 3 days

Project Update #2

We are in the third day of phase 1 of our Fairway Project and everything is progressing very well. Below is a photo log of the progress thus far.

Putting the final touches on #1, almost ready for sod

Hand work complete on #2 , ready for amendments

Final few passes on #3, hand work is next

Pre-strip aerification on #5

Tree #64

We removed tree #64 on Monday; a big Eucalyptus near the front right corner of the second green. It was leaning and unhealthy, and several Arborists had recommended that we have it taken out before it fell. When our Golf Course Architect, Jim Urbina, suggested that we remove it as well, we decided to make our move. Although I had some initial apprehension, I think it is a much better hole without it.

Project Update #1

Phase 1 of our Fairway Project began yesterday. The first hole is nearly complete and ready for sod, as we begin stripping the second hole. Although we have had a few minor bumps in the road, things are progressing well and I see know reason at this time that we will not be on schedule to sod next week.

Pre-strip aerification to loosen the soil

Initial pass to calibrate our working depth

1st hole nearly complete

Loose Ends

We are wrapping up a lot of loose ends this week before we get into our fairway project next week. One of our main objectives was to prep historically bad areas on holes 6-9 for sod patchwork. Where possible, we have been transplanting good Bermuda from areas that will be stripped; trying to minimize waste. However, once I calculate the labor required, I think we might be better off installing new sod.

If there is any question about Bermuda's ability to survive on less water, I think this picture is worth a thousand words. Note the completely dead cool season grass (mostly poa) surrounding the completely healthy Bermuda.

The Bermuda continues to thrive, yet it only receives water 1-2 days per week

Yes, with the current water restrictions, Bermuda is our only real option!

Drought

With July came another reduction in our water allotment. Up until now, we have been able to maintain the rough areas by watering 3 days a week. Unfortunately, to be able to maintain quality greens, tees and fairways, we must sacrifice the roughs even more. Starting July 1st we reduced our watering schedule on the roughs to 1 day per week. Hopefully this is enough to at least keep some of our warm season grasses alive.

Bye bye Kikuyu

Last week we made our first application of dimethylamine, a selective herbicide that kills Kikuyu. The Kikuyu is obviously struggling, while the other grasses (Bermuda, Rye, Poa) are relatively unaffected. A second application is scheduled for July 13th to ensure that we have a successful kill prior to starting phase 1 of our turf conversion plan.  

June Gloom

June gloom is in full effect. The low clouds and fog have really helped us conserve water this year. To date, our water use has been reduced by over 9 million gallons compared to last year. While this weather pattern is really beneficial to saving water, it does create a headache when it comes to disease pressure. Long periods of moisture make for the perfect breeding ground for disease. We are currently seeing disease on many of our tees and greens. Curative fungicide applications have been made this week and it appears that we have the pathogen in check.

Greens Update

The greens have rebounded fairly well from the recent aerification. Considering the size of the tines and the amount of sand we put down, I am pleased with where we stand at this point in time. With an aggressive spring aerification I think we should be able to ease off a bit when aerifying this fall. Unfortunately, as the greens began to heal, we started to notice disease (Rapid Blight) on many of the perimeters. Saticoy has long battled Rapid Blight, as it is often initiated when soil salts are high; something we fight throughout the year. Just this week a new fungicide has been registered in California which finally gives us an effective tool to control this disease. The product is on order and will go down as soon as we get it. 

Bunker entry/exit renovation

We have started to chip away at a long overdue project of lowering some of our entry/exit points on some of our bunkers. Initially, we are concentrating our efforts on the greenside bunkers, as this is the area that gets the most complaints. Thus far we have been able to complete the right front bunker on #1, the right front bunker on #5, and both front bunkers on #8. Others will be addressed throughout the summer based upon our tournament schedule and available manpower.

We first strip the existing sod and then remove the soil build-up. We always want to leave enough room to allow for subtle grading.

Once we have our desired level, we return what grass we were able to save and then patch the remaining areas with new sod.




Hopefully, within a few week you will never notice we were there.....

Greens Aerification In Pictures

Plugs are pulled on a 2"x2" spacing at a depth of 1.5"

After drying, the cores are piled and picked up by the crew

After we pickup the plugs, the greens are blown clean 

A liberal topdressing is applied

We drag the sand in, filling the holes

Calcium, magnesium, and potassium are applied