Common vs. Hybrid Bermuda

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and that's definitely true when you look at this comparison between the Hybrid Santa Ana Bermuda on the left compared to the Common Bermuda on the right. It is really evident that the open growth habit of the Common is a perfect environment for Poa to infiltrate. On the other hand, the more dense Santa Ana makes it much more difficult for Poa to get a foothold.

Myths About Bunkers by Jim Urbina

More of the good stuff

Wow, so much for the La Nina that forecasters predicted. YTD we are at 4.75" and nearly ten inches since November 1st. While our routine maintenance has been hindered, we have been concentrating on making the course its best on each particular day. A major hurdle with every big rain event is the natural drainage that runs down the left side of #5 and across the fourth hole. It takes some hard labor to clean the mud that is deposited on the cart path before it is usable. Otherwise, the rains have been a welcomed nuisance.

Here we go.....again

Last year I lost my rhythm and stopped posting. This year my goal is to post a couple times a month, to keep the information fresh without being too much of a time burden. As I sit down to write this, we have just received 1.10" of rain with more on the way. Since mid October we have a total of 6.75".......finally a legitimate rainy winter.

In an effort to maximize the rain, we have been deep-tine vertidraining the fairways every chance we get. This not only helps reduce compaction, but also increases soil oxygen and rooting depth. The beauty is that it creates little to no surface disruption. Employing this strategy along with a summer topdressing program, we hope to increase soil infiltration rates and improve the growing environment. Time will tell.....

Sod Installation

West Coast Turf began installing our new Santa Ana Bermudagrass on #6 yesterday. They will move on from there to #7, saving #8 for last. Right now they are planting about an acre a day, which should see the project complete on Monday (7/18).

With some sunshine, water and fertilizer we hope to open all of the holes by August 1st.

Phase 2 Begins!

Phase 2 of the Fairway Improvement Plan began yesterday. We completed removing the old turf on #6, moving on to #7 today. If all goes as planned, we will complete #7 today and start #8. We will begin to install sod tomorrow, which will continue into the weekend.

Project Prep

Phase 2 of the Fairway Improvement Plan begins next week. We are just finalizing all of the project details, gathering the necessary equipment, and going through the schedule with a fine tooth comb. The Kikuyu on # 6 has been sprayed with a selective herbicide and we are seeing great results.

Kikuyu 1 week post herbicide (Drive XLR8)

We continue to water holes 6-8, as many of the heads that water the fairways also irrigate the rough areas. We also want to avoid creating a surface that is so hard that we will have problems aerifying.

Aerification and stripping will begin on Monday the 11th and sod will begin to be installed on the 13th.

I will keep you updated as the process moves along.......

Project Work

Spring is a very busy time for us, as the warmer, longer days increase the growth rate our the turf. Even with increased mowing frequency it never seems like we get fully caught up. Aside from our routine mowing schedule, we continue to plug away at our never ending projects list. Over the last few weeks we have been focusing some of our attention upon front nine sod patching, spot aerification / seeding of bare rough areas, and topping off greenside bunkers with new sand.

We should complete the front nine by Friday, moving to the back nine beginning next week.

Tree Removals

We removed two trees on Monday. Both were in really bad shape and had been designated for removal long ago. On #5 we took down the large Blue Cedar in the right rough. It was previously in really poor health and the drought seemed to push it over the edge. It was completely dead and nothing more than an eyesore. We also removed a large Stone Pine behind the 14th green. Although it was relatively healthy, our Certified Arborist noted that it was very dangerous due to its really unbalanced growth habit. There was not an option to trim, as it was too far gone.

Irrigation upgrades

We continue to work on refining our irrigation system. This week we worked near the 3rd tee to replace several large area sprinkler heads with smaller, fine-tuned heads. This will allow us to irrigate this area more precisely while eliminating excessive overthrow and waste.




 

Seeding

We finally made some time to seed most of the thin/bare areas in the fairways this week. Most of these areas are historically poor performing areas that fill-in with Poa over the winter, only to die when the summer heat arrives. This is really just a band-aid to hold us over until we can buy some Bermuda sod to fix this perennial problem once and for all. Hopefully, we see some rain this spring to help the seedlings along.

How to Practice

To save what precious little hitting space we have, everyone has the responsibility to practice in a way that will minimize healing time. The pictures to the right say it all.......

Poa

We are starting to see the existing poa annua flower. This directly coincides with seed production, with each poa plant producing 80 viable seeds per plant on average. Therein lies the problem in controlling this pest in an environment that supports it growth for 8 months of the year. The upside is that many of the thin areas around the course will soon begin to fill-in and playing conditions will improve. Unfortunately, poa is a true annual and will begin to die as summer arrives.

El Nino is finally here

The first real rains of this years El Nino have finally arrived packing some punch. We were fortunate to be able to prepare as forecasters were very accurate on the time and amount that these first few storms would deliver. Tuesday we received 1.35" and Wednesday we got another 2.10". Understandably, the course is very wet, with surface water still draining at this moment.

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