Derf Soller is a Northwest Agronomist for the USGA. Formerly the Superintendent at Breckenridge Golf Club, Derf is quite familiar with mountain golf course maintenance. He has been on the prowl checking out courses as they emerge from the white stuff. Click here to read his latest update on courses that have been affected by the amount of snow this winter and critical tips on preparing the course for the summer.
Vail Golf Club has been able to aerify greens already, however aerifying tees and spiking fairways remain. We are looking forward to drier weather to accomplish these practices. We will most likely have to balance play and cultural practices.
Showing posts with label Cultural Practices. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cultural Practices. Show all posts
Friday, May 20, 2011
Monday, September 27, 2010
Fairway Aerification
It is time to aerify fairways. The weather has been favorable. By the looks of this picture you may not even notice that big green tractor.
I love this aerifier because there is nothing to break, especially with all of the rock in the fairways.
We aerify fairways in three directions with this wheel to disturb as much of the surface as possible. There are 5/8th inch tines on the back and open up great holes. After letting the cores sit and dry out we drag them with a large plastic mat to break up the dirt from the thatch and plant material. Once the dirt is free, we use a large blower to push the thatch into the rough to be disbursed by mowers.
Today we attacked 4 & 5 fairways. The rest of the week is planned as follows:
Tuesday: Fairways: 6 & 7
Wednesday: 2 & 8
Thursday: 1 & 9
The back nine fairways will be aerified next week.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Air, Water and Soils
With the dry conditions and warm temperatures we are going to substitute aerification with spiking on fairways and tees. Beginning Monday we will spike all fairways and tees on the course. It will take us all week and then some to complete all 18 holes.
During dry conditions the soils tend to lock up and become very hard. Maybe you have had a hard time getting tees into the ground. Water is having the same problem. Spiking will help loosen the soil profile and allow the water to enter the rootzone. Spiking is not a solution to aerifcation. Pulling cores removes thatch which is highly important. Unless we see some significant moisture soon, we will plan to aerify the entire course in the spring. Greens aerification will begin Monday, October 4th. Stay tuned for course maintenance and closures through October.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Verticutting And Topdressing
We were about a week behind our topdressing schedule because of last week's events. Thursday we played catch up by really attacking some of the grooming on the greens. First we used vertical mower blades to help smooth out the surface and remove some organic mater in the turf. We followed this by a light sand topdressing application. After dragging in the sand with a mat we finished with a slow release granular fertilizer 18-9-18 that consists of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Now that we have arrived at summer these nutrients are critical to help handle the stresses of the season.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Preparing the Greens
Getting the golf course ready for play is an exciting time of the year. Pictured here are Chris and Steve who are emptying baskets full of thatch and plant material out of the greens from scarifying.
Following this we aerified with solid tines. The solid tines leave no clean up, but allow gas exchange and avenues for topdressing sand into the soil profile.
With the recent snow fall, we are forced to delay sand applications. Moving sand is most effective under dry conditions. This weekend looks like warmer and drier weather will arrive in the valley. Keep your fingers crossed so we can begin getting more and more of this course open for play.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Fall Practices
On Monday I was asked through a comment on this site about the cultural practices that we can do on the golf course to provide quicker spring green up. Though there are many ways to prepare the golf course for the winter and spring, this climate mostly depends on Mother Nature. After four winters on this course, it is rare to find an area that comes through consistently year after year. Spring green up mostly relates to soil temperatures and how quickly they can rise, however there are a number of ways we can promote healthier turf when those temperatures do rise.
Much like our own bodies, stress relief is one of the best ways to prepare a golf course for the winter. In other words, we want to pump up each plant and make it as healthy as possible to survive the stresses of winter. The plant has slowed down in growth significantly and is beginning to go into dormancy. This is the period where plants do not respond to much, mainly because soil temperatures are too low and there is not as much sunlight for photosynthesis.
You will notice many areas of the course where the turf is longer than normally maintained. This practice allows as much plant tissue intact to store carbohydrates through the winter. A fall fertilizer such as Ammonium Sulfate is a cheap an easy way to accumulate carbohydrates to ease the stress of winter. Due to this fertilizer's high salt index and burn potential it is critical to apply when soil temperatures are below 40 degrees and the plant has slowed in growth.
Aerification and topdressing also help with winter preparation. Open aerification holes help with drainage and help reduce ice damage. The melting snow helps sand topdressing get into the soil profile and protect the crown of the plant. Leaf clean up is important to prevent molds from forming through the wintertime.
One of the most critical areas we pay attention to and spend significant dollars with are fungicide applications. With prolonged snow cover, snowmold can be a severe disease to golf courses in the north and can do a lot of damage. Snow mold is a soil borne pathogen that can attack the leaf blades of turfgrass plants and many times can be fatal. The control for this disease can significantly make or break a golf season in the mountains.
The proper application can leave the plant "untouched" through the winter and allow us to pick up where we left off. If chemical applications are not done correctly, we are then forced to play "catch-up" with seeding, sodding, applying more fertilizer, using more water and even using more herbicides as weeds begin to creep into areas that turfgrass once was.
Other practices we do prior to winter is keep carts on paths by the middle of October, use "winter cups" (having multiple cups set on a green to vary pin locations to relieve stress), rope off greens to prevent skiers and use reflectors to scare away elk which has been an increasing problem in the winter here in Vail.
Much like our own bodies, stress relief is one of the best ways to prepare a golf course for the winter. In other words, we want to pump up each plant and make it as healthy as possible to survive the stresses of winter. The plant has slowed down in growth significantly and is beginning to go into dormancy. This is the period where plants do not respond to much, mainly because soil temperatures are too low and there is not as much sunlight for photosynthesis.
You will notice many areas of the course where the turf is longer than normally maintained. This practice allows as much plant tissue intact to store carbohydrates through the winter. A fall fertilizer such as Ammonium Sulfate is a cheap an easy way to accumulate carbohydrates to ease the stress of winter. Due to this fertilizer's high salt index and burn potential it is critical to apply when soil temperatures are below 40 degrees and the plant has slowed in growth.
Aerification and topdressing also help with winter preparation. Open aerification holes help with drainage and help reduce ice damage. The melting snow helps sand topdressing get into the soil profile and protect the crown of the plant. Leaf clean up is important to prevent molds from forming through the wintertime.
One of the most critical areas we pay attention to and spend significant dollars with are fungicide applications. With prolonged snow cover, snowmold can be a severe disease to golf courses in the north and can do a lot of damage. Snow mold is a soil borne pathogen that can attack the leaf blades of turfgrass plants and many times can be fatal. The control for this disease can significantly make or break a golf season in the mountains.
The proper application can leave the plant "untouched" through the winter and allow us to pick up where we left off. If chemical applications are not done correctly, we are then forced to play "catch-up" with seeding, sodding, applying more fertilizer, using more water and even using more herbicides as weeds begin to creep into areas that turfgrass once was.
Other practices we do prior to winter is keep carts on paths by the middle of October, use "winter cups" (having multiple cups set on a green to vary pin locations to relieve stress), rope off greens to prevent skiers and use reflectors to scare away elk which has been an increasing problem in the winter here in Vail.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Wet Conditions
Since there are no golfers on the course because of the weather, why wouldn't you take advantage of the situation and aerify?
I would love to take advantage of the limited golf to do this, however the moisture will only set us back and it makes our goal that much more difficult to achieve when everything is wet.
First off, when soils are saturated, most times cores will not come out of the ground, or at the very least we acheive about half of the desired depth. Then, if they do come out of the ground and the cores are wet, it becomes very difficult to separate the soils from the thatch and plant matter. One of the goals during fairway aerification is to return as much soil back into the root zone and only remove the plant materials.
So we wait for another day. In the meantime, the GCM staff will continue with other projects on the course.
I would love to take advantage of the limited golf to do this, however the moisture will only set us back and it makes our goal that much more difficult to achieve when everything is wet.
First off, when soils are saturated, most times cores will not come out of the ground, or at the very least we acheive about half of the desired depth. Then, if they do come out of the ground and the cores are wet, it becomes very difficult to separate the soils from the thatch and plant matter. One of the goals during fairway aerification is to return as much soil back into the root zone and only remove the plant materials.
So we wait for another day. In the meantime, the GCM staff will continue with other projects on the course.
Monday, September 21, 2009
The weather outside is...
... cold. Pay attention to the weather if you are planning to play this week. Not a great week to aerify fairways and we are postponing today's plan to punch 10 and 18 fairway. With the wet conditions we will be unable to achieve the goal of aerification. We will monitor the weather on a day-to-day basis and make decisions accordingly on aerification.
Instead, today we'll focus on tree trimming and native grass mowing. Mowing the natives is the second step to a better maintained native stand of plantings. In time, with the reduction of over-spray from irrigation, these areas will begin to thin out and actually be left to their natural environment. In the spring these cut plants will grow back stronger and be more competitive against weeds. Pesticide applications will be made to rid any unwanted or noxious weeds surrounding the golf course.
Not only will these areas look more aesthetically pleasing, they will become player friendly. Thinner grassy areas will make it easier to find golf balls, and you may even get a bit of roll out of them.
Instead, today we'll focus on tree trimming and native grass mowing. Mowing the natives is the second step to a better maintained native stand of plantings. In time, with the reduction of over-spray from irrigation, these areas will begin to thin out and actually be left to their natural environment. In the spring these cut plants will grow back stronger and be more competitive against weeds. Pesticide applications will be made to rid any unwanted or noxious weeds surrounding the golf course.
Not only will these areas look more aesthetically pleasing, they will become player friendly. Thinner grassy areas will make it easier to find golf balls, and you may even get a bit of roll out of them.
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