Whats In My Cart

Earlier in the year Epic Creative came out to shoot pictures and video on the golf course as a follow up to see how the Bentgrass fairway conversion is doing.  Epic originally came out in 2007 to first document the success we were having with our Bentgrass fairway conversion.

What started out as a photo shoot and interview went horribly wrong when they asked me to show them whats in my cart. As you can see it has a lot of things that are needed on a moments notice on the golf course.  My cart is kind of a mobile office, tool box and trash can all rolled into one.

The video can be found Here enjoy.

More Is Better

Now that the greens have begun to actively grow, the areas in which Poa Annua was lost to Crown Hydration are easily identifiable. We are fortunate to have relatively small populations of Poa on our twenty five year old greens.  This has resulted in small circular areas of damaged turf that can be more quickly re-established than larger sprawling areas of  turf loss.

Aside from increased fertility levels and the use of PGR's to promote  increased tillering many of these spots have been overseeded with Bentgrass. Full scale broadcasting of seed has taken place throughout the greens with even more specific work being done to the small spots.  The seed that was broadcasted was spiked into the soil surface to increase soil to seed contact which is vital for germination.  On top of that a divot mix that included Bentgrass seed was also applied to these thin areas to further improve the germination likelihood.  This sand mixture also serves another purpose in keeping the green surface smooth because some of these dead Poa areas are slightly sunken below the turf line.

As existing Bentgrass moves laterally and germination of new seed occurs the putting surfaces will still roll true even though adequate turf might not exist.

Close Up Of Dead Poa With Bent In The Middle

Sand And Seed Mixture Applied To The Voids

Resistant To Change

We have been converting our fairways from Perennial Ryegrass to Bentgrass for the last Six seasons. Overall the conversion has gone extremely well, with Total Bentgrass populations exceeding 75% in the fairways. The other components in the fairways are Poa Annua and Ryegrass.

The reduction of Poa Annua populations has actually been easier than reducing the Ryegrass, due to chemical options currently available. The Ryegrass has persisted in heavy cart traffic areas in the fairways because it’s better equipped to handle the repeated pounding of cart traffic. It is areas like these that the Bentgrass has been slower to establish itself and we are now beginning to try alternative methods to help with the conversion.

Rygrass in Fairway(Dark Green Patches)

Currently we have begun test application to some of the fairway areas that contain high populations of Ryegrass to evaluate the efficacy of a new product. I have been speaking with a university professor about protocol of this product and I will be reporting my results to him. As with anything new, we are trying this on a limited scale to see how the product will react in our environmental conditions. If we see positive results we will increase the applications until the desired effect takes place. These applications will be timed with Bentgrass overseedings, so that any voids that might be created will have viable seed in the soil waiting to germinate and fill in.

Bentgrass Seedlings

If you look closely in the fairways, you will see many Bentgrass seedlings becoming established. The fairways were overseeded back in the middle of April and with the cooler than normal temperatures this spring, wide spread germination was delayed. With the recent consistent rains the seedlings finally started to germinate and become visible. Normally germination of Bentgrass takes between five and seven days, were as this spring it took nearly three and a half weeks to occur.

Now that the seedlings are fighting for establishment, bi- weekly foliar fertilizer applications will be made to help provide the nutrients necessary for maturity. These foliar fertilizer applications will be made in conjunction with PGR applications that will target the Poa and further allow the Bentgrass to take hold.
Visible Seedlings in Verti-Cut Lines
Seedlings Coming Up In a Divot

Latest Tee 2 Green Add

The Country Club at Castle Pines is once again featured in a national advertisement by Tee 2 Green Corporation. The current add is featured in industry trade magazines such as Golf Course Industry. The pictures of the course were taken in a photo and video shoot from the summer of 2006. We were featured due to the overwhelming success we have had with our Bentgrass fairway conversion. Unfortunately the pictures were shot before the bunker renovation had taken place and is a reminder of how much the golf course has been improved since then.

Aerification: The Process

Each area on the golf course is treated differently, but the end result is all the same. We are trying to alleviate the surface compaction that exists on each of the play areas so that the plant is better equipped to perform well for the upcoming season.

Greens:
The process begins with an application of sand to the surface before they are aerified. This is done so that the newly created holes are not closed immediately by the weight of the equipment applying the sand. An additional benefit of this is that the sand on the surface is forced down into the profile by the aerifier tines. After aerification has been completed and the sand is dry the greens are drug with a coco mat to fill the holes with sand.
Applying Sand To The Green

Aerifying The Green
Close up of Aerification Holes


Final Product



Fairways:
The fairways were de-thatched rather than aerified so that the surface disruption is not as significant. Typically the fairways are only aerified in the fall. The Graden verticutter was set to a depth of 1” below the surface and was done in two directions to remove maximum amount of thatch without causing surface damage. The thatch was drug with a steel mat to break up the debris and the remainder was then blown off. Next the Bentgrass seed was spread and compost was applied on top. After the compost material was dry, the fairways were once again drug in with a steel mat to evenly distribute the seed compost mix.

Verti-Cutting Fairways

Close Up Of Thatch Removed From Fairway
Seeding The Fairways
Spreading Compost

Dragging In The Compost


Tees:
The tees were treated in a similar manor as the fairways, but with out the compost application being made.

This whole process takes a staff of 20, every bit of three days to complete with good weather. Throw in the delays we experienced this spring and the task becomes rather challenging to say the least. I hope this gives everybody a feel for what has taken place on the golf course for the last three days.

Aerification Day Three

The weather has held for the early portion of the day and has allowed us to continue making progress. With that being said we will still not be able to finish seeding and composting fairways #13 and #16 due to the approaching storm. High winds have once again shut down the seeding operation, which in turn shuts down the compost application to the fairways.
The seed is applied to the fairways first and the compost is applied on top of the seed to act as a cover that will help with germination. Since we are unable to follow this sequence will be forced to complete the operation when the weather will allow. Hopefully we will be able to complete the fairways this coming Friday or worst case next Monday.

In effort to put the course back into play the greens have been mowed to clean up the extra sand that was still on the surface. Other cleanup items that are taking place are that all of the plaques and yardage makers on the tees and fairways are being edged and debris removed from them.

Once the golf course opens back up for play you will be surprised how well the greens will roll for just being aerified. The fairways will look a little of the brown side due to the compost remaining on the surface. As the fairways begin to actively grow the compost will work its way down the canopy and no longer be visible.

Aerification Day Two Continiued

The time I thought we were going to make up did not happen due to the extremely high winds from an approaching cold front. The high winds slowed progress of the seeding operation on the fairways. Bentgrass is an extremely small seed (approximately 6 million seed per pound) and is highly susceptible to being blown away from the intended area of application. This was even more of a factor since we are broadcasting the seed rather than applying it with a drop spreader. We were unable to apply seed to fairways #13 through #18. As a result the compost application was also not made to those fairways. We will try again in the morning and see what kind of progress can be made before the storm hits.

Bentgrass Seed Being Applied With a Broadcast Spreader

Tee 2 Green Video

Check out this video success story from Tee 2 Green that profiles myself and The Country Club at Castle Pines Bentgrass fairway conversion.

Bentgrass Fairway Coversion

The Country Club at Castle Pines has been featured in national trade publications by Tee 2 Green Corporation as a Bentgrass fairway conversion success story. Our aggressive approach towards a fairway conversion has been recognized as a model for other clubs to follow.