That's A Wrap

It looks like things on the golf course are coming to a rapid close for the season after the last snowfall of more than 10". Fortunately for us there are only a couple of things remaining on the course that needs to be done before winter sets in for good. Earlier this week we were able to accomplish a few critical tasks that needed to happen before the snow fell. These would be preventive applications for snow mold control on greens and tees, additionally a dormant fertilizer application was made to the fairways.

This fertilizer application will supply the nutrients to the turf immediately and allow the plant to store "food" (carbohydrates) for next spring. An effective late fall fertilization will benefit the turf by producing carbohydrates, encouraging early spring root growth, providing good spring color and improving turf density.

Next week  we are scheduled to blow out the irrigation system and it looks like we will be doing it with snow on the ground.....again.

Predictive Models

Fertilizer technology has improved just like everything else around us. Today many of the fertilizer producers have spent a tremendous amount of time and money developing highly predicable fertilizer products. Previously slow release products relied on sulfur coatings that were applied around the fertilizer particle to control the release. These products were touted as having a controlled releases of anywhere between 8 and 12 weeks. Unfortunately this was not always what happened in the field due to failures in the coatings.

Now days the coatings that are applied to the fertilizer are made from hi-tech polymers that are not subject to the same failures as previous coatings. These newer coatings will now allow release times of up to 12 to 16 weeks of nutrient supply. This has now allowed for more predicable releases of fertilizer products that help Golf Course Superintendent’s better manage their fertility.

Several of the fertilizer producers now make available software that can be used to show the projected releases of the individual products. This has been extremely useful in allowing the end user to better schedule fertilizer application timings, so that excessive growth is not produced.

Ball Mark Recovery

The additional fertility that has been applied to the greens is helping with ball mark recovery. If you look closely at the ball marks that were actually repaired, you will se new growth forming and beginning the fill the mark back in. Additionally other un-repaired ball marks are beginning to fill in as well, from the fertility and use of PGR’s.

The plant growth regulators help the turf by increasing plant density and production of additional tillers. This additional growth is mostly in the form of lateral movement which helps grow over and into old ball marks. This type of lateral spreading is the normal growth habit of the Pencross Bentgrass, but this movement is enhanced with the use of PGR’s.

Close Up Of a Recovering Ball Mark

Not So Rough After All

As the summer heat begins to kick in the rough is finally showing signs of slowing down. The early fertility that was applied to the rough in the spring to promote active growth and recovery from winter damage worked well, a little too well.

Now that the excess fertilizer has been exhausted from the soil, the over active grow is subsiding. The additional factors of higher daytime temperatures and low humidity have also worked to help slow down the growth of the rough. The rough is still very thick, but it now has become easier to find your ball as well as hit from it.

Additional fertilizer will still be applied to the rough as the summer progresses mainly to allow the grass to have a chance to repair itself from the beating it takes on daily basis with heavy cart traffic.

Understanding Turfgrass Nutrition

In order for a turfgrass to grow and thrive, it needs a number of different chemical elements. The most important are:


· Carbon, hydrogen and oxygen - Available from air and water and therefore in plentiful supply
· Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium (a.k.a. potash) - The three macronutrients and the three elements you find in most packaged fertilizers
· Sulfur, calcium, and magnesium - Secondary nutrients
· Boron, cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum and zinc are micronutrients
· Every amino acid contains nitrogen.
· Every molecule making up every cell's membrane contains phosphorous
· Potassium makes up 1 percent to 2 percent of the weight of any plant and, as an ion in cells, is essential to metabolism.
If any of the macronutrients are missing or hard to obtain from the soil, this will limit the growth rate for the plant. In nature, the nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium often come from the decay of plants that have died. In the case of nitrogen, the recycling of nitrogen from dead to living plants is often the only source of nitrogen in the soil.
To make plants grow faster, what you need to do is supply the elements that the plant needs in readily available forms. Most fertilizers supply just nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium because the other chemicals are needed in much lower quantities and are generally available in most soils. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium availability is the big limit to growth.
The numbers on a bag of fertilizer tell you the percentages of available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium found in the bag. So 12-8-10 fertilizer has 12-percent nitrogen, 8-percent phosphorous and 10-percent potassium. In a 100-pound bag, therefore, 12 pounds is nitrogen, 8 pounds is phosphorous and 10 pounds is potassium. The other 70 pounds is filler and has no value to the plants.
So why don't people need fertilizer to grow? Because we get everything we need from the plants we eat or from the meat of animals that ate plants. Plants are factories that do all of the work to process the basic elements of life and make them available to us.

Filling In

With the active growth taking place in the rough right now, the voids are now beginning to fill in. These areas were created by presence of extended snow cover, causing significant Vole activity and Snow Mold damage. The Bluegrass that is found in the rough areas is the predominant grass type and has a great ability to repair itself.

The Rough Filling in


The turf re-establishes itself with new leaf and stem production in the form of Rhizomes. In Botany, a rhizome is a horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes. These new roots and shoots are where the new grass leaf surface is produced. It is for this reason the Bluegrass can spread or move laterally and fill in any voided areas.

Bailing Hay

With the recent rain fall combined with rising air and soil temperatures, the rough has begun to grow. We have gone from mowing the rough only once a week, to now having to mow it three times this week to get it back under control. As the surge of growth subsides, so too will the heavy clippings that are currently being left behind. Until that time occurs we will be blowing off the rough areas that are heavy with clippings.

Clippings in The Rough

Soil Management

This year we have been experimenting with a new chemical product that claims to help reduce sodium and bicarbonate levels in the soil. As you know the effluent water we irrigate with is extremely high in both of these elements. After years of irrigation with this water the soils have taken on the same characteristics found in the water. We have been applying materials to offset these problems for many years with varying degrees of success.

The combination of high Bicarbonate and Sodium levels in the soil creates a cementing of the soil particles that does not allow for adequate drainage and nutrient uptake. Add this factor to our severely contoured site and it makes it even more difficult to achieve any kind of water penetration into the soils. This effect is often seen where the mounded rough areas are dry and low lying fairway areas are wet due to a lack of water penetration and water sheet flowing down to the lowest point.

Initially the product is applied every 7 days for three weeks and then once a month thereafter. I will be taking additional soil test to analyze the efficacy of this new product and if any positive changes occur, I will begin to expand the use of it throughout the course.

Product Being Applied To the Greens
Watering Product Into The Soil Profile

Time to Get Growing

Fertilizer Being Applied To The Rough

Fertilizer is any material that supplies one or more of the essential nutrients to plants. They typically provide, in varying proportions, the three major plant nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium: N-P-K), the secondary plant nutrients (calcium, sulfur, magnesium), and sometimes trace elements (or micronutrients) with a role in plant nutrition: boron, chlorine, manganese, iron, zinc, copper, and molybdenum.

Fertilizers can be classified into one of two categories: organic or synthetic. Organic fertilizers are derived from living or once living material. These materials include animal wastes, crop residues, compost and numerous other byproducts of living organisms. Synthetic fertilizers are derived from non-living sources such as ammonia, ammonium sulfate, and urea which are by-products from the oil and natural gas industry.

Benefits of Organic Fertilizers
There are many advantages that come from the use of organic fertilizers. One advantage of organic materials is that they provide beneficial organic matter that can improve the soils water and nutrient holding capacity. This organic matter also creates an environment that encourages beneficial soil organisms. Another advantage is that organic materials take longer to breakdown and release nutrients. This creates a slow-release situation that provides nutrients over a longer period of time and can also help in reducing the loss of nutrients to leaching.

Pesticide Usage

The Facts About Golf Course Pesticides

Golf Courses are:
• Community green spaces that provide recreational opportunities and also offer and enhance wildlife habitats.
• "Air conditioners" that produce vast amounts of oxygen while cleansing the air of pollution and cooling the atmosphere.
• Water treatment systems: Healthy turfgrass is an excellent filter that traps and holds pollutants in place; courses actually serve as catch basins for residential and industrial runoff; many courses are effective disposal sites for effluent wastewater.
• Among the best ways to reclaim and restore environmentally damaged sites, such as landfills.
• Businesses that contribute substantially to communities through employment, taxes, property value improvement and enormous charitable support.
Scientific Data:
• Independent university research supports the fact that well-managed golf courses do not pose significant risks to environmental quality, wildlife or human health.
• The modern pesticides and fertilizers used to maintain healthy golf course turf have been thoroughly tested and are considered safe when used according to label directions.
• A pesticide product today has typically undergone more than 120 studies at a cost of $50 million before it is registered by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Today's Golf Course Superintendents are educated professionals who care about environmental quality.
• Most of today's superintendents have college degrees and substantial continuing education.
• Superintendents are the nation's leading practitioners of integrated pest management, a philosophy that reduces the potential environmental risks of pesticide usage.
• Virtually all golf courses employ at least one state licensed pesticide applicator who is trained in environmentally sound pesticide use.

Are golfers at risk?
• No. There is no scientific evidence that golfers face any chronic health risks from the pesticides used to maintain courses.
• Once a liquid pesticide product is applied and the turf is dry or the product has been watered in, there is very little chance of exposure to golfers or others who enter the area.
• Golfers with possible chemical allergies are always encouraged to contact superintendents to find out what products might be in use.
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Greens Fertilization

Today the greens were fertilized with a granular fertilizer product. This product was applied to promote active growth and green up. The fertilizer will begin to release in a couple of days, and at that time we will begin to mow the greens on a regular basis. By having the greens actively growing before spring aerification (April 14-16th) the recovery time will be significantly reduced.

Cart Traffic Repair

Numerous areas on the golf course receive an overwhelmingly high amount of cart traffic due to limited exit and entry points. These areas are managed differently that the rest of the course to handle the abuse they take on a daily basis. Even with these efforts to manage these areas well still will end up re-sodding several of them each year.

Some of the additional maintenance practices that take place to these areas are higher fertility, additional aerification and daily cart traffic flow management.

A Newly Sodded Cart Path Exit Point

Many of the high flow traffic areas receive nearly twice the amount of fertilizer and aerification than the other rough areas on the golf course. The reason we do this is to give the grass an advantage in repairing itself by providing it additional food and relief from compaction caused by cart traffic. A large portion of our daily course setup is dedicated to managing cart flow with the use of ropes and directional signs. In the peak of summer when play is exceeding 200 rounds per day we move some of the ropes and signs twice in one day. Needles to say it is an uphill battle we are fighting, but I believe we are staying ahead of the curve.