It's a busy Maintenance Morning!

After back-to-back weeks of a scheduled tournament and a stat holiday, we are happy to have a Maintenance Morning today.  As stated in previous blog posts, these maintenance mornings allow us to accomplish some crucial cultural practices that are either not possible or are completed very inefficiently when golfers are on the course.  Delaying play until 11am makes all the difference in the world when attempting to schedule and complete these tasks.

Today is an extremely busy Maintenance Morning as we are verti-cutting approaches and fairways.  Not only that, we are also topdressing, slicing and matting the greens.  All of these tasks are very time consuming and require time in between each step of the process for either material to dry and/or operators to changeover equipment.  Also, some operators are required to complete multiple steps in the process, therefore only without the interruptions of golfers can these tasks be completed properly and efficiently.

We verti-cut our fairways with a tractor drawn piece of equipment called the Brouwer.  Verti-cutting is a way of removing thatch and slicing grass blades that have become matted and difficult to mow.  Here are a few of photos of this process:

Brouwer verti-cutting #1 fairway

thatch being brought to the surface

resulting thatch on the surface following verti-cutting

The resulting thatch is then either blown off of the fairways and into the rough using high-powered tow-behind blowers or the fairways are mowed and blown off after the harvested thatch is dry.  Mowing the fairways at this time is ideal as the verti-cutting process tends to stand up any matted turf allowing for a very clean cut.  The process for verti-cutting the approaches is relatively the same as fairways, it just requires smaller equipment to handle the tighter areas.

We are applying a medium-light topdressing to the greens this morning and are following that with slicing via our Planet Air aerator.  This slicing results in improved water infiltration rates, air and gas exchange capability and promotes an overall healthier growing medium.  All of this is accomplished with minimal disruption to the putting surface.  Once the topdressing sand is matted into the open slices and the green is rolled, most golfers will not be able to detect that anything was even done.  Here are some photos of this process:

#2 green being topdressed ahead of the Planet Air

Planet Air slicing #2 green

#2 green topdressed and sliced, ready to be matted

finished product ready for play: topdressed, sliced and matted

Tree Replacement Update

The replacement trees have arrived and are currently being planted.  We hand selected 4 different evergreen varieties this time around from the local nursery that have proven to do very well in our climate and soil conditions.  They will all be in the ground by the end of the day and we will be monitoring them closely to ensure that they are being well tended to.  As they mature, they will certainly stand out as specimen trees on our property.  We will continue to allocate funds each and every year to continue with our tree removal and replacement program to further improve and enhance the playability and aesthetics of our golf course.

Here are photos of the replacement trees being planted today:

Vanderwolf Pine

Western Hemlock

Deodara Cedar

Bosnian Pine

Tree Replacement

I've heard many comments and have received many questions regarding the condition of our newly planted trees.  We had an opportunity this winter to purchase trees at greatly reduced pricing from a local tree nursery.  We purchased 30 Grand Firs, a species that has traditionally done very well on this property, with the intent to plant them during the late winter and early spring months.  Here is a photo of a Grand Fir that was planted on #18 within the last 5-7 years, not far from the recently planted ones that are quickly declining:

We planted 4 Grand Firs on the course last season that are striving and showing no signs of ill health.  Unfortunately, the awful winter and spring we've experienced this season did not afford us much opportunity to plant them.  Obviously, most of these trees have not fared well this time around and will need to be replaced.  This is a result of less than ideal planting conditions and extremely wet and cold weather, the wettest March on record and coldest April in 75 years, which resulted in many of the root balls of these new trees essentially sitting in pools of water after being planted.  We have negotiated a deal with the local nursery to replace those that did not survive.  We will begin planting the replacements next week and intend to have them all in the ground within 2-3 weeks (weather permitting).

Golf Course Industry: Aerate Great

It's no secret that the aeration recovery this spring has been quite slow. Warm soil and air temperatures are key for the aeration holes to heal quickly. Needless to say, the weather here in the lower mainland this spring has not been conducive to promoting turf growth. We have experienced the wettest March on record and the coldest April in 75 years. As I am typing this blog entry on the morning of our Men's Opening, the skies are dark, it's raining and unfortunately, the forecast is bleak at best.

Last night I came across an article the latest Golf Course Industry magazine that really hit home with what we are currently experiencing on our greens with regards to healing after aeration. USGA Green Section Agronomist, Darin Brevard, is quoted as saying, "The number one factor in healing is soil and air temperatures. If you don't have them for the particular grass you're growing, you're not going to get healing."

Now, obviously warm soil and air temperatures are not the only contributing factor for a speedy recovery. We are providing other supplemental aids such as fertilizer, additional light topdressings and we are fighting against plant stresses and promoting growth by raising the height-of-cut and reducing our mowing frequency.

Please take a few minutes to read this article to better understand the factors affecting aeration recovery: Golf Course Industry: Aerate Great

Congrats Josh!

I am pleased to announce that the Assistant Superintendent position has been filled by Josh Webb.  Josh is a graduate of Seneca College's Turf Management program and has been working here at QGolf Club as our Irrigation Technician since the spring of 2009.  Josh brings almost 10 years of experience working in the private club sector and is eager to take on more responsibility on the management side of our Turf Care Department.  His proven abilities and strong work ethic matched with his drive and passion to provide exceptional playing conditions will allow him to excel in his new role.

Please join me in congratulating him on this promotion as it moves him closer to attaining his career goal of becoming a Superintendent!

It's that time of year...the dreaded Poa annua seedhead!

If you've played recently, I'm sure you've experienced some bumpy ball roll on the greens.  Yes, we are still recovering from aeration, but there is another contributing factor that's creating bumpiness in our greens.  The dreaded Poa annua seedhead!

Poa annua seedhead (white seeds) on greens

Poa annua (annual bluegrass) thrives in our wet west coast conditions and is the dominant grass species not only on our greens, but throughout the entire property!  Even at very low mowing heights of .125" (1/8"), Poa annua produces seedhead two times during a growing season, during the spring and fall.  The plant is under a great deal of stress when producing seedhead as it is exerting all of it's energy to do so.  Keeping this in mind, we must be careful not to add too much additional stress with our maintenance practices. 

Not only does the seedhead affect ball roll, it also results in messy clumping after mowing in our rough - especially on wet, dewy mornings.  This prolific seedhead production typically lasts 2-3 weeks, but we have observed our species of poa annua producing seed for 6 weeks and beyond!  Talk about stressed plants!

Poa annua seedhead in wet, dewy rough

There are some positives to the seedhead production of Poa annua.  The seedhead finds it's way into bare spots and germinates and matures to fill these voids.  These once bare areas are now much less susceptible to weed invasion.  When properly maintained, Poa annua can provide exceptional putting surfaces.  Some of the top courses in the world have Poa annua greens.  Oakmont Country Club is just one of them and it has hosted 8 US Opens.

Technically classified as a weed, Poa annua does have it's fair share of problems.  It tends to have shallow roots, high disease susceptibility and does not handle temperature related stresses well (heat and cold).

There are control products that suppress the seedhead production; the problem is that they are not registered for use in Canada.  Our neighbours to the south have a huge advantage in maintaining smooth putting surfaces this time of year with the use of these products!  We are keeping our fingers crossed that they will become registered and available in Canada sometime in the near future.  Until this happens, we will continue to work at improving the putting surfaces with our routine cultural practices such as verti-cutting, topdressing, rolling and fertility.  We will also be initiating our plant growth regulator (PGR) program next week.  This PGR program will help to control the different growth rates of our multiple grass species in our greens to provide smoother ball roll.

Here's to hoping this year's seedhead production is a short-lived one!

"Why the heck are you watering in the rain?"

No doubt, the question I will be receiving all day long is, "Why the heck are you watering in the rain?"

watering in wetting agent on #1 green...yes, in the rain

Answer: We are applying wetting agents to our greens and approaches today that MUST be watered in (more than today's rain will provide) for optimal results.  Wetting agents are used to combat hydrophobic   conditions that prevent the turf from properly draining.  The wetting agents break the surface tension  that will repel moisture and allow it to soak through the soil profile readily.  Today's application requires a follow-up application in another 10-14 days, which will provide at least 4 months of control (depending on turf conditions).  We will continue to monitor whether or not the greens begin to display any hydrophobic conditions later in the summer to determine if they will require an additional late-season wetting agent application.

Expect the greens to be soft for a couple of days following these applications due to the more than normal water in takes to force the wetting agents down into the soil profile for it to work properly.

Okay, now I've seen it all...

golfers would walk from hole to hole through underwater tunnels

Troon Golf has been appointed as technical advisor to the proposed US$500 million floating golf course project in the Maldives.

Developed by the Dutch Docklands company, the project is slated for completion by 2015.  The Maldivian government has leased five areas around Male Atoll, close to the islands’ international airport, for a fifty year period, and proposes to build a series of five floating islands that will incorporate a convention centre, hotels and golf course.  Troon says that the project will be ‘scarless’ and include opportunities for sustainable development such as watercooling, salt water collection and the use of floating solar blanket fields.  Dutch architect Koen Olhuis of Waterstudio is leading the design.

The Maldives, whose highest point is only two metres above sea level, has committed to becoming the world’s first carbon neutral country by 2020.  The nation already includes one artificial island, Hulhumale, which was completed in 2004, and covers an area of 180 hectares.  The island was built to reduce overcrowding on Male, which has over 100,000 people living in only one square mile.

The potential scale of the proposed golf course is not yet clear, although government minister Mahmood Razee has previously admitted it may not be a full sized eighteen holes.

derived from Golf Course Architecture