Signs that fall has arrived...

It was another GREAT summer in the lower mainland, but now it is time to welcome fall.  The change of season also indicates a change in our turf care maintenance practices.  Some routine tasks, such as mowing, become more difficult to keep up with as our summer students have returned to school and the seasonal rains and cooler nights provide ideal growing conditions for turf.  Although we provide moisture to the turf via our irrigation system throughout the summer months, nothing gets turf growing quite like rainfall.  It's like we've fertilized each and every time it rains.  For more info on why rainfall differs so much from irrigation, please visit one of my previous blog posts by clicking HERE. That being said, we are mowing as frequently as we can and will be lowering the height-of-cut (HOC) on the rough mowers this week to try and lessen the penalty of hitting your ball into the rough.

Frequency of mowing also changes in the fall.  Again, without the staffing levels that we have in the summer months, we are forced to reduce how often we mow greens, tees, approaches and fairways.  You can expect these areas to be a bit "shaggy" this time of year until colder temperatures slow down the growth rates.  Bunkers are also raked less often so please ensure you do your part by raking your tracks when you enter and exit them.

On behalf of Josh and all the hardworking guys and gals on the Turf Care crew, I'd like to take this time to thank you, the members, for all the positive feedback and compliments about the course conditioning and landscape maintenance this year.  We were eager to hit the ground running this spring to prove just what this team is capable of and I am proud to say that this crew has exceeded all my expectations.  We are already planning for an even more successful 2015, but until then, enjoy what fall has to offer here at Quilchena. 

See you on the course,

Jason

VENTING GREENS: Providing a breath of fresh air.

This morning we are venting (solid-tine aerating) the greens and collars.  They will be double-rolled immediately following the procedure, and will be double-rolled again tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday.  We typically vent the greens during a scheduled Monday Maintenance Morning, but with the double shotgun to accommodate the tournament this Monday we were not able to do so.

Our greens are holding up very well this summer, but their rootzones need oxygen right now as the droughty and hot summer conditions along with added compaction from the traffic of maintenance equipment and heavy play have taken their toll on them.  Venting accomplishes just that, it provides channels for gas exchange and enhances root growth, but without the major disruption of a core aeration.  Venting greens is scheduled for every 14 days during the season, but we have not done one since July 21^st due to a stat holiday and outside tournaments.  

We are using a different style of venting tine this time around so we completed a trial on the front of the 9^th green Tuesday morning to ensure that they deliver the results we want.  This bayonet style of venting tine produces more of a narrow slicing action on the surface vs a small round hole.  The slicing action of these tines sever the small fibrous roots instead of separating them.  This severing action causes the plant hormone Auxin to be released that causes root branching even in times of stress.  Root branching enhances root density and contributes to a stronger and healthier root mass.  Here is a photo illustrating venting tine setup, the immediate results and the finished product following the first double-roll:

You can expect the greens to be a bit bumpy today and again tomorrow, but back to normal following their 3^rd double-roll on Saturday morning.

It's mosquito season!

When I think of summer, I think of sunshine, backyard BBQs, hanging out at the beach, camping and unfortunately, those pesky mosquitos!  The mosquitos can annoy the heck out of you while playing golf, especially if you're like me and spend a lot of time in the rough or near the ponds.  When they are as annoying as they are right now, we typically get asked, "What are you doing about the mosquitos?"

The truth is, there is nothing more we can do to effectively reduce the mosquito population than what we are already doing.  We used to spend lots of $$$ spraying our ponds with larvicide to help reduce their population, but these treatments were not very effective.  Furthermore, unless the City of Richmond completes the same treatments along the dyke and in and around the ditches surrounding our property, mosquitos from the immediate surrounds of the Club will hunt down our golfers for their precious blood.

We have installed a couple of bat houses on the course over the past few years as bats can consume up to 1200 mosquitos per hour and each of the bat houses accommodates up to 300 bats.  That’s up to 720,000 mosquitos being consumed on the property per hour with the two bat houses we have!  We do hope to continue to add more bat houses to the course soon. For now, I’ll have a word with our bats to ensure that they’re continuing to do their part.  

What you can do to keep the pesky blood suckers from ruining your round of golf is apply bug repellent.  That being said, PLEASE ONLY APPLY BUG REPELLENT ON PATHS.  As you can see below, bug repellents damage turf:

Here is another photo taken yesterday from our lower putting green where someone applied bug repellent right in the middle of the green:

The green footprints you see in the photos indicate where the golfer was standing while applying the bug repellent.  The turf underneath the golfer's feet was shielded from the spray.  As you can see, the turf that did come in contact with the spray was damaged by it.  It typically only takes about 24 hours for the damage to show up.

COURSE UPDATE - June 5, 2014

It’s hard to believe that we are already a week into June!  Other than a few hiccups, the weather this spring has been nothing short of stellar.  We are very pleased with our turf health programs throughout the course and now that we are at full staffing levels we are able to focus on the finer details such as tree pruning, pond maintenance, weed control and hand-watering.  The long range forecast for this summer is calling for rather warm and exceptionally dry conditions.  We are confident that our maintenance programs will continually deliver playing conditions that exceed your expectations. 

The usual spring growth surge in the rough has finally begun to subside so you can expect to see less and less “clumping” from the rough mowing equipment.  We have been doing our best to minimize the impact on playability from the clumping with the use of blowers, but it is to be expected that there will still be areas that are quite messy this time of year.  As the growth rates continue to slow down, there will be less and less clumping.

We have been busy completing some tree pruning tasks on the course lately and the response from the golfers has been extremely positive.  The biggest impact from our pruning efforts so far can be seen at #12 green complex as illustrated below in the “before & after” photo: 

Crown-raising the cedars at the back of the 12^th green has not only provided aesthetic and playability improvements, it has also greatly benefited the turf at the back of the green.  We have already observed much healthier turf conditions due to the improved air movement and reduced shade.  Additional root pruning along the back edge of the green will also result in improved turf quality.  We have also completed some tree pruning at #6 and #11 green complexes and will continue throughout the course as time allows.  In addition, you can expect to see more dead, dying and/or dangerous trees being removed throughout the summer months.  The resulting stumps will also be removed as time allows.

Some lucky Turf Care team members have been spending time in some of the ponds throughout the course removing cattails that are affecting sightlines into some of the greens (i.e. - #5, 6, 12, 13 and 15).  The cattails and other aquatic plants provide some great benefits to our ponds by routinely filtering the water and helping to reduce algae.  However, sometimes they become too tall and selective removal is necessary.  Here is a “Before & After” photo of the removals at #15 green:

We will begin prepping the grass hitting area at the practice range on our scheduled Maintenance Morning next Monday, June 9^th.  This will include a solid-tine aeration, heavy overseeding and granular fertilizer application.  We anticipate the hitting area to be ready for use on Tuesday, June 24^th.  This is about 4 weeks behind our usual target date for opening it, but we hope that the later opening date will allow us to provide the grass hitting area throughout the duration of the summer.  There will also be more times designated for “mats only” this season to preserve the turf and promote sustainability, instead of just allowing it to be badly beat up for 5 weeks and then being forced to close it for the season.

Please understand that our grass hitting area is substantially undersized and we do not have sufficient space at this time to expand it.  An adequately sized hitting area allows for about an acre of actual hitting zone for divots to heal properly so the turf can be routinely cycled through time and time again.  At approximately 8500 ft², ours only provides about 20% of an acre, which simply does not allow for enough recovery time for the hitting zones to be ready for use again.  That being said, we politely ask that you please use it for warm up purposes only and not for hitting bucket after bucket of range balls.  You can also help us to provide the best possible grass hitting area by following the “Preferred Divot Pattern” seen below:

 

In addition, we will also be prepping a small grass hitting area tucked away near the practice bunker for the Golf Shop professional staff to conduct private lessons from.  This hitting zone will be quite small and for limited use so we ask that you please reserve this designated turf for the Golf Shop personnel only.

The turf covers in the landing zone of the practice range will likely be removed at the end of next week.  These covers have proven to be a great investment as they have provided ideal conditions underneath them to establish new turf with the use of aeration cores and some additional ryegrass seed.  The additional warmth generated by using the covers has resulted in rapid establishment and excellent rooting for the new turf underneath them.  These turf covers will be stored and used for some other turf establishment projects as well as to cover and protect some of our greens that do not react well to prolonged stretches of below freezing weather that we occasionally experience in the winter months (i.e. - #12 and #15 greens).   

Last, but certainly not least, I’d like to reiterate the importance of having our scheduled Maintenance Mornings.  This past Monday we were able to topdress, vent (solid-tine aerate), cocoa mat, fertilize and water the greens all ahead of the first scheduled tee time.  

Without the Maintenance Morning we would not have been able to complete this all in one day ahead of play.  The cultural practices that we are able to schedule and complete on these mornings are crucial for the overall turf health and in providing you and your guests with optimal playing conditions.

See you on the course!

ANNUAL REPOST: The Greens are now "Whites"

Well, it's that time of year again for the Poa annua turf, or po-anna as Johnny Miller would say, has gone to seed!  Our greens turn to "whites" and the rough becomes very wiry no matter how many times a week we cut it.  The prolific seedhead production of Poa annua is something we cannot avoid and must deal with, but remember, although it does affect playing conditions, it also benefits us as many of the millions and millions of seedheads produced end up finding their way into bare spots, divots, ballmarks, etc. to fill voids.  Our neighbours to the south have control products available to them that allow them to inhibit the seedhead production, but there are yet to be any similar products registered for use in Canada.

The timing of the seedhead production is the same each and every year so instead of spending anymore time on this blog entry, I'll share an archived one with you from May 2011.

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

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 this 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 greens aren't consistently green...

As I'm sure you have all noticed, our greens are sporting a pretty funky appearance this winter.  They are quite "blotchy" and not as consistently green as they have been in the past during this time of year.  The turf growth rates have also been quite inconsistent from one green to another and even within each individual green.

#6 green - March 20, 2014

This is due to a couple environmental factors that are uncommon for our typical west coast winters.  First off, we have experienced some unusually cold stretches of weather this winter where the average daily temperatures were below zero.  For example, in early December we had an 8-day stretch where the average daily temperature was below zero and another 9-day stretch in early February where we experienced the same freezing temperatures.  Our turf can handle below zero temperatures, but they are not accustomed to the lengthy stretches of these freezing temperatures.  

Our greens are most affected by the cold due to their much lower height-of-cut (HOC) when compared to the tees and fairways.  The HOC of our tees and fairways is four times higher than that of our greens.  Some high-traffic turf areas on our greens have "thinned out" a bit and the overall "off-colour" of the greens is a symptom of cold stress.

Secondly, we are actually experiencing abnormally dry conditions this winter.  I know this may be hard to believe with the recent wet weather, but we have had some lengthy droughty periods throughout the past few months that have produced some very low soil moisture levels throughout the course.  As you can see below, there is even some drought stress in some of our rough areas:

Winter drought stress in the right side rough on #18

 

Moisture level readings in the rough this time of year are traditionally between 35% and 50% so needless to say readings such as 14.9% are very low.  The current moisture level readings of our greens are coming in at between 15% and 20% in the "yellowish" less dense areas and between 30% and 40% in the greener lush areas.  Our greens are healthiest when moisture levels are between 20% and 30%.  As you can see, that 10% range when they are healthiest is not a very wide range to work within and can be very difficult to achieve this time of year when we tend to have too much moisture.  

 

Adversely, when we do experience droughty conditions in the winter we can't simply irrigate to reach adequate moisture levels as our irrigation system is winterized and remains shut down until early April.  There is a substantial amount of wet weather in the forecast and before long we will have the irrigation system fired up and ready to go to ensure we can maintain adequate moisture levels.

Overall, the greens are very healthy and their appearance will improve as soil temperatures continue to rise and we move into some more consistent sunny and warmer weather.  The irrigation system will be fired up next week so we will also be able to begin adding supplemental moisture where necessary.  The growth and recovery rates of our turf are still quite low this time of year so patience is key as we can very easily do more harm than good by being too aggressive in attempts to expedite the process.

What are those white dots on some of the greens?

If you've played golf here during the last couple weeks, you may have noticed some white paint dots along the perimeter of the lower putting green, #6 green and #15 green.  These paint dots are there to indicate where our turf health program "check plots" are located.

check plot on the outer edge of the lower putting green

The check plots are approximately 3ft x 2ft and will be covered with plywood during each and every application of fertilizer (foliar and granular), plant growth regulator, wetting agent and other plant health products throughout the entire 2014 season.

We've talked about creating these check plots here at Quilchena in prior years and decided to go ahead and do so after reading USGA Northeast Region Director David A. Oatis' article titled "Sayin' It's So Doesn't Make It So".

Through the use of these check plots, we will be able to accurately evaluate just how effective our turf health programs actually are.  We will be routinely evaluating colour, growth rate, canopy density, root density and depth, infiltration rates and disease incidence among others.  We will also be using check plots on some select tees and fairways to monitor and evaluate their turf health programs too.

We are excited to continually observe the check plots throughout the season and look forward to sharing the results with you!

Future Supers - Aaron Swail & Landen Huculak

We are very fortunate to have two aspiring Superintendents on our Turf Care team here at Quilchena, Aaron Swail and Landen Huculak.

Aaron joined our team in the spring of 2011 in an Assistant-in-Training role, or AIT, shortly after graduating from University of Guelph's 2-year Turf Management program.  Stepping into this role afforded Aaron the opportunity to be involved in all aspects of our operation, right from pushing a rotary mower to being a meaningful voice and opinion of many key decision-making conversations and meetings.  Aaron was able to gain some valuable experience as AIT and has since moved into an Irrigation Technician position.  Along with the many added responsibilities of being our Irrigation Technician, Aaron still plays a big role in our turf health programs as one of our "go-to guys" for spraying and fertilizer applications.

Aaron Swail

Aaron continues to increase his turf maintenance knowledge by spending time each and every day asking as many questions as he can, providing feedback and bringing forth suggestions; something we've encouraged him to do from his first day on the job here.  We are proud to be a part of Aaron's career development and look forward to continuing to help groom him along the way to becoming a Superintendent!

Landen joined our team in the spring of 2008 and has been an extremely valuable part of our operation ever since.  Landen brings a very strong work ethic and positive attitude to our team and has excelled at every role he has been in here at Quilchena.  His knowledge of the game, determination, willingness to continue to learn and desire to move up the ranks motivated him to enroll in the 2-year Turf Management Program at Kwantlen Polytechnic University and he set to graduate in the spring of 2014.

Landen Huculak

Oh yeah, Landen is pretty much a scratch golfer too so don’t get suckered into playing him for cash!  We are extremely proud to be able to assist Landen with achieving his goals along his career path and greatly look forward to having him continually work alongside us.  Please join us in congratulating Landen on his upcoming graduation!

Like I said, we are very lucky to have these two aspiring Superintendents on our team and we look forward to following their continued success in the Turf Management industry!