I've been intending to write about many different topics lately, but I haven't been able to find the time to write about any. My wife recently suggested that I do a "FAQ's" blog entry to combine all these recent topics of interest into one precise and compact post. What a great suggestion! So here it is, answers to many FAQ's as of late...
- What is going on with the tees? Are they dead?
- No, they are not dead. They aren't doing well, but they'll recover just fine. What they need now more than anything is a core aeration. We were not able to core aerate them this spring due to very limited staff during the labour dispute. Our tees are immensely undersized (they should be double their current total square footage) and the thatch levels are through the roof on many of them! I often refer to some of the teeing surfaces as cork due to the excessive thatch. Even with the use of wetting agents, it is very difficult to get water and nutrients through the thatch layer and into the rootzone. Many of them are also competing heavily for available moisture with the trees surrounding them. Tree roots have been discovered just below the surface where they rob the turf of what it needs to handle the stress of golfers and maintenance equipment. They will be core-aerated at the end of August and until then will receive some extra attention through venting (needle-tining) and hand-watering.
- Are we going to be adding sand to the bunkers?
- We are not going to be adding sand to the bunkers. Simply adding sand to them in the condition that they are in will not make the playability of them any better and furthermore, would be a big waste of money as bunker sand is not cheap. Please refer to this previous blog post for additional information: Money "Traps" That being said, we do hope to find some time in the near future to try another method to improve them. The plan is to remove the top 2" to 4" of contaminated sand at the surface of the bunkers to expose what we have found to be about a 4" to 6" layer of good quality bunker sand. The exposed good bunker sand will then be redistributed within the bunker to ensure consistent depths throughout. The contaminated sand will be stockpiled to be used to topdress soft "mushy" areas in the rough. Again, timing of when this project will commence is unpredictable at this time, but we hope to start soon.
- Green speed seems slow, how do we speed them up?
- I answered this same question in an email from a member yesterday so to spare me from typing it all again, here is the response I sent:
- "The single biggest difference in how our greens are maintained this year is that they have yet to see a walkmower. Staffing levels are lowest they've been in my almost 5 years here now. In fact, to effectively walkmow greens and still complete the rest of our routine maintenance, we require 25 staff members. We are operating with 19 as that's all the approved budget allows. That being said, the greens are regularly stimping between 9-10. They will be faster for Club Championship as it is exactly that, a Championship that warrants Championship conditions. Our greens still have a long way to go with regards to improving the overall health of them and our maintenance programs are geared towards continually doing so. Unfortunately, green speed is typically negatively affected by efforts to improve turf health. It's known in the turf management industry that green speed is fastest as greens are on the verge of death. I cannot stress enough how poor the health of our greens were at the end of 2008. Like I said, they have improved, but they still have a long way to go."
- We have been able to increase the green speed by shortening our routine topdressing intervals on the greens. We are now attempting to topdress them every 7-10 days vs every 14 days as we were earlier in the season. The putting surfaces are smoother as a result of the more frequent topdressing providing improved ball roll.
- Why do the collector drain lines burn out every summer?
- The answer here is quite simple: they are drain lines with straight sand right up to the surface so it is nearly impossible to prevent them from browning out during our warm and droughty summers. It takes an awful lot of moisture to prevent them from doing so which is not feasible in applying through our irrigation system as the rest of the fairway would become saturated and virtually unplayable. Obviously hand-watering them is out of the question too as it's just not a practical option. Next time you are out golfing, take notice of the difference in the turf quality between holes #1 thru #5 vs that of holes #6 thru #18. The collector lines on holes #6 thru #18 were sodded (with very thatchy sod) during the drainage project whereas those on holes #1 thru #5 were seeded. The turf quality of the seeded collector lines is far better than the sodded ones. The sodded collector lines can be improved by stripping and removing the sod, adding sand right back up to the surface and finally seeding them. Unfortunately, we do not have the labour nor budget to do so at this time.
- Why is the grass tee at the practice range closed?
- The grass tee at the practice range has been a source of frustration for those who maintain it and the golfers that use it for quite some time now. We have tried many different ways to communicate how it must be used to remain a viable option for golfers to warm up and practice from. Needless to say, we have not been successful in communicating this message as we have been forced to close it only 4 weeks after it opened for use. Not to beat a dead horse, but until those who use it follow the "Preferred Divot Pattern" seen below, practice range use will be restricted to the mats.
As always, please feel free to email me at jhooper@qgolfclub.ca with comments or concerns. We welcome the feedback!
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