Never the same twice...

We keep detailed notes on our aerification protocol, and while it may seem that it is pretty much the same year in and year out from a player's perspective (with the exception of the timing), we are constantly making adjustments to this critically important practice.  In very general terms, regardless of when we aerify, we are always trying to balance the long-term needs of the turf, along with greens recovery and playability.

One of the modifications we have made over the past couple of years is applying the topdressing sand--an average of 8,000 pounds per green--as the first step in the process, prior to solid tine and hollow tine aerification.  Many might think that it is better to wait until you have created the holes before adding sand, so why have we made this change?

#15 currently looks more like a beach than a green.

By putting the sand down right in front of the solid tine aerifying, much of it gets moved down into the holes as the aerifier passes over it, due to vibration.  Following the solid tining, the team hits the greens with backpack blowers and are able to work the remaining sand into the holes. This has the material in place prior to any equipment "traffic" on the green.  If we apply the sand later in the process, the aerifiers, core harvesters, carts, etc. may have started to close off some of the holes, and limit the amount of sand we can incorporate into the soil profile.

Is this the last time we will modify our protocol?  Golf course maintenance isn't different than anything else in our lives, so probably not.  Thanks to both academic research, as well as improvements in the equipment we have available, aerification practices will constantly continue to evolve.

Not really revenge...

Surveys that seek to understand what is important to players often cite "variety in course setup" as one of the biggest factors in golfers' satisfaction with a facility.  Given that, this past Saturday's pin placements (and random obstacles) on the putting surfaces, surely must have put a smile on all participants' faces. 

Well, perhaps not everyone was thrilled, but there certainly was a good deal of variety on the greens, with many hole locations never seen in the past 35 years.  For us, this has nothing to do with revenge, but provides an opportunity to challenge everyone's flat stick skills.  

On a personal note, after starting out the day by changing cups for this event, it seemed quite fitting to be ending the day with a fellow Greenkeeper.

No frittering during frost

We all know how annoying frost delays can be to golfers, however you might not consider that they have the potential to be equally frustrating to the Grounds staff.  The team is eager to get out and get the course prepped for the day.  So what do we do when contending with frost?  

In an effort to make good use of the time, we have a number of "frost jobs" always lined up for these cold mornings.  As an example, there are several bunkers we can get to via cart path without concern for leaving tracks through the turf.  We often send a handful of guys out to get them raked, which will help speed up the bunker process once the frost has lifted, and prevent the staff from getting caught by play.  

Of course, this is also the time of year when we are dealing with leaves raining down around the clubhouse.  Getting this task addressed and checked off the list early will free up a team member to help on the course, as soon as we are able to safely get out there.

Frost also provides an opportunity to do housekeeping around the maintenance facility, and put together some loads of divot mix.

So whether it's pond bank pruning, cart path edging, or cleaning, suffice it to say that we definitely aren't sitting around twiddling our thumbs while waiting for the Sun to rise.

Frost Delays

This time of year, we often have to delay the first tee times of the day due to frost.  This brief video from the USGA explains why we must avoid both walking and driving on frosted turf:

USGA Frost Delays

While the video discusses the potential for damage to the short grass, even at rough height, cart traffic can severely injure the grass:

As always, our goal is to provide the best playing conditions for you.  Protecting the health of the turf is obviously important in achieving this, and your patience is appreciated.

Hardly a drought buster...

If you can remember back to the weekend of October 11 and 12, we were dealing with a tropical storm off the coast, whose impact lasted through Tuesday.  While this may have led to four straight "bad hair" days, the total precipitation of 0.28" from this event was underwhelming, and did little to help our current rain deficit.

This is becoming an eerily familiar and spooky fall weather pattern, after we recorded a record-setting 0.00" of rainfall in October, 2024.  This year, through October 20, we are doing just slightly better with a total of 0.65" for the month.

A look at the low water level on #7 tells a tale.  Fortunately, this is a time of year when we aren't losing nearly as much moisture as during the heat of the summer.  However, this definitely isn't enough precipitation to jump start any thin areas and help them to recover.

Banishing "Bird Baths"

Standing water on a green isn't good for playability or turf health.  In theory, if the water is able to freely flow off, we should never have bird baths on a putting surface.  However, over time a combination of bunker sand, topdressing sand, and organic matter accumulates on the perimeters of greens, which can act like a dam.  

In order to address this, we need to do some targeted aerification on the small areas which are preventing the water from leaving the green.

This clearly isn't a one and done procedure, but takes an on-going effort to prevent these areas from getting worse.  And in some extreme cases we will break out the sod cutter and shave these spots down slightly to alleviate the issue.

So if you happen upon some holes in the collars and surrounds, you now know why they are there.

Why mats?

With damp, dreary conditions last Thursday, we chose to move the practice tee hitting from grass to the mats for the day.  If some question whether this was necessary or not--and one person clearly did--a quick look at this picture may explain why we made the call:

We had aerified and overseeded the tees on Monday, and as you can see, whoever opted not to stay on the mats, caused as much damage from their feet as they did with their club.  

While we may not always get things right, there is generally a sound basis for the decisions the Pro Shop and Grounds staff make when it comes to protecting the golf course.