Looking Back and Planning Ahead

While it's much more fun to write about our successes on the course, it would be unrealistic to think that everything we do works to perfection.  We knew there would be challenges following last year's Master Plan work, and that we would need to tweak our maintenance practices in many areas.  For example, bunker maintenance has changed dramatically, with many new bunkers being hand raked, and the faces being rolled.  Additionally, with the creation of new mounding in the rough, and bunkers being shifted closer to the greens, we now use a smaller mower to maintain these areas.

A third area that changed has been the Bentgrass green surrounds, which are mowed by hand.  For the most part, these areas made it through the year in good shape, however some spots suffered damage.  Clearly, the surrounds on  #16 took the biggest hit.  In analyzing why this happened, it's good to keep in mind that when turf "goes south" it's often not for a single reason, but a combination of factors which push it over the edge.

One of the issues we see on #16 is mechanical stress from both maintenance equipment and foot traffic.  The walk on-walk off area of this green really funnels everyone into the same tight space.  Likewise, with the bunkers now pulled in closer, we see mowers and rollers struggling to make wide turns.

A second factor here became drainage (or lack thereof).  When these surrounds were rough, being cut at 2", a wet swale wasn't as susceptible to damage as it now is, when it is Bentgrass being cut at 3/8".

The green surrounds on #16 don't look bad...from a distance.

A third problem was that we applied the exact same fertility and plant protectants to the Bentgrass surrounds as we did to the greens.  A reasonable question might be:  What could go wrong when you're treating this new sod just as you do the most important turf on the course?  Well, it turns out that the sod isn't accustomed to the high rates of plant growth regulators we apply to the greens.  So, in this case, treating an area just like a green may have led to more stress, not less.

Timing might be a fourth factor for #16.  This was the last hole worked on in 2016, which limited our ability to get the sod well established, and aerified prior to the winter.

Lastly, as the USGA article below noted, we were not alone in having issues in Bentgrass this summer.

For now, the thin turf has been seeded, and we look to install drainage over the winter.  Again, most of the new areas performed well, but we see many opportunities to make improvements.  Given the topsy-turvy weather we often experience, it seems prudent to prepare for the worst, and hope for the best.