When you think of aerification, something like this is likely what comes to mind:
However, we recently needed to de-compact a different surface which wasn't draining well:
Equipped with some large solid tines, the aerifier did a great job of breaking up the Har-Tru. Of course, afterwards it was rolled and broomed to present a smooth surface once again. These machines are definitely versatile!
Yes, what's pictured below is just a mechanical sand rake, so you may be wondering how this could possibly be considered exciting. Well, the Club owns two of these machines, and knowing they were aging, a new machine was ordered in September, however it has yet to arrive.
Not that surprising you may be thinking. True, delivery in one month might be asking a lot, however the new sand rake was ordered in September, 2022, and it's ETA is still TBD. Whether we see it prior to 2024, or not, is a coin flip at this point.
When both of our older mechanical sand rakes had breakdowns last month, we attempted to order the parts needed to repair them. Unfortunately, for one of the machines the parts have been discontinued. For the second machine, some of the parts were in stock, but others were backordered--having nine out of ten required parts is as good as having zero out of ten.
So for the past three weeks we have been forced to rake all of the bunkers by hand. Fortunately, our Equipment Technician, Don Robel, managed to find the missing parts through an aftermarket supplier, and he was able to at least get one machine up and running.
Clearly the bar is not set too high for us, when we are excited (perhaps elated) to be able to have a single trap rake functioning. For us, that was exciting!
It seems obvious that some of the turf industry has yet to catch up to supply issues, and this makes equipment purchasing that much more challenging. In the past, you could place an order for a piece of equipment in the fall, and request delivery in the spring, knowing you'd be good to go when the turf woke up. Today, you need a really good crystal ball to project what equipment may need to be replaced two plus years out...
To many, this is the best weather of the year for golf. But with the fall also come the falling leaves. There are days when we can clear the course of leaves, and an hour later it looks like we were never there.
In order to address this, we will be placing a few blowers around greens that quickly become covered in leaves. Just grab the blower, pull the trigger, and you're in business.
The idea for the blowers came from a Laurel Creek Green Committee member who had seen this used at another course they played. We always appreciate hearing tips and tricks, and seeing if they can work for us!
This winter we plan on addressing several tees which are in need of releveling. However, we already jumped into project mode this past week by beginning our tee work on #8. The reason for the early start is because we are seeding the tee. So, why seed and not sod this particular tee?
After working on a tee we have three options: Reuse existing sod, buy sod from a grower, or seed the tee. Sod grown on a farm offsite often struggles the first couple of years, since it was established on a different soil than we have placed it on. Option two, stripping and reusing the existing sod can work well, but #8 tee was starting to have Goosegrass contamination, so we opted not to use the sod that was there.
The third choice, seeding, requires some patience, but typically yields the best long-term results. If you look at #3 tee as an example, which we regraded and seeded a few years ago, it has performed quite well.
For the balance of October and November, we will move the Medal tee markers around to alternate tees. Once we get past Thanksgiving, we will be able to place a mat on the tee and allow it to play from its normal location.
If you're wondering what the red paint on #7 approach is for, these are markings to delineate plots for turfgrass research. With this area perennially having Take-All patch, it provides a great location for turfgrass pathologist, Steve McDonald, to conduct fungicide trials.
The various plots receive different products, at different rates and different frequencies over the next month. The efficacy of each protocol won't be assessed until next spring, when the symptoms of Take-All are seen--or are not.
Wile it might be better if we didn't have such good Take-All Patch, we are always happy to help with any turfgrass research project. The results can provide us with additional tools and information, as well as any other golf course that is facing the same challenges.
