Course Update through July

July is almost in the books (thankfully) and in the coming few weeks days will begin  to noticeably shorten and humidity will begin to trickle down (hopefully).  I will use this post to summarize the past few weeks as it's been a while since I've put out a post.  

This month has been filled with extreme heat, humidity and gross dew points.  Those three factors make for very high disease pressure (dollar spot, brown patch, pythium, and grey leaf spot).  At FCO, we are very susceptible to fungal disease due to the lack of air movement and having Perennail Ryegrass as the primary species of turf in the Tees and Fairways.  To help combat the pressures, we closely monitor the moisture levels with our moisture meters and avoid over watering.  Luckily, we've missed the majority of the 'pop up' thunderstorms that have hit hard south of the metro.  Chemical controls are used as well to keep the turf plant healthy and disease free.  To date, we have a few 'dings' in the fairways, but I would consider it a successful month with the conditions we were delt.  

Greens Update:  

#2:  We removed the pieces of sod that got hot and re-sodded them and roped them off.  That green is on the mend now and will no longer be an issue in the coming weeks.  

#13:  This green has filled in nicely and has made positive improvements weekly.  Once the heat breaks, we'll continue to needle tine and topdress (all greens) which will aide in recovery and filling in.

#14:  Since closing, this green has been overseeded with bentgrass seed three times.  If you look at it, you'll notice all the newly germinated seedlings and see that it's filling in nicely.  I foliar apply fertilizer and fungicide to this green weekly to help it along.  I am on the green daily to scout for disease (melting out and damping off)  which is a major concern given the amount of seed we've drilled into it.  We are planning to re-open the green on August 11th, but will continue to monitor and open as soon as it's ready.  

Greens Overseeding

Today we overseeded greens with 'Pure Select' Creeping Bentgrass.  We are/will be doing this yearly in the summer (possibly 2x/year) with a goal to incorporate more bentgrass in the putting surface and push out as much Poa as possible.  Why seed in the heart of summer?  This is when the Poa plant is at its weakest, so this will give the bentgrass a chance to get established.  This is being done to get ahead of the game and in hopes to help reduce our winter kill issues.  

We took this approach to the  tees and fairways over the past three years.  We committed and more importantly, STAYED committed to our overseeding program on these surfaces.  We overseed them at a rate of 6lb/M (Perennial Ryegrass) yearly and have had great results in doing so.  Hopefully we have the same success on the greens as we did the tees and fairways.        

Fun Fest Week

Tip of the cap goes to the maintenance team at FCO for their hard work and going above and beyond the normal duties to help get the course 'dialed in'.  As a whole, this is the best the course has looked and played and it came at a perfect time.  Without those guys busting it day in and day out, we wouldn't have the consistent product that we get.  Please let them know that their efforts are appreciated as you come across them on the course.  That goes a long ways!

Greens Update:

Today (17th) all GUR signs were pulled on #2 and #11 green.  Both are playable in the sodded sections and will be from this point forward.  Also, #14 green was opened up this afternoon for the ladies member/guest and will remain open for the season.  We are currently mowing the green at .150, whereas we are mowing the other greens at .125.  Surprisingly the ball is rolling smooth and not much different than the others due to the amount of topdressing we've worked into the canopy.  Everyday the green makes positive strides and will only continue to do so.  We will continue to topdress and needle tine the greens as well.  The discoloration from 14 is is kind of deceiving from a distance due to the quantity of sand that's been applied to the surface.  More green tissue is taking over everyday.

Thank you for your patience.  

Update and Turf Lesson:

Here is a turf lesson in simple terms.

FCO greens are primarily  Annual Bluegrass AKA-Poa annua.  Poa is a winter annual and is considered a ‘weed’ in the turf industry.  This turf is very susceptible to winter damage due to its low tolerance to cold temperatures and its extremely high susceptibility to ice damage.  Over the course of winter, there are 5 main causes of winterkill that we watch for. 

1)  Low Temperature. 

2)  Desiccation (death from the drying during winter)

3)  Ice Accumulation

4)  Crown Hydration

5)  Disease

How does this relate to FCO and primarily #2,#11 and #14 Greens you ask?  Last winter, we had several freeze thaw cycles through the months and this actually causes the potential for damage to increase on the putting surface.  Add opening the course and playing on frozen greens (like we did the first week of February) on the top and we’re increasing the risk to damage the greens.  On top of playing on frozen greens, the three greens mentioned are located at the low points of the property meaning all moisture will drain and accumulate to these areas.  During the day the snow would melt and surface drain down the fairway and collect on the low points of the greens.  At night, the water would freeze and turn to ice.  Over a 2 week period, those areas accumulated a 5-7” layer of ice which prevents gas exchange which limits the oxygen and increases carbon dioxide to toxic levels creating turf loss. 

What can do we do to prepare the greens for winter?  Before we shut down, we apply a heavy layer of sand (topdress) to the greens.  In doing this, we are attempting to protect the crown of the plant (the growing point) which decreases our chance for winter kill.  We also protect the plant with a fungicide so we avoid Pink and Grey Snow Mold. 

What was done this Spring when the issue was identified? We seeded these areas 2x, topdressed, needle tined and fertilized.  Those are all the correct steps to bring the green back, BUT we continued to allow foot traffic on these areas causing any seedlings that germinated to get destroyed by foot traffic.  With the extremely wet and cool spring, this was not a successful route.  Those greens needed to be roped off and ALL traffic should have been eliminated.  We eventually got to a point where sod was the only way to repair the greens so they are playable for summer.  We used our nursery green to repair #2 & #11 and they are healing nicely.  We decided to strip ALL of #14 and bring in sod from a sod farm and re-grass the entire area. 

How long will they be GUR or Closed?  #2 & #11 were completed 11 days ago.  The roots are just beginning to take and I envision this to be open in the next 10 days.  I am NOT going to rush opening the area and lose all progress we made.  #14 will be closed for a minimum of 2-3 weeks (open for Fun Fest for sure). The sod needs to ‘take’ (root) and then I will need time to mow down and prepare like all the other greens. 

I am going to reach out to ISTRIC which is a soil testing company and get some tests run on my greens.  There may be an underlying issue with what’s going on.  They will run some in depth tests and give strong recommendations on aerification, topdressing materials, fertilizer, etc.  This will not be cheap, but will only improve the condition of the greens.  It has to be done.  Also, I have set up a meeting with a seed salesman and he is going to give a recommendation on what type of seed we should be using and we will create and aggressive overseeding program in attempt to incorporate more bentgrass in the greens. 

In closing, over my 3+ years at FCO we have made HUGE strides to improve this facility.  The issue that we are dealing with now in VERY stressful and know I am doing everything in my power to repair these greens.  I need/will change my management philosophies and do more to protect this course.  I have been too ‘player friendly’ and it’s not helping.  I have heard hundreds of times “this is how we always do it” and “we’ve always opened first” and honestly, that’s not getting us anywhere.  We need to do things for the right reason and not because its what’s been done in the past.  There will be push back from a group of members, but I will take that rather than what we’re dealing with now.         

Flower Time

Now that the last frost has come and gone, the annual flower beds have been planted and ready for mulch.  The beds add a nice splash of color for the season.

Tree Planting

A big thank you to the 41 Club for funding the planting of 15 new trees! #2 Tee, #7,#8,#9 Tee and #15 (protecting #14 Tee) is where you will see the new trees.  These fill voids where trees have been lost over the years and also give some color to the #9 Tee complex area with the addition of three flowering Crabs.  Thank you 41 Club members for all of your support!