It's now just over three weeks since summer aeration and greens have healed nicely. Green speeds are back in the normal range of expectation and we are looking forward to a great fall season on the course.
The above slide illustrates the growth curve of cool season grasses. As you can see, July is not the
best time for us to be aggressive as growth is limited both above and below the surface during the stress of summer. Due to a busy fall event season this was our last chance to open things up and incorporate some much needed new sand. 60 tons of new sand to be exact! Needless to say we were quite happy to have the weather cooperate with below average temperatures over the last few weeks.
Enjoy your time out there and we hope to see you on the course!
This video was made by one of our seasonal Greenkeepers and it's so cool I had to share here.
So much time, planning and effort goes into maintaining the golf course that it's really difficult to explain. This is a really neat look at just some of the things we are doing out there. Some great pics and video courtesy of Jose De La Rosa. This video is dedicated to the great staff of Greenkeepers at the Claremont Country Club and all great Greenkeepers around the world.
Thanks Jose for putting this together and thank you for your service to our country!
The sandman was back to apply 600 tons of sand to the fairways on Monday. A total of 1200 tons have been applied this season (40 tons per acre). This total is half of what was applied for many years. The years of heavy sand applications resulted in a sand base on fairways of 6 to 8". The fairways were essentially "sand capped" over the course of 15 years and now we have adjusted the program to maintain that sand base. Resulting conditions have improved year around. I hear stories from many long time members about losing shoes in the fairways back in the day. No longer the case! In season, we are able to provide firm and fast conditions in fairways thanks to the sand base. It doesn't take much to dry things out here and when playing firm the character of the course is accentuated big time.
We've reached the mid point of the season and so far so good. About this time each year, I find myself looking through files of pictures titled "winter" or "rain" more and more often. It's been almost 4 months since we've had any precipitation. Rainbows and water falling from the sky would be a welcome sight but in all reality, we've got a long way to go. Football season is just a few weeks away though...
Following the 4th of July we set aside 10 days to perform cultural practices on the golf course. Cultural practices this summer include things like verticutting, aeration and sand topdressing. While these practices are never popular, the resulting course conditions are. Thanks to a strong program of cultural practices over the last few years, our turf conditions are stronger and healthier than ever and we expect a speedy recovery.
This summer we chose to add a "Dry-Ject" aeration to our process. This process is performed by outside contractors and involves a machine that injects a high pressure stream of water that fractures the soil allowing for sand to funnel into the void. With this aeration we are able to inject sand to a depth of 5 to 6 inches, just below our typical aeration depth of 3 to 4 inches. Over the last three years we have performed a physical properties test with ISTRC (International Sports Turf Research Center). The results of these tests have helped us to tweak our aeration processes to meet the needs of the soil. After all, we're all dirt farmers out here! See video of Dry-Ject below:
Some pics from the Dry-Ject process:
As you can see, the disruption to the surface is minimal while benefit to the subsurface is great. With this being our last major greens aeration of the year, we will follow the Dry-Ject with a traditional core aeration and sanding. Soil amendments and organic fertilizers are added then we water. With a very favorable weather forecast, we expect a smooth recovery.
Along with greens aeration, all tees, approaches and fairways will be aerated with a solid tine and topdressed with sand. This will be our final fairway sanding of the year and when complete, we will have applied 40 tons per acre for the season. Thank you for your patience and understanding during this process. We look forward to a great summer and fall golf season on the course thanks to the work being completed over these ten days. Football season is just 4 weeks away!
The final round of the 2016 Men's Invitational is underway and course reviews have been nothing but positive. While it's nice to receive the kudos each year around this time, it's the positive comments that we've received over the last few weeks that hit home. I've been stopped by numerous members and guests lately and told the course is looking and playing better than ever.
Buzz and I are quite happy with course conditions and we intend to keep things looking and playing at a high level throughout the season. We really enjoy putting in the extra time and effort to showcase the course for these important member events. At the same time, the day to day maintenance and set up are just as important if not more so.
I can't thank the staff in the Turf Department enough for their efforts over the last few weeks. The results of their hard work is evident. We hope you enjoy your time on the course this summer and have the opportunity to share the Claremont experience with your family and friends!
Here is a quick update on what's been going on out there over the last few weeks...
Tree Roots vs. Grass Roots - It's a competition thing
We've begun work on addressing some of the turf areas impacted by tree roots and/or cart traffic. The roots from this massive Redwood tree extend deep and wide throughout the soil competing with shallow turf roots for water and nutrients. Add to this the stress of high cart traffic and the turf has no chance to survive. The root pruner was out and about on the course last week cutting surface roots that impact greens, tees, fairways and roughs. This helps us to get a leg up with our root competition and that's about it. Soon the roots will regenerate and the battle will resume right where it left off.
High traffic areas prepped for sod
When the course was built, golf carts were not even a consideration. The property is tight and traffic is condensed in many areas. These "high traffic" areas have become an eyesore to the point that we are now stripping old material and re-sodding them. Once established, a program of solid tine aeration, extra seeding and extra fertility will help to keep these areas in better shape. Sod used here is a blend of Tall Fescue and Kentucky Bluegrass that will better withstand the pressure of all the wear and tear. To some degree, I still expect this sodding process to take place annually especially at cart path entry and exit points. Fairway Bunker on 6
This fairway bunker has been a problem for years now. Every time it rains, surface water rushes into the bunker and washes out the sand. With all the rains this season, we have a significant amount of water moving though the soils. The soils in the base of this bunker are extremely heavy clay in that when saturated it can take weeks to dry out. What has resulted is what I call the "waterbed effect" with soil saturated to the point that the bunker floor is unstable and unplayable. After moving sand around the soupy mess in the picture below made it's way up to the surface. Over the next few days we will work to repair the bottom floor of the bunker, add drainage, replace sand and restore the bunker to original specifications. Thanks to all for putting up with these much needed maintenance practices and we'll see you on the course.
