Our collars and the spring dead spot on tees and fairways are the two most unsightly issues we have right now on the golf course from tee to green. There has been very little winterkill, the greens are in great shape, the bunkers are consistent, we are making improvements to the exteriors of the golf course, and playing surfaces are in good condition for April. With all that said, the collars and spring dead spot on tees and fairways have dominated our attention. They have been reoccurring issues and I want to share what efforts are ongoing to help curb these issues.
Collars. Collars are an ongoing issue due to the design of the green complexes and mechanical traffic. The approaches into the greens and the green complexes force traffic in certain areas. The reason we see so much damage this year is due to the high level of play this winter. When the bermudagrass is dormant, it cannot recover from foot traffic. This is why on/off areas on greens are the most damaged. Greens that provide a lot of access from all sides are not as worn out as green complexes that force you to walk on and off in a small area. The main results of foot and mechanical traffic are soil compaction and wear on the turf. The wear on the turf is exaggerated because the turf is not actively growing during the winter months.
We have been solid tine aerating the collars aggressively to help relieve compaction. The collars receive extra fertility to aid in recovery. We turn our mowers on lattice to reduce wear. We rotate pin positions to spread out play. We lay down carpets when applying growth regulators to greens to prevent damage. All of this has helped but it has not solved the problem. A few areas that receive the most traffic will be sodded on Monday to speed up recovery. The rest of the collars will be core aerated on Monday to relieve compaction and provide oxygen to the roots. This process does a better job than solid tine aeration because it reduces the bulk density of the soil and allows the soil to expand and free up more pore space for air and water. I realize that the aeration and sod will be a disturbance to play but the earlier we can speed up recovery, the better. Once air and soil temperatures rise, we will see much better conditions. We do not want to sod too much of the collars as natural recovery will provide healthier turf for this golf season. Time and warmer temperatures will be the best solution for the collars. In the future we will be experimenting with more core aerations and with taking the walk mowers out of use in the dormant winter months. Using riding mowers will greatly reduce wear and traffic on the collars. The new technology employed in riding mowers or Triplexes provides a fantastic quality of cut and reduces labor. Through November and after spring aeration, walk mowers will be employed to provide the highest quality of cut available.
 |
| The area to the left in this picture was core aerated this spring when the greens were core aerated. The machine over lapped into the collar. Both areas have been solid tine aerated twice and managed identically. It is obvious that the core aeration does a better job of relieving soil compaction and providing superior turf conditions. |
Spring dead spot is, without question, the most severe disease of bermudagrass in Virginia. The disease appears in circular patches or rings that remain dormant as the bermudagrass comes out of winter dormancy. The turf in these patches eventually collapses to the ground, leaving sunken areas in the turf that severely detract from its uniformity and playability. Injury from spring dead spot (SDS) often lingers well into the summer, and in some cases, the turf may not fully recover before fall dormancy.
Spring dead spot is a fungus, just like most other turf diseases. The use of turf fungicides to combat the disease has been inconclusive at best. The treatments are expensive and more research is necessary to solve timing and rate questions. Spring dead spot is a disease of bermudagrass and in turn does not present worries about problems on our bent grass putting greens. The particular causal fungus on our property is Ophiosphaerella herpotricha. We know this because we have sent samples of our spring dead spot to be tested. O. herpotricha is just like any other fungus. It performs best at a certain pH. Anyone familiar with mushroom farming knows that pH is very important to grow mushrooms (which are a fungus.) Our soil pH in certain fairways is optimal for this fungus to thrive. Our plan that has already started is to drop the pH of these soils through the use of ammonium sulfate fertilizer. The sulfur in the ammonium sulfate will help drop the pH out of the optimal range for O. herpotricha to thrive. The nitrogen in the ammonium sulfate will be part of our normal maintenance program for healthy turf. The balance will be in maintaining a lower pH and allowing the turf to thrive. This will be performed through constant soil testing. Improved turf and soil conditions will also help the turf combat the disease. Cultural practices such as slicing and aerating the affected areas will help improve turf recovery as well.
 |
| The fact that the spring dead spot is localized to this part of the fairway proves that soil conditions greatly vary even in very close proximity. |
 |
| You can see that through our cultural and fertility practices, this area of spring dead spot is starting to recover. |
While on the topic of soil conditions, the picture below shows an improved condition due to added drainage.
 | |||
| This picture was taken immediately follow .4" of rain. The area with the running water is draining well but the area in the left foreground of this picture had subsurface drainage installed last week. You can see how this area has no standing water at all. Areas with less grade or fall will sometime need additional drainage to speed up the drying process. |
 |
| This is a picture of the sod prep to the right of #16 and around the bathrooms. This will take another project off of our list and was a great use of some left over sod. The background of this picture shows our staff spraying greens. Fungicides are applied based on application intervals, soil temperatures, and weather. This application was made in anticipation of the wet week ahead. Samples will be taken and tested for disease routinely and after every heavy rainfall. |
 |
| We ran out of sod on Tuesday. We need about 600 more square feet of sod to finish the area prepped around the rest rooms. This sod will be delivered next Monday with the sod used on collars. Any remaining sod on that truck will be used between 10 tees and 12 green as part of our tree line renovation project. The fescue that is currently in that area is being taken out and moved to other locations to reduce waste and improve conditions. |
Have a great week. Friday and Saturday both look perfect for golf.
Jordan Booth
jbooth@willowoakscc.org
