Yesterday's blog post sparked some real concerns about greens. For this, I apologize. We are all concerned about greens for the same reason. We care about the golf course and we know that we cannot suffer the same results as last year. But this year, we should be proud of the greens. They are in great shape. Stan, our USGA agronomist has been by and says we should be very pleased. Our roots are good. Just yesterday, the turf pathologist from Virginia Tech was on site to prepare for research trials this summer. He has looked at samples from all over the golf course and our greens. He has seen zero disease and is impressed with the progress. The message from Stan and Virginia Tech is the one that I was trying to convey yesterday. We need to be conservative this year. Turf health is the number one priority. Green speed will come and firm, fast greens have been the trend this spring. When we have heavy rainfall and heat, we will be conservative.
Speaking of pride, we should be proud of the entire golf course right now. Outside of the collars, which are bouncing back well, the turf looks great. Greens are growing a little too well (slow) but tees, fairways and approaches are hands-down the best they have ever been in May, maybe ever. The bunkers are good, maybe a little firm, but good. This sand is designed to be firm. This helps prevent fried egg lies. The only real eyesore that I see out there right now are the tee markers.
Over the past few year, the tees have not weathered well and the colors are difficult to see from any distance. This week, in an effort to improve the visibility of the tees and to prolong the life of the tee markers, the centers were painted. This has proven to be an unpopular decision but will only be temporary. The tees need to be replaced. Painting them was a temporary solution to get us through the season. We are exploring other options and you will see some old markers on the course in the time being.
Dave McCall, the turf pathologist at Virginia Tech was here yesterday to scout out some areas for turf research. With the issues last year, Dave has agreed to be on site more often to evaluate the greens. While he is here, he will be doing some research on fans and their affects on putting green health. Dave mapped the greens where fans will be installed this year with GPS. He also drove over the greens to test color, photosynthesis rates, and turf quality. He will see how fans affect this throughout the growing season. This will be a great working relationship and we look forward to Dave being on site. Fan installations are contingent on the city approving our electrical plans.
The most recent drainage project was finished today on #12. This area has stayed wet and turf quality was compromised in years past. The staff worked very hard and the quality and speed of this project was good.
I wanted to address these issues before I left for the day.
Have a great weekend,
Jordan
jbooth@willowoakscc.org
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| Dave McCall, the turf pathologist at VT, mapping #4 green. |
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| Another picture of Dave GPS mapping the green. You can see geese flying in the background. My black lab, Ginny was working that afternoon as well. |
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| The sod is stripped and saved. This same turf will go back when we are finished. |
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| Irrigation is located and the trench is cut for pipe to be installed. The pipe will carry water to the drop inlet and the existing drainage. The trench will consist of gravel, pipe, more gravel and then sand. These porous materials help water find its way into the pipe. The trench is tamped and leveled and then the sod is replaced. |
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| It is important to measure and shoot grade multiple times before we install the pipe. If the water does not drain we will have to be back in this area. |
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| Once the trench is tamped and leveled, the sod goes back for a good finished product. This area will heal over quickly and help us provide firm, dry conditions. |
