Irrigation Audit, More Sod Work and a Ton of Mowing

Wednesday, May 09, 2012 Projects, Putting Greens, Questions

Like every week, Monday and Tuesday have been very busy. Monday was our last closed day for maintenance until the day after Memorial day so we wanted to take advantage. The poor areas around greens 1-8 were sodded on Monday and greens were lightly topdressed. Greens also received soil amendments including Phosphorus, Potassium, Magnesium, and Calcium based on soil tests. Yesterday greens were sprayed with a growth regulator which will help reduce top growth and encourage root growth.  This is a typical practice and will help with overall plant health.  Included with the growth regulator was a plant protectant that has a green/blue appearance.  This gives the greens a bit of an unusual 'blue' appearance but after this morning's mow, the greens are back to their normal green color.

This is a picture of sod prep on Monday.  The poor areas are stripped of the old turf.  The areas are then cut down, tilled and re-leveled with fresh topsoil.  Organic fertilizer is applied to the soil and the area is ready for sod.

On Monday, we also performed an irrigation audit of the greens.  Catch cups were placed in a grid across the green and measurements were taken between sprinkler heads to measure how much water was being applied in a given amount of time.  This irrigation audit will provide information and allow us to make any necessary adjustments.  Irrigation is mainly used to water in soil amendments on putting greens. 

The team from Smith Turf and Irrigation was on hand to perform the Irrigation Audit.

Greens irrigation is inherently inefficient due to head spacing and wind.  Sprinkler heads have to surround the green and cannot be properly spaced due to the unusual shape of putting greens.  This is the main reason that hand water greens.  We need to control the root zone moisture in site specific areas.  Hand watering is based on soil moisture content.  This is measured using soil moisture meters which give us volumetric water content % of a given area.  We then use this information to determine if the green needs to be hand watered and where.  This allows for the most control during morning hand watering.  Our goal is to apply enough water to the root zone for the plant to be able to survive the day while keeping the surface firm.  This is a delicate balance which requires a lot of detailed measurements and application of water. 

Soil moisture metes give us vital information used during hand watering.  You can always add but it is difficult to quickly reduce soil moisture.   Proper measurement and informed decisions allow us to apply the right amount of water.

Afternoon syringing allows us to cool the leaf surface of the plant and prevent wilt.  This process is one of the few management tools we have to cool the plant during heat stress.  The goal of syringing is not to apply water to the root zone but to cool the plant and prevent damage to the turf.  To opponents of hand watering and syringing:  Believe me, if we did not have to perform these duties, we would not.  It is very labor intensive and the disruption to play is not something that we enjoy.  If you see me or the staff syringing in the afternoon, please wait to hit shots into the greens.  We are not trying to ruin your round.  We are not applying water, we are cooling the surface to prevent turf damage from heat stress.

Warmer weather is here and with it, a lot of mowing.  Rough is being mowed as we speak and we have already mowed tees, approaches, and fairways twice this week.  The staff is mowing the back nine holes again today.  Fescue has been mowed once and we will start on that again tomorrow.  Processes like mowing, edging cart path, edging bunkers and edging sprinkler heads are good for the course but causes a labor drain on our department.  We are staffed for this but will be getting into maintenance mode earlier than normal this year.  Projects will be restricted to closed days and slower times of the year.  Our biggest project, renovating the tree line between 10 and 12, is still on schedule.  Irrigation and some sod have been installed and grading, drainage, and sod is on schedule for completion by the end of May.  Sprigging in this area will take place during the closed days of June 11 and 12.  We are in the midst of the warmest Spring on record and the golf course shows it.  We were able to do a lot of projects in April that normally would have to wait until May or June.  Rounds are up and we are about 3 weeks ahead of schedule with green up and growth on the course.  I look forward to seeing you on the course.  USA Today: 2012 is USA's warmest year on record, so far.

Have a great day,

Jordan
jbooth@willowoakscc.org