The weather was perfect today for any time of year, let alone January. Our team took the opportunity to clean up leaves, mow greens, rake bunkers, and install two new irrigation components. A sprinkler head and a quick coupler valve were installed between 12 tee, 13 green, and 14 tee. This area is set to be renovated this year and the addition of these two irrigation components will allow us to better manage the area. A quick coupler valve is a component that allows for an easy hose hookup to tap into the irrigation system. Additional irrigation components will be installed between 12 and 13 and between 10 and 12 over the next month. This will allow for a better grow in of turf during the renovation of these areas.
You may notice some green dye around some of the greens. The greens were treated with a fungicide and a growth regulator yesterday and the dye is used as a tracker to show us where we have sprayed. During the growing season, the dye is not visible in the collars but with the TifSport in dormancy, the dye is very visible. You will continue to see more dye as we begin treating for the winter weeds directly around the greens. These weeds are difficult to control in the growing season because herbicides used on the TifSport may trans-locate through the soil and kill the bentgrass putting greens. When the TifSport is fully dormant we can spray a herbicide that does not move in the soil and do a great job of cleaning up the winter weeds.
Here are a few pictures of today's irrigation install.
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| Bobby and Edgar install the 2.5 inch pipe that will provide water to the new sprinkler head and quick coupler valve. |
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| The pipe at the bottom of the picture was already in the ground. We used a tee and a slip coupling to tap into the current system for the new irrigation components. Landscapes Unlimited did us a real favor when they installed the irrigation and left extra wire in the ground. This allows us to install new sprinkler heads with individual head control. |
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| This is the new sprinkler head and quick coupler. The project will be buttoned up tomorrow once some concrete thrust blocks set up. The thrust block help prevent leaks and keep the pipe from moving under pressure. |
