Its that time of year...

Well Folks, it's that time of year when things wind down for good...or do they? Finn finished up a couple of weeks back and I am finished up for the season this coming Friday. It is nice to have a break before the Christmas season, but soon after that we are on call and in and out of the shop for January and February. We split the snow removal detail and also do weekly checks on the status of the greens, monitoring for ice accumulation. We also try to pick off a couple of projects in the shop that are harder to get done when there is staff around (the list right now includes painting shop floors, shelving in the pesticide storage area, renovating Finn's office and storage area, and new locker set up for the staff). In my spare time I also teach an introductory turf course at Holland College to the first year golf management students (which I enjoy a lot)
So as you can see we may be "off", but really we just slow down a bit.
 I thought I would continue the series on what makes greens great today and look at topdressing. It is easily on of the most important practices we do to keep greens healthy and in proper playing condition, but it is also one of the most misunderstood practices we do.
 First off what does the word "topdressing" mean. Well in the turf world it basically it means to spread a material on the surface of a rough patch in order to smooth it out. It can be done anywhere on the course, from tees, to fairways, to rough, and greens, and it can range in materials like straight sand, to soil amendments like compost. For this chat we are going to focus on the spreading of sand on top of the greens surface.

   Back in the day topdressing was started by this guy (Old Tom Morris, the first Superintendent at the Old Course), and done by hand, with a shovel.

                    That is Gordon Moir, the current Superintendent at St. Andrews (they still use shovels!)

While there are still those who choose to use the shovel and back to spread sand, most golf courses now use mechanical means to achieve the desired result. You can do it one of two ways:
With a walk behind spreader...

 This method works well if you want to spread the sand lightly and not run heavier gear across the greens.It does not require a lot of sophisticated machinery so it can be an option for lower budget courses. Since it spreads the sand lightly it also caused very little disruption to the golfer.  Another plus is the sand is dry so it readily works into the green. On the down side, it is time consuming, more labor intensive and takes a lot of individual bags to get the job done.

With a mechanical spreader...

                       With today's technology mechanical spreaders can spread the sand lightly...

                                                         Or a little on the heavy side.

 The advantages of the truck mounted or tow behind topdressing systems include, variability in spreading depths (more sand by hand = more shoveling), efficiency (one to two men can complete 18 holes in a few hours), even spread (shoveling evenly is an art form in and of itself), and ease of operation. They are expensive to run (you need the spreader itself and the unit to pull it) and require more maintenance, but in the long run it is what most courses use. There are many different models to choose from, but most of the top name brands (toro, dakota, etc) are top quality machines.
 So that is the how we topdress...but you are still asking why? Why do we have to spread sand on the greens regularly...especially when you are about to play? Lets list the reasons below:

1. To smooth the putting surface
    • From a golfer's standpoint, this is one of the most important reasons we spread sand. Imperfections in the surface result from many things (think ball marks, general traffic) and spreading the sand and subsequently brushing it in fill those voids and helps the turf grow back better.

2. To combat thatch production
    • We discussed thatch in the previous chat about aerification. Topdressing is a vital part of the core aerificaiton process, in that we back fill the holes created by spreading heavy amounts of sand on the surface. This new sand creates channels in the thatch layer that allows important air and oxygen to flow into the root zone. Topdressing regularly throughout the season also helps combat thatch production by diluting new thatch and keeping it loose and porous.

                             This is what we strive for, good dilution of the thatch layer with sand.

                     This is not good...notice the density of the dark layer of thatch at the top of the plug.

3. To maintain green speed and keep the greens putting true.
     • As stated in the first point, the sand fills the voids, thus keeping the greens smoother. But this smoothness also helps to keep the green speeds at a good level. We tend to focus more on the trueness than the speed here at Fox Meadow.

The Operation

 Like most things that we do in our profession, there are a million different methods of topdressing greens. While there may be many different ways to spread sand, it does not change the bottom line...you have to spread sand regularly for it to work! Recent studies have shown that we need to be putting down over 300 cubic feet of sand per season. Trust me that's a lot of sand. We here at the Meadow get as close to that number as we can via regular season dressings coupled with the post aeration final application.
 Here is a synopsis of the method that works for us...

1. We mow the green first thing in the morning. This helps to keep the greens consistent and knocks of the
dew.

2. At around 10 am the first tees closes for two hours and the topdressor begins spreading sand on the greens. He goes in order behind the last group out.

                           This guy is not at Fox Meadow, but you get a good idea of the process.

This is the 11th green after the sand has been spread, it helps to have a dry, moderately windy day (you have to be careful in mid summer though, as a dry, hot day can cause a lot of stress to the putting surface...think about a million little magnifying glasses aimed at the turf)

The next step is the brushing. We try to give the sand as much time as possible to dry and then we use a tow behind brush to work the sand into the turf canopy.

We then finish off by rolling the green. By the time we are done the green is back in play and rolling better than before we started.
 The final step occurs that night, with a heavy irrigation cycle.

  Well that is about it in a nutshell. Topdressing is vital to promoting greens health, and we here at Fox Meadow are fortunate to have the necessary tools to get the job done effectively and efficiently.

Thanks for reading...
paul

Fall Flavors

Well its the fall now, heard that there was reports of snow on windshields over the weekend. So people always ask the question, 'Things must be slowing down for you guys...", well not so much really. Here are a few of the things we are up to lately...

More Tee reno's. We are working once again with Lyle Robinson from Finishscapers to level a few more of the white tee decks. Over the last little bit we picked off #3, #13,#15, and #8. You will notice that there is not much sod left on the back deck on #8 and there is a bare patch on #3 fairway...well that's where we got the new sod to lay on the leveled tees. We are filling up these areas with cores from the greens aeration, and they will be back in play by early next year.

                                                            removing the sod on #8

                                                     part of the new sod laid on #15

                                                     #3 & #13 resodded and healing

Greens Aeration
Originally scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, the rain pushed us to today. We completed the front 9 today and will tackle the back tomorrow. The process includes pulling a 5/8 core with our procore 648, shoveling the cores off with our retrofitted shovel setup on the sand pro and manual shovel power, then drag matting and blowing off the leftover chaff. Once we complete the back tomorrow we will begin the sanding process to fill the holes back in. The topdressing will take a couple of days to fill them up completely. We will then roll, roll, roll to smooth them back out.

                                                      the boys cleaning up the spoils

                                                            curtis the pusher man...

Thanks for reading
paul m

The fall has come?

Well October has come to the Meadow, but you would not really no it by looking outside. The temps are still pushing 20 degrees, the rain continues, the leaves are still green, and we are still mowing grass like there is no tomorrow. After mowing on average once per week over much of the summer, we are lucky if 2-3 times is enough at the moment. There is a risk of frost tonight so that should slow things down.
 With next week being our scheduled time for aeration (Oct.15th & 16th) I figured that it was a good time to continue with the series regarding greens. This edition will focus on many of the cultural practices we do throughout the season to help greens stay in top condition. Much of what we will discuss will appear quite disruptive, but in the long run make the greens great.

Aeration

This is often a dirty word for golfers...it ranks right up there with 'frost delay'. Both things are inevitable during the golf season and both make you as the golfer unhappy. But the key to accepting aerating, is understanding why we do it.

 

  There are many benefits to aerating and they all go a long way to allowing us to prepare a great surface for golfers to play on.

• Air & Water exchange  - over the season the playing surface can actually seal off and the greens don't breathe so well. By opening up the surface regularly throughout the season we can keep the greens surface from sealing up and in turn keep the greens healthier.

• Deeper Roots - the roots of the turf plants will follow the path of least resistance. If there are open channels for them to follow they will dive as seep as possible. These deep roots give the plant more strength and staying power throughout the stress of the summer.

                                                        Deep roots from June of this year

• Reduces Compaction - if left alone the soil beneath our playing surfaces can become tight and hard layers can develop. These layers can inhibit root development and cause the plants to be weak.

                            This picture shows compaction as a result of excessive golf car traffic


• Thatch Reduction - "thatch" is the word we use to refer to all of the dead and decaying organic matter that accumulates just under the putting surfaces. Both poa and bentgrass grow quite a bit through the season, and if not removed the decaying tissue can cause a lot of problems. Applications of water, fertilizer, and chemicals are all compromised by to much thatch.

 There are also different types of aeration that can take place during the season...

• Core Aeration -

This is the process we will be undertaking a week from today (Finn is setting up the Procore 648 as you read this). It involves using hollow tines that physically remove an aeration plug from the putting surface. We then shovel them off, and then follow that up with a thick layer of sand that we then broom into the holes. The sand works to firm the surface back up and speeds up the healing process.

• Solid Tine Aerating -

This is a less invasive process that we try to do monthly throughout the season. It involves using a solid tine that simply makes a small hole in the surface. When we follow up with a rolling afterwards you would hardly know we were there. This process helps quite a bit with the air and water exchange we spoke of earlier.

• Deep Tine Aerating -

This is a process that involves using solid tines that penetrate the ground to a depth of  8"-10". The channels go a long way to fostering deep rooting for the plants.

 Aerating is one of those practices that no one seems to like much (including us...their is a lot of shoveling involved!!!) but it is definitely a necessary evil. When we core aerify also plays a big role in the playability of the greens. For the last few season we had waited until the last week of October to complete the process. By punching a couple of weeks earlier this season we should be able to gain a bit of healing time for the spring.

 We will end by showing you a humorous look at our crew aerating the 4th green last fall (we are actually a bit slower in real life...)

Thanks for reading
Paul m

the summer's killin us

Well I have discovered over the course of the summer that it is really hard to keep up with regular blogging. Especially this summer. It has been one for the archives to say the least. Lets recap a bit:

June -

 The summer began with us fighting dry spots. May was somewhat dry, but June settled in as one of the driest on record, less that 35 mm for the month (we average 95+)

July -

July continued to hammer us with heat and no moisture. Again less than 30 mm of rain (we average 80+) for the month, and it saw us begin to scale back drastically on our mowing. The rough mowers (which usually cut the entire course 2.5 times per week) were scaled back to once. The main fairways of the 2 driving ranges have not been fully cut since mid July.



 
August -

The heat continued, but the crew pictured above did not seem to mind. By the end of the month we had received close to 50mm (we average 90+), but 40mm had come in one night...not so good. The heat and humidity also brought something else to the table...disease. At one point during the month of August we counted 4 different diseases on the 14th fairway (red thread, dollar spot, fairy ring, and anthracnose)
  The conditions also brought along this new disease:

        
  It seemed to affect one of the parent strains of our older bentgrass cultivar, cato, and it basically turned the plants yellow and stringy. After a bit of research I learned a new word...etoliation...which basically means the plant goes yellow and stringy. The turf did thin a bit, but never really died, and the change in the night time temps seemed to take care of it.

September - Well it has all changed in September. Only 2 weeks in and we have had more rain than we received in May, June, July, and August combined...in 2 rain events. Last week we got a whopping 80 mm in about 12 hours, and over the last 24 hrs we have received 120mm and it's still continuing into tonight.
Here is some of the fun that much rain brings...

                                                          A new island tee on #13

       The rough on #13...at least the pond (which was dry all summer) is filling up!

                                          We just got to finish fixing this one on #9 yesterday...

So the joy continues...still lots of fun though.

Thanks for reading.
paul m

Absence makes the heart...

We have to apologize for our absence with regards to the blog. We have been busy, busy, busy here at the Meadow. Things have been as dry as I have ever seen here on the Island, and especially in our neck of the woods. How dry has it been? Well going back to 2001, we average 183 mm over the months of June and July. This year (still being a week shy of the end of July) we have had a grand total of 68 mm (keeping in mind that the records are taken from the airport, and there was more than one rain event that conveniently skipped over Stratford )So we are well below half our average for the past 10 years, and there is not much rain in the forecast.

                                                      That's looking back to #4 tee

                                                    Looking back down #13 fairway
 
   So during times like these I am usually asked about our watering practices, and more to the point, how much water do we use. Interestingly, I was interviewed by CBC on that very topic about 2 weeks ago. Basically they wanted to know what we were doing differently to conserve water during the dry spell. I thought about it for a while before hand and came to the conclusion that we really aren't doing things that much differently than normal.Of the approximately 200 acres we maintain between the golf course and the academy, we actively irrigate about 7-10 of them. We also have been moving steadily away from constant irrigation schedules over the past couple of years, and instead relying on deep and infrequent watering practices, along with natural rainfall. For instance, last season we did not purposefully irrigate the fairways at all. We turned on the system a couple of times for testing, but because of the adequate rainfall last season, it just wasn't required. Now this season we have watered more so, but we still only water about 25% of the total fairway acerage. We aim to only put water where it is needed and let things dry out as much as possible. This provides a healthier, more resilient turf, and also a great playing surface. I have not heard to many people complain that their drives are rolling an extra 30-50 yds lately.
 So really this weather is not that big of a problem. It has kept the normal turf diseases at bay, and also has saved us quite a bit on fuel lately as we have mowing a lot less. This has allowed us to also get a lot of other jobs completed because of the labor that gets freed up.

Here are some of the things we have been working on:

                                                  The new range tee is coming in nicely

                                           The other main project we have been working on
                                         is covering the liner on #2 pond. The water level sits
                                         about a foot below the top of the liner, and just doesn't
                                          look quite right.

  We borrowed an idea from Architect Ian Andrew (he used it for bunker edges) and tried using burlap bags filled with topsoil to create a stable lip to sod into. The bags hang down over the edge of the liner.

The next step involved wetting the bags, and then affixing the sod down over the lip. It was a tedious process indeed.

Here are the boys in action. Notice the look of the sod against the water's edge...the look we want.

Here is the pond yesterday with all the heavy lifting complete. As of yet it still does not have the finished look we are hoping for (the dry weather caused the pond to drop another foot...go figure) but once the sod knits, and some seeded areas grow in, things should start to come together. We also took the liberty of trimming the inside of the bank down, which should help with lost balls.

PS

I was fortunate enough to tag along with Halifax Seed salesman, Scott Shanks on Wednesday of this week for a round at Crowbush. What a treat! Nancy Pierce and her crew have the course in wonderful condition and playing really well. There is no other golf course I can think of that continually beats me up (i struggled to a 94 with a 40-50km north wind) but I leave with a smile on my face. The course is really tough, but the routing takes full advantage of the dunes and the views keep reminding you that you are simply standing in one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Grass Type

Continuing on today with the series on what makes greens great, I thought I would touch a bit on grass types. They can make a huge difference in the quality of a green, from how well they roll, to how well they stand up to temperature extremes. How we maintain our greens via cultural practices (topdressing, verticutting, water, ect ) also plays a big role in what species of grass wins out. The two main species we deal with here in Atlantic Canada are creeping bentgrass and poa annua (fescue is also a consideration, but there is only one course seeded out to fescue at this point, so we will see how it goes).
 Most of the older courses you would play around the Maritimes (older than 20 yrs) are predominantly poa surfaces. Over time many people in the industry think that poa dominance is inevitable and they maintain for it. The courses that were built over the past 10 years or so would still have majority bentgrass surfaces, although many would be on the slow road to poa.  These courses would have been seeded out to a newer strain of bentgrass and depending on the cultural practices employed, they would have varying amounts of poa vs bentgrass in their greens.
 People ask me a lot what the difference is between the two species of turf. Well the best way to answer that is to feature each one, give some pros and cons, and let you decide. Most who know me know which one I prefer, but that by no means makes it right. So let's start with Poa...

Poa Annua

• What it likes...
    - lot's of water (frequent small amounts)
    - lot's of fertilizer
    - to be disturbed (via cultivation like verticutting)
    - openings or voids in the turf stand. Poa is a very opportunistic grass that will fill in any void it can.

• Positives
   - it makes a fine putting surface if you can control the seed head development
   - it recovers really quickly because of prolific seed head production
   - it will fill in bare areas of turf (if you want it to)

• What it dislikes...
    - lack of water
    - lack of fertilizer
    - the winter...especially ice cover.
    - the heat of the summer
    - to much traffic
• Negatives
  - susceptible to winter kill (although it can bounce back...by July)

 
   - seed head production makes for bumpy surfaces for putting

   - they have very shallow root systems that make it tough to maintain in the summer.

 So poa has some positives and some negatives for sure. That said, a lot of the best courses in the world (Pebble Beach, Oakmont) have poa surfaces. They also have lots of money to maintain them.

Creeping Bentgrass

• What it likes...
   -  deep and infrequent amounts of water
   - small amounts of fertilizer
   - to be left alone
   - low mowing heights

• Positives
   - deep roots

                                                             That's from #7 green today
 
     - will stand up to disease better than poa if maintained properly
     - makes for a wonderful putting surface
     - holds up well to traffic
     - it generally holds up to winter and deals with ice cover better than poa (but when it dies it does not    come back!)

• What it doesn't like...
    - to much water
    - to much fertilizer (both cause to much thatch production)
    - to be disturbed (if done at the wrong time it allows poa invasion)
   
 • Negatives
  - it can be a prolific thatch producer and becomes very prone to certain diseases if maintained incorrectly.
  - can be slow to wake up in the spring
 

 So there you go, an abridged version of the two main species of turf we use on our greens. Like I said, both can be great putting surfaces, but in the end I will always chose bentgrass. There is a slow movement away from poa in the industry at this time (there are even chemicals that will eradicate poa but not harm the bentgrass) and even a new way of looking at bentgrass maintenance that will allow it to become an even more sustainable species of choice.


PS     The other turf one could choose  is a fescue mixture. Many of the older links course in the UK have predominantly fescue surfaces and they work just fine. Fescue is probably the most sustainable choice for greens, as it requires little in the amount of water, fertilizer, or fungicides. It does not, however, stand up well to any amount traffic (read, no golf carts). The the course I mentioned earlier is the soon to be opened Cabot Links, located in Inverness NS. It will be interesting to see how these surfaces hold up to the rigors of Maritime winters and the inevitable traffic form a full golf season...stay tuned.

  Thanks for reading
paul m

What makes greens great?

I have been mulling over this post for a couple of weeks now, fine tuning what I wanted it to look like over many quiet mornings changing holes (this morning was stunning). 

Basically what I have been batting around in my head, is what makes one green better than another? How is it that one set of greens are great and another set just so so. I realized after thinking about it for a while, there are many factors that come in to play. From design right through to how we topdress, a lot of people have input into how a set of greens behaves. So this post will deal with the nuts and bolts of constructing and maintaining a great green. We will start at the beginning and work our way through all of the different factors that can make or break a green. The outline will be:
1. Design & Construction
2. Grass Type
3. Topdressing, Aerating, & Verticutting
4. Irrigation Practices & Drainage
5. Fertilizer & Chemical
6. Mowing,  Rolling, & Grooming

 I will try to cover one topic per week for the next while, keeping in mind that because of the nature of my job, that may not happen...


1. Design and Construction
    Well you can't talk about a great set of greens without starting at the beginning. If a set of greens are not designed well, or not constructed with due diligence, there is not much point even starting the conversation. I have seen lots of talented Superintendents manage average surfaces very well, but there is a big difference between a well maintained green and a great all around set of greens.
    We can all remember the first time we set foot on a green that made us pause and take it all in. The one that made you smile because of the fun you had trying to navigate your way to the hole location. Many of these surfaces were built by the renowned "Golden Age Architects", back in the early part of the 19th century with nothing more than a pan and a horse. The best local examples of such greens around the Maritimes  reside mostly at the Stanley Thompson designed courses . Places like Highlands Links in Cape Breton or Old Ashburn located in Halifax are blessed with greens that are bold and full of contour and style.  The original greens at Thompson's only course on PEI, Green Gables,  are still some of the best designed greens I have ever worked with. I will never forget the chuckle I had the first day I was able to cut a pin on the 16th hole at Gables.

    Still the best green I have ever set foot on...

  A well designed set of greens must be fun and full of interesting rolls and bumps, but they also must be placed well within the framework of the architecture. The greens must fit the intended purpose of a hole, varying in size and shape depending on what the architect is trying to accomplish. All to often we play a hole to a green that just leaves us scratching our heads, because it doesn't seem to fit the strategy of the hole.
 Part of this placement a lot to do with the greens surroundings also. You can have a great set of greens, but if they are all set in low valleys and surrounded by trees, then they are never going to live up to there potential. Things like shade, air movement, and proper soil conditions all must be considered by the architect in order to make the greens functional. Even some of the best greens at Green Gables and Highlands Links had started to suffer before thoughtful renovations (by Tom McBroom and Ian Andrew respectively) opened up the green sites and allowed the greens to breath again.

The 4th hole at Anderson's Creek Golf Club is always hampered by to much shade and poor air movement.

The greens at the soon to open Cabot Links in Inverness, NS, appear to have all the pieces of the puzzle in place. Fun design, lots of humps & hollows, and lots of sun and air movement. (the double green on #11 & #13 are pictured above)

 Proper construction goes hand in hand with proper design. The choice of the structure of the green is not as important as the quality of the materials used or the attention to detail with the finish work. There are many different styles of greens to choose from, be it USGA, California style, modified USGA, or push up greens that use native materials such as local sand or good quality topsoil. The contractor must be able to not only adhere to the design principles laid out by the architect, but also must be able to make changes on the fly when necessary. Countless hours are spent by good contractors to get the contours just so, making the green not only fun to play, but functional as well. A great pin position can be rendered useless if the finish work does not allow water to exit the putting surface. Drainage of water both internally and off the surface is paramount to having a great surface to play on.
  The final point with regards to design has to do with how the Superintendent maintains the speed threshold. Many of the older greens that were originally built to accommodate slower green speeds, are being rendered unpinnable with today's quest for fast greens. A lot of the subtlety of a great green can be lost is everyone is four putting the green. Both Superintendents and greens committees must be aware of the ideal speed for the design of the green.  
  So we have built a great set of greens, with lots of internal contours, lots of sunshine and air movement, and the finish work was impeccable. What can possibly go wrong? Well, lots can and mismanagement can ruin a great putting green. The best designed greens in the world don't stay that way by accident. It takes a talented Superintendent, along with a dedicated crew to maintain greens at peak condition. Next week we will start going through some of the ins and outs of proper putting green maintenance.