Today, with beautiful weather and the course closed we began spraying Poa annua. utilizing today allowed the staff to ensure golfers were not tracking the chemical onto the greens, which would be detrimental.
Spraying for Poa
Even though winter preemergent weed control was applied, we do have some break through of Poa annua and volunteer ryegrass on the golf course. After many years of overseeding at Bluegrass some unwanted winter grasses still tend to show up. Last year the course was sprayed several times to remove the unwanted grass, but various areas still have rouge plants. There is far less this year, as opposed to last, and continuing with our program we will decrease Poa and ryegrass populations until all signs of overseeding from the past are gone.
We are reaching that time of year when frost and freeze delays determine the first tee time on the golf course. Opening the course for play too early will negatively impact the health of the greens. When a sunny warm day is upon us, a delay makes it harder for golfers to understand why greens can still be frosted or frozen or why delays is still in effect after the frost or freeze delay has expired. Below are a few of the most commonly asked questions about a frost or freeze delay.
Why does frost cause a problem?
Frost basically is frozen dew on the plant and forms when temperatures are near or below freezing. The ice crystals that form on the outside of the plant also form inside the plant’s cell structure making the plant very brittle. When the plant is crushed the cells in the plant are also crushed destroying its ability to function normally.
How can a footprint kill?
When a footprint is made on a frosted plant the ice crystals in the plant collapse and later in the day the footprints become evident. After the damage has occurred the result can last for several months with dead turfgrass and a path of brown footprints.
What is freeze delay?
A freeze delay occurs when temperatures dip below the freezing point and results in the entire green freezing solid.
How can a freeze delay damage?
The greatest damage occurs to turf during the thawing period when the top layer of soil thaws and a frozen layer remains deeper in the soil. The thawed layer will be saturated with water and becomes spongy. Walking on the turf with this condition will cause footprints and can cause the turf to become uneven. Severe turf damage can result from shearing off the roots as the turf moves above the frozen layer. This damage will result in weaker turf in the spring when conditions are favorable to grow.
It is difficult to explain why thawing greens should not be played on during a warm sunny day following very cold weather. Golfers are eager to return to the course on the nice days following long periods of cold weather. All greens usually do not thaw at the same time and shaded greens are last to thaw. Shaded greens are more difficult to predict. If a shaded green happens to be one of the first holes of a nine, delay times will be longer, even when the later holes have already thawed.
Why are we still delayed after the frost and frozen greens have thawed?
After a delay has expired there is still time needed for the golf course maintenance staff to perform the daily jobs like mowing greens, setting up the hole locations, and raking bunkers, and having enough head start to stay ahead of the first tee time is crucial.
The golf course maintenance staff has began a new project going forward this past week on the course. We are creating stone steps leading up to the tee boxes that have steep inclines. Currently we have completed the steps on #7 red tee and will begin moving around the course to other tee boxes like #4 white tee and #18 green complex.
Also, I would like to take this time to thank Randy Leith. Mr. Leith has been very generous to donate all the stone needed to created this new look for the course. Please stop and thank Mr. Leith and we look forward to carrying on with this new look.
This week the GCM staff completed tamping the new bunkers in an effort to encourage more settling in the sand. The older bunkers, like #18, have settled perfectly from their installation earlier this year and after this second tamping, the newer bunkers will be closer in to being more consistent with the older bunkers. The settling process doesn’t happen over night, but we should be closer by utilizing this tamper.
The final phase of the bunker renovation is under way. Tuesday, crews began filling bunkers with sand. The process includes spreading the sand to a uniform depth across the bunker floor and plate tamping the sand for firmness and compaction. During your round of golf, there is a chance you may be playing between the two bunker crews, one filling with sand and one tamping the sand, if so, please remember the sand will be soft and provide a non-realistic lie.
Currently the bunker crews are averaging 7 bunkers a day and are projected to finish by the end of the week. As of today, bunkers on #10, 11, 12, 13, and 17 are completed and ready for play. Below are a few pictures on #17 bunkers before, during, and after the Better Billy Bunker renovation.
We will begin spraying polymer tomorrow, weather permitting. Originally crews were scheduled to begin spraying Monday and Tuesday , but due to the rain and wetness of the gravel they were not able to start. The gravel must be dry with no moisture present, which is measured by a moisture meter, for the polymer to successfully adhere to the gravel and make a bond. Crews arrived late today to set up the spray equipment and test out the spray application devices. If the rain holds off they are anticipating spraying all the bunkers tomorrow and begin installing the sand on Friday after a quality control check.
If you are playing tomorrow, we ask you to please DO NOT walk in the bunkers after the polymer has been applied. A sign will be posted at each green stake next to the bunkers that have been used as a site of relief. Thanks you for your cooperation.
The bunker construction portion of our renovation project is complete. Yesterday, the bunker crew finished up their last bunker as far as removing the old sand, testing the drainage, and installing the gravel layer.
Monday and Tuesday of this coming week, the crew will return to spray the polymer. Below is a short video of what you can expect to see as crews spray the polymer.
During the spray period we ask you to refrain from walking in the bunkers or retrieving golf balls from the bunkers. Wednesday morning a quality control check will be performed and sand will begin to be added to the bunkers. Below is a short video of our curiosity test from last year on #18 bunker to see if, a piece of equipment ever hit the rock layer, what would happen, nothing!
Filling all the bunkers with sand will take approximately 7-10 days. Each bunker will be open for play after the sand is added. When our Better Billy Bunkers are completed Bluegrass will join the ranks of prestigious clubs around the world that have already completed this process like, BethPage Black (site 2009 U.S. Open), Winged Foot Golf Club (site of 2006 U.S. Open), Valhalla Golf Club (site of 2008 Ryder Cup), TPC Scottsdale (yearly stop for PGA Tournament), Merion Golf Club (site of 2013 U.S. Open), Gleneagles PGA Centenary Course – Scotland (site of 2014 Ryder Cup), and The Honors Course. We are very excited to be approaching the end of the bunker renovation and look forward to some great fall golf.
Driving Range Tee Overseeding
In addition, Monday October 1st, we will begin overseeding the driving range tee. This process will be very similar to last year. Monday afternoon the seed will be applied to the tee and, soon after, the irrigation will begin to run and start the germination process. The driving range tee will be wet during this grow in period as an abundant amount of water is required to germinate the seed effectively.
Please do not hit off the grass tee during this time, it is important to have full germination of the seed and taking a divot will restrict seed in that area to grow.
There will be a two-week period where hitting off of the mats will be required. After the mat restrictions have been lifted, a hitting off the grass schedule will be issued. We expect 5-7 days until seed is germinated and approximately 10 more days to mature and be ready for play.
Grounds Crew
Roger Booker
Austin Vasquez
Joe Taylor
Scott Hamby
Ben McClain
Kelly Collins
Nick Mayer
Joe Moore
Joey Coleman
Cory Edwards
Logan Galbreth
Aiden High
Carson Cochran
Bennett Mclendon
