Golf course updates

Starting in the next couple of weeks I will be giving weekly updates of the golf course.  The update will include current course conditions, weather forecast, projects planned for the week and any disruptions that may affect play.  I will post on these updates on Sunday night or Monday morning. 

Water Management

This year we purchased a soil moisture meter to improve our irrigation practises on the greens.  We have always checked the water content in the profile of the greens prior to running an irrigation cycle with a hand probe.  The hand probe would pull out a small core and we would squeeze it to determine the amount of moisture in the green.  The problem with this is it was hard to distinguish the difference from one area to another.  The new soil moisture meter will improve this process.  The meter will determine the volumetric water content of the soil.  The definition of volumetric water content is the ratio of the volume of water in a given volume of soil to the total soil volume.  Basically, we will be taking 24 readings off each green in the morning and late afternoon.  Parameters will be set as to how much water to give the greens given the percentage of the volumetric water content by the moisture meter.  The morning readings will tell us how much hand watering needs to be done and the late afternoon readings will tell us if greens need to be watered that evening.  There are some goals that we have associated with this new water management program:
1.  Improved playability.  The greens will play firmer and more consistent.
2.  Improved agronomics.  We will be watering when the plant really requires it.
3.  Improved training.  I will be able to train the staff proper watering balancing plant health and playability. 

Our intern James checks #7 green.

Greens Maintenance



Tim topdressing

We began our regular maintenance to greens today.  We started by verticutting the greens, then blew them off, topdressed, dragged and watered them for 6 minutes.  The final stage is to mow them. We have dropped the height down from .156 to .135 with the final height of the season to be .125.  We will be at this height by May 1st.  You should notice a big difference in how the greens are playing as we plan on topdressing every two weeks during the golfing season.  The verticutting and topdressing improve ball roll and smoothness by standing the turf up and reducing the friction of the grass and the golf ball.   

Kyle verticutting

James brushing

Tommy blowing off grass and thatch

We will apply one more application of growth regulation, Primo/Proxy, to reduce the poa seed head.  This application will be applied next week.  We are about 2-3 weeks ahead of schedule from previous years for our general greens maintenance. 

What a difference a year makes!!

Number 1 green  March of 2012

Number 2 green.  March 2011

What a great start to the 2012 golfing season.  It is hard to believe that it is only March when we are gettng June temperatures.  We are about three weeks ahead of schedule and the turf reveals that.  I have some comparisons from March of 2011 and March of 2012.  It shows what a great fall followed by a mild winter can do for turfgrass. 

Number 1 green.  March 2011

Number 2 green.  March 2012





Bentgrass vs Poa

Number 1 green.  Bent is darker and longer than poa.

Our goal for the 2012 season is to develop and incorporate a program to encourage the bentgrass on the greens to out compete the annual bluegrass or poa.  This is not an easy task as Cedar Rapids is a perfect environment for poa.  Poa thrives in a wet cool spring, mild summer and wet or snowy winter.  Our management program includes a modification in cultural programs and fertility programs.  The fertility program will include less nitrogen, which promotes top growth of both bent and poa, and adding a product called ferrous sulfate(iron) to help push the bent over the poa.  The ferrous sulfate will also help in lowering the pH of the soil so the bent will thrive instead of the poa.  The effects of this program will take a time to see results, but in the end we hope to move in the right direction.  The greens will show minimal effects from the application and will be in great shape for the season.  The cultural program will include more solid tining than core aerification so we don 't disrupt the seed bank of the poa.

Spring is in the air!!

It seems that spring temperatures have arrived early.  Yesterday, March 6th, it hit 69 degrees!  We went from a golf course covered in snow to a sloppy, brown covered, field of turf.  While the weather pattern looks promising, we do need to remember that it is still early March and the turf is not capable of recovering to daily play yet.  We need to dry out and get some actively growing turfgrass so the ballmarks will heal and the divots will fill in.  I look for an earlier opening than normal if the weather cooperates.  We will try to get you on the range earlier so you can get out and smooth that swing.  The greens came through winter in great shape.  We plan on pulling a few covers at the end of this week on the south facing greens and pull the rest of the covers early next week.  They will take some time to dry out before we can mow them and set them up for daily play.  Before you know it, we will be looking at this.     

What goes on in the winter?

For the past twenty years family members, golfing members and the general public have been interested in what we do in the off season.  Many people think that when the grass isn't growing that we are on some tropical island drinking pina colada's.  Currently, that is not the case.  Each winter we have a laundry list of things that need to be accomplished, and if the weather is cooperative we take advantage of it and get some outside projects completed. 

Inside Projects:
1.  Preventative maintenance to the equipment:  We have about $850,000 worth of equipment that goes through a maintenance program each winter. 
2.  Cleaning up supplies:  Each winter we clean the ball washers and replace brushes, paint the trash cans, refinish benches, soil & seed holders and tee blocks. (overall favorite of the staff)
3.  Preventative maintenance to golf cars:  We change filters, oil, clean and wax all the cars. 
4.  Cleaning up range supplies:  We refinish the bag stands and dividers for the range. 
5.  Maintenance facility: We clean, paint and make improvements to areas of facility each year.
6.  Education:  The full-time staff attends seminars and conference's to keep up with current trends. 

Outside Projects:

1.  Tree work:  Tree management program was put into place four years ago.  It includes pruning and removing undesirable trees.  It also includes improving air flow and sunlight to primary turf areas. 
2.  Capital projects:  Depending on the winter, we try to attack capital projects during the off season. 
We have built new tees, installed new decking and rails on bridges, cart path work, landscaping and basically anything else that can be accomplished during a mild winter.
3.  Snow Removal:  We are on call for snow removal each winter. 

I hope this gives a little light on what the golf course maintenance department gets accomplished in the winter time.  We are all for heading to a Tropical island, we just have a little work to do first.