Practice Area Upgrade

If you have been to the practice area lately, you have probably noticed the chipping green has been renovated. For quite some time the chipping green has been lackluster to say the least. The green was not a good representation of the golf course.

A few weeks ago we stripped the old sod off of the chipping green and re-graded the sand underneath. We enlarged the green in hopes to make use of some of the area on the course if needed. We are also trying to create more of a variety of chip and pitch shots to practice.

This season we also tried to make the driving range a little more interesting with better targets. We mowed out several areas that were most likely previously used for target greens. We also added some flags at short intervals to hone in your wedges. I think this has worked since the amount of debris left on the range tee has increased quite a bit since we mowed out these areas.

Stay tuned for more improvements over the winter and next spring. We have a laundry list of things to do. Don't forget to talk up the club to your friends. It is a pretty exciting time to join the club.

Also, don't forget to fill out your survey. The survey is important to help get your opinion heard on what you like about the club and what we can do to make your membership more valuable.

If you have any question please contact me.

Justin Ruiz, CGCS, MG

justinr@indiansummergolf.com

 

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Divot Party

The divot repair party was a huge success. The members had a great time on the golf course and helped our staff by filling in all the divots on the fairways and tees.

I have had quite a few members ask me if I prefer that divots are filled with sand or to replace the pelt. It is a great question and I always answer it the same.a I feel that repairing the divot is best done with sand and seed.

 

A divot that has the pelt replaced is prone to failing unless it is a large enough piece of sod to stay in the hole. The fairway mowers will most likely pull the replaced turf out of its hole. The blower will also blow replaced divots out of their hole as well. Sand and seed performs best in both situations.

 

I would also like to address the driving range divots. I have sen a few blog posts from other superintendents showing divot patterns that they have requested at their golf courses for quicker healing. Taking divots in rows or strips will help the grass fill in quicker. Below are a couple of pictures to show you the difference.

 

The top picture show a strip of divots. Then the next strip was started yet leaving some grass between the two strips. This has a much quicker healing time. The bottom picture shows a more traditional pattern. It makes for a long recover time when a large area like this is removed. The grass has a long way to go to get to the middle of that area and seed has less protection from the elements and mowers.

 

If you can please try to take divots in strips this would help with the recovery time and help us utilize our range more efficiently.

 

If you have any questions about the divot party or the range divot patterns please contact me.

 

Justinr@indiansummergolf.com

 

 

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Black Sand Experiment

We are trying an application of black sand to #5 and #10 greens. I listened to a presentation from a club that was using black sand to help the greens go through a snow covered winter.  Their main idea was that the sand would heat up quicker in the spring and help the green up process in the spring.

Root Rot Pythium Spores in the Root of the Turf Plant.

I wanted to see if we could get results from the black sand on our greens that have shade issues.  My hopes are that any light that these greens get, the black sand will help utilize that light to the fullest and give those greens just a fraction more heat at the surface to make the turf healthy enough to combat root rot pythium. This disease has become a reoccurring problem over the past couple years.

Results of the Sapling Removal.

Now with the saplings removed to the left side of the green, we are hoping that we can get this green through the winter a little more easily.

If you have any questions about the Pythium or anything regarding the course maintenance please contact me.

Justin Ruiz, CGCS, MG

Fall Aerification 2011 recap

Fall aerification on the greens is now behind us.  Here is some pictures of the process.

If you have any questions or comments about our process or aerification in general please contact me.

Justin Ruiz, CGCS
justinr@indiansummergolf.com







We had to install a new magnetic clutch on our Procore.






We used a lot of the extra plugs to fill in any sink holes or low areas on the course.


Our Toro Workman blew a head gasket after the last pass on #12 green. 



6 days after aerification.



9 days after aerification.

Fall Aerification 2011

This week is aerification week.  Yes, it is that time of year again.  The course will have the nine holes that we are not punching open for play.  On Tuesday the 20^th, we will aerify the front nine.  On Wednesday the 21^st the back nine will be our focus.  Weather depending we should have all the greens aerified and sanded.

The spring aerification consisted of a slightly different process then what was completed in the past.  We used seven inch long tines, three inches longer than the standard aerification tines.  We were able to get below the thatch layer and increase the ability for deeper roots and healthier turf.  This also resulted in softer conditions during aerification.

The USGA recommends a 20% removal of organic matter each year.  This is a good number for maintenance purposes.  This does not take in account if you already have a little extra thatch.  It is important for us to reduce thatch to increase drainage and avoid turf problems in the future.  If you would like to read in more detail about aerification, click here.



This fall we will be using another process that is unique to this property.  We will use ½” quad tines to remove a little extra organic matter.  These tines will be the usual four inch depth.  The change in depth is to also avoid any plow pan that may occur from continuous aerification at the same depth.  Plow pan is when the roots reach the depth of the aerification tines, but cannot penetrate any deeper.  If we can keep changing it up hopefully we will eventually get roots down deeper.

If there are any questions about aerification or the science behind the process feel free to contact me.

Justin Ruiz, CGCS
justinr@indiansummergolf.com

Turfgrass Disease

This last weekend we had some heavy rain.  The spring has stayed cool which has given us some disease pressure. 

This is a picture of Snow Mold, a disease that is common on Poa in cooler wet weather.

If you have any questions or comments about turf disease or the course in general please contact me.

Justin Ruiz, CGCS
justinr@indiansummergolf.com

Topdressing Greens

Topdressing the greens is an important and necessary practice on a golf course. The frequent incorporation of sand ensures that the putting surface remains true and healthy. Sand continually applied to the green also keeps thatch manageable.

If you have any questions about topdressing or any other questions regarding maintenance feel free to contact me.

Justin Ruiz, CGCS
justinr@indiansummergolf.com

Mowing the Greens

Mowing the greens is an important practice that takes place on a daily basis.  We mow greens regularly to ensure consistent ball roll and to improve density of the turf stand.  We combine this practice with rolling to increase ball roll and in most cases protect plant health.  Rolling and mowing at a higher height can make our jobs easier without compromising plant health.

Aerification at Indian Summer