Did you Know Vol. 1

Did you know that the mowing equipment we use to cut greens is adjusted to thousandths of an inch?

Yes, the mowing equipment used on the greens is adjusted with a tool called an accugauge.  This tool measures the distance from the bedknife to the bottom of the rollers in thousandths of an inch.  For example the greens are currently cut at 115/1000".  In the past, to get the greens speeds fast for tournament play, the greens have been cut as low as 90/1000".

When the mechanics set the greens mowers up, they have many variables that apply to their adjustments.  They must maintain a 5 degree angle on the face of the bed knife for the mower to properly stand the leaf blade upright for cutting.  The must obtain the proper clearance between bedknife and reel at .002" to allow for heat expansion under operation.  And finally they must maintain a parallel relationship between the reel and the rollers to ensure an even cut across the width of the mower and to avoid uneven wear of the reel causing a cone shape.

With that being said it is imparitive that the mowers are checked daily for adjustment.  Quality of cut and proper height of cut can be compromised by loading and unloading the mower or even a small particle of sand can cause havoc on the cutting integrity.
Now, with the importance of proper adjustments made daily to the mowing equipment also affects the turf as well.  Turf when mowed with a sharp mower is much more healthy.  The plant has a better opportunity to heal and a better ability to sustain the damage caused by mowing.  As for a dull mower, it will leave the leaf blade shreaded.  The plant uses energy made from essential nutrients to repair the damage.  All grasses prefers the production of leaves over roots.  So in the case of dull mower damage the plant will expend it's energy trying to produce more top growth to ensure the efficient production of energy made from photosynthesis. "Shoots before Roots"

What does that mean?
The plant will then use more resources to make this process happen.  The plant will require more water, more fertilizer and more plant protectants to outgrow any stress that the plant is under.



So, back to the important role of our equipment manager.  The equipment manager is critical in the overall health of the golf course.  In turn the health of the golf course will dictate nutrient and water needs.  We rely on their precise and persistent adjustments made everyday to the mowing equipment.

Probably a little more than you needed to know about mowing equipment, but none the less, it is an integral part of our golf course maintenance.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Justin C. 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.

Aligning The Tees

I wanted to give everyone a quick explanation of the paint markings on some of the tees out on the course.  Dan has been marking out tees to be either mowed out or left to grow in.  Over time we start to lose the integrity of the tee design only because it is pretty difficult to mow exactly the same each time the tee is mowed.  The tees can shrink in some cases or expand in other. 

This exercise is just to bring the tees back to the original design and in most cases give us a little more teeing area to help spread the wear during heavy traffic months.

If you have any questions or comments feel free to contact me.

Justin Ruiz, CGCS
justinr@indiansummergolf.com

Full Speed Ahead!

The weather has not given us much remorse this past week.  Rain has been a loyal companion as we forge ahead into the start of the season.  The Men's opening dinner went well with great comments and a warm welcoming.  I mentioned a couple things that we would be working on over the next couple weeks to prepare the course for spring.

Trimming the underbrush and limbing up some low hanging branches is an ongoing process.  These areas that we can clean up help us in a few different ways.  The obvious is being able to better find and play your ball.  The not so obvious that we benefit from is allowing sprinklers to operate without obstruction, mowers to be able to travel without interuption and better air movement and sunlight to increase the health of the turf.  We like projects that increase playabilty and help us out at the same time.

Bunkers work has also become a priority coming into the season.  We have some bunker sand stock piled out near #5.  We use this sand to top off bunkers with subsoil showing, or sand that is too shallow.  The bunkers that have sand added to them will be a little more fluffy than the others until the sand settles.

Along with these small projects, we are keeping a constant eye on the greens to make sure nothing out of the ordinary pops up.  Dan found some Pink Snow Mold (Microdochium Patch) on #8 green.  As I stated on the turf page of our members website, I look at problems and try to understand them fully to hopefully be able to come up with a sound solution.  Since we sprayed a fungicide 21 days ago and it should have lasted 28 days, I asked the question, "Why?"

When we spray greens we split the course into two tanks, since one tank is not enough volume to cover all the greens.  8 green just happens to be the last green on a tank.  My inner turf nerd tells me that we need to investigate how our spray rig works toward the end of a tank.  Did we get good coverage?



If you have any questions about turf disease, bunkers or thinning and trimming, please feel free to send me a message or contact my office.

Justin Ruiz, CGCS
justinr@indiansummergolf.com
360.459.2707