Roundup Spray Effective

The areas that were sprayed with herbicide last Monday and Tuesday are dieing off nicely.  That does not sound right, but it is what we want.  Spot spraying will be occurring next week in select locations.

Compare the photo below to the photo from one week ago . What a difference in just 5 days!!

August 24th 2012

August 20th 2012

The next phase is the reduction of grass so that we have a good surface for the sand topdressing going on the fairways and to seed into in the roughs.  This process will be occurring in the next week, and it will produce very thin lies and extremely long drives.  Imagine the fairways stemping around 8.



New Amazone flail mower for removing turf

Kevin

Roundup Spray Update

The round up application marks a new phase for the golf course.  I knew it was going to feel strange killing off the existing turf, however the scope of work and the necessity of being thorough heightens those feelings.



#14 August 21st 2012. One day after roundup spray.

By the weekend we will see alot of yellow.

Approximately 80% of the course was completed Monday, leaving delicate areas to finish with small sprayers.  The last 20% is tedious but it is imperative that these areas are addressed so that they don't become the sources of contamination as we grow in the new grass.

The likely hood of tracking roundup onto the green once it has dried is very remote, but because there is a very small possibility we are taking every precaution. The areas around greens will be dried for a day before anything is allowed on the greens. Mowers and players included.  Greens mowing and rolling will be reduced this week because of the round up, and that will result in slower green speeds. Keeping equipment off the greens for a couple of extra days is a small price for the assurance that there will be no damage from wheels that have traveled through the sprayed turf.



Look for updates here in a couple of days as I monitor the effectiveness of our application.

Kevin

Green Edges Located

In preperation for the installation of sod around the greens the edges have been located by a soil probe. 

15th Green Construction Exposed

You know when you are in the original green mix when the probe is in sand for 12 inches or more and then hits gravel.  A white mark with paint is then made and a little interpretation is done in connecting the dots.  The next step is to slowly reduce the height of cut, aerate regularily, and verticut agressively so that these areas match the existing greens in the future.

13th Green Edge Painted and Cut Down

Kevin

Bunker Liner Removal

Among the daily duties and the eminent turf conversion, there is a couple of other improvements we have moved forward with. 

The project I will touch on today is the ongoing improvement of bunkers, and I am excited about the possibility of a solution to the heavy wet sand found in select bunkers.  For the majority of courses the most time consuming and expensive feature to maintain on the course is bunkers, and here at La Rinconada we fall into that catagory.



Sand holding water and creating algae

The problem that exists is that the bunkers hold water. They hold water due to the type of sand, and the bottoms are lined.



Liner exposed. Notice, no drainage, flat bottom

In every case where the sand is continually wet the bottom is flat, and when removing the sand there is water sitting on the liner and not draining.



Removing the liner for infiltration

To remedy this problem we have removed the liner in the bottom of this bunker to see if the water will peculate into the soil profile below.

So far the results are promising during this short evaluation time.  No other bunkers will be done until the results are conclusive.

Kevin