Cleaning Up and Growing Grass

Time always seems to go quickly growing grass from seed, maybe because it never happens quickly enough.  In the case of the last few days there has been a significant change in the amount of grass and the appearance of the course that has been very satisfying. 

After one week of heavy irrigation it is time start to cut back the watering.  To germinate seed it needs to be moist for prolonged periods of time. To grow healthy grass the roots need a balance of oxygen and water in the soil. We have enough seed germinated that we are now in the period of growing grass and we can cut back the from 11 waterings a day to 4.



Friday Sept 21, 9 days after first watering

Rolling greens with a 1,000 lb  compaction roller is not for the faint of heart. But in the right hands it takes care of imperfections very well. The sod that was put back onto the 15th green improved dramatically with the use of this technique.



Rolling the new 15th greens surface

Although grubs do not feed on seed they did cause some areas of existing turf to come up when our seeder went through them. These were then treated with an insecticide. Another example of adjustments made during our conversion work.


Dead grubs

The projected re - opening the first week of November looks very achievable at this point.

Kevin

Finishing Week 2

Two weeks ago La Rinconada was open and there was play on the course.  Today it is in terrible shape and definitely unplayable.  For the remainder of the time until re-opening every day will be spent on getting things back into shape and growing grass.


The seed is beginning to germinate, which is reassuring.  I have grown enough seed to know that it will happen, but there is something special when that green hue comes over the surface.  The first areas seeded where holes 14 and 18, and there is grass just starting on those holes not more than a week after planting.

The remaining work that needs to be done is on the 1st hole, where the drainage is being improved.  The old 4 inch drain pipe was removed and  600 feet of new 6 inch pipe and rock put in.  Five 12 inch drop inlets where installed, a detention basin was created, and the entire area regraded.  I am anxious for the first rains so we can see it perform.



Laser level of the drainage installed in #1

Drain line location on the first hole

The 15th green was enlarged by over 2,000 feet creating a shortage of existing grass to put back onto the green.  A combination of aeration cores, bentgrass seed and sand will be used to re-establish about 25% of the surface area and it should be in good shape by November.  This new green is much more interesting than the old version, however, you will still recognize its signature right to left hard break.

The old sod being replaced onto the 15th green

Check list of completed items

All surfaces prepped for seed and sand

Existing green edges located

Irrigation grow in programs created

Sprinkler heads raised

All surfaces sprayed with herbicides at least once

6,000 tons of sand delivered and spread

30 acres of hydroseed applied

60 acres of dry seeding

20 tons of fertilizer applied

All greens, tees and roughs aerated

15th green rebuilt

13th left bunker re-shaped and size reduced

Tree work done

 

Check list of to do items

Grow seed

Repair damaged areas from truck traffic

Grow  in areas as new green space that were not before

Establish mulch areas around trees

Contract netting for the 5th hole

Re-establish cut lines around the course

 Open ASAP

 

 

 

 

Kevin

Daily Challenges of the Turf Conversion Project

Things are continuing to go well, but I wanted to illustrate a few of the difficulties in case we were making this process look too easy.  Possibly, I look like I am enjoying myself more than I should?

Making sence of cut irrigation wires

 Cut irrigation wires while installing the new drain pipe in the #1 fairway.

3 Sand delivery and 3 sand spreading trucks in the parking lot

 Equipment congestion in the parking lots and on the surrounding residential streets have lead to contracts staking out there space.

Exposing old drain lines at the 15th green

Uncovering multiple drain lines leading out of the 15th green makes for archaeological interpretation of how to tie in the new to the old.

 

 

And despite these challenges (some call them opportunities) we continue to move forward as shown in this last photo showing the 9th green aerated, hydro seeded, surface area enlarged, approach re-graded, and sod going down in the collar.  All this in our first week of closure.

Kevin

The First 3 Days of Conversion

Here at mid week we are hitting on all cylinders and moving through the course on schedule.

Sod has been removed around the new green edges on holes 2,3,12,13,14,16,17.

Tree work is being done throughout the course.

Trees being thinned south of the 10th green.

 

All fairways except on #1 are prepped for sand.

Tree roots in #9 fairway while prepping for sand

 

Fairways on holes 2,3,14,16,17,18 are todressed.

Spreader trucks putting down sand on #14 fairway

 

Fairways 14,18 are hydro-seeded.

Hydro seed on #14 fairway sand.

The 15^th green complex has been stripped of sod.

Sod removal on #15 green

 

By Saturday we should double the amount of work done and we will be close to turning on the water in order to germinate seed.

Kevin

Last Week Open for Play and Final Preparations for Sand



The cutting blades on the flail that removes the turf and sweeps the area clean

This past week has been very busy and productive and we meet our goal of scalping down the fairways, and preparing for sand topdressing that starts Labor Day Monday.  It has been inconvenient for golf and I apologize for that, however when the course is back into shape we will all have some stories to tell about the dust bowl of 2012 that hit La Rinconada.

After the first pass with the flail unit

 

In the past week we have removed hundreds of yards of grass off the fairways.  Instead of paying to have the material taken off site, it will be re-cycled on the golf course.  This is a financial savings and is better for the environment. 

 

This week is all about getting off to a good start laying down the sand.  The processes that follows the sand is applying granular organic fertilizer, dragging the sand to smooth the surface, and then the hydro-seed.  The hydro-seed starts Wednesday, which gives the sand spreading operation a 2 day head start.

Also planned this week is the removal of sod around greens. When the round up was sprayed a 36 inch buffer was left around the edges to lessen the chance that the herbicide would be tracked onto the greens.  These areas will be leveled when the sod is removed to improve the playability and surface drainage.  You may have noticed the different colored paint around the greens in preparation for this work.

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

Bermuda grass Eradication

tall fescue and bermudagrass
One of the most significant obstacles to a successful turf conversion is to move away from the species that are considered undesirable, and Bermuda grass is near the top of most peoples list.  On south facing slopes during the heat of the summer, Bermuda grass can be very useful in maintaining a stand of healthy grass.  In most of these areas other grasses burn out due to heat and limited water.  Acknowledging that there are limited cases where Bermuda grass is desirable, the overall goal with a turf conversion is to get rid of it.  However, if you ask any expert in the horticulture field for a sure way to kill Bermuda grass they will not have a simple 100% way to do so.  All the research articles and publications I have read have best case scenarios of 90% control after months of treatment.  With that said, there is a lot of success found in treating and controlling Bermuda grass so that the playing surfaces on golf courses are in excellent shape and the undesirable traits of Bermuda grass are not present.



Bermuda grass emerging 2 weeks after spraying with round up

Kevin

Turf Conversion Demonstration Area

The turf conversion demonstration area at the end of the practice facility is a good indicator of what to expect in late August after the course is sprayed with round up. 


Examining the picture you can see how the majority of the grass and weeds turned color and died within a week of application.  The Bermuda grass is proving to be quite stubborn and it is still green after 2 application of round up.  Fortunately we have time and space to come up with the most efficient and effective method of dealing with the Bermuda.  The sand and aerification of the demonstration area will happen next week, and seed to follow closely after.  The new grass will be emerging by the first week of June giving a great contrast to the existing mix of grasses that are currently there.

Kevin

Not having been to our nations capital before, I was very excited and tried to keep pre conceptions to a minimum, suppressing those Hollywood images of a rather complexly bleak, and serious city.  What I have found after one day around the city and a day "on the hill" is it is very much a place to discover and get to experience on what ever level of complexity you choose, and it was not bleak.

Mike Herzdan and Michael Breed working Capital Hill 

The We Are Golf Coalition came to the capital with the goal of establishing more relationships with law makers and letting them know the economic, environmental, health, and other benefits of our industry.  The expectation is that there will be increased consideration for the golf industry in introducing and passing legislation that can impact golf by lobbying our interests.  I am not a big fan of playing politics myself, but I do realize its importance when someone is going to make a decision that will impact you, and specifically when it affects your lively hood. With that in mind I gladly agreed to seize the opportunity to come to Washington to talk with legislatures as part of the coalition.

The main messages that were emphasised over and over, verbally, and in writing were that golf is a $76 billion dollar business, that it provides 2 million jobs, there are 2,244,801 acres of green space on golf courses in the US, that there is $3.5 billion in annual charitably impact, and over 10,000 public golf courses. 

In one day 80 different one on one meetings took place with legislators to educate them on the facts and to ask for there support on specific legislation.  That legislation being HR 1964 that gives tax incentives for monies given to create open spaces and golf is currently excluded. HR 2718 that gives tax breaks to businesses that are impacted by disasters, and currently golf is not recognized as a business worthy of disaster tax relief. HR9 the small business tax cut act of 2012.  There was also legislation specific to regions and states that was discussed. One of those discussions that I took place in was with in respect to the Chesapeake Bay and we were able to sit down with Representative Robert Hurt who was receptive to our message.

Sadly to say, a lot of law makers have an image of golf that is as misconceived as the Hollywood version of Washington D.C. Too many legislatures see golf as elitist, overly manicured, misusing resources, and in seemingly no financial difficulty. I suppose if you did not experience public golf, and your brethren at the capital played the myriad of fantastic private courses in the D.C. area you could begin to think that  is the majority of the courses and they need no legislative help.  Hopefully the We Are Golf group helped that image improve and future legislation will be more positive towards the golf industry.

Kevin

I have been asked to speak before the House Sustainability Caucus in Washington D.C. next Wednesday. 

This is part of the National Golf Day sponsored by We Are Golf.  We Are Golf is the Golf Course Superinendents Of America, the PGA of America, the Club Managers Association of America,  the Golf Course Owners of America, and the World Golf Foundation.

I am honored to have been asked to talk (albiet for 3 minutes) about my work with regulatory agencies, environmental groups, and players to build relationships that result in a golf facility that is "sustainable".
Sustainability is the long-term maintenance of responsibility, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of stewardship, and the responsible management of resource use.

I will post while I am there, and let you know outcomes and my observations.  Sustainability is something that I believe in very strongly as a way for our society to make decisions on how we live.  Golf is a geat example of a sustainable system because it has the components of people who are players, and the abundant charitable causes that golf gives to, planet with all the ecosystems that thrive on a golf course often in urban areas, and profit with employees and payroll that are significant on local, state and national levels.

Stay tuned,

Kevin

Post aerification the greens never heal as fast as we would like.  At 2 weeks after aerifcation we are recovering nicely, with the holes closing  to about a quarter of an inch opening; Considering they started out at half an inch, and the amount of clouds, rain and low daytime temperatures we have experienced recently, this recovery rate is to be expected.  Another week and those small remaining holes will be completely grown over.

I want to explain the decision making process of why aerification must occur, and how aggressive to get with the number of and size of holes.

First; Why aerify?

1) Roots need oxygen.  Grass plants physiology, and microbial organisms require oxygen.  Very simple and straight forward, roots do not grow without oxygen, and grass dies without roots.  The stronger and deeper the roots, the more the plant can withstand environmental stresses such as heat, drought and disease.

Black layer in La Rinconada green. A sign of a lack of oxygen

Aerification tube in a La Rinconada green introducing oxygen and drainage

2) Drainage. Good drainage reduces disease pressure, and firms up the surface for better ball roll. 

Standing water on #18 green resulting in no oxygen and poor playing conditions

Second; How do we decide how many holes and the size of the holes??

1) Perform a physical analysis of the soil that measures the percent organic matter, the infiltration rate, and the percent of the air porosity of the soil.  We were advised to remove 30% by the USGA based on the amount of black layer and a layer of organic matter at a 3 inch depth. Brookside labs also recommended aggressive aerification of this layer.  ISTRC lab is scheduled to perform a post aerification physical properties lab test that will guide our next aerifications.

2) Based on the lab testing performed in the first step, we refere to a chart that lists all the different types of processes that will improve the physical characteristics that are deficient.

<><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><>
	This chart is an excel based calculator and the numbers used are only examples of an aerification program and not what will be done at La Rinconada this year. It does represent what is recommended by the USGA, and ISTRC labs.			Look closely at the Tine OD for the size of tine and the differences in displacement. More aerifications with smaller tines or less aerifications with big tines?		For La Rinconada to reach 30% this year we are needing to do a lot more aerifications than what has been done in the past. In 2011 approximately 9% was impacted.
		Spacing	Spacing			TOTAL
		Width	Length	Tine OD		Surface Area
	DATE	(inches)	(Inches)	(Inches)		Impacted %
	April	1.5	2	0.500		6.54%
	April	1.5	1.5	0.250		2.18%
	June	1.5	1.5	0.250		2.18%
	July	1.5	1.5	0.250		2.18%
	Sept.	Choose	Choose	Choose		0.00%
	Choose Month	Choose	Choose	Choose		0.00%
	Sept.	1.5	1.75	0.750		16.83%
	Sept.	1.5	1.75	0.250		1.87%
	Nov.	GRADEN	Choose Blade mm	0.0393		0.00%
	Choose Month	GRADEN	Choose Blade mm	0.0393		0.00%
		CUMULATIVE  DISPLACEMENT --  % PER SEASON				31.79%
Place Cursor & Click on apporiate cell --- Choose from the Drop Down Menu selection

The aerification process is measurable, consistent, and well thought out.  Hopefully this helps explain how I came to the decision of what to do, and why it was so important to be more agressive with my first aerification here at La Rinconada.




Kevin

Bee Swarm

Not your everyday occurrence. Today at La Rinconada, we had a bee swarm, and from the picture you can see if was rather large.  About 30 inches long and 18 inches in diameter.  The bee league was contacted for relocation to a less busy place than adjacent to the putting green.

Visual Contrast in Turf Color

When we talk about our turf conversion scheduled for August, it is hard to visualize the difference in aesthetics that this work will create.  This photo shows the contrast between the old grass on the left and the newer grass on the right that was installed a few years ago when the tee was constructed.   Now, visualize the entire golf course the color on the right.

In April a large area at the practice area will be sprayed and then seeded to simulate what will be done in August.

Cart Path Repair

This is the cart path at the 18th green pull out.  Tree roots are very powerful and able to lift concrete to the point of failure such as what is seen in this image.  80% of the cart path repairs being done this week are the result of tree root intrusions.

Prepped area with roots cut and removed

Spring Maintenance

This is a big week for the golf course. It is the week of aerification, and for the next 3 days the course is closed to provide as much efficiency as possible. 

new toro aerator

The tasks at hand are: 1) Aerification of all surfaces over the 97 acre property for soil drainage and a healthly growing medium. 2) Application of 84 tons of gypsum over the entire property to aid soil structure. 3) Spreading 10 tons of fertilizer to provide growth for the next 5 months. 4) topdressing of fairways with 400 tons of sand that will help firm surfaces for playability.

picking up cores off the green

topdressed green after dragging

This is a lot of hard labor that keeps the course healthy and playing well.  Superintendents have known for years that this effort is not appreciated by most players, although it is the single most important cultural practice that ensures a well conditioned golf course.


 Kevin

Target Bunker Re-furbish Completed

The target bunkers on the range were finished this week, and the color is much better.  A sprayable soy based epoxy was used to seal the bottom of the bunker in hopes that it will keep contaminants from entering the sand when balls are hit into and retrieved from the bunker.  Time will tell if this is a process that could be used in all the bunkers.  This was a trial that at this point visually looks good.

Before

After

During




Kevin