Spring is Right Around the Corner

With spring right around the corner, it is time to start shifting away from our winter related tasks to more turf related jobs in an effort to prepare everything for spring.  A big part of that program for our Bentgrass greens at Irving Park begins with aerification.

"WHY AERIFY?" CORE AERATION is one of the “dirty” words of golf course maintenance. With a busy golf season of around eight months in our area of the world, many would question the necessity of disrupting play each year in the spring and the fall on Bentgrass greens.

An important purpose behind core aerification is the removal of unwanted organic matter, allowing improved growing conditions for the roots. With a healthier root system heading into the golf season, the grass plant is better able to withstand the stress of traffic. Aeration also relieves compaction, promotes air exchange and helps with water infiltration.

How much aerification is enough?

There is no specific rule of thumb for what percentage of surface area should be impacted each year. It would be safe to say however that it would be difficult to “over aerify” if plant health was the only factor. The USGA suggests that 15-20% of the surface should be aerified each year. Our program of a 3/8” tine in late winter, a 1/2” tine in late spring and early fall comes very close to achieving the USGA objective of 20% annual surface removal.

3/8"tine on a 2.5 " spacing

How long after aerification before the greens are back to normal?

With cooperative weather, the healing process will take 28 days in late winter and 21 days in spring and fall to return the greens to optimal putting condition. Extra fertilizer and water are applied at this time to expedite recovery."  Smaller tines are used in late winter to speed the recovery during what is typically a slower growing time of the year.

Weed Control

Springtime is also the time of year where the turfgrass is treated with preventative summer weed control products.  Ideally these treatments are applied beginning in late February with a completion date of no later than March 15.  The timing of these treatments is primarily dependent upon soil temperatures with certain summer weeds such as Crabgrass germinating when soil temperatures approach 60 degrees.  Between the two courses we treat over 200 acres of turf each spring and depending on weather conditions these treatments can take anywhere between 2-3 weeks from start to finish.

Winter Damage Update

While we expect a certain amount damage on the warm season turfgrass each year coming out of winter, some years can certainly be worse than others.  While we did experience a very cold month of January it does appear this year won't be witness to any widespread turf loss.  The Farm ultradwarf greens appear to be very healthy as we are currently mowing them several times a week and getting more clippings than normal for this time of the year.  My biggest concern coming out of January was more so in the fairways and roughs where growing conditions such as compaction, shade and poor drainage make the turf more susceptible to winter extremes.  After exploring several of these areas prone to damage we are seeing a good amount of healthy white live stolons, which is a very good indicator that the turf will be fine once it breaks dormancy.  While we still have several more weeks before we are in the clear things are looking good for a normal spring transition.

White/Tan Succulent Healthy Stolon from Shady/Wet Area Prone to Winterkill

Cold Air Heading Our Way

 January Cold

Artic Blast and Polar Vortex are two terms most people have come to associate with really cold air and forecasters say that one such system is heading our way.  One weather news outlet described it as "This will likely be the most significant cold we have seen in years and the pattern of below and well below temperatures are expected to remain in the area for a good portion of January".  With this type of long-range forecast and bold headlines we decided to minimize our chances for any type of cold related damage on the Farm greens by shutting down early and applying a thick blanket of pine straw on the greens before installing our protective covers. By first spreading pine straw on a putting surface and then covering it, we create an air gap between the cover and the putting green surface.  The air gap provides significantly more protection from damage that might otherwise occur with lengthy cold weather events. Pine straw is not that expensive because we reuse the pine straw around the course in areas we would of had to pine straw anyway, but it is very laborious and closes the course down a few days longer than just putting down covers due to the installation, removal and relocation of the straw, therefore it is only used in what we perceive to be high risk weather situations.

Pine straw installed before installing the covers 

Winter Work

Despite late fall and winter being described as our off-season the staff has plenty to keep them busy before we begin cranking up for the next growing season.  A large portion of the late fall and early winter months are spent blowing and sweeping up leaves.  The Irving Park course is especially difficult as there are no wooded areas to hide them.  With the new Greensboro no pickup leaf policy I am sure a lot of people can now appreciate the fact we have over a 100 acres of leaves to blow into piles, load onto trucks and haul to one of the local landfills.

One of nearly 100 trucks of leaves hauled away every year

Vacuuming leaves is a daily task

Each year during the non-growing season we spend ample time cleaning, repainting and refurbishing the equipment and the golf course accessories on each course.  This works perfectly with all those really cold or rainy days where it is not conducive to go outside and work.   This year we're having to do some significant work to the Farm irrigation pump station.  Two of the main pumps and one motor are in the process of being pulled and replaced.  We replaced the third pump last year, so once this work is completed, we should be in pretty good shape going forward on what is effectively a 30-year-old pump station.

One of the main pumps being removed for replacement

The Christmas season is now over but not forgotten.  On behalf of all the GCC employees I would like to send out a special thanks to members for their gracious giving that went out to all the employees in the form of a year-end bonus.  The member donations that make this possible are greatly appreciated at this time of the year and goes along ways to defining the commitment the members have for our hard working and dedicated staff.  So, a Big Thanks is in Order!