Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The President's Cup
It has nearly been a week since my last post, but this gap is for good reasons. Assistant Superinten
dent, Mike Nee and I were privileged to work the President's Cup at Harding Park in San Francisco. Superintendents and assistants from Northern California, Oregon, states back east and students from Oregon State were on hand to help the crew with bunkers, divots, hand watering and the ever-important fluffing of the rough. To the left is a photo of my handiwork, the greenside bunker on 18th just before the start of play on Friday.
dent, Mike Nee and I were privileged to work the President's Cup at Harding Park in San Francisco. Superintendents and assistants from Northern California, Oregon, states back east and students from Oregon State were on hand to help the crew with bunkers, divots, hand watering and the ever-important fluffing of the rough. To the left is a photo of my handiwork, the greenside bunker on 18th just before the start of play on Friday. The course was in tournament condition with rock hard fairways and approaches and rough over four inches in some areas. I had never been to a major tournament before and it was a treat to get so close to the best players in the world.
Another benefit of this experience is networking with many other turf managers to pick up a few new tricks of the trade. Each tournament, meeting or conference helps me get a little better at managing your course.
Cameras and cell phones were not allowed at Harding Park, but the maintenance staff seems to get away with a few things that spectators would not. Having a separate entrance with a single security guard made it much easier to snap a few pictures. This is probably my best one from the bleachers of the 15th green (Tiger putting for birdie). Woods and Stricker halved this hole to remain one down to Weir and Clark. Two holes later they would square up the match on the 17th before taking the win on 18 with an eagle.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Poppin' up nicely
Yesterday we put the first cut on the tees using the Sidewinder set at a height of one inch. The tees were seeded about 2 weeks ago and have grown to 2 inches in most locations. Today we will spray the tees with a growth regulator called Primo to help thicken up the new rye grass. This product reduces upwards growth and will promote new shoots and root growth. Density is the main goal of this application and other benefits include darker color, less mowing, and lowered water requirements.
The tees and approaches will be left a little longer than normal until the grass has matured. This will only take another week and then we'll be set for the rest of the year. Other spots on the course will start to green up as the seedlings emerge. The tees were seeded first, followed by the approaches, collars, and green banks. I'll be running around to check the progress of each location so we can get back to optimal playing conditions as soon as possible.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Why do we topdress greens?
Look no further than the above picture to find the answer to that question. This plug was cut out of #12 green just before we mowed down the turf with the fresh blades I mentioned in the last post. Notice how the very top of the soil profile is lighter than the rest. This is fresh sand that is clean of organic matter and it serves more than one purpose. 1) Sand works its way into the turf canopy and settles in between the crowns, or growing points, of each plant. The crown is partially buried and therefore protected from scalping by the mower blades. If we see scalping on the green we know we need to topdress before disease and thinning begin.
2) Sand helps to break down organic matter by increasing porosity and helping the soil breathe. This is why you do not see any distinct layers from top to bottom. We try to topdress every two weeks with a light dusting and apply twice at heavier rates during our spring and fall aeration. We fill all the holes to improve drainage and porosity, but keeping some sand on the top is also very important.
3) Faster, firmer greens. Sand fills in slight imperfections to allow better ball roll and firms up the surface since sand holds less water than organic material in the soil below. I know many golfers feel that sand on the greens equals slow greens. I have a stimp meter that would disagree with you. After a light dusting, the greens are slightly faster than before because a smoother surface is achieved.
I could probably list 3 or 4 more reasons, but I think you get the idea. A little sand every few days keeps the pathologist away.
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