1st Tee Landscaping.

 As we’re all aware, the Arborvitae hedge to the right of the first tee was removed this spring due to severe damage from heavy snow over the winter.  As Jim and Nick have mentioned, we’ll not be immediately replacing the hedge until it’s determined that a hedge is needed there in the first place.  At it's size (over 12 feet), the hedge was weakening the south edge of the putting green from shade and root competition. Although it's sad to see a plant outgrow its 'spot', we're hopeful that what we have in store for the area instead, will be as functional as it is attractive and unique. 

What we’ve decided on, in the interim, is a gradual slope connecting the tee to the practice green.  This slope will be mowed at collar height (0.5”)and will look similar to the size and slope that goes down to the chipping green/practice bunker area.

The monument rock shall remain in position and will have perennial flowers and shrubs surrounding it.  The small boxwood hedge opposite the monument rock, although finally filling in, looks out of place now that it’s big-sister hedge is gone.  They'll likely be removed at some point this year and replaced with a low-rise curb of some type. The boxwoods were put in to guide foot traffic and give the tee a more traditional looking design. 

We think the new look of the tee is unique and reminiscent of traditional golf courses that had a more open and communal feel to their first tee/clubhouse area instead of a ‘cordoned-off’ feel. The  slope was planted to creeping bentgrass and is coming along nicely.  It should be completely filled in a week or two now that the heat and humidity are here and we can rely on warmer temperatures.  Comments about it have been varied but seem to be tipping in the positive column as players get used to it.         

My Romance with Annual Bluegrass

Of the courses I've worked on, I've never seen such variability in one species of grass as I have with 'Poa' (also known, incorrectly, as 'po' by Johnny Miller).  Tuscarora is dominated by Poa  annua, subspecies 'reptans', which is grass geek-speak for what's being more commonly called "creeping bluegrass".

The plants pictured above are the same genus and species - Poa annua.  One, I pried out of some gravel -- the other, I cut out of our seventh green. The physical differences between them are due to their 'biotype' and culture (i.e. mowing height, topdressing, fertilizer, aerifying) and is what makes Poa annua a versatile grass and strong competitor.  But, it's not a grass you can buy.  This is a wild species native to Europe, distributed worldwide, and is normally considered a weed.

Why I bring this to your attention is that most every 'Poa' plant shares one terrible trait -- they're prolific seed producers in May.  It's this production that's caused such great courses, like Oak Hill in Rochester, to choose the sterilize/kill all of their greens in the early 90's in attempt to improve the surface.  They wanted it gone because it was considered a 'weed' and a weak grass, but I would argue it's neither.

In May, Poa physically changes.  It swells up and gets 'puffy' as it pushes out seed.  It gives a terrible ball-roll only a few hours after it's mowed and becomes even bumpier and slower the later it gets in the day.  Think of how hard it is to roll out of a water bed compared to a futon and you get a good picture of how a ball reacts as it rolls across a 90% Poa green in May.  The only defense against this physical change, and it's a great one, is topdressing every week.

Seed production is it's primary mode establishment and the reason courses like Oak Hill try to eradicate it in favor of planting bentgrass, a species that propagates itself more vegetatively.  Courses that enjoy bentgrass don't suffer the issues Poa has in May as the bents don't go to seed.  They grow in an orderly fashion and putt almost no differently than they do in July.

Within 10 years, much of the Poa had returned to Oak Hill and they're back to where they started -- namely, trying to control seedhead production with chemicals like the rest of us.  The only true way to eradicate Poa annua is to strip the area, fumigate, reseed, and begin a never-ending regime of specialty  herbicides that don't let the plant get a foothold.  Even then, your chances are only 60/40 you'll keep it at bay.  It's like rust -- it never sleeps.
To be sure, replacing Poa with creeping bentgrass lends a great ball roll in May and more consistent appearance through the year.  For this reason, hundreds of courses still spend big dollars on conversion attempts.

Unfortunately we had a rainy and cool spring which made timing the application for seedhead control tricky this year.  At Tuscarora, we normally apply on fairways and greens for seedhead control in attempts to remediate the speed reduction and fairway cutting quality.  Although we were partly successful on greens in between rain events, we were only able to apply on 4/18 fairways.  To date, cutting fairways and rough is like cutting bailing wire.  It literally stops mower reels from spinning if let to grow more than two days.  We're having to re-sharpen blades weekly which is normally a monthly routine.

As the weather heats up, Poa goes into summer survival mode which is largely one of conservation -- this is when it shines and why Tuscarora has great greens.  We are over 95% Poa annua on greens here.  At that percentage, bentgrass is now the weed.
Poa boasts higher shoot density than the most expensive bentgrasses, it can be mowed shorter than many bentgrasses, it's ultimately smoother and faster than bentgrasses, it doesn't produce as much thatch as bentgrass, and it's pesticide and water requirements are similar if not edging out bentgrass.

So, take heart in May on 'pokey' Poa greens.  It's a normal condition of a very hardy species of grass that makes up 70% of our course.

New Batteries

Just wanted to give a couple of facts and figures on our latest project down at the shop.  We tasked our faithful Mechanic, Mike Forell, with the job of changing out 300 6-volt golf car batteries last week (14 pallets).  As you might know, our fleet of EZ-GO's needed a complete battery swap due to normal wear and tear. 
There's been normal scuttlebutt about this, and contrary to any of it, I know of no evidence to indicate chargers malfunctioned or that the battery swap was somehow avoidable.  Battery life in electric golf cars, in the northeast, is 4-5 years at best, and that's with heated storage.  We got a little more than four years out of the original batteries.  Top battery life is 6 years in the best case scenario (in Arizona with air-conditioned cart storage).

Looking forward, we'll be talking with the manufacturer of these batteries (Deka) to get their recommendation on winter storage and maintenance.  Deka batteries are a high quality American battery and are the battery of choice for ClubCar.

At 50 pounds per battery, Mike lifted a total of 7.5 tons over the entire week.  After he steam cleaned each cart, he then scraped, wirebrushed, and painted the battery trays. 
I gave him the holiday weekend off.  He deserved it. Thanks, Mike     

Cup Cutting

Three days per week we rotate the cup location on the greens.  The primary reason for this is to spread the wear from golf spikes out so the greens surface stays uniform.  Secondarily, it gives the player a different shot, and putt, at the hole. 

Our schedule for changing cups is based on the amount of play we expect to see that day as well as the concentration of play we've experienced prior to that day.  Our normal weekly changing schedule falls on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.  We've learned that changing cups more frequently, due to the small size of our greens, causes problems due to insufficient time for old plugs to heal-in. They end up interfering with putts as we run out of 'un-plugged' cupping area.  It takes, on average, 5 days for a plug to heal to a point that you don't notice it.

Cup edges should look crisp and clean the day they are cut -- after a day of play, less so.  What we notice in wet weather is the soil tends to fall apart more easily and leaves the cup edge less than perfect.  This is usually the challenge whenever the soil is saturated - it's been an interesting April and May in this regard.     

Unfortunately, even with a fresh and cleanly cut cup, it's easy to damage a new cup edge while replacing the flagstick, picking your ball up, or fishing your ball out with a suction cup or putter head. We all try to be careful, but sometimes we misjudge and mash the edge - it happens.

When we leave the hole for play, provided our tools are sharp (freshly sharpened above) and working properly, we ensure the cup is perfect and ready to receive a ball.  Sadly, we can't guarantee what that cup will look like 15 minutes later, let alone 6 hours later. 
We will make every effort to leave that days cupping area as perfect as the weather, and our abilities, allow us.     

The Flowering Trees of Tuscarora

This is just a quick few shots of some of the best flowering trees on the course.  We have some great ones but the weather has been so rainy and miserable that it's been hard to see them in bloom. Here's some shots if you've missed them.

Flowering Crab Apple between 7 green and 3 tee

Flowering Crab Apple 'Sugar Tyme'  behind the red tee on 4

Flowering Crab Apple near the red tee on 13

 More a flowering shrub: Creeping Phlox on the red tee on 4

I'll add the Eastern Redbuds on 2 tomorrow.  They were fantastic this year.

 And here they are..

Divots

Just wanted to add a quick observation on replacing fairway divots.  What we see happening on the course is that most people (over 80%) are replacing or filling the divot they make. We thank you and encourage even more of this.
One problem we do hear is when to replace the pelt.  I like to advise people to only replace a pelt if you see and feel at least a quarter inch of soil still attached to it.   We find that without the soil the divot is likely to dry  out and die before it grows back in.
When you have an irreplaceable pelt,  toss it aside -- they'll either be mowed up  or picked up by our divot crew.  Fill the divot with sand/seed mix. (pelt: strip of grass removed by a golf club)

Replaced pelts without enough soil after 1 week

Replaced pelt with enough soil after 1 week

Beyond this, our crew will be filling divots with sand and picking up unrepairable pelts through the week.  When in doubt, fill it with divot mix.  More on tee divots next week.

Shop Area Facelift

You might have noticed a few trees and a lot of brush missing between the right of 16 fairway and left of 7 green.  This is a clearing project that we've started to make way for a bit of free fill we've been able to locate, thanks to Jim Wheeler and Nick Masterpole. The total amount is around 5000 cubic yards in volume which will supply us for any projects the Greens Advisory Committee can dream up for years to come.  The best part is, the material is free -- and thanks to Jeff Hanlon's generosity, so was temporary use of his bulldozer.
What you'll see replacing the brush is a grassy berm.  It will be tall enough to completely block out the shop from 16 and 7.  If we need extra room for more fill, we'll start the same process down the left of 6.
Ideally, the shop will be hidden behind a berm on 3 sides.  This will eliminate the noise and sights that emanate from our work area, which at times, can be loud and disruptive.  When fill is needed we'll be able to mine out what we need from the shop side of the berm without disturbing the look of the 'course-side' of it.
As the project develops, I'll update with details and pictures here.

1 Fairway Bunker Update

The bunker on 1 fairway continues to wait for soil.  Deliveries of topsoil were unavailable from our supplier due to the almost 3 inches of rain we had last week.  Soil generally needs dry out before they can process or load it from their site.  Otherwise, it sticks to machinery and is impractical to work with.  Farmers don't work their fields until it's dry enough to support equipment and we operate on the same principle.
I expect delivery by Monday as we've finally had a couple days of dry weather. We'll also be able to finish repairing stump hole on 10 fairway that's been waiting for dry soil.

#1 Fairway Bunker

As of the May board meeting,  the fairway bunker on the1st fairway has been slated for removal.  This bunker was seen as too penal for the higher handicapper as well as creating a double hazard for the low handicapper playing down the 9th hole.

We've removed the sand and filled the bunker with the dried pond dredging from two years ago. The old sand from the fairway bunker was recycled and placed in greenside bunkers that needed it on 6, 13, and 1.

Our next steps will be to cap with topsoil and sod the area.  Play this area as ground under repair until the sod knits together.
Thanks for your patience.

Topdressing: What's to gain?

When a turf manager applies "topdressing" to a field of play, they're applying a layer of sand or soil over the turf to smooth unevenness.  Benefits of topdressing are crown insulation, thatch dilution, and increased drainage and firmness.  From baseball fields to grass tennis courts, where smoothness or surface repair is desired, you're sure to see topdressing employed as a standard practice. 
For golf greens, firm and smooth surfaces equal increased ball roll, or 'fast greens'.  This is good.

Topdressing is done by hand on our tee boxes due to the damage being so concentrated.  Seed is applied first followed with straight sand directly laid onto the divoted areas. This is quickly worked into the turf with a special tool called a 'Levelawn' (pictured below).  This procedure not only reseeds the tee, but helps slow down the unevenness older tees can suffer due to excessive traffic and unfilled divots.

Greens are topdressed with straight sand every Monday, weather permitting.  The primary reason we topdress greens at Tuscarora is to increase ball roll and dilute thatch.  Over time, sand fills the voids between leaf blades and old ball marks, and, in turn, lends a truer putting surface.  This contributes to the ball seeing less 'interference' as it goes to the hole.  With regular topdressing, putts stay on line more often, friction is reduced, and the ball maintains it's velocity (or speed) for a longer period - all positive things. 

This also gives some insight to why greens are noticeably slower after a rain or irrigation -- the same goes for freshly fertilized greens. Anything that makes the plant more lush, or the surface less firm, decreases ball roll.  This is why green speed can vary from spring to summer, week to week, and from morning to afternoon.  The plant responds to environmental changes as well as chemical ones that are, sometimes, beyond our control.
Topdressing can smooth much of that uncertainty out...  

At the end of 2010 we found a great deal on a low hour demo topdressing machine. It's computer controlled and allows us to topdress all 18 greens in under two hours, opposed to 5 hours with our old unit. It also let's us apply at such light rates that the sand rarely needs to be brushed in.  We've kept the older unit to fill practice tee divots and apply stone to cart paths.

Welcome!

This post kicks off the Tuscarora Grounds Maintenance blog.  What I'll be doing is giving the reader a Superintendent's perspective of what's happening on the course from week to week.  I'll cover projects that are underway, new programs that affect play, hot-button issues such as green speed and bunker firmness, general agronomy, and a 'how-to' section regarding turf-related issues such as preferred ballmark repair and divot replacement. I'll also address concerns or comments that have been passed on by the Pro Shop or Greens Committee members regarding the course.

Why do this?
Getting progress reports and course news to over 300 members regarding their property is something Nick and I think is important.  We feel the more information people have available to them, the easier it is to do our jobs and look ahead.  Considering the variety and scope of work that goes on during a week, I think a blog format works well as a resource for updating members as to what's happening to their golf course and more importantly, why it's happening.