Why have the greens been slower and inconsistent over the past eleven days? There are many variables that have an impact on the day to day management of turfgrass. Turfgrass requires a significant amount of input throughout the season (fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators, wetting agents, insecticides, herbicides) as well as a variety of cultural practices (aerification, topdressing, venting, verticutting, brushing, grooming). Greens can be slower or inconsistent for many reasons which include the moisture content of the green, windspeed, humidity, growth rate of the turf, amount of topdressing, single cut, double cut and/or rolled or not. The focus since the Member Guest has been on the application of a variety of fertilizers and secondary nutrients to continue to provide the necessary supplements for healthy turf. One of the main reasons for the slower greens lately is that these fertilizers are now allowing the turf to actively grow and the consistent rains have not allowed us to apply the necessary growth regulators to the greens. Primo Maxx (trinexapac ethyl 14.3%) is a growth regulator that interrupts the cell elongation in the plant responsible for growth. This product is typically applied to control excessive growth and allow greens speeds to be quicker and maintain those speeds throughout the day. Without the application of these regulators, greens can be inconsistent when growth is active. Primo Maxx was sprayed on Sunday July 7th and will again be sprayed when the weather permits. Reasons that restrict spraying include rain, rain that is forecast prior to drying of the product being applied, winds in excess of 11 km/hr. Our goal is to provide the most consistent playing conditions as possible but this is not possible without some cooperation with the weather. Since the Member Guest 11 days ago, we have recieved precipitation on June 28th, 29th, 30th, July 1, July 2, July 6 and 7th.
Topdressing is also an important part of maintaining greens, however there will be a decrease in green speed for a few days after this is done. The greens were topdressed and fertilized the evening of July 2nd and not cut the following day as the damage to mowers from the sand is significant and also picking up the fertilizer is counter productive. The greens height of cut was raised .010" (.254 mm) or from .115" (2.92 mm) to .125" (3.17 mm)
Collar Decline
As many of you have noticed, our collars have not been handling the moisture and traffic very well the past couple of weeks. In an attempt to relieve the stresses on the collars, our department has adopted several new strategies that include; reduced mowing (two times per week vs. normal three times per week) increased fertilization, needle tine aerification, no roller on the collars, light weight floating head mowers and overseeding. Starting Tuesday, the greens mowing team will be using turning boards that will be placed on the collars to further relieve the mechanical stresses that these mowers have on collars.
Turning Boards to minimize and alleviate stress on collars
Ropes and stakes have been placed around many areas showing stress and I would ask that players stay away from these areas. Foot traffic and pull cart traffic should be concentrated on the short cut bluegrass intermediate cut of turf, not collars and approaches. Our collars are very narrow (21") and bentgrass collars typically don't have the significant rooting found in bentgrass greens. Therefore they can be less tolerant of mechanical stresses which has been exacerbated with the constant moisture that we have been receiving.
I would ask that everyone help out by not walking on or pushing pull carts on the collars or approaches. Please travel on the short cut bluegrass intermediate around the greens.
Short Game Practice Facility
The short game area continues to be a popular spot to practice and has been well received. Please be reminded to repair all ballmarks, divots with bottles provided and rake the bunkers after your practice session. Those who have practiced from the bunkers will have noticed the bunker boards used to stabilize the new turf edge. These boards will stay in place for up to a year to ensure that the bluegrass has established a strong root system to continue to hold the edge of the bunker. Entering and exiting any bunker should always be done on the lowest and flattest part of the bunker so as not to displace sand from the high slopes and less chance of slipping or falling if the turf is wet.
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