It's hard to believe August has arrived. As a Superintendent, I always complain about the weather and how it affects what we do on and around the course. This year I have to thank Mother Nature for being very cooperative to this point! The turf has been under a lot less stress than usual this summer. This means turf health has a head start going into Fall because, as I mentioned in an earlier post, the majority of the stress on the turf has abated by Labor Day. I keep hearing compliments of how consistently good the course has been this year. Not to take anything away from the hard work of the crew but the fact that the 90F days & high humidity stayed away and the rainfall has been just about perfect has meant that the turf can be pushed more than it could in a warmer summer, resulting in fantastic playing surfaces.
I have been asked a few times over the last year why the clean-up along the edge of the greens isn't always cut. There is a very simple answer! This area, along with the collars are high stress areas. The mowing is concentrated in the same pattern all the time so wear marks will start to appear. Also all the traffic on the green crosses that area as the mowers are picked up and roll over it each time the green is mowed.
A 2 day old un-mowed clean-up pass
The collars being mowed higher helps a little with the stress although the higher heights can cause some other issues from heat stress with them from time to time. We use boards on the collars so the mowers don't run over them which greatly reduces stress.
Lightweight Toro 500 mower on clean-up cut
Since the greens mowers have to cut up to the collar we can't use boards on the edge to reduce stress so other methods have to be used. Skipping the clean-up cut every other day greatly reduces the stress. We also use a different mower that is very light weight and has a fully floating head. The floating head means that the cutting unit is independent of the drive unit so there is no additional weight on the blades and it can float over contours better; both of which greatly reduces stress on the plant. Since adopting this method shortly after the grow-in we have had no issues with wear at the edge of the greens.
The floating cutting head of a Toro 500 mower. The blade unit hangs from the engine unit which rides on the roller on the very right and the black rollers on the very left.
Fall aeration is scheduled for the week on the 18th and barring a weather delay, everything should be completed during the period the course is closed. We have started prepping for aeration this week by plugging some of the bare spots on greens as the plugs will help the areas heal quicker once they are aerated.
The plugs on 1 green which are mown higher than the greens turf
The plugs look a little ugly and are a little low but it isn't because we are lazy! The nursery has grown in nicely but the height of cut is not fully down to the greens height. By putting the plugs in a little low it protects them from scalping. Once they are aerated and topdressed they will all be level and will look good once the greens heal. As we get closer to aeration the turf will be fertilized more so that it is primed for growth going in, which reduces the healing time.
Last week we helped the Clubhouse staff prepare for the Soiree in the Sand event. This is how you quickly turn a patio into a beach!
We also built a pallet table from stuff lying around the property.
The finished articles looked great!
Most of the fescue and brush have been cut and over half have been sprayed for weeds, so they will look and play great for the remainder of the season.
As always, if you have any questions you can e-mail me at alan@ledgerockgolf.com.
