It's hard to believe it's May already and the summer is almost here. I'm writing this in the middle of what feels like the longest period of rain I've seen outside of Ireland! Although the course has lucked out and not received as much rain as some others nearby, there has been over 2" of rain over the last week. As always a superintendent is never happy as although it was badly needed ten days ago, it now needs to stop; but I know in a month or so from now I'll be crying for rain again!
Snow for GAP matches in April! - luckily a leaf blower was enough to remove the remnants!
The inconsistency of the weather has the turf (and the trees for that matter) confused. There has been 3" of snow in April, followed by 80F weather followed by 50Fs! The cooler weather over the last ten or so days made the bentgrass doze off again after waking up and growing well during the week of above average temperatures. The soil sensors show how much of a difference there has been in temperature over the last few weeks and how the plant growth slowed up in line with the soil temps. Turfgrass loves temperatures in the high 60s and low 70Fs with it waking up when it reaches the mid 50Fs or so.
The Turfguard sensors soil temps from 4-6 to 5-6 showing the swings in temperature and how it faded off later in the month.
Recovery from aeration has been good, especially considering the weather over the last few weeks. At the time of writing, the sand is almost completely gone and they are almost back up to speed - or they would be if rolling could be performed without the worry of causing problems due to all the rain! At least play has been minimal due to the bad weather. With the forecasted warmer and drier weather I expect them to be fully back up to speed by next weekend.
Deep tining the greens
Nordic Plow core collector. This new tool kept carts off the green by pulling the cores to the edge. It also saved labor as in the past two crew members would have to push the cores with an adapted tee mower.
Topdressing
A cross section of a Dryject hole. It also shows well the greens are performing as there is minimal thatch in the top four inches.
Aeration itself went extremely well. The fairways were all done before the shut down on the 18th. The fairways are done in house in the spring as time is less of an issue so they do not all need to be completed in a few days. The greens were deep tined, cored, topdressed and dryjected. This year the goal was to minimize the traffic on the greens with some new tools and it paid off (while also saving some labor!). The result was that there was no damage to the turf and they healed exceptionally well. Combined with the mild spring, the cultural practices are also showing dividends already with exceptional rooting which will provide increased stress tolerance during the summer. The greens physical properties were tested again this spring to ensure the cultural practices are working and the greens are performing as they should. Although the bulk density is a little high right at the surface, the greens continue to age extremely well and are better than what would be expected of greens their age.
ISTRC report of 3 green
After aeration was finished the crew have been busy completing projects while getting the course ready for summer. The first few mowings are frustrating as things slowly green up and everything is patchy. After this week, and assuming the forecast holds up, I fully expect everything to quickly be back to summer beauty; which includes the trees, which seem to be stuck in perpetual quiescence since that warm week when the leaves just started to unfurl and then stopped, making it look like fall!
More next time on the projects that have been finished up.
As always please email me with any questions or thoughts: alan@ledgerockgolf.com
