New Driving Range Tees

As promised, the updates will be a little more frequent than they have over the last year. The course has been playing great. The weather has been unusually dry and mild so has provided great conditions for fall golf. The yearly battle with the leaves seemed to take longer than normal but the high winds that ushered in the winter weather over the last few days have taken care of the remainder of them. The next job on the list is to get the fescues and brush cut before the snow arrives.

The big project this fall was the renovation of the driving range tees. The tees were built in 2004 and over the years the surface has raised 6-8" from divot repair and the topdressing needed to keep them smooth and level. Over the last two seasons the complaints on the tee conditions greatly increased which was not surprising considering their age. Although the life span can vary - based on my research - most clubs look at resurfacing every 5-6 years so the build up and poorer quality surface is not as noticeable. 

Lower Tee in early summer

Upper tee in early summer

Removing the topdressing build-up

 

 

Final grading before laser levelling

There was more material than we first thought!

The secondary issue was the club has become significantly busier over the last few seasons resulting in a lot more wear on the driving range tees. The mild spring this year didn't help either, as the tee was being used before the turf woke up, so there was no healing; therefore they started the season in poor shape. The solution was to add mats that can be hit from over the winter and not damage the turf. Additionally the mats will be used for outings and on days that are not traditionally busy to help minimize the wear on the real turf. 

Among the complaints was that the driving range tees did not play like a fairway; which was something that is difficult to achieve as the range tees are sand based like a course teebox, whereas the fairways are grown on native soil. A sand based tee is beneficial as it drains well and in summer if it dries out it is not too difficult to push tees into. The turf on the range tees is bentgrass just like the tees and fairways on the course. For consistency it was used again to make them as close to course conditions as possible. Some other grass types that heal quicker were discussed but they would not play like the course. 

The west end of the tee where the old bunkers were filled in to create un-level lies for practice

The tees were covered to help speed up germination - the bentgrass seed has germinated and will provide a head start for the spring

The two little practice bunkers were filled in and a larger more usable one was built in front of the tees. The new bunker was designed to provide different shot angles over low and high faces. The area where the old bunkers were filled in was regraded with the native soil to provide an area to practice uneven lies which provides more realistic fairway shots. The lip of the new bunker was built using Ecobunker (marketed as Permaedge in the US). Old synthetic turf is used instead of real sod to create the lip. This helps minimize erosion and contamination of the sand, and when coupled with a liner like Blinder greatly increases the lifespan of the sand and therefore the bunker.  

Shelling the bunker out and creating the lip

 

Adding drainage to the bunker

 

Modified stone base below the liner

 

 Blinder bunker being installed

Ecobunker (marketed as Permaedge in the USA) being installed

Vacuuming the debris out of the liner to prevent contamination 

Final grading

   

Final cleaning before sand

 The real turf is laid over the Ecobunker and will be trimmed back once it knits

As always please let me know if you have any questions: alan@ledgerockgolf.com

I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

Finally an Update! The summer in review.

Finally! I have the time to get back to blogging and provide an update of what's been going on at LedgeRock over the last six months. I can't believe the last update was the spring aeration update in May. Fortunately that means that I have a lot to talk about and I can't use writers block as an excuse for not updating! Although the summer of 2016 is behind us I'm sure everyone will be interested in reading what was going on. 

When I wrote the last post the area was in a very wet period and I was wondering when it was going to stop. Just like every other time I wish for the weather to change, it did, and in true fashion it went to the other extreme! Most turf managers in the region will say that this summer was a tough one but thankfully a few perfectly timed rains meant that LedgeRock came through fine and with minimal issues. 

A dry summer can be great provided there is good quality water available and there is some tolerance for some brown dormant turf. Wet and humid conditions are less than ideal. The toughest stretch started in late July through mid August when the humidity rose along with the temperatures. In particular the night time temps stayed up which added a lot of stress and a huge increase in disease pressure. The disease pressure was such that it broke though a fungicide application and brown patch appeared on some fairways. It was interesting to see that it was on the more shaded fairways which showed that the increased moisture and humidity in these areas made it worse. Spraying another fungicide brought it under control but the damage was done. It didn't look too bad until the course was aerated. The disease was somewhat camouflaged under the leaves of the turf, so when the brushing from the aeration process stood the turf up, it showed the thin areas below. In all my years in the business I haven't seen that much brown patch.... The areas were seeded with divot mix and within a few weeks had started to heal up but it was certainly a first for me and showed how stressful this summer actually was. An unexpected rain storm the night before aeration left a few areas on fairways too wet so they were damaged from the aeration practices. These areas were seeded and were looking great by the time the aeration holes healed.

Brown Patch on 1 fairway

Anyone that has been following this blog for a few years knows how less than ideal growing environments effect turf conditions and what has been done at LedgeRock to rectify it. The work  done last year with the drain-lines and the addition of acid injection greatly helped with reducing the stress on the pocketed greens. 

Drainage valves and a 4-way vent fitted to greens drainage to help blow air through the greens

2016 built on the success of 2015 with the greens performing well all summer and coming through aeration without any major issues. 10 green still struggled a little after aeration and was thin for a period afterwards. It was somewhat expected! I wanted to see if the green could survive with the shade from the Bald Cypress tree to the left. Unfortunately this year showed that it has to go as the thin turf area on the green followed the same pattern as the summer morning shade from the tree. Considering how the others are performing now, I am confident that 10 will follow them next year when the last major issue (ie the tree) is corrected. The factors limiting growth have been greatly reduced so these greens now play all summer like the others but they still need attention to make sure they keep progressing as they are and make sure that they stay healthy. 

Shaded area on 10 green was where the turf was thinnest: the top picture shows the early morning shade and how the turf was thinnest there in the lower picture

One item that needs adjusting going forward is the topdressing program. Due to the schedule over the last few years, topdressing frequency has taken a step back and it hasn't been performed as much as I'd like. The soil physical tests are coming back positive but it is important to ensure that it is taken care of before it becomes an issue. The golf shop and the maintenance dept plan to work on a schedule for 2017 that benefits both golf and maintenance and minimizes the effect on play-ability of the course

 Profiles of a green after aeration. The fresh topdressing can be seen on top, the aeration and dryject holes can be seen and slight mottled look near the surface which will necessitate more frequent topdressing to ensure it does not become a problem. The line in each picture shows the interface between the original mix and the layer what has been built up with topdressing and keeping the organic content at a minimum.

The only major criticism received about the course this year was that it was wet after aeration. I understand that it was far from ideal playing conditions for the couple of weeks or so after aeration. There was a twofold reason for this. The lessor one is that the new seed mentioned above needed water during what turned out to be an extended spell without major precipitation. The second was to help heal the course as quickly as possible after aeration. Unfortunately the course needs aeration which effects play and it needs water to get it to heal as quickly as possible. While the softer conditions are less than ideal they are a small price to pay to have a successful aeration minimizing turf stress so golf can be played for the remainder of the season without any issues.

The addition of the acid injection system proved to be a major asset this year, to the point where at a few times this summer I felt that the course was too green! The acid injection helps improve the water quality which has been an issue for the last few years. It was installed last year but it was mid season until it was fully up and running and it took some time to get it dialed in. This year it proved it's worth by not only giving the turf a better quality water source but it also makes pesticides work better which in turn reduces the amount of them needed. The better quality water also reduced the amount of fertility needed on the course as, although there is a minimal amount of nitrogen in the product, the better quality water releases tied up nutrients that were previously locked up in the soil.

The course was healthy and played firm and fast all summer

The tree work and regrading around 4 green greatly improved the playability and the look of the hole by opening up the right side of the green. With the trees gone, irrigation was added along the edge of the cart path which meant this area could finally be maintained as it should. There was a small area near the approach where the sod died due to poor irrigation coverage but that has been corrected and the area resodded. 

4 green complex before and after tree removal

Lastly, it's that time of the year where there will be frost delays; this post  is a reminder of why they are necessary to protect the turf from damage. 

As always please email with any questions or suggestions and keep an eye out for the next update, which I promise will be along soon! alan@ledgerockgolf.com

Spring Aeration 2016 Update

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

What does Course Maintenance Staff do all winter?

The first post for 2016! After having a bit of writers block over the last few months, I think I have cleared my mind enough to update the blog more frequently! As the spring rolls in, along with the start of the golf season, I figured I would cover some of what the maintenance staff does over the winter.

Overall this past winter was extremely mild, although thanks to the blizzard of 2016 the area received its yearly snowfall in one shot. The one benefit of it all coming at once is that once it was cleaned up and there wasn't much plowing needed as it has been the previous few years. The blizzard dropped 32" on the property and some of the drifts were over 6ft!

Luckily we were well equipped this year with a new plow for the new loader.

The drifts along 15 tee going to the Learning Center were almost over the truck

Needless to say dealing with that much snow it was inevitable that the truck got stuck!

Scott and Jeff have been busy in the barn all winter prepping the equipment for the upcoming season. While LedgeRock is fortunate to have a modern fleet of equipment, it still needs regular maintenance like oil changes and the blades sharpened to ensure it performs perfectly all season. The older machines need more major overhauling which takes up most of the time.

The Sandpro in for a major overhaul

The maintenance staff also take care of building maintenance so the winter is time to check over issues, come up with solutions and make sure everything is ready for the season.

Checking out the inside of the Learning Center Cupola to see where the leak is coming from: It is amazing how much damage a little bit of snow can do

The golf course furnishings are taken in for the winter and refinished. Damaged pieces are replaced by making new ones. Among other things, the tee markers and the new gates around the property are made in house by the staff.

Building the new gates

Installing the gates

Making new tee markers

Staining and painting the markers

The finished article!

As I've discussed in older posts, the maintenance team also takes care of decorating the clubhouse for the holiday with Deb and removing it all when it's over. This last winter was no exception, except that it was sunnier outside!

The off season is also a great time to catch up on continuing education and visiting trade shows to keep up to date on the latest technology that can help make the operation more efficient. Education plays an important part as it covers everything from the latest research on diseases, new methods of doing things etc and most importantly collecting credits so that we stay current with licenses and within our professional organisations. 

Blinder Booth at the Golf Industry Show

Bunker renovation seminar at the New England Turf Show

Just as the golf schedule is created, the major maintenance procedures are added to the calendar also. The public portion is seen at the bottom of the blog and contains the aeration schedule. However all the major turf events are scheduled also. While it is very difficult to predict the weather which in turn can predict the timing of applications etc the plan ensures that the items are scheduled and can be ticked off when completed so nothing is missed. The budget for the following season has to be created and towards the end of the winter, new staff are interviewed and hired. Then there are the governmental reports that need to be filed and submitted.....

Winter golf 2016!

The 'office' work doesn't mean the course gets neglected! It is sprayed right before the first snow to make sure it stays healthy under the snow cover. If there is no snow on the ground the course is still maintained for play. Since the turf is not growing it usually does not amount to much, but the team makes sure the surfaces are clean from debris, etc. and provided the bunkers are not frozen, washouts are fixed and raked as needed. With the mild winter the course has come through in exceptionally good condition and has been playing extremely well. 

The winter is a great time to take trees down as the ground is usually frozen which minimizes damage. There were not a lot of trees earmarked this year but 4 green got some love over the winter. The tree removal opens up the right side which makes it play better but it will also make the turf on the walk on/off healthier and improve the turf on what has been one of the ugliest areas of the course.

Tree removal on 4 

And the most important part of the off season is being able to grab some vacation to recharge for the new season!

Big Sur

As always, email with any questions or suggestions and sorry for the summer teaser pictures at the top and below! alan@ledgerockgolf.com