Dew Patterns

During the summer months we check the dew patterns on the greens almost every morning. We do not have to check for a dew pattern if we run irrigation overnight or it rains a significant amount. Your probably wondering what a dew pattern is. The picture below will show you, but I will explain it in detail. Dew settles on the greens surface during the night and early morning. Dew is tiny drops of water that form on cool surfaces at night. We ride our golf carts around all angles of the greens before they are mowed to determine where we will need to hand water that morning. When we look at the greens we are looking for weak spots in the dew pattern. This tells us where we need to take a core sample and check for moisture. If a certain spot looks weaker than the rest we will take a soil probe and stick it into the green 3-4 inches to test the soil moisture. If the soil is wet then no water will be added, if its moist or dry we will add water depending on how much we think we will need to get through the heat of the day. You probably have seen someone driving around the greens in the afternoons looking at them and either driving by or pulling out a hose to syringe the spot that is wilting. We are looking for purple spots that can turn to black spots if not syringed in time then causing the grass to die.

Realigning Tees

Today I started realigning the bermuda tees with the fairways. Over time the tees get out of alignment due to mowing. One to two times per year we like to straighten them back up so when you tee off you are properly aligned with the fairway. This is a very time consuming process and takes me almost ten minutes per tee depending on the size, and there are nearly fifty bermuda tees on the course. In the picture below you will see four metal stakes in the four corners and a rope wrapped around them. I start at one corner of the tee and place a stake then I pick the corner in front of me and place a stake. Then I tie a rope to the first stake and pull it in a straight line to the next stake, moving the second stake left or right depending on the alignment. I then do the same step three more times and once finished we have a perfectly square and perfectly aligned tee box.

14 Tee Improvement

Over the last two days 14 tee has had the sod stripped, drainage added and has been sodded with Celebration Bermudagrass. We were hoping that the tee would grow back in by itself after overseeding this past fall, but unfortunately it did not grow in as fast as we would have liked. Years of overseeding caused the Bermudagrass to become very weak and thus causes a bad teeing surface. The tee will reopen in 2-3 weeks depending on weather.

Champion Bermdua green is underway

On Saturday the lowest practice area green was sprigged with Champion Bermuda grass. The sprigs arrived in refrigerated boxes to prevent them from drying out or possibly dying. Upon arrival the bushels of sprigs were spread over the entire putting service. The sprigs were spread evenly and lightly. You do not want to burry the surface with sprigs this would cause most of them to die off and then the putting green would grow in uneven. During the first week after sprigging the number one priority is to make sure the sprigs do not dry out, so we must water them every hour to keep them moist. 

Zorro tees now open for play

The new Zorro zoysia tees are now open for play on all holes expect numbers four and six. The reason for the two par three holes is we would like the sod to be better rooted before it begins taking divots. The tees have taken off since they were sodded thanks to all the rain. 

Venting greens

Today we started the process of venting the greens. Venting is an important process during the summer months that allows oxygen to get into the soil and help release some of the bad gasses that build up. We use a small tine called a needle tine. This process does not affect playability on the green and holes will only be noticeable for less than a week. 

Cart Traffic

You will notice white lines across certain fairways about 50 yards from the green. These lines are intended for golf carts not to cross. By staying away from the green surrounds we will be encouraging better Bermuda growth and less turf compaction. Thank you for following all cart rules. 

Zorro Tees Completed

The new Zorro zoysiagrass tees have been completed, minus some tie-ins around the tee itself. The project took a little bit longer than expected, due to the 13 inches of rain we received in June. They will be ready for play hopefully by the first of next month. We need to allow for the roots to tack down  then we will start mowing them. Ideally we would like to get a couple of cuts on them before play is allowed. Overall the tee conversion consisted of spraying the bermuda out with Roundup, striping the tee, applying a fumigant to kill anything else left in the soil, laser leveling and then sodding. I have attached a short video of the laser leveling process. You will see a tripod stand with a small computer on it and there is also one on the tractor. They send signals back and forth to one another until the teeing surface is level.