Green Up

The golf course is starting to wake up. The warm temperatures are encouraging the greens and roughs to begin greening up with new growth on hole #1. We had a very productive week. Greens were mowed on Tuesday, Friday and rolled on Wednesday.Two additional crew men were hired this week, a month early due to the warm temperatures and the high play volume. The irrigation sytem was charged up on Monday with only a small leak on #5 left rough. KC Arborist cut the tree line back along the right side of #12 on Tuesday. Poa annua  was cut out out of the first six greens with the goal of removing as much poa as possible by the April 2nd aerification. Greenside bunkers were hand raked on Wednesday and Friday. Greens were sprayed with their first fertilizer feeding of the year. Bluegrass targets and the winter tee were fertilized also.

These two photos show bentgrass and soil plugs from #2 green. The plug on the left came from a sodded area of the green compared to an adjacent non-sodded area. The lighter colored sand that came with the sod is still evident under the new sod. Each year, the layer  gets thinner as we continue to aerify and topdress with our local sand. This foreign sand layer creates a health related issue for the grass as the green heats up each summer and the soil temperatures rise. When the green is stressed, the root system will die back to this foreign sand layer resulting in the grass displaying stress scenarios quicker than the bentgrass growing in the uniform sand mix on the right. Numerous aerifications with sand incorportation are the keys to breaking the layer and minimizing the dieback affect. Roots will grow in the vertical aerification channels that extend through the layer. The aerification scheduled for April 2nd will further disrupt this layer and increase the number of channels thus enhancing the rooting potential and root density. With only one 1/2" or larger core aerification planned per year, minimizing the "sod layer effect" on root dieback usually takes several golf seasons to overcome.  With a successful spring aerificaition, I'm expecting a better growing scenario with all the greens this season.

Spring break is next week and the forecast is for 70's all week! I hope you get a chance to play the course as the signs of new growth bring color back to the course. Experience the magic right before your eyes.

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