Greens Aerification

It is that time of the year. We will be aerating greens on Tuesday of next week. 9-22-09. The process will be as follows:

Will will punch the greens with 1/2" quad tines. This will be smaller than in the spring but will yield more holes per square foot.

We will clean the plugs off the greens by hand and haul the material to the back of the driving range which we will clean up over the week with our dump truck and loader.

After the greens a clean we will topdress with USGA spec golf course sand. We will apply enough sand to fill the holes on the green completely.

Once the sand has dried on the greens we will drag the sand with a pull behind brush two times over and then follow with the buffalo blower. This help insure all hole are completely full and no excess sand is left to injure the grass.

Once this process is completed we will follow that with organic fertilizer. I have selected a oceanic blend of sea weed, kelp and crustacean shells to help the biology in the greens. We have already put down a pre-aerification fertilizer application to push growth coming into aerification and this will be the sustained release product to give us the boost we need to close up the holes in a timely manner.

Our first mowing will be san pick up. These mowing are necesary to remove the larger particles that were unable to work into the turf canopy. In no way do we remove enough sand to make a difference. We will start out at a raised hieght and work our way down slowly to our normal mowing hieghts. The greens will be a little slow for this transition time.

Our overall projected recovery will be no later than three weeks if the ambient temperatures remain up. This is where we trust mother nature to help us out a little. If we get a cold snap the recovery could be sluggish but inevitable.

If any members have any questions with the process or any other comments please feel free to contact me directly.

Justin C. Ruiz, CGCS

Summer Heat Stress

Over the last summer we had a cart path only rule in effect after 1pm. We were continually questioned as to the purpose of this rule. Last year we had the same rule in effect although it was enforced after 12pm. We also had two hole on each nine that were cartpath only all day. These holes were rotated weekly to reduce cart traffic wear.

The reasoning behind this rule is to help the course in the afternoon when we are under water restriction. If we begin to water in a deficit which is less than the plant uses the prior night we are vulnerable to tracking damage from the carts. This rule help us, the maintenance staff, out by keeping carts off of stressed areas. We will also have better course conditions when we get into even more severe restrictions.

This season with our water management plan in effect we were able to only water in deficit only a few times which resulted in a fair amount of tracking damage. The success of the water management stategy gave us the flexibility to water what was needed with little or no restriction all season. Next year we will have a better plan of attack on how we can enforce this rule if needed but with our water conservation actions and our continued proactive approach we may not need the rule nearly as much as we have in the past.

The rule may be a nusiance for some afternoon rounds but we as the maintenance staff are grateful for your help and discipline to adhering to our afternoon rule. We have had a great year so far and with fall on our heels we will continue to have a great year.

Justin C Ruiz, CGCS

The Rim Golf Club.

Turf Removal for Water Savings

This past spring we made a big push to redefine the perimeter of the golf course. We had many areas on the golf course where the sprinkler heads were trying to water turf behind the heads. Over the years the heads along the perimeter have had to be adjusted for a greater and geater arc to maintain turf outside the perimeter of the golf course. We decided to take back the original design of the golf course.

Not only did the turf begin to creep ou into the native areas it gave us a tough area to maintain in the heat of the summer because of the lack of irrigation coverage. We were waiting the water that was needed to basically water behind the heads. Some heads were outfited with tails to pick up areas that were tough to get by simply advancing the arc. All these adjustments and modifications were eating into our water usage for the year.

We began the taask of sod cutting the edge of the turf back

to the perimeter heads. Then followed that up with the reseeding of the native mix. We reused the sod for animal damage that plauged us through the winter months. We were able to remove quite a bit of turf throughout the golf course an not even change the playability. Each are we adjusted all the sprinklers and were able to save a good amount of water. In the big picture every drop counts.

All these projects have added up to help us have a better season. Not only are the members happy with the summer season at The Rim but prospective members can now truly see the golf course the way it should

be.

Running Out of Water?

Over this summer we have been challenged by mother nature. Not only have the monsoon weather been underwhelming but the dry heat at our altitude has started to compromise out water storage lakes. We have have done a lot of work over the last winter and spring to make our irrigation system more efficient and save as much water as possible. Since I have been at The Rim Golf Club I have been told that the course has been too wet in the past and firm and fast is the ideal conditions. With my passion of environmental conservation I have made that my #1 priority. Save water and make the course firm and fast.

The first obstacle that we encountered was the amount of disease and insect damage. This was causing massive destruction each season and in turn using up valuable water to either grow-in damaged turf or combat root eating insects. With the creation of a Integrated Plant Management program we were able to significantly reduce our pest problems and focus on turf maintenance with less stress.

Our second obstacle was the irrigation system not only being out of adjustment along the perimeter but also the computer's database being incorrect. We had every head on the course assigned as an impact head. The only impact heads we have are portable irrigation that we have made for hot spots. Going through the database and making sure everyhead was properly assigned not only made the dry run on the computer match the actual usage for the night but also gave us the flexibility to water more accurately using more accurate Evapotranspiration Rates.

The last obstacle in our quest to save water came with the balancing of the irrigation system. My assistant Joe Trombino did a ton of work on the irrigation system and started to think about how the system was set up. We had rough heads on hillside turned up to outrageous percentages throwing to fairway heads that were nearly zeroed out. This cause wet areas along the edges of the fairways and dry in the middle. His thought process consisted of thinking "triangular". Every area is watered by three heads. When you adjust one you manipulate that area and affect the other two. His ideas basically were the opposite of what I knew were normal. He took the holes and adjusted the heads to become more balanced thus creating a consistently firm and fast condition. He was right on the mark with his thought process.

With the history of how we got to where we are today with great conditions year round we can explain our water issues this year. The monsoon season gave us little to no moisture. rolling in each afternoon but just not giving us rain.

We got through June and July with great course conditions and then we began to drain our storage. We were getting a small percentage of what we water each night from the sanitary department each week. We were watering at a great deficiet but with our work in the past with irrigation we continued to conserve water with no effect to the courses condition. This last month we were starting to use the storage held on the golf course. Our off site storage was completely gone.

In the past our driving range was the first casulty but with our conservation techniques we were able to keep our first impression intact. We may have been getting close to the red zone on water supply but I knew we were going to get the cooling of overnight temperatures and the Sanitary would once again catch up once ET rates declined.

So the question is are we going to run out of water? My answer is no. We could have a severly dry year that can give us an even bigger challenge in the future but rest asure we have done everything possible to conserve water which has given us the ability to endure a dry year and pervail. Not only has our hard work payed off but we have changed the perception of summer at The Rim Golf Club.

Before and After

Wanted to share a couple before and after pictures with you guys.  Haven't had much time since the season is picking up to post any blogs.  You will like these pictures of a couple things that we have worked on recently.  We are out to make a difference at The Rim Golf Club.  If you haven't noticed these last couple years of quality change here is a couple small things that we do as the season goes on to improve and keep improving the golf course.  Before too long you may not be able to put your finger on it, but the coursewill  just looks sharp and tidy over time.  The little things add up to make a big difference.

These are pictures off our pothole bunker on the twelth hole.  The back of the bunker was damaged and falling apart.  I reshaped the bunkers edge to give it a clean line and also to help the mowers do a better job getting it collar hieght so the ball will easily roll into the bunker on a short shot.

These pictures are of the walk off on #18.  Last year the area was definitly struggling from improper irrigation.  We install some pop-up irrigation and bingo grass year-round and we free up a guy from handwatering that area.  Much more has been done to the course since I have been here and much more is needed.  These little things add up to create the big picture that our members see day in and day out.

Have a great time on the golf course.  I hope you guys enjoy it out there as much as I do.  This season, even with a few set backs may be our best year.  The water supply is great and we have a stand of turf that just continues to get more healthy.  If this year doesn't please you enough wait until next year when all the turf continues to fill in and the pocketing in the rough is completely filled in.

-Justin

Been a While

As you can tell it has been a while since I have posted.  The season has picked up and I am getting very busy.  We have done many projects and we are getting a lot done.  I have also added the twitter updates onto the blog to keep people more informed on how we are doing on the course.  I will get a couple more posts up soon.  I have plenty of pictures of our projects and can't wait to share them.  Through the summer months it will be hard to have any kind of consistency but bear with me.

Thanks 

Justin

Green Committee Meeting

Saturday the 4th of April we had our monthly Green Committee Meeting.  We get together each month and talk about course conditions.  We address issues on the course that need attention or explain how we are managing certain areas of the course.

I write a report for the committee each month explaining what we have accomplished, what we are working on, and what is coming up on the schedule of things that need to be done.  It has been a successful outline for many years for me at each committee meeting I have been part of.

Here is our last meeting outline that i have created.

Green Committee Meeting

Presented to The Rim Green Committee

By

Certified Golf Course Superintendent

    Justin C. Ruiz, CGCS

April 04, 2009

 

Course Condition:

 

The Course is now greening up for the Spring.  Only the North facing slopes are slow to green up.

 

Projects Completed:

 

-                     Mulch on all walk-ups

-                     Lightning repair

-                     #13 bunker irrigation

-                     Painted tee markers

-                     Drainage #9

-                     Fairway aerification

-                     Cutworm control

-                     Light trap installation

 

Projects in Process:

 

-                     Tee aerification

-                     Pig damage repair

-                     Portable usage

-                     Creek Maintenance

-                     Drain leveling

 

Projects Planned:

 

-                     Greens aerification

-                     Dead tree removal #2, #7

-                     Wall to wall fertilizer application

 

Staff Update:

 

-                     New intern form Walla Walla, Washington, Andrew Fortin

-                     Joe Trombino, Assistant Superintendent received Top Assistant in Golfdom Magazine.

-                     New Orleans presentation

Fairway Aerification

This last week we aerified the fairways and approaches.  We used 5/8" O.D.tines and backfilled with mortar sand.  Last year we budgeted for USGA spec sand, but after doing some thinking I sent a sample of mortar sand to Hummel for testing and comparison of our soils.  The test came back positive and we were able to save over 7 dollars a ton.  When it takes about 1000 ton to complete the fairways it becomes a heafty savings. 

Our fairways have no soil whatsoever.  We have 2-3 inches of thatch and then decomposed granite.  Since no aerification practices were kept up over the past 10 years since the courses conception the fairways have just gotten worse.  With no cultivation practices in place it was a chore to get anything more than two inches in depth.  This year we moved it to two and a half inches but had several problems with the aerifiers breaking down.

When I first arrived on the property the fairways were so wet since all the turf was grown in the top 2".  The average drive would plug in the thatch layer and the main complaint was why can we never get roll.  The members would say they couldn't wait until winter when the course freezes to get better roll.  Heartbreaking comments when your passion is golf course management. 

With the aerification process now in place we are getting much better roll.  Our goal is to enhance the soil enough to get roots to go beyond the thatch layer.  The course has never been in better shape since the grow-in of the club.  Back when they had no thatch problem on the entire course. Now times have changed and we are trying to rescue a course from years of neglect.  It is pretty nice to know that you can make a difference just by following the basics of turf management.

Back to our operation on the fairways.  We aerified the fairways, intermediate cut and approaches.  We used two tractor aerifiers to punch holes and three vacuums to clean up the plugs left behind.  While the vacuums cleaned the fairway I had a blower crew following them to do the final touches before we spread the sand.  We used two Dakota topdressers towed behind tractors to spread about 2 tenths of an inch of sand over the surface and then dragged it into the holes.  No fertilizer was applied before aerification, but 3/4 N/M will be applied this next week

 over the entire course.

Once we dragged the fairways with the steel drag mat we needed to follow up with a tractor blower to take care of missed plugs and any heavy areas that were difficult to drag in.  The course aerification has turned out to be very successful despite the amount of breakdowns we had throughout the process.  Last year was our first go at the process and it took us two weeks with many breakdowns and in-adequate vacuums.  This year we rented a vacuum and got it done in four days.

I think we all know the importance of aerification and this is the first membership that can't wait for us to aerify the fairways.  They understand the fatal mistake of not being consistent in the past and they now have to pay for it with below average playing conditions form the abundance of thatch.