Masters Week

Masters week is here and that brings out the best players in the world and this guy has them down pat.  A little reprieve from boring turf stuff!
Always amazed at comedian's ability to do impressions-hope this gives you a chuckle.

Roundup trials

Here are a couple of pictures of our Roundup trials from last fall.  As you can see there is some thinning to the turf, but this strip is greener than the rest of the fairway around it.  So why is that?  The green turf left unscathed is the bluegrass that we want.  The dead stuff is ryegrass and poa, but why is that strip greener?  The bluegrass does green up quicker in the early spring and also the reduction in competition allows it to get whatever little bit of nitrogen fertility available now without having to share it (with the dead ryegrass).  Basically lower number of plants in that square vying for that same amount of fertility so it appears slightly greener.  Interestingly though the bluegrass greens up quicker now, but the ryegrass will strongly outgrow the bluegrass in the next month.

Read about what we have done with these test strips and what we were hoping to accomplish in this previous post. https://whgcturf.blogspot.com/2017/06/poa-control.html

So what have we figured out with this experiment over two years time?  Unfortunately it has not been as effective in eliminating poa annua as we had hoped.  Timing of the application is critical and there seems to be a window in the mid-September to mid-October period that seems to be most effective.  As we have increased rates the effectiveness increases but it also becomes too damaging to the ryegrass and bluegrass.  So while it hasn't been a total success it has shown some promise and we may still utilize this cheap alternative to poa control in certain situations. 

We will throw some seed into the thinnest areas but the beauty of bluegrass is its ability to spread through rhizomes (underground roots) so in most areas we will promote that through a bump in fertility.  As mentioned above though, the newer varieties of bluegrass definitely take their time to get growing in the spring so don't expect much until we get into mid-May and then recovery will be quick.

Ice damage

Just starting to green up and can begin to see some of the anticipated ice damage to ryegrass in our low areas on fairways.  Ryegrass is pretty susceptible to this kind of occurrence but we rarely have winters that contribute to it.  Last time we had much significant ice damage was probably 15 years ago.  Much of what we have this year is not very severe and may cause some thinning in most spots, but a couple hollows might get some seed to help recovery.

 Here is a large area on #17 that iced up as the snow was melting.  In the middle of this brown spot you can see the patches of green which is all bluegrass.  That occurred from the last icing event that killed the ryegrass in this area.  On our sandy soils the ryegrass actually thrives better in the lower hollows that hold more moisture, until we have ice and then it is vulnerable to winterkill.

Here is another example of a small depression that has had ice damage in previous years indicated by the predominance of bluegrass.  But you can see the patches of ryegrass that have started to regain a foothold here until this winter.  It's a bit early to tell if these patches will partly recover or not.  I am expecting that some plants will survive and the bluegrass will expand and many of these areas will be unnoticeable in a month.

It is interesting how each species finds its' sweet spot in the differing microenvironments.  On our exposed mounds bluegrass really dominates the sward as it can handle both the droughty soils and winter exposure better than ryegrass.  Cart path entries and exits are dominated by ryegrass that can withstand traffic better than the blue.  So there is a definite benefit to having a mix of species and varieties as each has its own strengths and weaknesses.  This is the time of year when you can see the varietal differences more so as they green up quicker or slower or growth habit is more easily detected.  Once they have greened up and begin growing the ryegrass and bluegrass are nearly indistinguishable resulting in a more uniform turf.

More on ice damage in this previous post:

http://whgcturf.blogspot.com/2017/03/quick-update.html

Spring Schedule

Wild Horse opened on March 9- a beautiful day to get back out on the course.  Since then the weather has been the usual March up and down but we know to expect that from Nebraska springs.

The spring maintenance schedule is very similar to year's past.  Irrigation charge-up and audit will keep us busy the next week as we will inspect each and every head and valve on the course to make sure they are working properly.  If not, we make needed repairs and identify needed adjustments to arc rotation, spacing, etc. to tackle later in the year.  Also we note yardage markers that are absent.  We had been lax in doing this in the past couple years because we figured most everyone used rangefinders for yardage.  We have learned that there are still many people (like myself) that rely on sprinkler yardages so last year we made an emphasis on updating those and will continue to look for missing yardages during this spring's irrigation audit.

Aerification then will begin in earnest in April.  As we have mentioned before April is the prep month where many of our agronomic practices are done to set up the course to perform later in the year.  Below is the aerification schedule for this spring:

April 2-13  Fairways-we will do one or two holes per day weather permitting.

April 16-17  Greens surrounds-back nine one day front the next

April 30-May 1--Greens-3/8" solid tine so no cores pulled and relatively small holes
May 2- Topdressing greens to fill up aeration holes.
Depending on weather, we expect greens to be nearly fully healed by May 12 and back to "normal" by May 19.

May 7- Tees

We appreciate your patience during these processes and try to work quickly to get out of your way and get the course back to normal.

Still pretty brown out there right now but we can see some green shoots starting to come on in the past couple days-won't be long now.

Opening

It looks like we will be able to open the course Friday March 9.  Lots of snow melted this weekend and the frost started to come out of the ground allowing much of that snowmelt to finally soak in.  Perhaps you wondered why we weren't open this past weekend.  First we had cleared snow drifts from paths as best we could, but there still remained some ice and snowmelt that would have made some stretches of paths unpassable.  Most of that has now melted and paths are firming up.  Also the frost in the ground had held a lot of moisture on the top of the ground which would have easily been damaged by cart traffic.  Also cups could not have been cut and old cups still had ice and snow so no pins would have been set.  So despite the nice weather it wasn't feasible to open the course.  We appreciate your patience and look forward to opening this weekend.

The course is looking good and should green up quicker than other year's when moisture was limited in the winter.  We are looking forward to a great 2018.

On a sidenote I have been considering doing a short course tour perhaps monthly this summer to give me the opportunity to educate you about the course and what we are doing.  Also it would give you the opportunity to ask questions-just don't beat me up too badly!  I have not decided on day and time yet but was considering 4:30 on Monday or Thursdays just before league starts but let me know if another time might be more appropriate.  I hope to take a short walking tour of a couple of holes and point out interesting features that you may or may not have noticed during your round at Wild Horse.

Opening Day

We are just 10 days from March 1st our supposed Opening Day.  It is hard to believe with the snow flying outside my window and zero degree windchill.  We will try to keep you posted on when you can tee it up at Wild Horse as best we can.   As of right now with the amount of snow still around it would be likely that the first few days of golf will be walking only.  That is speculation right now and weather changes quickly so check back regularly for updates.

GIS

GIS-what is that?  That stands for the Golf Industry Show which was recently completed in San Antonio, TX.  It is hosted by the GCSAA and NGCOA which stands for the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and National Golf Course Owners Association respectively.  There are over 550 exhibitors and 13,000 attendees to the largest trade show in the golf course management industry.  With over 100 seminars available it is the most comprehensive education source for golf course management employees.  

I was fortunate to attend this great event again this year and am always impressed by the magnitude and scope of this great game.  I think that most attendees love browsing at the newest, greatest toys on the trade show floor and learning from experts about a myriad of topics from weed control to utilizing technology to track all inputs into a golf course.  But time and time again most attendees, myself included, value the networking opportunities and conversations debating turf management.

I was especially excited to be able to take in a round of golf at Austin Golf Club with some of my closest superintendent friends that I have worked alongside at one time or another.  A special treat that day was being able to visit with a special friend and Wild Horse architect Dan Proctor who is doing some bunker work on Ben Crenshaw's home course.  As I walked away from the course that day I was reminded that it is the connections and friendships that I referenced above that makes my career special.  I am forever indebted to Dan and Dave Axland for bringing me down to Wild Horse and giving me a chance.   

My takeaway from the GIS is that technology continues to evolve and invade what was once a lower tech industry.  Great advancements have been made on the equipment side of the industry in the past twenty years but now the focus is on data collection and analysis to drive decisions and conserve inputs.  Sensors collecting soil moisture and nutrient levels and then relaying that data to GPS sprayers that precisely apply needed inputs is where turf management is going.  These technologies are driving agriculture advancements and are beginning to make their way into golf course applications.  The goal is to use technology to reduce inputs for environmental and financial benefit while still maintaining high quality playing conditions.  These principles have been utilized by most good superintendents for awhile but now we are able to use technology to quantify our decision-making process.

I am grateful to be able to attend the "show" and believe it gives me great perspective to see and evaluate the big picture of our efforts at Wild Horse.  I always come back motivated for the season but Mother Nature has other plans for the start of the season.  Wild Horse sits under a blanket of 3-4 inches of snow right now.  This has been one of the longest snow covered winters we have had in recent years and I expect the turf to respond nicely once spring arrives.

Only 17 days by the calendar until opening day.  Guess we will see if we make it by then!