As some of you have noticed, we are dealing with a minor issue in the low areas (#4 right side, #7 front right, etc.) and on #8 green.
The following paragraphs will detail the current problem, what we've
done and are doing to combat the issue, as well as future measures and expected
recovery.
What We Are Seeing:
The algae you are seeing is cyanobacteria (not actually algae), which we
found from the results of a diagnostics test we sent off from #8 green on
4/18/16. So the darker slimy areas that
you have seen as well as the surrounding yellowing areas are all a result of
cyanobacteria. The formation of
cyanobacteria in the low areas or high traffic areas is there this time of year
for several reasons. The most prevalent
of these is poor drainage and wet conditions (surface moisture). The mechanical stress and foot traffic
compaction also aids the growth of cyanobacteria. With the heavy rainfall we received
throughout April, along with days with inadequate sunlight, combined with
ridiculously poorly constructed drainage systems are all contributions to these
results. As we check moisture 2-3 days a
week for hot spots, we also check our low areas. A majority of those areas maintain 40-50%
moisture, and the acceptable moisture range for our greens is typically between
18-24%. During the growing season, they
dry faster and are easier to maintain with higher evapotranspiration
rates. However, throughout the winter
and up to this time of year, the ET rates are lower and we have to mechanically
open up pore space with solid aerification tines. What we are seeing is a winter's worth of wet
conditions and traffic stress, and this spring hasn't been kind on us with
consistent, periodic rain and shade from cloud cover. What is visible now is something that happens
this time every year, but to a lesser degree.
The Underlying Problem: We found on that Monday (4/18/16) that the
daylight to #8 green's drainage was submerged due to the recent rain, which
basically suffocated the green and caused it to react as it did. we've since found out that the pipe has a sink
in it 30 feet from the edge of the native, so there is a pocket in the pipe
that holds water. This normally would
not be an issue as long as the daylight is completely void of water, but I
didn't discover the sink in the pipe until that week. In addition, the drainage system to the pipe
is 3-4 feet deeper than a normal USGA spec system, and this is the case for all
of the greens where we have exposed the drainage pipe (#9, #6, #4, #13, etc.)
to add 4-ways and knife valves.
The Attack Plan:
The following paragraph details what we've consistently done for 3+
years, as well as how we are addressing the problem with what we've seen this
spring. On 4/18/16 we cleaned the
daylight of #8 green, sent off a sample for diagnostics, and injected air into
#8 with our air2g2 machine. In addition,
we sprayed Oxyflor (hydrogen peroxide aqueous solution) and Pervade (soil
penetrant/surface tension reducer) to #8, #9, #3, #4, and #5. On that Tuesday we finished cleaning out any
other daylights that had potential for submersion, as well as re-trenched all
the drainage trenches. We also aerified
all of the low areas and areas showing cyanobacteria or anaerobic areas with a
1/4" pencil tine, and all of the greens were sprayed with two fungicides
(chlorothalinil and a phosphite fungicide) for the cyanobacteria. That Thursday we blew air into all of the
greens that we have installed 4-ways and knife valves on (#1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9,
11, and 13). We also hand spiked and
topdressed those areas last week and again this week to mechanically remove the
wet/slimy soil and replace it with sand.
On Monday (5/2/16) we pencil tine aerified all of the greens, and our
next round of fungicides specified for the cyanobacteria was sprayed on
Saturday morning (5/7/16). We are in the process
of adding a 4-way and knife valve to #8 this week, and in order to find the
pipe we rented a camera snake for a week.
The vent from the 4-way alone should help #8 in the long run, and the
overall goal would be to have them installed on all 20 greens at Cowan
Creek. Supposedly there are blowouts
(pipes on the high ends of greens where gases can escape), but we've looked for
years using a deep-tine aerifier and probes all to no avail. We confronted the construction
superintendent, and he couldn't help in that regard, nor could he point us in
the direction of any as-built drainage maps.
We've utilized the time with the camera snake discovering other
challenges to overcome with our greens' drainage elswhere. Feel free to read a report written on the blog
in 2013 about the implementation of sub-surface airflow on how we manage greens
with poorly constructed drainage: http://sctxgcmaint.blogspot.com/2013/01/attacking-our-problems-from-top-to.html
