Cowan Creek Soil Profile Update

  Cowan Creek Soil Profile Update

(9/27/12)  

Prepared by:  Craig Loving  

    Cowan Creek Superintendent     

Last week, all three courses had soil samples taken from several of our greens for fertility analysis.  We do this periodically to see what nutrients are available to the plant in the soil profile, as well as in the plant tissue.  We also run tests on our irrigation water to determine how many salts and bicarbonates we are dealing with.  The results from these tests allow us to make adjustments in our fertility program to promote optimal growth and maintain a healthy root system.  We purposely took samples from #9 green at Cowan to see how it has responded to our new technique of providing sub-surface airflow to the rootzone.  The plugs taken from each sample are 1.25” in diameter and 6” deep.  The following diagrams will detail where we currently stand in our soil profile, and what progress we’ve made with this year’s cultural practices.

Both of these pictures were taken from the same plug.  “photo B” shows the profile intact with soil that the roots are holding, and “photo A” has the soil knocked off so we can see the root system.  The lengths of the roots are approximately around 4”, which is relatively good for mini-verde greens.  The light color of the feeder roots indicates that they are healthy.  The only existing concern is in “photo B” from the 1”-1.5” depth in the profile.  This area is still anaerobic, which can prohibit air and water movement through the soil profile.  The anaerobic area is, however, much smaller than it once was earlier in the year.  In addition, the roots are thriving below the anaerobic area, which demonstrates the positive effect of our new practice of blowing air into the drainage system and up through the rootzone from below.

The plug in the above picture was also taken from #9 green.  This photo signifies the importance of routine aerifications.  The darker area is a cross section of an aerification channel from a ½” hollow tine.  Below and along the side of this channel, feeder roots are actively growing.  As you can see, the root system is much healthier in an environment that provides adequate air flow and water infiltration.  If you scroll up and look at “photo A”, you will notice that the roots along the left side of the plug are much longer than on the right side.  This was more than likely due to another aerification channel in that area.

            As we transition into the cooler months of the year, we will alter our fertility program accordingly (based on our soil sample results) to promote healthy root growth throughout the winter.  In addition, we will continue to implement non-aggressive cultural practices (star-tine aerifications) to provide more channels for air and water movement through the soil profile without effecting playability.

Employee Appreciation Day

Here are some pictures of the dedicated staff we have here in golf course maintenance. Last week they were able to take a day to relax and enjoy some BBQ while the Superintendents cooked for them. They have done an outstanding job this year and the golf courses are looking great thanks to their hard work.

Course Conditions September 2012

This month we have continued to work on the playability report items such as shrub and plant bed removals, DG/rock work, sodded weak areas and dead tree removals. We were also able to finally get Mini-Verde sod and repair the chipping green at Cowan Creek; we used some of the remaining sod to repair some areas on the course as well. The one big area that still needs to be addressed is the bottom portion of the driving range at Cowan Creek. This area had washed out in the flood a couple of years ago and we have not been able to repair it do to the extent of work it would take.

Also this month we received some much needed rain that couldn’t have been timed better. It rained a few days before we were headed into our Club Championship and it was a nice, steady, soaking rain. Things dried up quickly enough to allow us to get a fresh cut on the courses before the tournaments started and we have received a lot of positive feedback from the players regarding the course conditions for the event. Great job by the Superintendents and maintenance staff!

Looking forward to next month we will be spraying the golf courses with pre-emergent to avoid a “weedy” fall and we will also be over-seeding the Par 3 tee boxes and Driving Range tees for the winter. We have chosen not to overseed the remainder of the tee boxes. This was the same approach we took last year and by using liquid fertilizers we were able to keep them green through the winter months. Once these two items are complete we will focus on the playability report punch list and get ready for the winter.

Painted Tee Markers at Legacy Hills

Over the past year we have had occasional complaints about the visibility of the various colors of the Tee Markers at Legacy Hills. So we decided to figure out a solution that would keep us from having to go out and purchase all new tee markers for the course. You would not believe how expensive these small little objects can be and then you have to multiply that by the five different sets of two. Needless to say it gets costly. So I asked the Superintendent at Legacy Hills (Robert Rodriguez) to try some different paint schemes out to see if we could come up with a solution. We found what we think seems to be answer and have gotten a lot of positive comments back from the players from our recent major events.  Below is an example of what we have done without turning the marker into just a big painted rock.

Cowan Creek Chipping Green Update

The chipping green at Cowan Creek has been sodded and roped off for the grow-in period. We ask that during this time all players use the lower chipping green at Cowan Creek for their short game practice and allow us time to get the other green established before re-opening.

We have also used some of the Mini-Verde sod on some other areas on the greens that had not completely healed from the spring. We used the remaining sod on the back tee box on #1 at Cowan to establish a small nursery of Mini-Verde. It will be maintained at tee height but will be easily taken down to green height if it’s necessary to use it in the spring for any small repairs.

Access Flag Policy

Just a reminder, with the implementation of the new Access Flag policy we will be painting a line across the fairways 30 feet from the green so that everyone can get an idea of what distance 30 feet is in relation to the green. This will remain in place for two to three weeks while we begin this new policy. Below is a picture of what to look for so that the line can be identified.

August Course Conditions

This month wrapped up the core aerifications on the greens and will be going into the busy season without any further major disruptions to the putting surfaces. Cowan Creek will do some small aerifications but nothing very aggressive. The remainder of aerifications on greens will consist of star tine aerifications (solid) and slicing with the Planet Air machine.

Water had been an issue earlier this month due to the COGT having some mechanical problems on their end. They have been very good about communicating to us and keeping us informed on the time frame of the necessary repairs. The system is running well currently and with the recent rain and temperatures we have had little issues as of late.

The test Bunker at White has turned out to be a success and this is the direction we will move to remedy the softness of the greenside bunkers. Currently the Adopt A Hole program Volunteers are being allowed to use sand from the greenside bunkers to do their maintenance on the course and this should help expedite the sand removal process before we add in the Caylor White sand. We plan to start on this during the winter months.

2012 Mid Year Update

It’s been a busy year in 2012 already and the time seems to be flying by with everything going on at the Golf Courses. As we all know we had a horrible time this spring with transition at Cowan Creek in regards to the greens conditions. We worked with the USGA on recommended cultural approaches and the Staff implemented a plan that turned the Cowan greens around in a short period of time. They are much smoother and healthier now and continue to get better. We are still not 100% satisfied with a few of the greens and have found underlying drainage problems that were caused during construction that have finally manifested into poor turf quality in low lying areas of the greens. We will continue to identify these areas and address them as we move forward.

Many of the other issues we have dealt with this year so far have been more of the mechanical type failures. Legacy Hills has had to replace two irrigation pumps that went down and the loss of power to numerous irrigation controllers at both White Wing and Cowan Creek due to lightning strikes.

On a more positive note we have been very fortunate to receive some summer rain this year. This has helped out tremendously in the areas that suffered from last year’s drought.

The cultural practices that we have put in place are paying off and the courses

are showing it. We have aerified all of the fairways and tee boxes at each course and are now focused on weed control and detail work in these areas. The greens are always our number one priority and we are finishing up core aerifications on them this month. We have two more good months of growing weather and intend to get everything as healthy as possible before heading into fall.

Last year we started working with the Golf Course Playability Sub-Committee so that we could get resident golfer feedback from the perspective of our own golfers. We meet twice a year and tour the courses with the Committee members, Golf Pros, Course Superintendent and the Director of Golf Course Maintenance. We establish a list of items that would improve playability for all golfers and use that as a punch list of items to be addressed by the Maintenance staff. This has been a great Committee to work with and it allows them to see issues that we deal with on the courses and for us to see the playability issues that affect your everyday play.

Another one of our focuses this year has been to get more communication out to the Sun City residents about what goes on behind the scenes in regards to Golf Course Maintenance. In March we introduced the Golf Course Maintenance Blog. www.sctxgcmaint.blogspot.com This is a site that solely pertains to the maintenance and care of the golf courses and includes information in the form of a posted letter or article that covers many of our cultural practices and daily maintenance items. Feel free to visit the site at any time for updates.

**Water Update**

Currently the City of Georgetown is having mechanical problems with their pump station that provides the non-potable water to the golf courses. We are in constant communication with the COGT and they are doing everything possible to fix the problem. We are only receiving about half of what we would normally get from the city right now and this will result in us “dialing” our systems down in regards to the amount of water we will be using on the golf course for the next few days. Once the Irrigation Lakes are at a suitable level we will resume our normal irrigation output at that time. The golf courses will show some signs of stress and will be on the dry side until we get back to full capacity.

Greens Aerification

Aerification

It’s that time of the year once again, we get out those dreaded machines that “mess up the greens” and start our aerification practices. Please realize that aerification is for the long term health of the turf and will ultimately promote a healthier green. 

“Aerification (also known as aeration) achieves three important objectives. It relieves soil compaction, it provides a method to improve the soil mixture around the highest part of a green’s roots and it reduces or prevents the accumulation of excess thatch.

Like so many things, the quality of a good putting green is more than skin deep. In fact, the condition of a green has a lot to do with what goes on below the surface. In order for grass to grow at 1/8-inch, it must have deep, healthy roots. Good roots demand oxygen. In good soil, they get the oxygen from tiny pockets of air trapped between soil and sand particles.

Over time, the traffic from golfer’s feet (as well as mowing equipment) tends to compact the soil under the putting green – particularly when the soil contains a lot of clay. When soil becomes compacted, the air pockets on which the roots depend are crushed, and the roots are essentially left gasping for air. Without oxygen, the grass plants become weaker and will eventually wither and die.

Aerification is a mechanical process that creates more air space in the soil and promotes deeper rooting, thus helping the grass plants stay healthy. In most cases, it’s done by removing half-inch cores (those plugs you sometimes see near a green or in fairways) from the compacted soil, allowing for an infusion of air and water that brings a resurgence of growth. The spaces are then filled with sand “topdressing” that helps the soil retain air space and makes it easier for roots to grow downward.

Older greens often are constructed of soils with significant amounts of silt, clay and fine organic particles that are prone to compaction. Filling aerification holes with sand improves drainage and resists compaction. The periodic introduction of sand to a green’s top layer can, over time, avoid or postpone expensive rebuilding or renovation of greens.

Finally, growing of turf adds to a layer of organic matter on the surface. This layer, called thatch, is an accumulation of dead stems, leaves and roots. A little organic matter makes for a resilient green, but too much invites diseases and insects. Topdressing with sand can prevent thatch buildup, and aerification is one of the best ways to reduce an existing layer and prevent an excess of thatch from becoming established.”

For several days after the aerification, the greens will not be as smooth as desired and the patience of all golfers will be tried to a certain extent. But rest assured, the greens will quickly return to a normal, smooth putting surface and will be all the healthier for the effort.

Test Bunker

Test Bunker at White Wing Short Game Area

In an effort to increase the firmness of the greenside bunkers we have taken some sand out of one of the greenside bunkers at the White Wing Short Game area and mixed in a different type of sand. The bunker has been marked with signs and we will evaluate it over the next few weeks to see if we are getting the desired results. This was only done a few days ago so we will need to wait a week or two to let the new sand get mixed in good enough for evaluation. Once we establish that it has worked we will then continue this process out on the course.