Cowan Creek Overseed Overview

Submitted by: Craig Loving, Cowan Creek Golf Club Superintendent

 ​Beginning on Monday, September 14th, we will begin the overseeding process at Cowan Creek.  This year in addition to the blue, green, and red tees, we will be overseeding the fairways, and collars and approaches.  The overseeding of the fairways and approaches will have multiple positive impacts on the conditions of the turf and subsurface.  Over the past month, the dead areas from the water line break have gradually gotten smaller and smaller, but there are some areas that won’t be completely healed by the end of the growing season.  By overseeding these areas, the healthy cool season turf (perennial ryegrass) will create a buffer from foot and cart traffic as the bermudagrass goes dormant.  As we enter spring transition next year, the bermudagrass and ryegrass will compete in accordance to air and soil temperatures, so the overseed transition should be gradual.  Another benefit of the overseeding is the buildup of organic matter in the soil, which will help with nutrient and water retention in the long term. 

​The following paragraphs and bullet points will detail what the current plans are for the overseeding process, as well as what we hope to achieve and when we hope to achieve it.

• Monday-Tuesday (September 14-15th):  begin prep of overseeded areas

o Fairways:  verticut @ 1/16th inches, mow @ .500”, buffalo blow debris off of fairways, paint fairway perimeters

o Tees ( all blue, green, red, all par 3, all #14):  verticut @ 1/16th inches, mow @ .500” with tee walk mowers (with buckets), buffalo blow debris off of fairways, paint perimeters

o Collars & Approaches:  verticut @ 1/16th inches,  mow at .500” with triplex approach mowers (with buckets), buffalo blow debris off of collars and approaches, paint perimeters

• Tuesday-Wednesday (September 15th-16th): Overseed

o Fairways:  Seed rate – 12 lbs. /1000 sq. ft (~522 lbs. / Acre) Perennial ryegrass

▪ Overseed perimeters with pull-behind drop spreader; 2 passes

▪ Overseed interior with Lely broadcast spreader

o Collars & Approaches:  Seed rate – 12 lbs. / 1000 sq. ft (~522 lbs. / Acre) Per. rye

▪ Overseed collars and approach perimeter with walk behind drop spreader

▪ Overseed approaches with walk behind rotary broadcast spreader

o Tees:  Seed rate – 12 lbs. /1000 sq. ft (~522 lbs. / Acre) Perennial rye/fescue mix

▪ Overseed perimeters and interior with walk behind drop spreader, two directions

The timeline may be altered one way or another by any issues that may occur, but the overseeding process should be complete by mid-late week.  Afterwards, we will set up irrigation cycles to keep the soil the correct moisture for seed establishment.  Depending on weather conditions, the first seed shoots should sprout within 8-10 days.  The overseed will be ready to mow somewhere around 14 days after overseeding.  This will be done in the afternoon when the grass is dry to keep the new grass from ripping from the roots.

A majority of our focus after overseeding will be moisture management, and we will fertilize with both granular bulk applications as well as foliar sprays.  There will more than likely be areas that need additional attention and re-applications of seed for proper establishment.  Our ultimate goal is to provide excellent playing conditions throughout the winter, as well as building organic matter in the soil for long-term improvement of the playing conditions in the fairways.  Although this may not completely alleviate the current issues with the weak areas come springtime, it should minimize the amount of sodding we will have to do next year.

Cowan Creek Closure for Overseeding

On Sept. 14^th we will be shutting down Cowan Creek until Oct. 19^th for overseeding of the fairways. After losing the main irrigation supply line due to a break located under Sun City Blvd. we were unable to water fairways for 11 days in July. This limited us to watering greens and tees only at both White Wing and Cowan Creek. Due to the sand base that Cowan Creek was built on it dried out much quicker than White Wing and the turf health suffered the most out of the two. We have been pushing the fairways with extra fertilizer and water in an effort to get the fairways to heal up but there are some areas that are going to take a lot more time.

Overseeding will provide a nice playing surface throughout the winter months and into the late spring. This will be beneficial to the fairways in the long term because it will allow us to start building up some organic matter in the soil. This will also help out with any future drought type situations. Overseeding will also allow us time to keep pushing the Bermuda grass through transition in the spring and early summer. That being said, with certain areas of the fairways being almost completely dead right now we will more than likely have areas during transition that will be thin or need to be re-sodded altogether.

In short, overseeding gives us the best playing conditions possible moving forward and it also gives us the best chance to push the Bermuda grass for re-establishment next year.

 

During the time frame that Cowan Creek is closed we will not have closed Mondays at the other two courses.

2015 August Course Conditions

We have completed all of our large core aerifications of the year on greens and are looking forward to excellent greens conditions throughout the remainder of the growing season moving into fall. The biggest challenge that we have right now are the Cowan Creek fairways and getting them back in shape and returning to 90 degrees. Below is a summary of everything we have done since losing our water supply due to the non-potable water line break under Sun City Blvd.

Cowan Creek Recovery Maintenance Plan

            As you may know, the broken pipe that fed White Wing and Cowan Creek’s irrigation pond has taken its toll on the Cowan Creek fairway’s and rough.  Both courses went 10 full days without irrigation on all areas except greens and tees.  The following paragraphs will hopefully answer some common questions, including what we’ve been doing and what is planned to achieve full recovery.

Timeline:

• 7/17/15 – Pipe broken, water shut off
• 7/21/15 – sprayed green surrounds with a wetting agent and micronutrient fertilizer
• 7/27/15 – Pipe repaired, irrigation turned back on
• 7/28/15 – sprayed wetting agent on fairways, roughs, green surrounds
• 8/1-8/5 – watered maximum flow (1800 gpm) throughout course, 18 hours per day
• 8/3/15 – fertilized fairways with Helena Fairway Program (Coron 25-0-0, Nucleus 0-0-25, Axilo Magnesium, Axilo Micronutrients)
• 8/8, 8/9, 8/11-8/13/15 – watered maximum flow in needed areas, using local control boxes on individual holes
• 8/12/15 – fertilized fairways with Helena Fairway Program (Coron 25-0-0, Nucleus 0-0-25, Axilo Magnesium, Axilo Micronutrients)
• 8/13/15 – began fertilizing fairways with granular HydraHume organic fertilizer (humic acid)
• 8/19/15 – fertilized weak areas with 21-0-0 ammonium sulfate

            The wetting agents we use aid in water retention in the soil.  The fertilizer program we implemented should increase recovery time, as well as load the soil with nutrients for the long-term.  Maximum flow refers to the amount of water we can put out at one time without losing pressure.  For Cowan Creek, 1800 gallons per minute is generally the maximum amount of flow, which ranges from 60-90 irrigation heads at a time. 

Why did White Wing recover so much faster?

            There is a vast difference in soil types between Cowan Creek and White Wing (in fairways and rough).  Cowan Creek was built on straight sand and hasn’t had enough time to mature and build up organic matter within the soil.  This causes the soil to dry out much faster than more mature, clay or silt-based soil.  White Wing’s soil is more clay-based, which has a much greater ability to retain moisture over long periods of time. 

When will it not be “Cart Path Only” at Cowan?

            Every hole has shown improvement over the past three weeks under the current irrigation and fertility program.  However, there are currently only a few holes that are almost completely covered.  Over the next week and moving forward we will assess individual holes to see if they are ready for cart traffic, but we don’t plan on allowing access to areas that are still recovering.  One of the most helpful factors to recovery this time of year is keeping traffic off our weak areas. 

Why is it taking so long?

            A majority of the areas in the fairways and rough that dried out and lost their color went into summer dormancy.  Similar to the winter months, the plant shuts down and focuses its energy on storing carbohydrates in the roots.  When we began watering again, this triggered the plant to “wake up” and focus its energy back to growth.  However, some of the areas on the course went beyond dormancy, and there are some areas on the golf course where the grass completely died. 

What is the plan to recover these areas?

            We are treating these areas as a “grow in”, which will require more time and a lot of effort to grow new grass where there is little.  Higher fertility, ample water, and aerifications (to open up pore space) will factor in on how quickly they recover.  This will be an ongoing process as the growing season continues and ends, at which point we will know what our plan of attack will be for the spring. 

            With the current fertility, irrigation, and cultural programs we’ve implemented to expedite recovery, time is still the greatest factor on the road to recovery.  The photos below will display what recovery we have achieved over time.  Over time, the healthy grass bordering areas of dead grass will grow laterally and reduce the size of the dead areas until they are completely gone.

 

Bunkers

The following procedures began Wednesday, July 29, 2015. The greenside bunkers being the main priority.

·         The bunkers are inspected every morning by the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent at each course.

·         We have ordered new trap rakes that will be delivered prior to Aug. 21^st 2015 and this will help with any grooves left in the sand.

·         Each Course will have a staff member assigned to working on bunkers throughout each day. Their job will be to check depths, repair or remove liners and insure proper raking. This staff member will start after their first job assignment has been completed each morning. They will have rakes, shovels and all necessary equipment with them to address any deficiencies in bunker maintenance. This will take place daily until further notice.  

We are reviewing and revising our training of equipment operators in proper bunker care and educating as to what is the acceptable standards required. 

Cowan Creek – The fairway bunkers still have the original bunker liners that have been failing over the past two – three years. They are slowly being addressed by staff but the majority of the bunker refurbishment will be done this fall.

White Wing – We will continue to distribute one load of sand (22 tons) to the green side bunkers every week moving forward until we feel all adequate depths are being reached.

Legacy Hills – We are on the same daily schedule as the other two courses.

USGA Tracking

The tracking is going well and we’ve completed the first round at White Wing and Legacy Hills. Below are screen shot photos taken from hole #4 at White Wing to give you an idea of what the tracks look like once they are laid over Google Earth Pro.

 

Last Large Core Aerifications of the Year

Last week at Cowan Creek we completed the last of our large core Aerifications for the 2015 growing season. We can now look forward to having the greens at all three courses in great shape and free of Aerification moving into our heavy tournament months and hopefully more enjoyable playing weather. 

Cowan Creek Update

Below are pictures of the Cowan Creek progress being made. It is slow going but as you can see we are moving in the right direction. Hopefully the rain forecasted later during the week will hit Sun City and help us out. 

Cowan Creek Recovery Update

Cowan Creek is slowly but surely greening back up after having lost the ability to water fairways when the city irrigation supply line was under repair. Unfortunately the 100+ temperatures aren't helping the recovery process but as you can see in the attached photo we are making steady progress. 

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.

Aerification - Brought to you by the USGA

It's that time of year again! You can click on the link below and watch a USGA video on greens aerification and why we have to do it. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=863Ix8czcoY&list=PLnU5qUEfww3cOAU8iTQTUpF5S4UqhXJka&sns=em

Sun City Golf Club Bunker Maintenance

During the past several weeks many emails and conversations have gone on concerning our bunker maintenance practices or lack of.  We have discussed this and working with the staff have generated a plan and steps to improve and correct the situation.  Attached you will find the components of the plan. Please remember that you have the option of playing a Bunker as Ground Under Repair if you can see that it is obvious we are in the middle of working on it.

July 31, 2015

To:  Sun City Texas Golf Committee

 

From:  Gary Wilson   Director of Golf Course Maintenance

Ron Delaney   Director of Operations

Subject: Bunker Maintenance Plan 

White Wing – During this past week July 24 – July 28, 2015 we have added three semi- truck loads (66 tons) of sand to the White Wing bunkers. We will continue to distribute one load of sand (22 tons) to the green side bunkers every week moving forward until we feel all adequate depths are being reached.  Brad Sladek, Assistant Superintendent at Cowan Creek will be splitting his time between Cowan Creek and White Wing to assist Jonathan in implementing the new procedures outlined below.

Cowan Creek – The fairway bunkers still have the original bunker liners that have been failing over the past two – three years. They are slowly being addressed by staff but the majority of the bunker refurbishment will be done this fall.

The following procedures began Wednesday, July 29, 2015.

·         The bunkers are inspected every morning by the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent at each course.

·         We have ordered new trap rakes that will be delivered prior to Aug. 17^th 2015 and this will help with any grooves left in the sand.

·         Each Course will have a staff member assigned to working on bunkers throughout each day. Their job will be to check depths, repair or remove liners and insure proper raking. This staff member will start after their first job assignment has been completed each morning. They will have rakes, shovels and all necessary equipment with them to address any deficiencies in bunker maintenance. This will take place daily until further notice.  

We are reviewing and revising our training of equipment operators in proper bunker care and educating as to what is the acceptable standards required. 

In the next few weeks I (Ron Delaney) am relocating my office to the White Wing Pro Shop.  The purpose of the move is bring me more to the “center” of our golf operations and maintenance and to be more accessible to residents.

GPS Tracking

Beginning with this mornings tee times at White Wing we will be asking golfers to carry small GPS tracking devices in their pockets.  These trackers will provide us data on golfer traffic patterns on the golf course.  Where are you driving on the fairways, what parts of the golf course are being used and which are not, which bunkers are really in play and other data.  The data is then overlaid on Google Earth providing very clear maps showing patterns on the course.  We will be collecting data on all courses during the month of August.  This project is being done in conjunction with the USGA who are assisting us and providing the trackers at no charge.  The results will be extremely useful as we move forward with refurbishing and upgrading the courses in the future.  We appreciate your participation and cooperation.