Since completing the fairway aeration last week the Grounds Department has been receiving questions about the procedure. I would like to address a few of the most common questions.
Why did you guys aerate fairways 4 days before the fall Member/Member?
Since we contract the fairway aeration to an outside company, we have to set the fall fairway aeration date many months in advance. The fall Member/Member tournament was not on the original tournament schedule and was scheduled just a little over a month before the actual date. Therefore, the aeration date was already in place and could not be adjusted because of the company’s limited availability during this time of year.
Why were the fairways so wet after aeration?
There are a couple of reasons why we had to increase irrigation after the aeration procedure. The first was the dry weather coupled with the increased temperatures. The day of aerating was in the middle of a very dry period for our area, with 15 days of no rainfall. The turf was under stress from the dry conditions as well as from the aeration. Irrigation had to be applied at a heavier rate to try and minimize the stressful conditions.
In addition, the fairway aerators caused some significant damage to many turf areas. This had little to do with the equipment being used and more to do with the turfgrass fairway conditions.
A problem that has been noticed over the past couple years has been the accumulation of thatch in the fairways. Thatch is the buildup of organic material between the crown of the grass and the soil. It is composed of undecomposed rhizomes, crowns, roots and stolons. It binds up water and nutrients prohibiting its percolation farther into the soil profile. Thick thatch causes moisture to hold up closer to the surface and roots grow where the most moisture is found. Also, bentgrass is a notorious thatch producer because of its lateral growing abilities.
The fairway thatch has gotten to problematic levels. Because of this many of the turf roots are extremely shallow. This caused the aeration machine to pull up mats of fairway turf in many locations. These areas had to be heavily watered to get the sod rooted back into the soil profile. Once the sod started to recover (after a week and the recent rainfall) we were able to cut back on the irrigation.
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| An area that was pulled up by the aerator. Notice the shallow root system. |
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| Fairway areas that were pulled up by the machine. They are turning a grayish, purple color indicating severe stress. Heavy irrigation needed to be applied until it started to root back into the soil. |
How do we know that the fairways have a thatch problem?
This is a good question. There are a couple of ways that we have realized this is an issue. The first is through our own observations. Core samples taken on many different fairways indicate a thick thatch layer and shallow rooting is a common occurrence. Also, many of the turf professionals that have visited the course have commented on "thatchy fairways". Most notably the USGA agronomist during his visit wrote, "A sample collected from No. 8 fairway revealed that organic matter is accumulating to a level that is somewhat concerning." In addition, soil testing was done and revealed a high level of fairway organic matter- 7.4% with a normal level being around 4%. The fairway conditions are also pointing toward this problem. Soft spongy conditions increase the need for irrigation and cause golf balls to plug and decrease ball roll.
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| An aeration plug taken from #10 fairway. The thatch layer (above the red line) is soft and spongy measuring around an inch. Thatch layers should be 1/2" or less. |
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| Plugs taken from #4 fairway showing the thick thatch layer |
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| Core plug with thatch measured at around 3/4" |
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| A core taken from #8 putting green. Notice how the thatch layer is not noticeable. This is due to good culture practices performed on the putting surfaces. |
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| 6" roots on # 2 Green. This is what a healthy root system should look like! |
How do you resolve the thatch issue?
Not skipping on core aeration is a good first step. In years past, less emphasis has been put on routine cultural practices and the golf calendar has taken precedence. This has led to fairway aerations being skipped for 4 years straight, and is the biggest factor leading to the high OM content. Core aeration is only a once a year procedure and the course only has to be shut down for a day. The conditions after aeration will quickly recover, especially if done at the right time of year (Late September/ Early October).
Also, other practices must be initiated in the short term to decrease the organic matter. In particular we are looking into verticutting the fairways twice a year along with the core aeration. The verticutting would be accomplished during the shoulder season (Early April/Early November) and the impact on the golf calendar would be minimal. In addition, we are decreasing the amount of nitrogen being applied to the fairways. Too much nitrogen will increase thatch. Currently we have eliminated the mid summer granular application and only spoon feed with 1/10th of a pound of N during spray applications. The goal is to apply no more than 2 to 3 pounds per 1,000 sqft per year. Other/all options are currently being discussed with the Green Committee and we will implement a solution that makes sense agronomically and financially. It will take around 3 years to resolve this issue, but the results, I am sure, will be well received. For more information CLICK HERE for an informative USGA article on thatch control.
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| A verticutting fairway unit |
The fairways have been wet all year. Why are you guys watering so much?
Deeper roots = less watering and drier conditions. Shallow roots = more watering and wetter conditions. We have shallow roots in the fairways. A big contributor to this is the thatch (also a producer of more localized dry spots) that has already been discussed. However, another factor is the tree roots. Later in the season, when water becomes scarce the tree roots have a very negative effect on the turf. They win the battle and suck up most of the moisture. To combat this we have to increase watering. Root pruning and some tree eradication will help decrease the amount of water needed to maintain healthy turf. Also, heavily shaded areas have increased poa annua, which has shallow roots and needs more moisture to survive. Again, eliminate the shade and we eliminate much of the poa, decreasing the water bill. Finally, we, the agronomy team, can do a better job with the irrigation. Sometimes programs overlap and some irrigation heads end up overwatering areas. We will continue to spot these areas and use the moisture meter to help us become more efficient in our watering practices. Our goal moving forward is to produce fairways that are firm and fast. This goal will take time and multiple issues will have to be addressed.
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| Tree roots affecting turf quality |
Maintenance Update
The aeration process is moving along. The greens, fairways, tees, and driving range tees have been aerated, fertilized and overseeded. Next up is aeration of the play rough. No more course closers need to be implemented to accomplish the rest of the aeration. We are going to try and be more aggressive using the mats on the range, instead of the grass, as the temperatures turn cooler, so we can have healed and healthy practice tees ready for the beginning of next year’s golf season.
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| #2 fairway aerated |
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| #2 fairway a week after core aeration and fertilization. Recovery is very quick this time of year. |
The fall fertilization is almost completed. The fairways, tees, and greens have been fertilized. Some of the rough is still left and will be completed soon. A late fall fertilizaiton will be accomplished on fairways and greens in about a month.
In the next couple weeks a tree inventory will be assessed. I will update when this is completed. It is safe to say that we will be taking down many of the blue spruce trees that have succumbed to rhizosphaera needle cast disease.
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| Dying blue spruce trees cut down last winter |
Regular fall maintenance is on the horizon with leaf cleanup beginning to take center stage. Blowing off tees and greens everyday is becoming commonplace and soon the fairways will need to be blown off daily and leaves chopped up. This is always a major undertaking at WHCC and the Grounds Department will keep the playing surfaces debris free as much as possible.
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| This picture taken a couple of years ago showing how thick the leaves can get. |
The green speeds continue to increase as we head into the fall months. The last three month’s average green speeds are as follows:
July-10.39' (10’ 5”)
August-11.18' (11’ 2”)
September- 11.32' (11’ 4”)
The drier weather and lower humidity have really increased the speeds. Also, the new spinning topdresser unit has allowed us to increase topdressing. We are now able to topdress with light and frequent applications helping to firm up, smooth out, and increase the speed of the putting green surfaces. In addition, we are dialing in on our green's watering program with the help of the new moisture meter. We can now hand water with pin point accuracy and cut back on the nightly watering to help firm up the greens. In fact, we are now seeing some of the fastest speeds we have ever recorded on the WHCC greens. We will continue to make adjustments and fine tune our putting green maintenance program.
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| Close up of the spinning topdressing unit |
Finally, we have the tulip bulbs ordered and will be ready to plant by the beginning of November. We are also working on the summer annual design. In the coming months we will be designing a couple new landscape areas for next season.
If you have have any questions, concerns, or feedback please send an email to maintenance@westernhillscc.com we would be happy to respond.
Brad Piecuch
Grounds Superintendent
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