Feast or Famine- A Summertime Grounds Update

 So far this summer the weather conditions have either been feast or famine. In late June we experienced one of the hottest heat waves in many years and had little to no rain events. In fact, the country club only received a total of .11"of rain for a 20 day stretch in mid to late June. This coincided with the longest days of the year resulting in high evapotranspiration rates and an irrigation system that was running for 6 to 8 hours every night to keep turf alive. Then, on June 26th, mother nature decided to open up the spigot and we experienced almost a month long period of wet conditions with our weather station picking up 4.6" of rain. 

The extreme dry and wet summertime conditions increased the stress on some cool season turf areas. The dry period led to many localized dry spots and thirsty turf, especially close to the tree lined perimeters of the fairways. Running irrigation heads, and hand watering made up a good portion of the work day. Once the monsoons began, the mowing and spraying operations became commonplace. This back and forth, along with the very hot temperatures, produced some dead patches in rough and fairway locations.

The most stress on the cool season turf is actually during the very wet, humid, and hot conditions. Two common maladies that we experience every year are wet wilt and sunscald. Wet wilt occurs when very high soil temperatures and low oxygen levels (because of the wet soil) cause the impairment of root function. This causes the roots of the turf (especially poa annua) to slow down water intake decreasing the transpirational cooling that the plant needs to survive. Thus, on hot days with high evaporation rates the turf begins to overheat, wilt and die, despite having adequate moisture in the ground. Sun scald usually happens in the same type of wet conditions and is essentially the water surrounding the turf becoming extremely hot and literally cooking the grass. It is more pronounced in areas that hold onto water longer and have higher thatch levels. The short rough around the fairways is a prime example where these conditions regularly occur. The low cut of the fairways increases the surface drainage onto the perimeter rough. While the medium cut rough slows down the drainage, holding water longer before draining into the higher cut rough. Consequently, wet wilt and sun scald occur and we are seeing dead patches starting to appear is some of the short rough areas.

Of course along with the drainage issues, tree roots, thick thatch, and summer time diseases are also a factor. Over the last couple years cultural practices have been implemented in the fairways to decrease the high organic matter that was becoming problematic. A similar approach needs to be implemented to combat the current conditions in the short rough. As always, time and money are the biggest roadblocks to improving these environments, but we will start to implement thatch reducing procedures this fall. In the meantime, we will continue to keep up with spray applications and begin to reseed areas that have succumb to the summer time stresses.

Dead turf in the short rough right side of #8 fairway. This area holds water during rain events and it is one of the factors for turf decline. We have slit seeded and raised the short rough mowing height to help with recovery. Notice the fairway is still healthy. The cultural practices recently implemented in the fairway program have resulted in healthier and more resilient turf.

Low area between #6 green and #6 fairway that experienced sun scald.

Tree roots at the right of #13 fairway competing for moisture with the rough. Since the short rough is mowed at a much lower height the stress from the tree roots is more impactful.

Soil probe of the dead patches right of #8 fairway. The thick thatch layer broke off when the plug was pulled. This is indicating the shallow root depth in this area. Also, the thick thatch will hold onto moisture-keeping it in the top portion of the plant for a longer period of time. Verticutting and deep tine aeration need to be implemented to decrease the organic matter.

Wet area in #7 fairway by the lake. The golf cart marks indicate the reason why cart path days are implemented during wet weather.

Slit seeding the hillside on #3. Some of this area dried out during the heat wave despite nightly watering.

Thunderstorms

The barrage of storms that have recently ripped through the area are accumulating a steady amount of debris that needs to be cleaned off the golf course regularly. Many large pin oak branches have fallen over the last month and this has given the new Vermeer chipper a good workout. Also, the pin oak tree that was struck by lightning to the left of #2 red tee is rapidly declining and needs to be removed. We are in the process of scheduling the removal and it will be taken out in the next couple weeks.

Large pin oak branches

Chipping up debris. Since we purchased the Vermeer chipper we have over doubled the unit's operational hours.

Dying pin oak that was struck by lightning in May.

Green Speed

July is typically a month when we receive many questions about green speed. When the heat and humidity tick up, the distance the ball travels decreases (Here is a link to an article from the USGA that explains the variations in green speed throughout the season). We are within the WHCC standard range for green speed; however, current and past stimpmeter readings have shown that the greens are usually at the lower end of the range during the heat of the summer and higher during the cooler months. During the summer, humid conditions cause the turfgrass plant to literally swell with moisture, increasing resistance when the golf ball rolls. In addition, the hot soil temperatures increase microbial activity, thereby increasing turfgrass growth and slowing down speeds. We spray PGRs to combat the growth, based on clipping yield measurements, but it is definitely a challenge to get the sprays down during the busy golf calendar. 

Balancing the speeds with trying to keep healthy turf is another added challenge. The environmental conditions dictate how aggressive we can be with height of cut, decreasing irrigation, increasing rolling frequency, and PGR applications (Click here for a previous blog post on factors influencing green speed-The Need For Speed). Ultimately, we have to keep the turf alive and healthy to perform well throughout the long golf season. Pushing to increase speeds for daily play during stressful environmental conditions is not recommended for quality putting surfaces. Knowing when to pump the brakes for aggressive practices is a necessary skill that involves data, science, and experience. For tournaments, we will push the limits on the turf to achieve faster speeds; however, once the tournaments conclude, the turf needs time to recover. Overall, I believe the WHCC greens are performing very well. Continuing to implement weekly cultural practices, such as verticutting, PGR applications, venting, and topdressing will continue to improve turfgrass health. Healthier turf will allow for more aggressive practices that will eventually lead to faster greens. Hopefully, everyone understands that speeds will fluctuate, especially during the summer, in order to keep the greens healthy.

Measuring green speed on #5 green.

Bees in Bunkers

Over the last couple of years small wasps have begun to buzz around some sand bunkers. They are smaller than the usual suspect, the cicada killer wasp, but tend to look almost identical. These are sand wasps (Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus). Joe Boggs, Ohio State Extension entomologist, wrote an article about these wasps a couple years ago when he found them at White Oak Garden Center (click here for the article). They feed off of brown marmorated stink bugs and are also named stink bug hunters. Like cicada killers, they are solitary wasps that are not aggressive and rarely sting. They dig burrows into sandy soils, making bunkers a perfect environment. Chemical control is difficult because the wasps are scattered out into many different burrow colonies. Daily raking of the bunkers helps to keep the populations down, but the wasps are extremely difficult to fully eliminate. We have made some pesticide applications; however, they eventually resurface. Sand wasps are technically a beneficial insect, and are not a threat to stinging humans. We will continue to frequently rake the sand traps, and if this year is similar to the past, they will eventually move on.

Annual Flowers

The flowers around the club are continuing to grow. The new landscape beds parallel to the parking lot and by the pool entrance have increased the beautification of the front entrance. As we head into the the late summer months, the flowers will continue to fill in. Hopefully, the membership is enjoying the increased summertime displays.

The fountain side of the new parking lot landscape bed. The feather reed grass is the divider between the pink vincas/petunias and the orange/yellow lantana.

Tiny tidbit hydrangeas in bloom. The white blooms will begin to fad to a solid red color as the summer progresses. The 'Edith Bogue' southern magnolia is the center piece of this newly landscaped area.

Front part of the new parking lot bed with pink vincas.

Persian shield and margarite sweet potato vine around the clock. 

Supertunia vista bubblegum

Cana 'Australia', pink cleome, and zinnias 'zahara' yellow by the baby pool.

Hot and humid summer weather is a recipe for cool season turf decline, especially on older courses with a high percentage of poa annua. I have been blessed to be a part of the grounds crew for over 20 years and I fail to remember any summers that did not include at least some dying turf. Honestly, considering the extreme conditions that we have experienced in the last two months, I believe the golf course is in good shape-I have witnessed much worse. With over a month left of a Cincinnati summer, the conditions could very well deteriorate, but we will continue to use sound agronomic practices to keep the stressed turf in a healthy condition.

Brad Piecuch

Grounds Superintendent

Around the Grounds-A Busy June

The Heat is On

 Based on our own observations and talking with other Green Industry professionals, the tri-state area is around 2 to 3 weeks ahead of the seasonal schedule. After the cold snap in mid-January, the temperatures have been consistently above normal. The turf disease pressure is currently the same as we usually see in mid summer with  dollar spot, brown patch, and anthracnose all making early appearances. This has caused our preventative fungicide applications to start up much earlier than in previous seasons. The current forecast is calling for an extended dry period with above normal temperatures. This will put the cool season turf under a tremendous amount of stress. We will continue with preventative fungicide applications but the weather pattern will have the final say and dictate how the turf will respond. Mowing heights may have to increase, with mowing frequency possibly having to decrease to keep the stress on the turf to a minimum. Even with proper agronomy practices, with an extended heat wave, some cool season turf will be lost.

Spraying #10 fairway

Monday Maintenance

Last season the green committee approved extending Monday course closures to 2:00 pm instead of noon. This has been a big benefit to the golf course. With this extended time we have been able to topdress and spray greens weekly; aerate and topdress the new leveled tees; regularly flymow steep green banks with a hover mower; replace divots on the in-use driving range tees; mow the driving range, target greens, and practice tees; spray the practice tees and chipping green approaches; topdress approaches; trim bunker edges; catch up on mowing; and the list could go on and on. To keep up with the current expectations and standards this extra time is imperative. Hopefully everyone understands the importance of Monday maintenance and will continue to allot time in the busy golf calendar to accomplish these tasks, assuring the playability of your golf course continues to be in good condition.

Pictures of some of this year's Monday maintenance.

Flymowing, with a hover mower, #6 green bank.

Solid tine aerating the chipping green

Core aerating the target greens

Filling in the south tee divots

Verticutting the greens

Topdressing the greens

Up close of the vertcutting slits

Deep tine aeration of the greens

Mechanical Work

An often overlooked part of the grounds department is the mechanical work. This is essential to accomplishing the daily tasks that keep the golf course playable. With the WHCC aging equipment fleet, there is always something breaking down or preventative maintenance to preform. I thought it may be beneficial to document a random half-day of mechanical work.

The random weekday started out as most other days on the golf course, with a breakdown. The new articulator WZ800 articulator broke a belt and needed replacement. Just as soon as Corey Cook (head mechanic) got this mower operational, the pump on the 1250 toro sprayer unit decided to quit working in the middle of a spray application. After some diagnostic help from our former mechanic, Jim Hessel, the electric clutch was identified as needing to be replaced and the unit was out of commission until the part was delivered. While working on the spray rig, a call came in that the cushman hauler cart was not moving. A worn out hub was to blame and after pulling it back in with another cart we again were at the mercy of a part delivery. Right after the cushman incident, a 2653B John Deere mower appeared in the shop with a busted roller bracket and that breakdown got us to around lunchtime. These breakdowns were in addition to the regular mechanical work for the day which was as follows:

• filing bedknives and adjusting the height of cut on greens mowers
• greasing rough mowers
• adjusting fairway mower heights
• grinding reels
• keeping up to date records on all equipment maintenance done for the day.

This may have been a bit too much detail, but I think it is important to sometimes peal back the curtain to help people understand some of the behind the scenes work that goes into maintaining the WHCC grounds. This was just a "normal" random day, but is a good representation of what the mechanic and crew deal with on a regular basis to deliver good playing conditions for the WHCC golf course. Since they work very early morning hours, sometimes their work is unnoticed, but without their long hours the WHCC golf course and grounds would cease to exist.

Fixing a Lastec articulator mower belt

Transferring the broken down spray tank mixture to the functioning sprayer. The plant protectants that are sprayed are expensive and once the chemicals are mixed they must be utilized. 

Electric clutch replacement

 

Corey Cook replacing the worn out hub on the cushman cart

Tree Work/Horticulture

The crew has been busy cutting back the fence lines on #11, #12, and #16 and trimming some of the numerous low limbs located throughout the golf course. In addition, some of the spring time storms left a decent amount of debris that we cleaned up over the last couple weeks. All this tree debris has started to accumulate at the dump and the chipper was utilized for a couple of days to keep the debris pile down.

The summer annuals are planted and have been fertilized. Increased watering and fertilizing will occur until the annuals become rooted in. The weeds are never ending and we hired two new horticulture workers to try and decrease the amount of weeds around the grounds. The horticulture team will continue to maintain the annuals and they should increase in size throughout the summer.

Vermeer 1000XL chipping up debris at the dump

Planting the window boxes at the new cart barn.

Lydia and Guadalupe trimming bushes and pulling weeds around the pool

Lake Maintenance

The two lakes located on the course have been stocked this year for the first time in many years. Fathead minnows were added to increase the amount of feeder fish for the bass. Also, grass carp were added for a natural control of aquatic weeds. Moreover, in  #13 pond, bass were added to keep the frog, insect larvae, and bluegill populations in check.  The aquatic spray program has begun and just like the turf spray program we are seeing mid summer issues, like euglena, becoming noticeable earlier than normal.

Fathead minnows installed in #7 lake.

Stocking #7 lake with grass carp

euglena starting to form on #7 lake

#7 Lake after treatments

Lightning

Two lighting strikes that occurred in May fried-out the irrigation surge protection board along with many fuses located in satellite boxes around the course. Luckily, the board did its job and protected the FIU unit and computer from damage. However, the board is expensive to replace, and the frequency of issues is concerning. We contacted Century Equipment and they informed us that the grounding for the irrigation system was improperly installed. We were given a solution and we will try and implement the recommendation in the next couple months.

SPU board replacement after a storm on Kentucky Derby day.

We are transitioning from operating mowers to carrying hoses for the summer. This predicted heat wave is worrisome so we are asking for everyone's patience and understanding as we embark on another hot Cincinnati summer.

Brad Piecuch

Grounds Superintendent

Springtime Grounds Update

Poa Annua

So far it has been a typical spring weather pattern for the tri-state area. We have had cold temperatures followed by hot, almost tropical summer weather, followed by cold and rain. The up and down extreme temperature swings have the turf confused-is it summer or spring? After the tropical hot spell in mid April,  some diseases began to form especially in areas comprised of poa annua. 

Poa annua (annual bluegrass) is typically a winter annual. Annual bluegrass’ life cycle consists of germination, seed head production, dying out in the summer, and germination again during cooler temperatures. In addition, perennial poa annua biotypes are becoming common and have a slightly different life cycle than the annual types. Seed heads can be produced at extremely low heights making this a very invasive plant on putting surfaces. The heavy amount of shade, due to a generous number of trees, makes the presence of annual bluegrass increase. Right now it is very noticeable because of its spring time seed head production, except on the putting surfaces where the winter PGR applications have kept the seed heads down allowing golf balls to roll far and smooth. Also, poa is very susceptible to disease outbreaks and because of the wet conditions brown ring patch is beginning to show up in some areas. We have applied curative fungicide sprays to combat this issue, but hopefully mother nature will help with dryer and warmer conditions to suppress the disease outbreaks. 

Poa annua seed heads

Brown ring patch on #3 green.

Greens Aeration

On April 29th the putting greens will be deep tine aerated with 1/2" solid tines (weather dependent). This is done by an outside contractor and we heavily topdress the greens afterwards. This may slow down green speed and make for some bumpy play for a short time until the greens heal. This is a necessary practice to keep the greens healthy, fast, and smooth throughout the hot and humid summer months.

Bunker Removal

The pea sized bunker to the left of #10 fairway was removed. The Green Committee recommended the removal because of the small size and and the rarity of anyone hitting shots into it. The bunker was mounded, so a decent amount of dirt was generated during removal. A bobcat T750 with tacks was rented and all the topsoil was dumped into a bin to be used for future projects. The sod removed from the excavation was used in some bare areas located throughout the golf course. Also, the bunker to the right of #3 green had many dead areas because of the abundant amount of shade in that particular location. Some of the excess sod was used to try and green up the bunker surrounds.

Bunker to the left of #10 fairway

Excavation

Taking out the hill

Finished product

The soil that was saved from the excavation

Using some of the sod to help get grass to grow around #3 green bunker.

Going Green

Since we just celebrated Earth Day, this is a good time to reflect on the many environmental benefits that golf courses, and in particular turfgrasses, provides. According to the USGA and the GCSAA, there are around 16,000 golf courses in the U.S. and they represent less than .1% of all U.S. land. These spaces because of the plant's transpiration process, helps to reduce temperatures in cities that are already hotter due to the urban heat island effect. Also, golf courses help to filter storm water after rain events. The bigger pore space and different soil layers filter debris and pollutants from surrounding areas before it replenishes the existing water table. In addition, turfgrass traps air pollutants, carbon dioxide, and releases oxygen into the atmosphere. According to the  Maryland Department of Agriculture (click here for the Maryland professional lawn care article), a 50 foot x 50 foot area of turf produces enough oxygen for a family of 4 and a golf course fairway can sequester 1,500 pounds of carbon per year. Furthermore, the healthier the turf the more carbon it can store. In fact there have been a couple studies (click here for a study by UCDAVIS) showing that grass is more efficient at capturing carbon than trees because unlike woody plants (trees and shrubs) that store carbon in their above ground biomass (trunks, leaves, etc...) grass stores the majority of the carbon in the soil where it can not be released due to decay or fires. 

Of course, the downside of a golf course is the amount of maintenance that is involved in the upkeep of turf. At WHCC we strive to use the best management practices available and still meet expectations. Improving water usage, applying less nitrogen, spoon feeding fertilizer applications, returning grass clippings to the turfgrass system, and converting some areas into native pollinator gardens are all procedures we have implemented to help the local environment. However, there is always room for improvement. Converting out-of-play areas to native vegetation, continuing to improve golf course water usage, and perhaps having a conversation about curtailing expectations (example brown grass is sometimes good) can continue to help transform golf courses into an environmentally friendly urban oasis.

Brad Piecuch

Grounds Superintendent