Recent Course Tour with Kyle Phillips

                

We recently had the pleasure of spending an entire morning with Kyle Phillips, the lead golf course architect of our very own Granite Bay Golf Club. The meeting was the idea of Dan Becker who had questions regarding the golf course aging and what we should do when, as example, the inevitable tree dies and effects the strategy of any given hole. Dan’s concern, as was ours, that moving forward we maintain Kyle’s “original intent” with say tree replacement or potential additions to the course. Kyle graciously agreed to meet with us so a group of golf committee members and management basically spent the morning letting Kyle reminisce about his original vision for our club.

I am sure many of you have heard some details from members who attended the walk-around. My intention in this segment is to give you a general overview of the meeting from the eyes of Golf Course Maintenance and will highlight some details in future additions.
This was the first time Kyle and I had met. He is extremely engaging, gracious and down to earth along with his staff of Mark Thawley and Roby Seed. My prism of looking at a golf course has always been primarily from the view of maintenance. It was a transformational experience for me to listen and then look at the course from their different perspective. I now consider the meeting a highlight in my career. Most of his criticisms on changes to the course arise from the “change of vision” and their unintended consequences. Cart paths were a particular bone of contention with Kyle. He understand totally the need for paths from a business standpoint particularly when ownership / vision changes. However in his opinion, some of them could have been incorporated into the original design without as much aesthetic disruption to that vision.

One big positive thing I took from the meeting was that we all; member golfers, golf course maintenance staff and management and golf course architect are on the same page as far as far as the encroachment of the native areas blocking the vision on certain golf holes. He loved the exposed rocks throughout the course as we all do and encouraged more. He showed me where original fairway lines were and how, in many instances, our fairway lines have receded over the past 16 years. Standing on tee boxes he said “WOW” on numerous occasions regarding how tree and vegetation growth had encroached and on the ride to the next hole expressed his sympathy by stating “man, you got you work cut out for you”

The lines and flow of the holes, tree planting and not tree planting, Granite Bay history although it only been eighteen years are all things we touched on. I look forward to future visits. It’s good for Granite Bay. It’s good for me. Thanks Kyle for the great vision that is Granite Bay Golf Club and for spending a day with us discussing it. I for one will never look at the placement of a ball washer the same.

What’s going on with the Greens? Part II

In our last update I explained that the primary cause of the decline of our putting surfaces was we have developed an excessive thatch layer over the years. This excessive thatch layer developed from not being aggressive enough with core aeration and cultural practices. The buildup of organic matter has in effect sealed off the greens from air movement into the soil and to the roots. Oxygen is crucial in the root zone for any plant to convert the simple sugars created by the plant during photosynthesis into usable food for cell division.

Anaerobic black layer in removed turf on #14 green

This lack of air also creates an anaerobic black layer in which certain bacteria, who thrive in environments without air, attack the thatch layer as a food source. In doing so, this aerobic bacteria release a by-product of hydrogen sulfide gas which is toxic to roots. This is why we need to continue to vent the greens by poking small holes in them allowing the toxic gas to escape and oxygen to reach the root zone. Fortunately the surfaces have recovered to the point that we can now lightly topdress with sand after we vent them as opposed to a few weeks ago when their condition was much more precarious. Working even light applications of sand into a putting surface can be stressful by itself to a healthy green and devastating to a weak one. However topdressing really helps with putting quality as it smoothes the surface and fills the dimples of the spiking holes.

As I explained in the last update this thatch has to be removed mechanically via core aeration and deep vertical mowing. Both of these processes will remove portions of the excessive thatch layer and allow oxygen back into the soil. In our climate these processes too stressful to do in the heat of the summer particularly when the surfaces are already suspect. This is why we typically do this type of cultivation work in the spring and fall.

You can see why keeping things in balance is crucial when maintaining a modern day putting surface. The demands we put on them to roll true and fast can only be achieved when we have a firm and healthy surface. We know that to get back in balance we have to be more aggressive with our core aeration this coming fall and next spring but how aggressive and how long do we have to be this aggressive? I could speculate but a definitive answer will be found by doing some physical soil testing.

Chemical soil testing is concerned with maintaining an appropriate balance of nutrients. We perform chemical soil testing on our greens at least annually. Physical soil testing is an entirely different animal as it is concerned with maintaining an appropriate balance between air and water properties in conjunction with the soils ability to supply nutrients. Physical soil testing has never been done to our greens after establishment primarily because of its expense. At this point I believe it is crucial to give us a roadmap on how we need to proceed with our greens moving forward. I will have results from this testing in approximately four weeks and will share the high and low lights with you then.

We will be limping through the summer with our greens. We have re-sodded bad areas and will continue if necessary. We will be spiking and light topdressing on a regular basis just to keep oxygen moving into the root zone and gasses displaced. Rolling will continue but we can not cut the greens down as tight as we have done in the past at the risk of further decline.

With the help of sound science along with diligence and patience at aeration times, I am optimistic that we will have the firm, fast and healthy putting surface’s we all desire. Definitely more to come.

Preparing for sod on #14

Installing sod #14

Completed sodding #14

The Return of Southern Blight

I am of course stating the obvious that the summer season is a taxing one on the turf here at Granite Bay. Any golf course with primarily cool season grasses will inevitably have some issues July and August. Granite Bay is no exception. Of course our main issue through July so far has been putting surface decline and the resulting performance or putting inconsistencies as we reacted to the decline. When the greens “go south” every other issue seems to magnify. One of those issues that we are battling is a pretty decent outbreak of a disease called Southern Blight (sclerotium rolfsii).

Southern Blight infestations have been steadily increasing here at Granite Bay for the past six to seven years. We typically see the disease in higher mowed turf or “rough” around greens, tees and fairways. It is a nasty looking disease pattern which has really taken a toll this season at the same time, to add insult to injury, the putting surfaces were in decline.

We treat areas that have a history of the disease preventively but we had a stretch of perfect conditions which facilitated infection in new areas. We treated again once new infection became evident and the disease spread has stopped.

Southern blight has small fruiting bodies that over winter in the thatch and explodes when environmental conditions become right. I think I have mentioned that thatch is not only an issue in our putting surfaces but also it is an issue through out the turf here at Granite Bay. There is no guarantee that going aggressively after the thatch in rough and green surrounds would eliminate the threat or infection of Summer Patch. It does however make sense that by removing the excessive organic matter that the pathogen over winters in and creating a healthier environment for the plant, that disease pressure would be mitigated. Bottom line is excessive thatch is the common to most of the problems we have with our turf here at Granite Bay and we must get more aggressive at removing and controlling it.

"Sclerotina" or fruiting bodies of Southern Blight in the thatch layer

Souther Blight behind #2 green

Traffic Control

Pro Active Traffic Control Program – Under Way

As I mentioned in the previous newsletter that we were planning to initiate a pro-active traffic control program here at Granite Bay. Golf carts are a part of everyday life in golf and with that reality comes a major stress for turf especially as the weather starts to heat up. We have all witnessed what golf cart traffic can do to the turf. We have started this program and have already noticed a difference with turf quality on two of our most challenged areas as far as traffic is concerned, holes #10 & #6. We have alternated closing these holes to cart traffic with success and plan to continue through the summer months.

When we installed the concrete cart path to the left-hand side of the #12 green we never intended to use it 100% of the time. If we did the turf directly adjacent to the entrance of the path would be worn to dirt. This is why we alternate opening & closing that path to keep the adjacent turf from wearing out to dirt. We installed that path because from what I understand the left hand exit was the traditional exit before the installation of the original paths and crossing the fairway with a path then would have been aesthetically unacceptable. The preferable traffic pattern when the left-hand path is closed would be to the right and around the green.

To the left and around the green is also the preferable traffic pattern on #10 where the same original design principles applied, avoiding at all costs crossing the fairway with a cart path. A majority of cart traffic gravitating to the left on this hole is what creates the one of the biggest traffic control issues on the course. The flow of traffic goes to the left to #11 tee, which I also assume was tradition, trampling down a narrow band of turf to the walnut shells behind the tee. The more traffic that can get in the habit of going right and around the green will help this area immensely and potentially limit the hole's closure.

Another traffic control myth, in my opinion is the use of the 90-degree rule saves turf. For one, most people don’t use it and if they do, they go 90 degrees to the rough line and wear out the rough. Scattering golf cart traffic rather then channeling is much better for the turf. I would much rather carts use the simple rules of;

•  Using paths as much / whenever possible
•  Follow the directional signs
•  Avoid driving on stressed turf

A Final Thought on Thatch

If you recall, thatch is something I have addressed in these course updates on a few occasions previous to this one. Most all of the problems we have with health and playability to all of the turfgrass surfaces here at Granite Bay can be directly correlated with the development of excessive thatch. 

This situation did not just develop, it has been accumulating for years, but it is imperative that we reduce its current accumulation mechanically if we are to have playing surfaces we can be proud of. It starts there. Not aggressively removing it for the sake of keeping surface disruption to a minimum will not serve any of us well, both now and in the future.

Thank You

Audubon

Audubon International is a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to fostering more sustainable human and natural communities through research, education, and conservation assistance. As I stated in our last update our status is something to be proud of and highlight and will now be formally a part of our course updates.

Granite Bay has been a member of Audubon International since 1993 and became certified at the bronze level in May of 1998. We are one of only six certified golf courses in the state. During our certification one of the requirements was to form a resource advisory committee consisting of at least two club members.

I believe one of the first things we need to do is to reform our advisory committee since it has been, to the best of my knowledge, inactive at least since my arrival here at Granite Bay. The re-formation of this advisory committee I hope can be an agenda item at our next golf committee meeting. If there are any members that have any input or would like to serve on this committee please contact me preferably before the next golf committee meeting on 8/10/10.

Some of the items I would like to address through the Granite Bay Audubon Resource Advisory Committee are:

• Proactive Native Oak Tree Replacement Plan.
• Creating a Nursery of our own Native Oaks for Replacement
• “The Wild Life of Granite Bay” – Positive Identification & Documentation of Birds and Wild Life that make Granite Bay their Home.
•  Existing Native Oak Inventory & Mapping
• Involving the Memberships Children as much as we can with all items mentioned above as a required Audubon Educational outreach.

This is kind of exciting when you think about some of the different things the club has to offer besides golf, food & drink. I truly am looking forward working with whomever willing, and really taking advantage of our Audubon status and taking it to a new level.

Recent Pond Work

Did not want to leave you hanging on the pond work that was recently done in our main Irrigation pond. Many of you have asked me about it and I promise full details in the next update. Bottom line is everything went well and our ability to draw water out of the pond is better for it.

Main thing I learned from the process is we need to continue to be diligent and proactive in pond maintenance like anything else or we end up having to do more work in the end. Sometimes easier said then done I suppose.

Aqua Mog recently working in Georges Lake