Summer Is Here

The Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere is next week on Wednesday June 21, 2017. This marks the beginning of the most difficult time for the cool season grasses which is the type of grass playing surfaces we have here at Granite Bay. Things can get interesting during this time which stretches from the Summer Solstice to the Fall Equinox on Friday September 22, 2017. Why this is the most difficult time for our course is in part due to:

• Extensive heat causes cool season turf to be more susceptible to disease & insect damage, weed infestation & heat stress and wilt.

• It is a challenge  to keep the course as firm as we would all like it because of the amount of irrigation required to keep it viable and alive.

• It is a time of year of high golfing activity which compound the above mentioned stresses.

What Are Our Plans?

We are in pretty good shape going into this stressful summer season and that can go a long  way towards our inevitable success. Currently however there is a heatwave forecasted during 2017 Mac Cup that has six consecutive 100 degree days predicted. Those kind of stretches have always left a mark on this golf course.  So sucess will be sustaining as much turf  as we can through the  summer so as to minimize our recovery efforts in the fall. The plans to achieve this success is twofold: Manage Irrigation & Control Cart Traffic

Manage the Irrigation

Irrigation management is constant. We make daily adjustments to the individual sprinkler head control that has been recently expanded. We treat areas of the course with surfactants or wetting agents that aid in both water movement where where we need to move irrigation into the soil,  as well as retention where the soil needs some help in holding onto the irrigation that has been applied. We shift GCM personnel resources into hand watering because no matter how sophisticated a irrigation system is, there is no substitute for a guy on a hose.  

There is no substitute for a man on a hose

We understand the traditional inconsistencies with areas of the course that can get soft and we are ever striving to improve them as well as micro-managing of the irrigation system in these areas. Our decomposed granite soil's and cool season grass varieties make this a ongoing challenge but I believe we have made progress over the years. That being said it is inevitable that the the ups and downs of a summer season will lead to periods of the course getting on both the wet & dry side. 

Control Cart Traffic

Granite Bay Golf Clubs Scatter Definition is:

Golf Carts can scatter on the course by entering by entering at designated entry points defined by green and white stakes. Once in the fairway you are free to scatter while in and among the fairway. Please exit the fairway or rough at the designated exit point designated by red and white stakes.

Enter

Exit

Additional precautions and strategy's to protect the course besides the scatter rules include restricting traffic to entire golf holes although limiting this practice when we can to only one hole per nine. Additionally when temperatures are forecasted to be over the century mark, we will call for cart path only in the afternoons.

Results of golf cart traffic driving on stressed turf during the summer.

How can Members Help?

By understanding that cart operation on the turf surfaces during the summer months is stressful. Please utilize cart paths as much a possible.  Additionally follow the scatter rule and drive on green healthy grass avoiding brown, stressed grass.

The Drought is Over 

One thing we wont be talking about is drought restrictions in 2017. Due to almost record rainfall  & snow accumulation in most parts of the State, our reservoirs and aquifers have been replenished. However the drought of 2013 has changed the way many of us look at water policy and use. The State will continue to exert it's authority over water purchase and use and we at Granite Bay will have to stay on top of these inevitable changes. We are currently forecasting to be 25% below a State calculated MAWA Water Budget (maximum allowable water allocation) for the 2017 season and have had a good conservation story since this game changing drought of 2013 started.

Current Folsom Reservoir level. 2017 was one wild graph line !

Spring 2017 Aeration Progress

Monday 4/10/17 will be three weeks since we aerated the putting surfaces here at Granite Bay. Its been two weeks since we followed up that aeration with a aggressive vertical mowing, seeding and light sand topdressing. On Monday 4/10/17 we applied another light sand topdressing and will continue to do so most Mondays for the remainder of the growing season which has been our practice for the past two years.

#11 green a day after 3/20/17 core aeration

Practice Green on 4/10/17.  21 days after initial core aeration.
By my estimation a little behind.

 After 21 days of aeration recovery I would say the greens are a bit behind the previous two or three seasons primarily due to weather. Since aerating greens we have had 9 rain days producing 4.7" of precipitation. While the rain is helpful after aeration to move sand into aeration holes and into the turf canopy, the accompanying lack of sunlight during inclement weather will hamper growth to cover over aeration holes and germinate seed.

We were able to stay on schedule with fairway aeration despite all of the weather. Weather did get in the way of getting all of our topdressing out as its need to be dry to drag into the holes. We anticipate drier weather ahead  so we will be able to get the rest of this topdressing out over the next couple of weeks.

Aerating FW

Dragging Cores

Cleaning up the mess

We are taking this week, Monday 4/10/17 - Friday 4/14/17 to core aerate rough areas prior to a nice application of fertilizer to the entire course next week. This will conclude major aeration events until October.

Fairway Topdressing sand stockpiled in the parking lot.

Fairway Aeration Schedule Spring 2017

Fairway Core Aeration Progressing As Originally Planned

Yesterday on Monday 3/27/17, even though it was much wetter then ideal for fairway aeration we rolled the dice and went ahead and got started on a few fairways on the back nine. The new Toro ProCore FW Aerator we purchased a few years ago does a great job even when conditions are a little wet, but as we have covered before the trick with this process is getting dry enough conditions to effectively remove the extracted cores. 

GCM Staff  aerating #18 FW Monday morning after 1/4" of rain the previous evening
 with the Toro ProCore FW aerator

We did receive over 2" of rain last week and 1/4" of rain on Sunday night. This does make conditions a little iffy for aeration of 25 acres of fairways. However we were closed on Monday and it is pretty hard to let an opportunity like that go to waste, so we went ahead and got started. We ended up removing cores with a piece of equipment called a Core Harvester which is the machine we use to remove cores on the greens. I've used the Core Harvester on fairways before at a previous property but never here at GBGC. The positives of using the Core Harvester for cores on a Fairways is you don't have to let cores dry and can start removing them immediately after extraction. The negatives are the machine is very slow and picking up fairway cores are very hard on the machine itself.

Removing FW cores with the Core Processor

But the decision proved productive as we have a good jump on Fairway Aeration and dry weather in the forecast for the next few days. As long as everything goes according to plan, we will have all fairways core aerated and most of the sand topdressing out by the end of the week. Below is the Aeration schedule for the week outlining specific pre-scheduled alternating F9 / B9 closures. Additionally below is the updated rainfall accumulation for 2017 which is not the most ever but the most we have received in a long time.

Monday 3/27/17 - Course Closed  GCM Core Aerated Fairways 13, 17 & 18.

Tuesday 3/28/17 - F9 Closed till 3:00 PM  GCM Core Aerating F9 Fairways 1-4 & 6.

Wednesday 3/29/17 - B9 Closed till 3:00 PM  GCM Core Aerating B9 Fairways 10, 11-12, 15-16.

Thursday 3/30/17 -  F9 Closed till 3:00 PM  GCM Core Aerating F9 Fairways 5, 8, 9.

Updated Fairway Aeration Schedule

Successful Putting Surface Aerification Monday 3/20/17

In the two previous course updates we chronicled changing our previously scheduled greens aerification from Tuesday 3/21/17 to Monday 3/20/17 due to wet weather forecasted  for the aerification day. We started The Greens Aerification Process around 5:00 AM and finished 1-18 regulation greens as well as the chipping green and both practice putting greens by 3:30 PM. Moving the date seemed almost providential because not only did it start to rain shortly after we completed the process, we literally had no issues with damage, or equipment or man-power. I've never experienced such a smooth process, here at GBGC nor anywhere else, and there is allot of equipment and moving parts involved. Thanks to our entire maintenance staff and in particular, Kevin Schumann our Equipment Manager who made sure everything was working tip top. 

#18 Green aerified the day before getting rained on Tuesday 3/21/17

As I mentioned above it literally started raining when we finished and continued to rain off and on for the next two days ( Tuesday and Wednesday) and nights giving us a total of 1.70" of rain. This is extremely good for the greens after aerification as it helps work the sand into the holes and draws oxygen deep into the green soil profile. The down side to the wet weather is we cannot what I call "tweak" the greens by spot sanding & brushing areas that have settled as it is imperative that this is done in dry weather. Today is nice and as I am writing this correspondence to you, the crew is out working amongst some of you and rolling, lightly sanding and brushing to make sure all of the holes are filled. This again is being done right ahead of another rainstorm later tonight ( Thursday ) and into tomorrow ( Friday ). Perfect.

Jogi adding a little extra sand to fill up settled aerification holes

Brushing to fill up the holes

Fairway Aerification Plan

We have been able to time rain events with the greens aerification this time around but I suspect the fairways will be too wet to core aerify next week on our planned alternating F9 / B9 closure days scheduled for Tuesday 3/28/17 through Friday 3/31/17. We will wait and see what nature brings us as far as rain is concerned the next few days and make and communicate our decision by Saturday or Sunday. If we are not able to go on the planned dates we will re-evaluate our process doing something that will not require F9 / B9 closures. More to come.

Updated rainfall amounts we received right here at GBGC. Almost 35", more then 10" over normal and it's not done yet.

Updated Greens Aerification Schedule

Spring 2017 Greens Aerification will be on Monday 3/20/17

The below chart indicate's a change from this AM in the weather forecast. This Accuweather forecast now is in alignment with the Weather Channel forecast giving us some added confidence to confirm the above Monday 3/20/17 putting surface aerification date. It took more then the weather forecast to change to get this done. Mr. Peabody had to get clearance to reschedule an already scheduled tournament on Monday 3/20/17 and move  them to another club. It took some doing but he found another sister club in the area and hopefully everyone will be happy. Always looking out for the big picture which is our GBGC Members, Michael comes through again.    

Getting the  regulation greens aerified  and on the path to healing is our main goal next week. If the amount of forecasted rain materializes, and that is a big if, we will not be able to aerify fairways. We will communicate what is going on with the Fairways as soon as we know. 

Thanks for your patience and Thanks Mike!

Wet Weather and Turfgrass Aerification

Planning GC Maintenance Practices Around Rain

We changed our start date for spring aerification a few years back from early April to late March with the idea that we would be recovered and in good shape earlier in the golf season. The last few years were much drier then this year so the calendar change worked out well. Currently this year is looking like a different story with wet weather forecasted for the upcoming week, Monday 3/20 through Friday 3/24.

As you can see the above forecast from this mornings Accuweather report, we have rain coming on the dates we slated for aerification. Why is this important? Because this kind of work cannot be done when it is raining or even too wet. Trust me we have tried, and we end up making more of a mess and damaging the very turf we are trying to improve with aerification when we try to do it in the rain or overly wet conditions.

We are ready to go and will be watching weather and forecasts closely and if we feel we can proceed with out causing damage we will do so. There has been a slight change in this forecast from yesterday to today calling for less rainfall on Tuesday and more Monday night. Tuesday is when we are scheduled to do greens which are a little more conducive to aerifying when everything else is wet because of their high sand content but it is still iffy with over 1/2" forecasted for Monday evening. It really depends on when that 1/2"+ falls. 

Bottom Line

We are leaning towards postponing all aerification practices until the week of Monday March 27th. If we can get the greens done on Tuesday 3/22/17 as planned we will as we will get another week of recovery which is advantageous to the big picture. If its too wet we will postpone greens until Monday 3/27/17. If it is dry enough we will aerify fairways the following Tuesday 3/28/17 through Thursday 3/30/17 with alternating F9 / B9 closures on those days. If it is too wet to aerify fairways during that time frame we will reevaluate our process and timing.

Winter Wrap Up

Below are current images of where we are at with rainfall totals, CA reservoir levels and snow accumulation. We are in pretty good shape for 2017 so I wont be writing too much about drought, however as I have stated before water and water use are obviously important to golf course turf and will, I believe, the defining issue in CA golf moving forward.

GBGC Rainfall YTD rainfall accumulation from 1/1/2005 through 3/17/17.

Folsom Reservoir, the reservoir that is nearest and dearest to our heart as it supplies all of our irrigation water, has been on a wild up and down path this year. First and foremost it is a flood control reservoir for the American River watershed and it's releases have reflected that purpose.

Best way to store water is in the mountains as snow and thankfully we finally got  some in 2017.

Another thing to be thankful for. The whole state is in good shape this year as far as surface water and snow are concerned however aquifers are still depleted and in a precarious position. We still have work to do with CA water infrastructure.

Golf Course Maintenance Weekly 2/17/17

What To Do When It Doesn't Stop Raining?

You might have wondered what does the golf course maintenance staff do when all it seems to do is rain like it has been doing since the beginning of the year. Its too wet to mow or even get maintenance equipment out onto the golf course to dig drains or spread sand or do anything you might be thinking. Its true there is allot of normal maintenance activities that we cannot do when it is raining or sloppy wet as the course has become this winter, but we have stayed busy and productive setting ourselves up for success this spring when it finally stops raining. Below are some pictures of our recent progress on a couple of fronts.

The best time to do tree pruning for us in in the winter months and as long as it is not raining too hard we can make progress in the rain. Above is GCM working on trees along left hand side of #18  recently.  Below is the area between #14 green and #15 tee that needed some pruning making the fairway from the upper tournament tees more visible.

Irrigation Controller Install

Another project we have been working on is  Phase II of our Irrigation Controller Replacement. Rainy weather has hindered our progress but we have been diligent to work between storms to get this important project complete. Replacing our irrigation controllers (those grey boxes spread out around the course) not only proactively replaces 20 year old electronics, but also gives us more pin point irrigation control because we can add stations and split up sprinkler heads. This "single head coverage" allows for a better distribution of irrigation water leading to better turf conditions.

                                           Preparing for new concrete pedestal

                                                                                    Sometimes improvisation is necessary when the rain just                                                                             wont stop

Pouring concrete between storms

                                         Finished Product

Between the Storms

When it stops raining and we look forward to our Members returning to the course we have to recover the sand traps from the previous rainstorm. Of course not all rainstorms are equal. Heavier rain that falls quickly usually causes the most wash outs and damage. Lighter, sustained rain gets and keeps everything wet, but is less likely to wash out the traps.

This is the results of a heavy storm

                                                         Bring out the pumps

Enrique pushing up the wet displaced sand before raking.

The Rising Creeks

When it rains of course, the creek rise. Below are some pictures of Linda Creek running through the course directly after a heavy downpour.

Linda Creek entering our property near the bridge on #4

Linda Creek running into our irrigation pond just behind #4 green.

Linda Creek exiting our irrigation pond under the bridge on #1

Subsurface drainage sheeting across the turf and dumping into Linda Creek near the bridge on #16 & #15

Linda Creek running right in front of #16 green.

The other side of the bridge on #16. Notice the accumulation of azolla  (red floating mat that was in the main irrigation pond between #1 & #9). Good riddance.