11 Days of Unbelievable Heat

and Amazing Effort!

As stated previously, our July closure is usually our most aggressive.  Larger tines are employed throughout the course to remove more Organic Matter, verti cutting all short grass areas to remove thatch and improve play-ability, followed by a heavy topdressing to improve porosity and wear tolerance, and finally a healthy dose of fertility to enhance recovery.  This is the "nuts and bolts" of our program and it seems quite simple when you put it on paper.  In reality it takes an Army of heat resistant, fatigue resistant soldiers to accomplish all of this in the proper time frame.  The TEAM we have assembled has once again showed me that they truly are the best in the business.  All of these processes require multiple ancillary tasks to prepare the work space and clean up the mess created, before we can move on to the next step.  On many occasions, our Battle Tested Team has completed the task at hand and voluntarily moved on to the ensuing assignment without command.   They know the importance of taking advantage of favorable weather even if it means staying until nightfall.  This gumption led us to overcome some equipment issues and a few added projects throughout this closure.  I couldn't be more PROUD of our team!

During this closure we added a "new to Stonebridge" cultural practice.  A common affliction with greens in SW Florida is Collar Damming.  This is the build up of years of topdressing and prevents surface run off.  These dams create standing water on the perimeters of greens. causing weak or declining turf.  Collar Stripping removes approximately 1/4 inch of material around the greens allowing proper surface drainage.  Below is a couple of pictures showing the first day post sod cutting and day 7 of recovery.  At first glance, the bare collars are nothing but soil.  However, there is a great population of stolons and rhizomes that eventually shoot up and produce fresh leaf growth.  It will take some time to fully restore a proper playing surface but the long term benefits far outweigh the short term inconvenience.  The other project completed in the last 10 days was the conversion of the cart path on #11 from asphalt to concrete.  This new path is much safer for all of our members and guests.  Our contractor did a wonderful job and will be returning during the last closure to replace the asphalt the connects #13 green to #14 tee.

Although the recovery will be a bit longer than the first closure, we will all reap the rewards of the War on Bermuda Grass.  Thank you all for your patience and understanding.  Great things lay ahead and these are all mere building blocks of a sustainable, maintainable golf course.

Form Boards on #11

Finished Product

Verti Cutting Fairways

Collar Stripping Day 1

Topdressing Fairways

Collar Recovery Day 7

Golf Course Report

July 2018

               

We are On Deck for another round of cultural practices that are aimed at improving the turf conditions throughout the golf course.  On July 17^th we will close down the course for 11 days and employ our most aggressive aerification and verti-cutting scheduled for the summer.  This will all be followed by a heavy dose of topdressing on all of our short grass playing surfaces.              We will begin this closure with another DryJect application to the greens.  This is one of the most effective ways to instantly alter the soil profile.  Dilution of built up Organic Matter is paramount to the long term health of any putting surface.  Following this process, a core aerification will take place with much larger tines than our previous closure.  Removing compressed soil and replacing it with a fresh channel of sand will improve the porosity of the soil, giving the roots a place to thrive. 

As intense as we are about creating and perfecting our greens program, we are also stepping up our approach to tee and fairway management.  This year we are attempting to triple our topdressing efforts on the tees and fairways.  We will also double our aerification totals as part of this plan.  All of these practices, coupled with a quality verti-cutting program, will produce a playing surface that will be more resilient to the rigors of environmental stresses and withstand the heavy traffic of the winter months. 

There are a couple of extra projects that will also take place during this closure.  We will be removing the asphalt on #11 and the transition from #13 to #14 and replacing it with concrete.  This should provide a more seamless, safer and comfortable ride through this area of the golf course.  The second project is a bit more invasive.  We will be stripping the collars around the greens to improve surface drainage.  Years of consistent topdressing tend to build up the collars surrounding the greens.  This creates a “damming” effect.  These dams prevent water from running off the green.  Too much water results in anaerobic soils.  If the soils have no air, the roots have no chance.  In an effort to correct our few remaining imperfections, we will remove the top layer around the greens and allow the regrowth from the residual stolons and rhizomes.  This process is quite aggressive and will take some time to recover.  We thank you for your patience and understanding.  When it comes to the rules of golf, I will defer to Erik.  I am assuming they will be treated as Ground under Repair until they are completely healed.  A good friend of mine wrote an article for the USGA Section Record addressing this issue.  Stuart Bothe, GCS at Vanderbilt Country Club has led this initiative and I am happy to have him as a sounding board.  I fully believe that this is one of the practices that we have been missing.  The first go around will not be the cure, but an annual program will eliminate those pesky weak areas around the edges of certain greens.  One more step in attaining perfection.  I do have plenty of progression pictures and a copy of the USGA article, but I am a farmer not an IT whiz.  I have tried to copy/paste and nothing would stick.  If there is a concerted interest in the project, I can certainly forward the information via e-mail. 

We are certainly enjoying a proper Summer time weather pattern.  High heat, high humidity and afternoon thunderstorms.  Our Bermuda grass is thriving, which means we can beat it up even more to prepare it for Season.  As we lower the height of cut on the tees, fairways and rough; we will be encouraging more prostrate growth.  We have a grand plan to be the best for all our members; the tricky part is to maintain excellence while tearing into the necessities of the summer.

If you have any questions or concerns, regarding anything happening on the property, please feel free to contact me. 

Following this closure, we will be attcking our “Re-planting initiave” throughout the golf course and Common areas.  No rest for the weary!