The following is an update I emailed out to the membership a few days ago. I apologize for the lack of updates over the past several weeks- we’ve been busy and I’ve not thought much about the blog in that time. My goal is to update frequently with pictures and short anecdotes about what is going on out there, and I will try to be better about that going forward.
Morning sky on fire here at the Orchards!
Course Update
August31, 2011
Fortunately the course did not sustain any significant damage due to hurricane Irene. It is messy and soggy out there, but as the days go by this week we should have things looking normal again. Please be patient as our crew cleans up the course- and be aware that special restrictions may be in play until things get back to normal.
Greens aerification will take place next Tuesday and Wednesday (September 6 & 7). We will aerify the back 9 greens on Tuesday and front 9 greens on Wednesday. As always, this process is completely dependent upon the weather. If it should rain and either postpone the process or prolong the completion of the process, we will finish as time permits.
I’ve been asked in the past why we aerify greens when they are looking and playing so good. The answer to this question lies within the question itself. One of the many reasons our greens look and play so well all season is because of practices such as aerification. Aerification is a process which is essentially a “savings account” for turfgrass. By this I mean it is not an instant gratification event; putting money away now offers the opportunity at more money in the future. Aerification is just that- a process that is difficult to swallow in the short term, but in the long run pays great dividends.
The benefits of turf aerification are two fold (to state it simply) – by removing compacted soil and grass material we are allowing the turf to “breathe” and better accept water, air, and nutrients. The other benefit is the integration of sand (topdressing) into the top 6 inches of turf which helps the soil better allow for root growth and overall health over time. Fall is the best growing season of the year, so reducing compaction now will aid in turf recovery and growth. Sand has more pore space (air space) between its particles, making it a more desirable medium to grow turfgrass. As in my savings account analogy above, this process requires an investment now that gives you the best chance for future success.
We take all precautions and target our most suited materials for use before, during, and after aerification to get the greens back to their strongest in time for fall golf. We will make fungicide and fertilizer applications to the greens a few days before aerification so that they are better equipped to handle the traumatic process of punching holes into the surface. Seed will be incorporated into greens after we topdress, which is exciting because it offers a great time to introduce better varieties of bentgrass into our greens while alleviating the troublesome Poa annua! As always, but more immediately necessary than other times during the season, we constantly monitor overall greens health and apply fertilizer and fungicides as necessary afterwards so they keep growing and flourishing well into fall. At this point they are in the best shape possible to be ready to withstand winter.
Hopefully I’ve explained clearly enough the reasons why aerification is important to healthy turf. This practice is widely regarded as one of the most important processes we do as turf managers. It sure would be easy to skip it and have an easy and smooth sailing start to fall, but I wouldn’t be doing my job properly as your Superintendent if I let short term hardships get in the way of long term success.
Please get in touch if you have any questions at all. I am happy to chat about this process or anything else that we do here on the course. I hope everyone is safe and you made it through the recent storm in good shape. Thank you very much for your membership at the Orchards- I look forward to seeing everyone out on the course!
Thank you,
Matt Streeter
