Reminder: Greens Aerification Next Week!

We will be aerating our putting greens Monday, August 15-18, 2011. This will be our last time to punch holes this year.



The front nine will be closed on Monday and Tuesday with the back nine still open for play. The back nine will be closed Wednesday and Thursday with the front nine back open for play. These "flex" days in aeration allow us to get our work done faster and more efficiently.
Thank you for your cooperation and as always please contact Nelson or CW with any questions you may have.

Fairway and Greens Aeration Dates Rescheduled

Due to a tournament cancellation we have moved our next greens aerification up from July 19, 2011 to July 11, 2011. Subsequently, fairway aerification is also moved up to July 18th from July 25th. So if you plan to make a visit to the Club this summer to play golf, make sure to call the Golf Shop for the latest update on course conditions and closures.

During the aerification process at least one nine will be open for play. Call the pro shop for details.

Aeration of the Greens is Complete and Healing Fast!

After the holes have been punched the men push broom sand into open aeration holes. This is the process used to dilute organic matter in the upper root zone.

Before and after sand topdressing.

Greens healing.

The interns and and Assistant Superintendent Ray applying additional topdressing to smooth the surface.

Below, a quick aeration video. The process that we use here at Ford is unique to our department. I don't know of any other courses in the country using our method to clean cores. Basically, we clean cores directly behind the aerator and really limit the mess and labor involved in cleaning cores. Furthermore, we find that the process is much less abrasive on the putting green grass, a real plus in accelerating healing time. Take a look. This process was invented by our own Assistant Superintendent, Ray. In the video is Assistant Jared operating the aerator and Assistant Matt leading the crew.

Fans Deployed at Greens Sites with Poor Air Circulation

A few week ago, as you all know, our irrigation pump station failed. As a result, many of the greens went through a stress period and got thin in several areas. Not surprisingly, the areas that were most hurt were in the worst growing environments (pocket greens, with limited sunlight and limited air flow). To attempt to encourage these areas to grow back more quickly we have deployed fans powered by a generator at the "weak" sites. The increased air circulation should help eliminate or reduce some limiting factors of turfgrass growth in these areas. We will continue this process and monitor the areas for improvement remarking on the fact if air movement is as large as a limiting factor to turf health as suspected. This process is very common on bentgrass greens and totally overlooked on bermuda greens for reasons I do not understand. This test should be educational.

We simply point the fans in the direction of the weak grass areas to promote healthy air circulation.

Upcoming Major Agronomic Maintenance Practices

The 2nd Fairway Aeration... July 26-30, 2010

The course will remain open but machines will be out operating

The Ford Plantation Agronomy Blog

Welcome to The Ford Plantation Agronomy Blog Spot presented by Director of Golf Course Maintenance, Nelson Caron. Feel free to navigate the blog and get caught up on the most current golf course maintenance practices and latest course conditions.

Major Scheduled Maintenance:

May 17-21, 2010...

Front 9 Greens Core Aeration

Front 9 Greens Soil Profile Amendment Rehabilitation Project

May 24-28, 2010...

Back 9 Greens Core Aeration

May 31-June 4, 2010...

Detailed attention to growing aeration holes on greens "back-in". Also to include greens topdressing to promote a smoother surface over aeration holes.

June 7-11, 2010...

Fairway Aeration

Tim Liddy, Golf Course Architect, from Pete Dye Designs here at Ford to meet with T&H Engineering Firm

Rough Scalping and Topdressing

Above: A quick aeration video

Current Course Conditions

Greens:

The greens aeration is complete on the front nine and back nine. So we now start the healing process of the aeration holes. I expect the greens to recover with in the next 2 weeks and reestablish smooth fast putting surfaces you all are accustom to by day 17. We can expect the front 9 greens to heal faster since they were aerated before the back nine.

Rest of course: fairways, tees and rough:

The fairways, tees and rough are playing very well right now. The bermudagrass is really enjoying this warm weather. The course is playing firm and fast due to the lack of rainfall this month. Tee balls hit with the driver are rolling a long way out...

Areas of Concern:
Due to the lack of rainfall, Lake Dye (the irrigation lake) is low. Therefore, to compensate we have reduced or completely eliminated watering large areas of turfgrass to conserve water. If the turfgrass becomes endangered of going through insurmountable stress, we will irrigate as necessary to keep the grass alive. So far, there is absolutely no danger of losing too much water or turf for that matter, but we will be cautious. It is summer time here in Savannah, so evening rain storms are inevitable... we just hope to get hit a few times to fill the lakes. This is the complete opposite of the wet winter we just went through.

Upcoming Golf Events Calendar

June 25, 2010...


American Cancer Society Tournament


June 29, 2010...


GA Golf Association Golf Tournament
Recent Project Update: Front 9 Greens Soil Amendment Rehabilitation Project


Before my arrival here at Ford, major turfgrass loss on the front 9 putting greens was experienced due to the turfgrass disease known as "Fairy-ring". Fairy-ring is a very troubling turf disease and occurs all over the country, especially here in the southeast. Once golf course putting greens get infected with Fairy-ring (FR) it is difficult to rid the putting surfaces of them.

After experiencing total turf death on portions of the front 9 greens the staff in 2007 decided to resod the infected areas. Today, the FR is under control in these areas but we still suffer turf decline in the exact same spots. After further investigation, it was clear why. When the 2007 staff replaced the sod on the greens they placed a bunker sand under the sod to level it with the rest of the existing green. This caused an immediate layering issue in the soil profile... a big problem when considering a sand based green composition and water infiltration. In short, the sand that was placed under the sod for leveling was not ideal for turf growth being mowed at putting green height... therefore we experienced decline.
The solution was then a simple decision, although a difficult labor intensive one. My staff had to excavate the unwanted material (the bunker sand under the existing sod) and replace it with a proper greens profile sand mix suitable for turf growth at putting green mowing heights. This was a big project and we are finally finished. The end results are encouraging and my staff will focus on establishing and growing these areas to the high putting greens standards our members have grown to enjoy. Here are some pictures of the project:









Pictured here is a perfect example of the layering issue caused by using 2 different types of sand in the greens profile. Notice the white bunker sand in the middle of this soil core.










Pictured here is a soil core sample taken from a green that was not patched with sod. This is what it should look like. Notice the grass growing on top of nice diluted greens mix.











Here we see the men and equipment needed to remove the front of # 6 green.











Notice in this slide, the white bunker sand on the left after the old sod has been removed and the bunker sand exposed. Also notice the original desired greens mix (yellow) on the right.





















Here the men apply a new desirable mix after removing the contaminated mix. We used a certified soil laboratory in the Northeast to verify that our local sand producer could blend a sand that matched our original greens mix as close as possible.








The next step was to blend the new mix with the old not encounter any layering. We used a rotto-tiller and the result was desirable. Here we see the old and new on its way to being blended.






A great deal of skill and care is required to lay the new putting green sod.












The finish product. It will take several months for this new grass to establish. We are hopeful that these areas will no longer decline and that we can provide the membership with best putting surfaces possible.