Going Deep

We are preparing to put the finishing touches on another challenging season at Pine Orchard.  Granted we did not have a major storm, but the season was extremely dry and July was the hottest month in recorded history.  I have learned not to complain about the weather, since it can always get worse, choosing instead to focus on the opportunity to improve things moving forward. 
We have spent the last few weeks focusing on leaf cleanup, which is almost complete.  Soon we will shift to completing projects on the golf course and beginning our seasonal maintenance on the equipment.  Before autumn turns to winter we have a few more things to do to prepare for winter and the beginning of next season.  This includes dormant seeding, final fertilizer and fungicide applications to greens, topdressing, and a little more aeration.  Today I scheduled a deep tine aeration for the greens, which will be completed Wednesday, November 20th. This will be the final major step in preparing the greens for winter.

What is going to happen?

A contractor is going to bring a machine mounted on a tractor that will punch holes in the green surface 3/4" wide and hopefully 7"-8" deep. Weather permitting we will apply a heavy load of sand on the greens the day before, so that it will instantly fill the bottom of the holes with sand. We will follow his macine with a brush to move more sand into the holes before they collapse or bridge with sand. The deep holes will be much farther apart than our traditional aeration making it difficult to move the remaining sand far enough to fill the holes completely. We will use our machine to make smaller holes in the surface on a much tighter spacing.  This will allow us to incorporate the majority of the sand into the root zone.  Finally we will roll and brush the greens until the holes are filled and the surface is firm and stable.

Why are we doing this?

Years of traditional aeration have created a 3"-4" modified root zone composed of native soil and sand. Below this layer there is a compacted layer of native soil that restricts water infiltration and root development. By breaking this layer water will penetrate deeper encouraging root growth beyond the upper 3"-4". This will allow us to manage moisture more effectively and maintain firm playing surfaces on the greens. Deeper root growth will also favor more resilient turf species, such as bentgrass over Poa annua, which will allow us to use less water and push harder for green speed. These results do not occur overnight, but when this strategy is adopted as part of a comprehensive program the playing surfaces are better earlier in the spring, and are more durable throughout the heart of the golf season.

What can you expect next week?

Greens will be closed once we begin top dressing, hopefully on Tuesday. Once the process is complete I will determine if the greens are stable enough to tolerate traffic and approach shots. If they are we will do our best to make them as playable as possible. If not, we will be establishing temporary greens in the approaches for people that want to get in a few late rounds. I will continue to monitor the surfaces until they begin to freeze, at which time I will make a recommendation to the green committee to close them for the season. All season we have done everything in our power  to make the course as playable and accessible as possible, and I intend to continue this approach until I feel that it will put the long term health of the turf in jeopardy. 

I will keep you posted as we approach and complete this process.