Verticut & Topdress

March has come, and gone, but it left on a high note, with some "Spring" like weather that made it possible for us to complete our scheduled verticut and topdress on both courses this week.  Verticutting, or Vertical mowing, is a maintenance practice we perform here at The Reserve on a bi weekly basis.  There are a number of benefits to this practice, but the most important is thatch control.  The verticut blades (pictured to the left) get into the turf canopy and remove thatch that builds up as grass clippings and other organic materials begin to decay below the surface of the putting green.  Once we've finished verticutting, we mow the green to pick up any material that was left behind during the process and ensure the organic material we just pulled up isn't being worked right back down into the canopy.  

  We follow the verticut with a topdressing of sand.  Incorporating sand into the turf profile helps to maintain consistency in the turfs growing medium.  The sand helps to "dilute" any thatch left behind and prevents the formation of layers in the soil profile.  The amount of sand we put down at one time is dependent on numerous factors, the biggest of which is weather.  Because sand is a heat conductor, we will put down very little, if any, during times of 90+ degree temperatures. Conversely, we can go heavier with our topdress when temperatures are cooler.  Combined, these two practices help to maintain a smooth and firm putting surface.   

  This is just a very brief overview of the verticutting and topdressing process.  While the process can impact play slightly, the benefits are vital to promoting strong, consistent, and quality putting greens.  Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have. 

On Course Projects

 

  The recent arrival of the sun, along with the longer days have began to awaken the grass from its winter slumber.  While the rough is still far to wet to get to, we were able to mow and clean-up the fairways this week, and boy, did they need it.  Before to long, it will be a non stop challenge trying to keep up with all the mowing, and clean-up that comes with it, but until then we'll continue to mow what we can, when we can, and work on other projects as we continue to prep for the upcoming season.

  On the North Course, we've completed two small drain lines and continue to work on another.  The finished drain lines are at #1 and #13 greens as you walk from the cart path to the green.  The drain line that is currently being worked on is to the right side of #9 fairway in an area that is very wet and messy throughout the winter and spring.  On the South, we have began the process of trimming the trees throughout the course.  This will help to make the trees look more aesthetically pleasing as well as help to speed up play by eliminating the need to lift branches to look under trees  for errant golf shots.  In the parking lot, Francisco has finished trimming the Yew's, which I think turned out looking great. 

  These are just some of the projects that we have been working on, and as always, your feedback is encouraged and appreciated! 

From the Desk of Mike Turner, Golf Course Superintendent

Aerification

            Here we are at the doorstep of another aerification season at The Reserve.  We’ve had a lot of precipitation this winter, but we feel that the proactive approach with our greens program is paying dividends now.  The greens are as healthy as we can remember and they’ve just been subjected to a cool, wet winter!  Leading up to aerification, we sometime have people ask, “Why do have to punch the greens when they are playing so great?” We thought this would be a good opportunity to give a little insight as to why aerification is important.

            Core aeration (actually removing plant material) and sand topdressing are two of the “necessary evils” that promote long-term plant health;  they allow for proper air movement within the soil profile,  improve drainage capacity that is compromised due to daily cultural practices (mowing, rolling, foot traffic, etc.), and provide new growth medium for the tightly growing bentgrass/poa.  We want the greens to be as healthy as possible heading into aerification for a number of reasons. 

            The health of the turf prior to aerification determines how much damage will occur throughout the process.  Also, when the turf is healthy before aerification, it recovers faster, which is critical as we begin a new golf season.  Aerification is a very labor-intensive process that creates a lot of headaches in the short-term.  The process is a traumatic experience for the members, the grounds crew, and of course, the turf.  We wouldn’t invest the time and energy doing these things if we didn’t believe that they are absolutely necessary! 

            This email briefly touches on the benefits of core aeration. If anyone would like to discuss this or anything other topic, at length, feel free to contact me!

Thank You,

Mike Turner, Superintendent

Drainage Work

  The fact that scores are now being posted, and The Reserve hosted its annual Pro-Am this past Monday, means that Spring is just around the corner.  The weather turned out to be very nice for the tournament Monday, but just like a typical Winter in Oregon, it turned on us very quick.  The golf courses are saturated at this point, and the 10-day forecast doesn't look good for much drying time.  The soft and muddy soil conditions prevent us from doing any kind of mowing outside of greens, collections/approaches, and tees.  Although we'd love to be able to get out there and mow the rough and fairways, doing so would make a mess that no one wants to see. 

  It's not easy to put a positive spin on this dreary weather, but without mowers running, we can use the extra manpower to get some more drainage in on the courses.  This past week we were able to get two drain projects done on the South Course.  The first was on #13, on the right side of the fairway about 125 yards out from the green.  It was a fairly small project, but it will help to dry up an area that is always wet.  The other drain project was on #16 South.  This was a more tedious undertaking, but I have no doubt the results are well worth the effort.  This one is located on the left half of the fairway just past the left fairway bunker, and goes out into the rough towards the pump house.  This will help to dry up a landing area for those who like to risk it and hit a driver off the tee on that hole.  

  Once Spring gets here and the mowers start running non stop, projects like this won't be easy to fit in.  In the mean time, we'll take what mother nature gives us and do our best to continue to improve the playability of the golf courses.  Again, we are happy to hear any suggestions you may have regarding areas you feel could use a little drying out!   

Greens Maintenance

We were scheduled to topdress both courses on Monday and Tuesday but the rainy weather of the winter makes it virtually impossible to drag in the sand.  Our topdressing schedule is planned months in advance and while we will occasionally get a nice window to apply sand, that's not usually the case.  We had a lot of luck this past season with opening up the greens and getting oxygen down into the root zone and felt like this would be an ideal time to use that concept, but during the winter.  During the growing season we use 1/4 inch hollow tines and pull a core out of the greens, but, since wet sand doesn't clean-up well, we equipped our aerifiers with 1/4 inch solid tines, which don't pull a core.  Besides the benefit of increasing gas exchange in the root zone, this process also aids in water percolation through the greens profile.  We don't feel that playability was affected and overall we've been very pleased with the results.  In the future, we will look to continue this practice when applicable.  

  In other news, the extremely wet conditions this week have prevented us from doing any mowing so we had some time to dive into a drain project.  We tackled the fairway and approach area on #8 South from the left fairway bunker towards the green.  I think that some of the best benefits from this drain line will be seen during the summer months.  We will be able to put an adequate amount of water down to keep the area lush and green in the heat of the summer, yet still have a firm enough landing so that some of us shorter hitters have a chance of getting home in two.  We'd like to hear any suggestions you might have on areas that could benefit from improved drainage so we can add them to our list and tackle the most problematic areas first.  Have a great rest of the week and weekend!

 

Course Updates

  I'd like to take this opportunity to review, as well as update the progress of a few of the topics I've discussed in previous postings.  Right off the bat, lets talk about geese.  We all know that their presence as well as the presents they leave behind are very much a nuisance.  Without the ability to use agricultural fireworks, we've had to revert to some techniques we've used in the past.  In conjunction with physically chasing them off, we've placed white trash bags on wooden stakes and posted them around the ponds.  The white bags are suppose to replicate swans and discourage the geese from landing.  Although it's not 100% effective, it can keep some of them away.  Also, we've placed a flashing construction light out on the bank on #3 north.  It has been said that the flashing light will disrupt their sleep pattern and they will seek shelter elsewhere.  It's not proven but we'll see how it works. 

  In other news, the trimming of the photinia has been finished on the south and we continue to trim the photinia on the north.   Our hazard stake replacement and blackberry removal projects are progressing and we've also began to trim the roses around property in preparation for the growing season.  If anyone has any other questions related to the golf course, we're always happy to answer them.  Have a great week and tee it up while the suns still out!   

      

The Crossing

  In the coming months, you will notice some work being done in the bark area to the south of the pond on 18 North.  We will be renovating the area into a wedding site that will include 12,000 sq ft of maintained turf with views of the clubhouse, pond, and 18 green.  The area will be able to accommodate ceremonies both big and small, as well as enhance the beauty of the grounds around the clubhouse.  We hope that you've been enjoying the great weather as of late and been able to enjoy what we would consider to be some great winter playing conditions!