From The Desk of Mike Turner

Some people may ask why we seem to be punching the greens “all the time” here at The Reserve.  We’d like to take this opportunity to re-publish a RR from December of last year.  Take extra care to read the portions in red as they explain why we punch more frequently.

Reserve Reminder 12-8-10

                We here at The Reserve hope everyone is enjoying the Holiday season, It’s this time of year when we tend to realize just how fortunate we are.  For the turfcare department, that especially holds true considering the struggle we had with our greens this spring!  As I write this email, I look back on what the greens looked like in January, and feel blessed to know what they look like right now.  We had a great year for growing turf, but we also implemented some practices that helped turn the conditions around.

                We feel that one of biggest benefits came from using our small-tine aerifications to remove excessive thatch.  In fact, we feel it was so successful, that we’d like to develop a program that would substitute our October large-tine aerification, with multiple small-tine aeriations.  With that said, we are planning our first attempt the second week of January.  Like always, this process requires Mother Nature to cooperate, so if the weather window closes, we will have to reschedule.

                We feel that by removing the thatch a little at a time more frequently, we create a better product in the long term.  This new program my impact the tee sheets a little more frequently throughout the season, but the golf courses will be more playable, more often.  Our continued goal is to provide outstanding playing conditions for our members, their guests, and the general public, each and every time they choose to play here at The Reserve!

                If this email has created any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.  Here’s to an enjoyable Christmas and a successful 2011.

Happy Holidays,

Mike Turner, Superintendent 

On another note, we want to mention the current state of the South ponds.  The water quality looks awful, but we believe that it is due to the effectiveness of the current treatment.  Let me explain, the product we started using in the South ponds this season settles to the bottom and digests the sludge and muck.  When this process occurs, it allows the algae and plant material that is suspended along the bottom to break-up and float to the surface.  We had our water treatment expert out here in late August and he assured us that we need to “stay the course” in order to realize the benefits of our current regime.  The pond quality should be a lot better next season (similar to the North) due to the amount of sludge being digested.

            As always, if this email has created any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Thank You,

Mike Turner, Superintendent

Course Update

All winter long we watch the rain fall and endure the cold temperatures just waiting for everything to start growing again.  Now that we’ve fully recovered from aerification, we’re ready for it to slow down.  It’s tough to stick to a mowing schedule with the weather still being hit or miss, and with grass growing like crazy, we can become more than a little backed up.  Some nice weather, and the fact that the greens have fully healed, gave an opportunity to get our first application of plant growth regulators down last week.  Anyone who has played in the afternoon lately has seen that the greens become almost white with seed head.  Although this is a sign of strong and healthy growth, it doesn’t make for a very smooth or quick putting surface.  Our growth regulators won’t eliminate the seed head, but they will help to reduce the amount, as well as slow the growth to achieve a more consistent putting surface throughout the day.

  In other course news, we’ve began our in season mowing patterns.   This includes mowing the diamond pattern on the south fairways and the straight lines on the north fairways, as well as walk mowing the south approaches and straight lines on our tees.  We’ve also mowed out the step cut around the south fairways and this season, included a pass around all of the bunkers.  We mow and edge the bunkers every other week, and in seasons past, they can get pretty shaggy by the time week two rolls around.  We are hopeful that this will maintain a more consistent look as well as reduce the amount of time spent on maintenance.  The creek systems on both courses are ready to be fired up and the hazard lines have been painted. 

  We are anxious for some great weather in the near future and look forward to a fantastic year.  It’s safe to say, the golf season is here!  Please contact us with any questions or comment you may have regarding the golf courses.       

The Crossing Update

 

 

 

 

 

 

South Aerification

   

                  Punching Greens                               





      





Pushing plugs and harvesting them



 

 

Blowing off any plugs left behind





Applying product on greens and tees



 





Punching approaches and tees



 





Loading topdressers and applying sand



 



Dragging sand on greens





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