Greens Have Been Painted

As the greens made their way into dormancy it was time to paint the putting greens. The greens were painted on Monday and Tuesday of this week. The greens now have a bright green appearance that should last between 45 and 60 days. Depending on the color of the greens in January and February another application of paint may be applied.

Painting greens is aesthetically pleasing to the golfer and has agronomic benefits as well. It presents a very visible target to aim at and offers variation from the rest of the dormant golf course. Painting greens also aids in keeping the soil and turf insulated. This helps to protect the plant against cold temperatures. Greens that are painted have been found to keep the soil and turf 3-5 degrees warmer than without.

Figure 1. The test plot on #10 green shows how paint can dramatically impact soil temperatures at 2 inches. (Paint + Regular Apps received paint and regular applications of chemicals and fertilizer throughout the year. Dormant + No Paint received none of the regular chemical or fertilizer applications throughout the year. Dormant + Paint received only the paint this week.)

Assistants Nick and Colton painting #15 green.

Colton and Cesar Lopez painting #1

#5 before

#5 after

Please Repair Ball Marks

Repairing ball marks on greens is an important etiquette that preserves green playability and roll through out the day.

As we enter winter time it is increasingly important to repair ball marks on bermudagrass greens. Ball marks left unrepaired will leave a small unsightly mark in the green disrupting the playability and aesthetic beauty of the green.

Properly repairing a ball mark is the best way to ensure all golfers can enjoy their rounds with out disturbances on the green. Below is a United States Golf Association (USGA) video showing how to properly repair a ball mark.

Proper repairing of ball marks is essential to preserving putting green playability (GCSAA).

2014 Tradition A Success

Last weekend was the 4th Annual Tradition at The Peninsula Club. The event was spared by weather and it ended up being a wonderful tournament and event. The golf course maintenance staff put in AM and PM shifts throughout the week to produce an enjoyable and beautiful golf course. 

The members and their guests were very complimentary of the course and the job the staff was doing. 

The GCM crew puts final touches on #18.

The GCM staff puts the last few mowings on 18 green before the tournament begins.

#18 golf hole ready for Day 1

The par 3 4th 

The 4 hole shootout started on #6 and ended in dramatic fashion on #9.

The GCM staff wants to thank all of the members for their kind words and support throughout the tournament.

Bunker (In)Consistencies

I have received questions regarding the consistencies of our bunkers. The USGA produced an informative video on the consistency or rather the inconsistencies of bunker hazards. This short video discusses why bunkers are inconsistent and the challenges with maintaining them all to be the same.

GCM Welcomes New Assistant

It is my pleasure to introduce Mr. Colton Jones (Right). He is replacing Drew Hensley, 2^nd Assistant, who left our management team to join Quail Hollow earlier this summer. Colton received his Bachelor of Science in Plant and Soil Science and Minor in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee-Martin.

Colton joins us most recently from working at Pinehurst Resort #2 where he experienced historic back to back U.S. Opens and the putting green conversion from bentgrass to ultradwarf bermudagrass. Colton has previously worked at Charlotte Country Club, Callawassie Island in Hilton Head and volunteered at The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. He has also interned with the USGA Agronomic Turf Advisory Service under Chris Hartwiger and Patrick O’Brien.

We are happy to have Colton join our team. When you see Colton on the course please welcome him to The Peninsula Club.

Aeration a Success

Last week the GCM staff completed the green’s aerification process. Although the practices were new to the staff, our preparation paid off. It took two 15 hour days plus a 5 hour evening on Sunday. 

The aeration was done with our staff catching the cores as they are pulled from the green.

The green was then blown off and watered to make sure the holes were as open as possible to receive as much sand as possible.C

The greens were topdressed using dry sand with push brooms.

The greens are eleven days out from aeration and the holes are 60-75% grown in. The fast healing is due to the manual labor put into the aeration process. Minimizing the use of large machines on the turfgrass lessens the damage done to it and allows it to recover quicker (Figure 1). We topdressed the greens on Thursday the 17^th to increase the smoothness on the greens. We are now back on our weekly topdressing program going forward.

Factoids from Aeration:

·       -  The process took 35 hours in 2.25 days

·       -  Used 1 aerifier with 5/8 inch hollow core tines that pulled cores 2 inches deep

·       -  10,000 ft² of turfgrass area removed

·       -  19 people involved

·     -    Used 48,450 lbs of sand to fill holes (24.3 tons) 

·      -   50 gallons of water and Gatorade consumed by staff

The aerification last week did not go into the collar or rough surrounding the greens (Figure 2). This is to reduce the risk of contaminating the putting green surface with other cultivars of bermudagrass. This past Monday we went with a smaller tine (3/8) and did one pass around the outer edges of the greens to get the areas that were skipped last week.

Hand Fertility Helps Weak Areas

One of the simple tasks done by the staff at The Peninsula Club is to monitor our very small, weaker areas on greens. These areas may have shade, traffic, rootzone or other challenges to maintaining a dense healthy turfgrass. The rest of the green that is healthy may not require the extra fertility but the weaker areas do.

Therefore, one of the many things we do to make these areas better is to hand fertilize with a 50:50 mix of sand and organic fertilizer (Figure 1). This mix fills in voids with extra topdressing and gives the area much needed fertilizer that has no risk of harming the grass. This is a simple task done without most golfers noticing that we have done this practice.

Assistant Jesse Cigary hand applies a 50:50 mix of topdressing sand and an organic fertilizer to weak areas on the edges of greens.

Green's Grooming Practices Have Begun

Last week the GCM staff started its vertical mow practices on the greens. We have now done this practice for the last two weeks. The process is a very intricate system that utilizes 3-Dimensional mowing to remove bermudagrass leaves that are laid over. Each week the depth and amount of tissue removal is established based on plant health and growth of the plant.

The vertical mow process includes:
1) Vertical mow down and back on the same line using a hybrid triplex
2) Blow off the grass debris
3) Roll the green
4) Double cut the greens

It is essential to remove the excess leaf tissue that is laid over to decrease friction on the golf ball which makes the green play faster. Furthermore, brushes attached to greens mowers are used to stand the grass up. This allows us to remove more of the leaf blade than just regular mowing. All of these systems are used to keep a healthy turfgrass plant that ensures a fast and smooth playing surface.

Last week we started the grooming practices consisting of verticutting, rolling then mowing.

Assistant Jesse Cigary grooming the greens with the new Jacobsen 322 triplex while the staff blows off the debris left behind him.

Vertical mowing #2 green.

Close-up after the triplex has groomed the area.

The three dimensional grooming removes excess leaf tissure.

Check Plot on #10 Green

On #10 green there is a square that looks a little different than the rest of the green. This is our check plot for our putting greens. The check plot allows us to visually assess what the putting green grass would look like without our weekly spray program. Essentially it is a window into what the grass looks like underneath the protection of our spray program. This helps us make critical decisions on how to manage our putting greens on a daily basis.

The check plot on #10 is an important part of maintaining high quality putting greens.

Jesse Cigary Volunteers for the Wells Fargo

Jesse Cigary spent last week volunteering at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Golf Club. This was his 2nd year volunteering at this event and he was given more responsibility as he is now considered a veteran volunteer.  

Jesse had many different jobs throughout the tournament including greens rolling, debris clean up, bunker maintenance and rough fluffing. The course work and being part of such a magnificent PGA tournament was enjoyable for him but his favorite part of working the tournament, was the camaraderie and networking with some of the industry's top professionals.

Jesse stated, "I had such a great time and am very thankful to The Peninsula Club for allowing me to take part in The Wells Fargo Championship. It is always a great learning experience to take part in such an elite tournament. Hopefully, I will be able to bring some of the things I learned there and bring them back to The Peninsula Club."

All of the assistants at The Peninsula Club volunteer at one tournament every year. This helps develop our young proffesionals and they learn tips that can be used at our club.

Jesse Cigary rolling the greens at Quail Hollow.

New Assistant Superintendent

We are excited to announce the addition of Nick Mclennan to our management team at The Peninsula Club.

Nick earned his Bachelor's Degree in Agronomy from Purdue University. He has worked at many prestigious clubs such as Long Cove (Hilton Head, SC), Colleton River-The Nicklaus Course (Bluffton, SC) and The Ford Plantation (Savannah, GA). His agronomic expertise and various work experiences are a great addition to our department.

We are very happy to have Nick join our growing agronomic team.When you see Nick on the course please make sure to welcome him to The Club.

Assistant Superintendent Nick Mclennan

Cart Path Replacement

Starting Monday 4/28/14 we will begin to repair damaged or uneven cart paths on the golf course. The cart path replacement program will be conducted over the next few weeks. We will be directing carts away from those areas using signs and ropes.

Uneven cart paths like this one are unsightly and can cause damage to equipment or golf carts.

Golfer Etiquette Towards Maintenance Staff

As the golfing season is beginning to ramp up, I will begin to post USGA Educational Videos throughout the summer on a range of topics.

The first USGA Educational Video is on golfer etiquette towards the golf course maintenance staff. Many of the jobs done a daily basis are dangerous and we need the golfer's help to not add further danger to the job from errant golf shots.

Below is a quick video highlighting the keys to maintaining a safe working environment for the GCM staff.

Thank you for your help and we look forward to a great golfing season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM4LATAn_tk

Practice Facility Update

As many of you may have noticed from putting on the practice green (P.G) recently, the playability is much different than the putting greens on the golf course. On average, the P.G. is putting one to two feet slower than the regular greens on the golf course. Although this is not ideal for putting on similar playing surfaces to the golf course, it is the only way to keep the turfgrass healthy in the current growing environment.

The decline of the turfgrass on the putting green (Figure 1) is due to the limited amount of sunlight it is receiving on a daily basis.  Daily sunlight required for healthy “Champion” bermudagrass is eight to ten hours.

Dave Otis from the USGA said it best, “Trees can make it physically impossible to grow healthy turf that plays well. Light is the fuel source that runs the photosynthesis engine and trees block sunlight. Insufficient light prevents the engine from running at or near optimum efficiency and this produces a weaker, less wear tolerant turf.” The trees on the south side of the putting green create a huge challenge in producing a dense, healthy and consistent turfgrass on the putting green.

Several short term steps have been taken to increase the overall health of the practice putting green:

1) Over the winter, the trees around the P.G. were limbed up to 35%.

2)  The putting green is receiving daily hand watering on weak areas. 

3) We are mowing the P.G. 40% higher than the height of cut on the regular putting greens as well as mowing them less frequently.

4) The implementation of growth regulators that decrease vertical leaf blade growth and improve the plant’s shade tolerance have also been implemented.

5) The green is receiving fertilizer applications to help grow in the weak areas.

All of these things are helping to make a healthier turfgrass, however, this does not make for similar playing conditions to the golf course.

The long term action plan is to sod the weak areas on the south side of the putting green and evaluate the trees and the location of the putting green. Figure 2 demonstrates, using the Sunseeker App on the iPhone, that the current location of the putting green does not allow for even 50% of the desired amount of sunlight that is necessary to maintain a good playing surface. All options will be looked at over the coming months.

The other areas of the practice facility are improving with the warmer days of spring coming. We have fertilized the practice tee and the chipping approach two times in the last few weeks. The color and health of the ryegrass has improved with these timely applications. Soon we will be transitioning from ryegrass to bermudagrass.

When summer finally arrives, the goal is to mow the practice tee very low and topdress it heavily 1-2 times to help smooth the playing surface. With new programs in place the practice tee should begin to improve.

First Topdressing of Greens This Year

The GCM staff completed the first topdressing of greens this year. Weekly topdressings provide a smooth and consistent playing surfaces. Topdressing fills in minor imperfections in the playing surface and helps manage organic matter accumulation within the soil profile.

We will be applying topdressing sand differently this year. Sand topdressing will be applied on a weekly basis using walk spreaders and dry bagged sand. Using the dry bagged sand will help incorporate the sand into the turfgrass canopy easier, resulting in less disruption to play.

The sand comes in 50 lb bags and is applied using walk spreaders. 

Dry bagged sand being applied to #1 green.

Final product after the topdressing has been applied and broomed in.

18 Bulkhead

The bulkhead around the back side of #18 green has shifted causing a partial collapse of the area surrounding the putting green. More information will be available once the proper engineers come out and inspect the damage to the area.

There is a temporary putting green in the approach. Please stay off the green until we are able to stabilize the bulkhead and the back side of the putting green.

 

Deterring Geese from Putting Greens

If you golf much at The Peninsula Club you know the geese have been damaging #4, 7, 9, 16 and 18. These greens are located directly next to the water making it very easy for geese to fly directly onto the greens or swim up to them. Furthermore, they are attracted to the bright painted putting greens in the middle of a dormant, brown golf course. Geese cause damage when they get on the green and begin looking for food in the soil. 

The GCM department is trying multiple avenues to deter geese from further damage. First, is tying string between red and yellow penalty stakes. This will make it more difficult for geese to swim up to the edge of the bank and walk up to the green. 

Secondly, we are using coyote decoys. During the middle of the day the decoys are set up around the greens. At the end of the day the decoys are set up on the greens for better protection. We currently have two of them and it is working very well. We have ordered three more so we have a decoy on all problem greens. 

Jesse Cigary setting up one of the decoys on #18 putting green.

"Palmer", one of our coyote decoys keeping guard over the 9th green. In the background there is string between all red stakes.

Employee Education

Golf course maintenance dedicated an afternoon to educating staff on the standard operating procedures for walk mowing and rolling of greens. The staff was educated on how the equipment works, how to use it and what goes into the processes of taking care of our greatest asset, the putting green. Having everyone on the same page is important to the success of our department. 

After a long education session everyone took part in a putting contest. Margarito won! 

The staff learning how to use a roller properly.

Jesse showing the men how a greens mower works.

Margarito learning how to use a roller.

Alberto lining up his putt on the 6th green.

Jesse Cigary Promoted to 1st Assistant

Jesse Cigary was promoted to Senior Assistant in the Agronomy Department.

Jesse has been with The Peninsula Club since April 2011. He has worked his way from Turf Technician, Assistant in Training, 2nd Assistant and now to Senior Assistant. While working at the Peninsula Club, Jesse, earned his A.A.S. in Turfgrass Management Technology from Central Piedmont Community College.

When you see Jesse on the course make sure to congratulate him on this promotion.  We are happy and proud of Jesse for this accomplishment.

GCM Takes Advantage of a Rain Day

The Golf Maintenance Crew took advantage of the rainy morning and did a deep cleaning of the shop and equipment bay area. The crew worked in the bay and mechanic shop cleaning the walls, sweeping the floors, dusting and cleaning the equipment. Maintaining a clean and organized shop will helps us produce a better product on the golf course.

After the equipment has been removed, the floors are swept and mopped.

Rearranging and wiping the walls.

Paulo and Cesar clean all of the equipment while the shop is being cleaned.

Arnold dusts and cleans cobwebs from the walls.

Alberto and Margrito clean the ceiling of the shop.

Goose Damage on #9 Green

Last Monday Canada Geese that reside on Lake Norman caused damage to #9 green. The geese were averted from damaging other greens after our staff found the damage on #9. 

The Canada goose population in our area is becoming a concern. Damage caused by "resident" geese to public property-- lake shore property and the golf course is becoming more common. The GCM department is formulating an action plan plan to discourage the geese from residing on or near the golf course. 

Below are pictures of the damage that the geese caused on the putting greens.

Goose damage to #9 green. The plugs seen in the picture are from previous damage earlier this fall.

Close-up of damage caused by geese.

Close-up of damage caused by geese.

Cesar placing plugs into damaged areas.