I still think there are a lot of questions out there on my we aerate a golf green. I found this video that really explains the benefits of aeration and the reasons why we must aerate to have a successful putting surface.
I have also answered many questions on why our greens are so slow to heal after aeration. There are two main reasons that our greens are slow to heal. The first is the timing of aeration. We have pushed aeration back until late September/ early October when the turfgrass plant has slowed day with top growth and is putting all of it's energy into root growth. The second reason is the variety of grass on our greens. Our greens ar 100% A-1 which is a slow grower and takes a long time to heal in aerification holes or ball marks. These two combined produce slow healing after aerification. We do our best to produce a great putting surface after aerification is complete.
Agronomy Blog
Showing posts with label Animations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Animations. Show all posts
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Divot Repair
Taking care of the golf course is your responsibility while you are playing a round of golf. What you do or don’t do will greatly affect the players immediately behind you, as well as the membership as a whole. The golf course is a living breathing thing that requires cooperation on your part to help keep it in the best poss
ible condition. Aside from repairing ballmarks on the greens, the second single most important thing you can do is to replace your fairway divots. Doing so will help some of the collection areas in the fairways recover more quickly by reducing the reestablishment time of the divot. A sizable divot that is replaced with start to knit back in after several days, opposed to a sand and seed mixture that will take several weeks to equally recover. Please watch the video below because it shows how to properly replace fairway divots.
ible condition. Aside from repairing ballmarks on the greens, the second single most important thing you can do is to replace your fairway divots. Doing so will help some of the collection areas in the fairways recover more quickly by reducing the reestablishment time of the divot. A sizable divot that is replaced with start to knit back in after several days, opposed to a sand and seed mixture that will take several weeks to equally recover. Please watch the video below because it shows how to properly replace fairway divots.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Frost Delays
How can a footprint be a killer?
It's hard to believe that simply walking, or driving a cart across the turf covered with frost can cause so much damage. The proof will be there in a few days as the turfgrass dies and leaves a trail of cart tracks or brown footprints. That's why most courses will delay starting times until the frost has melted. And it's also why golfers who appreciate a quality putting surface will be patient during frost delays.
Why does frost cause problems?
All of the turf on the course is fragile. The putting surface, or green, is an extremely fragile environment that must be managed carefully and professionally. Remember that every green is a collection of millions of individual grass plants, each of which is a delicate living thing. Obviously, Mother Nature never meant for these plants to be maintained at 5/32 of an inch for prolonged periods. This stress makes greens constantly vulnerable to attacks from insects, disease, heat, drought, cold -- and frost.
Frost is essentially frozen dew. It can form when the temperature (or wind chill) is near or below the freezing point. The ice crystals that form on the outside of the plant can also harden or even freeze the cell structure of the plant. When frosted, the normally resilient plant cells become brittle and are easily crushed. When the cell membranes are damaged, the plant loses its ability to function normally. It's not much different than cracking an egg. Once the shell is broken, you can't put it back together.
The proof is in the prints
Although you won't see any immediate damage if you walk on frosted turf, the proof will emerge within 48 to 72 hours as the leaves die and turn brown. And, since just one foursome can leave several hundred footprints on each green, the damage can be very extensive.
Its not just golfers who cause damage
If you are out early in the morning walking your dog or jogging when frost is present, the damage is still the same. So during these times please use the cart paths rather than going across the fairways and greens.
It's hard to believe that simply walking, or driving a cart across the turf covered with frost can cause so much damage. The proof will be there in a few days as the turfgrass dies and leaves a trail of cart tracks or brown footprints. That's why most courses will delay starting times until the frost has melted. And it's also why golfers who appreciate a quality putting surface will be patient during frost delays.
Why does frost cause problems?
All of the turf on the course is fragile. The putting surface, or green, is an extremely fragile environment that must be managed carefully and professionally. Remember that every green is a collection of millions of individual grass plants, each of which is a delicate living thing. Obviously, Mother Nature never meant for these plants to be maintained at 5/32 of an inch for prolonged periods. This stress makes greens constantly vulnerable to attacks from insects, disease, heat, drought, cold -- and frost.
Frost is essentially frozen dew. It can form when the temperature (or wind chill) is near or below the freezing point. The ice crystals that form on the outside of the plant can also harden or even freeze the cell structure of the plant. When frosted, the normally resilient plant cells become brittle and are easily crushed. When the cell membranes are damaged, the plant loses its ability to function normally. It's not much different than cracking an egg. Once the shell is broken, you can't put it back together.
The proof is in the prints
Although you won't see any immediate damage if you walk on frosted turf, the proof will emerge within 48 to 72 hours as the leaves die and turn brown. And, since just one foursome can leave several hundred footprints on each green, the damage can be very extensive.
Its not just golfers who cause damage
If you are out early in the morning walking your dog or jogging when frost is present, the damage is still the same. So during these times please use the cart paths rather than going across the fairways and greens.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Give us a break
It takes a lot of effort and man power to maintain the golf course at its current high level of conditioning. With the significant amount of daily play that occurs time is critical for my staff to accomplish daily tasks ahead of play. A task that should take only three hours to complete without play, takes four to five hours to complete in the middle of play.
Recently one of my staff was mowing on the course and a member approached him and said “this is for golf not for mowing” referring to the fairway that was being mowed through play. It is hard to believe this mindset exist and there is not a clear understanding that with out necessary maintenance of the course there would be nothing to play on.
It is our goal to complete as many tasks as possible before play each and every day, but at times it is not possible due to many factors such as the weather having the largest impact on the timing of events. My staff is trained to be sensitive to play, but there certain time s the job at hand has to be completed even though some disruption to golfer will take place.
The following animation is from the USGA and it talks about how play and maintenance can co-exist together..
Recently one of my staff was mowing on the course and a member approached him and said “this is for golf not for mowing” referring to the fairway that was being mowed through play. It is hard to believe this mindset exist and there is not a clear understanding that with out necessary maintenance of the course there would be nothing to play on.
It is our goal to complete as many tasks as possible before play each and every day, but at times it is not possible due to many factors such as the weather having the largest impact on the timing of events. My staff is trained to be sensitive to play, but there certain time s the job at hand has to be completed even though some disruption to golfer will take place.
The following animation is from the USGA and it talks about how play and maintenance can co-exist together..
Monday, May 25, 2009
Changing Hole Location
Changing the hole location has one of the largest impacts on how the course plays each and every day. It can have a negative affect on pace of play if multiple holes locations are overly difficult or unfair. It is for that reason that we try to have our most knowledgeable staff members in charge of daily course setup. For tournament setup I will be the one to determine on the specific hole locations based on the event and Golf Shop input for specific needs. A good setup is one that mixes easy to hard hole locations throughout with a nice flow from one hole to the next. The animation below show the hole changing process.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Golf Cart Etiquitte
Proper use of the golf cart is equally important for both the occupant’s safety as well as minimizing damage to the course.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)