Lakes #4 Rough Project

Over the winter we removed 95 trees on Lakes #4 down the right side and at the end of the fairway.  The goal was to provide more sunlight and airflow to the fairway and rough to improve the health and density of the turf.  Having achieved that goal, the next phase of the project is to repair the areas where the trees were removed and provide ideal playable conditions.  Anyone familiar with the areas know what conditions were like given the surface roots and sparse turf.  A contractor started spreading topsoil this week and grading the existing terrain to address the roots and stump holes.  After the grading is complete the contractor will use a special attachment to remove rocks and sticks, leaving a clean seedbed for the new turf.  We will then seed the areas with a turf-type tall fescue/kentucky bluegrass blend that is an ideal mix for golf course rough.  These areas will continue to be Ground Under Repair so please use the drop areas provided to the left of the cart path until further notice.

Here you can see the contractor grading the area to the right of the cart path on Lakes #4.

Six truck loads of topsoil (approximately 130 tons) were hauled in and dumped in specific areas that needed to be raised to match the contours of the existing terrain.

All the stump holes and other depressions around the rain shelter have been filled in and graded to allow for proper water runoff.

2019 Drainage Project

This year's drainage project is underway, and work began near the green on Grove #1.  This has been a problem area since last year when we set a new precipitation record and progressively got worse this spring with the excessive rainfall.  A significant amount of water is seeping from the hillside along the right side of the cart path and draining over the top and underneath the path.  The runoff made a soupy mess of the fairway and approach in the areas we had to rope off because there wasn't drainage to collect the excess water.  To correct the problem we had the contractor install new drain lines and clean gravel along the base of the hill to the right of the cart path.  The new drains will intercept the water before it reaches the cart path and move it off property.  The new drainage is already helping to dry the area out and the contractor will resume work after the Men's Invitational.  Grove #1 and #6, and Orchard #1 are the three holes with the greatest need of drainage and will be addressed as quickly as possible.

The contractor is digging test holes on Grove #1 to find existing drainage.  If they find any we can flush the pipes to determine their functionality and may not require as much new drainage in a given area.

Another test hole that found an old drainage basin, but it wasn't connected to anything.

Installing 4" corrugated drain pipe and gravel to the right of Grove #1 green.

We found an old drain line coming out of the hill that still worked and connected it to the new line running along the cart path.

We decided to install a drain line along the left side of the cart path before the green to prevent additional water from running onto the the fairway and approach.

Working away from the green on Grove #1 and the ditch is already catching water seeping from the hillside.  This is before any pipe or gravel are installed.

Divots & Divot Mix

Now that the season is well underway, I thought it would be a good time to talk about divots.  When you hit a shot from a tee or fairway and the divot stays intact similar to the first picture below, you want to replace that divot.  If replaced within 24 hours of being removed, it has a very good chance of surviving.  Obviously you want the soil side down, and once in place, you want to step on the divot to smooth it out and make sure the existing roots contact the soil.  Sometimes a little divot sand can be applied if the divot doesn't fill the entire void.  If the divot explodes when striking the ball, there's no reason to try to gather all the little pieces.  They won't survive so the best course of action is to fill the void with divot sand.

Speaking of divot sand, we purchase a special blend of sand that is dyed green and contains a nutrient package designed to help the seedlings grow.  The divot sand comes in 2,000 pound (1 ton) super-sacs and we have a "Divot Mixing Area" in the maintenance building where we add bentgrass seed to the sand/nutrient blend using a standard cement mixer purchased from one of the home improvement stores.  During the summer, we go through one super-sac of divot mix per week between the divot bottles on the carts, the six refill stations throughout the course, in the divot boxes on the tees, and what the staff uses when filling divots each day.  By the end of the year, we will have used 25-30 super-sacs, at a cost of $410 each.

**Please use the divot sand only on tees and fairways.  Using the mix in the rough and along cart path edges leads to contamination and undesirable playing conditions.  Rough-height bentgrass is also more susceptible to disease and dies out easily during the summer leaving large areas of dead or thin turf.**

This is a fairway divot and should be replaced since it stayed intact

Void where the divot came from

Divot was replaced and stepped down to smooth out.  No divot sand was needed

Fairway divots weren't reusable so the voids were filled with sand

Tee divots improperly filled with sand.  Notice how the sand is piled up between the divots.  This wastes sand and dulls the mowers

"Divot Mixing Area" at the maintenance building

Bees In The Bunkers

Some concerns have been mentioned about the "bees" that invade our bunkers every year. They are actually Sand Wasps (Bembix species) and surprisingly pose no threat to humans.  Keep in mind that our staff maintains the bunkers daily and we are constantly disturbing them. NOT ONE STING!

Sand Wasp (Bembix species) burrowing in the sand

For a few weeks every summer we have little friends make homes in our sand traps. These fast fliers are officially known as the Bembix Sand Wasp. They dig numerous burrows in cool, moist sand (ie- bunkers) to lay their eggs. Juvenile wasps, known as larvae, emerge from the eggs where they remain in the sand and grow into adults. Adult females congregate together in large numbers when making nests to bait their prey. The higher populations of larvae in nesting sites attract flies, beetles, caterpillars and grasshoppers. These insects are captured by the female wasp and taken back to the burrows to be fed to the growing larvae.

The existence of these insects in the bunkers is a nuisance to golfers, but beneficial to the course as they help to control the population of flies and detrimental turf beetles by preying on them.

The greatest concern for golfers is that they will get stung by these wasps when entering a bunker to play a shot.  Studies have proven that this particular wasp is not aggressive and of no harm to humans.  Both male and female wasps will not sting humans unless they are stepped on or smashed between your hands.  When approached by a human the sand wasp will initially swarm, looking for food, and then go back to their burrows to protect their larvae.

Course Update 7/11/19

Not counting today's storms, our total rainfall so far in July is 1.29" and we had measurable rain 6 of the first 7 days this month.  Our average is 3.90" of rain in July.  June finished with 9.01" of rain over 17 days, which puts us at 10.30" since June 1st and 18.77" since May 1st.  Since the beginning of the year we've received 29.64" of rain compared to our average of 19.52".  Over the past 191 days, 78 have seen measurable precipitation.

The excess moisture caused a surge in weed growth this year, and the hot/humid weather over the past week has created ideal conditions for disease.  White Clover (Trifolium repens) and Yellow Nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus) are the two dominant weeds present, and a fungus known as Dollar Spot (Clarireedia homoeocarpa) is responsible for the tan spots in the rough.  We've been spot spraying a mixture of herbicides the past several weeks to control the weeds and are seeing good results.  Once we make it through the entire property we will go back and re-apply in the areas where weeds are still present.  Beginning next week we will begin spraying a fungicide to control the Dollar Spot fungus along with a little fertilizer to help the grass recover.  Dollar Spot fungus only affects leaf tissue, not roots or the crown like other pathogens.  That's why the plant will recover after a fungicide application and produce new leaf tissue.  Our primary applications will be around fairways and greens, then we'll come back and spray other areas including around tees.  The fungicide we plan to use to for the Dollar Spot is also labeled to control Gray Leaf Spot, which if you remember is responsible for damaging the rough last fall.  Gray Leaf Spot kills the entire plant and why we scheduled several sprays beginning this summer to preventatively treat for the pathogen.

Here's a good example of what Dollar Spot looks like in the rough.  The pathogen is not isolated to golf courses, so you may encounter it in your own lawn.