Divot Repair

Now that the season is underway I thought it would be a good time to discuss divot repair.  When you hit a shot 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.  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 on tees and fairways only.

Speaking of divot sand, we purchase a special blend of sand that is dyed green and contains a nutrient package designed to help the grass 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 a home improvement store.  During the summer, we go through two super-sacs of divot mix per week between the divot bottles on the carts, six refill stations throughout the course, 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 35-40 super-sacs at a cost of $450 each.

**PLEASE USE DIVOT SAND ONLY ON TEES & FAIRWAYS**

Using the mix in the rough and along cart path edges leads to contamination and undesirable playing conditions.  Rough-height bentgrass is more susceptible to disease and dies out easily during the summer leaving large areas of dead or thin turf.

This divot 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.

Frost Delays

 Even though it's almost May, frost delays are still common this time of year.  Looking at our weather records from 2021, the last frost delay occurred on May 15 so there's a good chance of frost for several more weeks.

Frost will usually be evident at sunrise, as the air at ground level is warmed it becomes lighter and rises.  Colder, denser air will take the place of the warm air and can be 5-10 degrees cooler, thus creating frozen turf.  Frost usually "burns off" quickly in direct sunlight but certain areas of the course are heavily shaded and take longer to thaw, such Orchard 1, Lakes 2, and Grove 2 & 3.  Our winter tree removal program has focused on these holes to allow for increased sunlight penetration, but we still have more work to do and some trees are not on golf course property.  The maintenance staff monitors these specific holes on cold mornings to determine whether frost is present, and the decision to allow play is based on when the areas will be frost-free and the courses can be prepared for play.  The maintenance staff requires a 45-60 minute head start to stay ahead of play depending on the activities that day.

Click Here To Watch A Short Video From The USGA On Frost Delays

Frost delays are a great time to mow outer rough that's not affected by frozen tissue

Mulching landscape beds around the clubhouse on frosty mornings greatly improves aesthetics

Course Update 4/23/22

Realized it's been a while since the last post so here's a summary of activities.

• Greens were core aerified & topdressed in March but are taking longer to heal due to the cool, wet weather over the past month.  The 80 degree temps over the next few days will increase turf growth and aid the healing process.  We plan to lower the mowing height once the greens are fully healed.
• Tees were recently aerified & topdressed and are also healing slower than expected due to the erratic weather.  Most of the topdressing sand has been worked into the canopy from brushing and rain, and we plan to resume mowing this coming week.
• Fairways were scheduled to be core aerified this past week but were deep-tined instead due to the wet conditions.  Deep-tining employs a 3/4" diameter solid tine that penetrates 7-8" deep to fracture compacted soil layers to encourage better drainage and root growth.  A handful of fairways have been topdressed and we plan to finish that process once they dry out enough to minimize damaging the turf with the large equipment.
• Bunker maintenance is a high priority this year and the staff has been spending considerably more time moving & adding sand, along with edging.  New rakes with larger heads are being used in all bunkers and we are waiting to receive another shipment to replace the smaller rakes remaining around some of the fairway bunkers.
• The first cut of rough around fairways and greens has been re-established after finally receiving parts this winter to repair the mower.  The wet conditions have prevented regular mowing which resulted in longer turf in areas, but that will be remedied once drier conditions return and more frequent mowing occurs.
• Several drainage/sod projects have been addressed to replace broken and/or sunken basins, along with replacing worn or damaged turf around them.  We have a few more on the list to complete this spring.
• Stumps ground over the winter have been cleaned up, filled with topsoil, and seeded.  There are a few more areas that require additional soil and seed, and a contractor will be grinding stumps throughout the property in the coming weeks.

Greens are regularly mowed and we will lower cutting heights once aerification holes are fully healed.

Aerification holes are healing slower than expected due to erratic weather this spring.  Warm, sunny days have been limited and greatly help the healing process.

Tees were recently topdressed & aerified.

Fairways were deep-tined this week instead of pulling cores due to wet conditions.  Core aerification is still planned in problem areas once drier conditions return.

Close up of a deep-tined fairway.  The holes on the surface should heal in a couple weeks but the real benefit is the fractured soil layers that allow increased water movement and root growth for months.

Freshly edged bunker on Grove #9.

Adding sand to the range tee practice bunker.

Bunker on Grove #4 edged and raked.

Drain basin & sod replacement on Grove #9.  The old square catch basin was broken and replaced with a 12" round basin that was taller and surrounded by gravel for increased drainage.  The white lines outline the sod being replaced.

Grove #9 with the new drain basin, lid & sod.

New drain basin on Grove #5.

Stump hole on Orchard #5 filled with topsoil and ready for seed.