Slow bermuda growth and new sod

As we discussed last fall, we are attempting to remove bermuda grass from our main play surfaces including fairways, close rough, tees and green surrounds. Last fall, we began to spray fairways 4, the flat parts of 7/8 and 13. It was our intention to do all the fairways this spring but after evaluating the amount of bermuda on the golf course, it has been decided to go at a slower pace to insure that we have quality playing surfaces no matter what type of grass. We did spray the above mentioned fairways on Thursday but there are no real affects showing at this time. One of the things you can see if you have been out on the course is that the bermuda which was sprayed last fall is severely stunted and or dead. You also can notice that much of the bermuda on the rest of the golf course is severely stunted or damaged from potential winter injury and the colder weather we experienced in April.

We have a couple of different bermuda grasses on our golf course. One is very coarse stemmed and the other is very fine. It appears the finer leaf variety has taken a pretty severe hit from the winter and early spring weather. I've posted a picture of #5 fairway below which demonstrates how the turf is slow and appears to be somewhat dormant at this time. We are aware of this situation. We intend to fertilize our fairways within the next 7-10 days depending upon the weather conditions and soil temperatures. The fertilization will encourage the turf to grow but there must also be increased soil temperatures which triggers increased growth of the warm season grasses. Remember, warm season grasses only are actively growing during the warmer months of May-September when the soil temperatures begin to reach 70 degrees or more. Many have mentioned that the turf is dry but it is just slightly dry on the top of the surface. If you take out a divot or uncover the turf, you will see that the soil is still very full of moisture. As the heat and wind continues, you will see a number of areas begin to dry slightly; cool season tees and some green edges where the turf usually has a tendency to struggle. As I noticed in playing today, #5 cool season tee is beginning to dry slightly and a tee is not as easy to place in the ground as the other tees.














Below is the exit area from 5 fairway to the parking area for 5 green. On Friday, we placed some soil and new sod in this area. This area will be roped off for some time. I encourage our members to stay back from this area to help improve the overall health of this area that comes into play on a regular basis. We will encourage changes in traffic patterns with ropes and signs as needed.














This is the view at the parking area for 5 green and 6 tee box. We placed soil behind the curbing and placed sod on this area. This will give you a nice step up area or step down from the turf area. We have roped off this area and are encouraging our members to walk around the ropes. Once we begin to receive some rain fall or need to water more heavily, the 6" of fill dirt underneath the sod will become very soft. Thanks for your cooperation.














The two pictures below are looking up from the main drive between holes 8 and 10 just before the bridge on the main road. We removed some trees, filled ruts and placed sod over the stumps which were ground in February. It was important to improve this area for our members who might happen to end up in this area, assist our mowing equipment, and improve the overall view of the club as you drive through the grounds to the club. This area will blend in well once the sod has a chance to grow. We will also be seeding this area in the fall to encourage additional improved fescue blends in this area. We will also be encouraging our largest rough mowers to stay out of this area to help improve the health of the turf. We will also be encouraging our staff to improve their work practices underneath trees in an attempt to reduce tree ring damage. There will be times when we ask them to completely eliminate mowing specific areas and will utilizing smaller units, push mowers and or weedeaters in an effort to reduce some of the wear and tear from our large rough mowers.

Even though I am comparing the work from a spring picture to the winter view, you can see the improvements. We also eliminated 4 trees which made it very difficult for mowers to operate in this very tight space.