No, we aren't talking Britney Spears here ladies and gentlemen, we are talking about millions of holes in our golf greens at Glen Echo CC for a second time in 7 days!!
We completed our Dry-Ject contracted service on March 23rd and we spent parts of 4 days this week doing our Verti-drain Deep-tined Aeration. Our process includes the following:
Burying each green with about a ton of sand
Then using our Verti-drain deep-tined aerator with 1/2" tines going about 8" deep into our green profile
We then blow the sand into the holes
Brush the green with a drag brush behind a cart
And Roll the greens
This work assists our .125" tall bentgrass (30 pieces of copy paper tall) in a number of ways:
Deep channels assists water to move through the green profile.
It creates channels for new roots to form and grow.
Oxygen moves into the subsurface assisting root growth and soil microbiology
Reduces excessive thatch which can make a green spongy and be susceptible to foot traffic during wet conditions
The additional sand assists in protecting crowns which is the growth center of the plants where roots grow down and leaf shoots grow up. The sand also assists in filling blemishes, ball mark holes and improves ball roll out
Tom blowing sand in holes. We also use backpack blowers in tight areas.
Pretty much the finished product. We've brushed and rolled the greens a couple more times this week which assists in spreading the heavier pockets of sand around the green surface. We expect the greens to be completely healed over the next 10-14 days. Work took about 150 man hours to complete.
Tree Management Plan includes removing dead and or dying trees throughout the season. It also includes a few planted when needed. Staff installed 3 trees on the right side of #9 red tee toward the fence line on 9. These trees were grown in our nursery over the last few years and we then transplanted them. From left to right, Black Gum, European Hornbeam and Yellowwood to replace the Carrico tree which died over the winter.
Skip mowing fairways for the first time. Not a real tight mow and used an old set of reals since there is so much small debris on the fairways. We blew and hand picked up as much as we could. This got a little bit of the winter fluff off of them.
This has been one winter that has forced many of us to leave for warmer climates or dream of warmer climate if you haven't been able to leave the city. We've not been able to open the course on warmer days because of frozen conditions within our greens. We finally opened today for the first time in many weeks. We could have some additional course closed weather days before we begin to mow a great deal but they should be for much shorter intervals than what was experienced over the last month or so.There are a few things that our golfing members could assist us during the next few weeks until the turf begins to firm up and grow and we are fully staffed in April
Middle of 6 White tee concentrated divot wear. Please use the edges when possible.
Greens will be very soft and repairing ball marks would be helpful.
Divots on tees and fairways could be large due to the soft, wet conditions. Place your divots back in place, even if it breaks apart. Also, step down your depression which will reduce the exposure of roots to cold and or windy conditions. Your competitors would appreciate it as well in case a ball would roll into your smaller stepped down divot. Of course this is helpful during the growing season as well.
Tee markers will be placed back on the tees in a few weeks but in the mean time use areas of the tee that appear more full of grass, especially the sides. Please don't place your ball in the middle of a heavily divot spot to make one more divot. Place your tee in an area of less damage.
Carts will probably remain on the paths for the near future and I would encourage that you leave all wheels on the path instead of pulling partially off the path. I know if you are in a group with 2 carts, you have to go around a parked cart. If you do pass, it is always best to go on the side of the path away from the fairway so you do not potentially damage rough in the close rough/fairway area. Certain areas of the course are wetter than other areas, especially bottoms of fairways. It might be wise to wait for the group to move instead of burying your cart in a wet spot at the bottom of #12 cart path.
Driving ranges are on mats through at least mid-April or later. Please refrain from hitting off the grass tee. If you must hit off grass, please go to another range until we can get our grass growing and open. I don't like to hit off mats as well but its what we have to do since our grass is not actively growing until late April. The less damage we do to our grass now, the quicker we can open in the spring.
Olympic Flame troubleshooting
There is a great deal of work for our staff to complete before we reach the month of April as well. Not a complete listing but some of the main work.
Finish all the equipment repairs for tees, driving ranges etc.
Clean up of all equipment and checking carts for the season
Continued tree removal and tree trimming.
Rake and clean up gum balls and other debris
Blowing remaining leaves that have dropped and finishing fence leaf removal.
Monitoring seed head production on greens and spraying.
Dry-ject(aerate) greens March 18-19 45 tons of sand.
Aerate rough and root prune trees
Finish applying weed grass post and pre-emergent to fairways. tees. Walk spread pre-emergent around greens and apply by fertilizer hauler pre-emergent into rough areas.
Repair greens surrounds with sod and other areas of course with sod and seed.
Clean up tree stump grindings/sod
Repair driving range netting by installing new telephone pole.
Changing holes, moving tees a couple times a week as needed.
Repairs to outside areas around the clubhouse including walkway lights, patio lighting, pool clean up and lawn areas.
Asphalt repairs as needed.
Growing all of the plants for this season and Becky will be busy cleaning up beds and planting spring pots around the clubhouse.
Clean up in and around field bar]
Rebuilding 2 tee
Rebuilding the greens nursery
Grass part of dam on #9.
Divot filling
Repairing and painting driving range bag stands. These were all home made by the staff a couple of years ago.
As you can see, we all have responsibilities that are important for the overall well being of our grand old golf course. We of course first rely upon you to come out and visit us, first and foremost but while you are here, some player etiquette in regards to the course is always appreciated.
This past Monday and half of Tuesday, the staff did our every Fall deep-tine aeration with our
Verti-Drain machine. This process involved about 170 hours of labor, 42 tons of sand, 900 pounds of a soil amendment product, and approximately 1.6 million 1/2" solid tine holes put in our greens, collars and cool season approaches at an average depth of 7.5 to 8.0".
Our process included the following:
Mow the greens
Placed a layer of sand ahead of the aeration
Aerated the greens
Applied a 50# bag of the soil amendment material to each green.
Blew, brushed and pushed the sand into the holes and did a final smoothing of the sandy surface with a drag brush.
Rolled the green surfaces to smooth the surfaces
Changed the holes
Mowed green surfaces with an old set of reels to cut off the tufts of bent grass or longer leaves of plants that were lifted up during the process.
Watered greens a couple of minutes
Aeration of our greens are one of the most important cultural practices that take place on our golf course for the year. We complete this process for a number of reasons:
Improves drainage through our green profiles and assists in drying out wetter sections of greens.
Exchanges good gas(oxygen) with an overabundance of bad gas(carbon dioxide).
Improves drainage and oxygen which is great for developing new roots and improving existing root systems.
Additional sand on the surfaces assists in smoothing the surface after the holes close back together and protects the crowns of the plant which is where roots and leaves start their lives.
It also helps to dilute thatch or improve the mat layer which reduces the effects of ball marks and speeds up the process of healing as long as the mark is repaired by the golfer.
Topdressing machine puts a layer of sand on the greens at about a depth of 1/4" more or less. This is the same machine that we place a very light topdressing layer on our greens during the season. Approximately 3 hoppers of sand for the total golf course. It takes almost 2 loads of sand per the average sized green during aeration. A green such as 1 green we go across it 3 times for very light topdressing. During aeration, its about 10 passes which could increase tire tracking on the greens which we attempt to prevent.
The sand is kiln dried and reaches a temperature of well over 1000 degrees which dries it and kills the weeds and the bad actors in the sand. We brought our 45 tons of sand in on Thursday before the Monday activity so it would have a chance to begin to cool before placing it on the greens. Sand too hot being put on at the heavier rate could literally cook the bent grass.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYLffGwfH8c
We started the process before first light on Monday morning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkX8SxCReTs
A daylight view of the aeration. As you can see, 4 tines per holder with 6 arms placing 24 holes in our greens every 3" at a depth on average of nearly 8".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Rezk8nRBTM
Tom spreading soil amendment product which includes: Dry kelp meal, greensand, compost, rock phosphate, sulfate of potash magnesia, calcium carbonate, humic acid, zeolite, and compost.
Pull behind blower and staff using back packs during sand into the hole.
Dark thirty the 2nd day.
Hole filled vs no fill.
Completed, holes to the top!!
1.Below are pics of the end results.You can see the channels down into this 7" section of the practice green. The topdressing/sand layer has been applied to the greens for the last 30 to 40 years. At the last 2 inches is the soil layer which is being incorporated with aerating/topdressing sand over the years to allow moisture to drain out of the system.
2. Our overall roots grow in the top 3-4" of our profile but we have longer roots growing through aeration holes deeper in the profile up to 7" or more as you can see below.
3. A large aeration hole from our Dry-Ject process that takes place each late winter/early spring up to 4" to 5" deep.
4. After the rains overnight and into this morning, water at the bottom of the 7" deep hole where I pulled a hole. This moisture works through the 5-6" deep sand layer of the green and then enters through the 2" soil layer more quickly because of the deep-tine aeration holes. It will move directly through the soil and a much slower pace because of the tight soil particles.
5. Below is a standard drainage system in most modern greens. We have one green that has drainage set up this way, green 9 renovated in the late 80's. This system is designed so water will drain through the 12" sand layer represented by the dark section on top. The water will slowly build up in the bottom 3rd but will slow at the next layer which is gravel which creates a perched water table. The construction of this type of system in golf greens is to allow roots the opportunity to take up moisture into the bent grass plant as the water passes through the sand. Once the water pressure increases enough at the bottom of the interface between the sand layer and gravel, it then releases into the gravel layer. Too much moisture for too long of a period of time in the root zone will deprive the plant of oxygen which is needed for the plant to survive.
This is once of the issues we have with our greens at Glen Echo which do not have standard drainage systems. A higher than normal period of moisture can lead to negative results both on the putting surface and below surface in our root systems.
Once the water begins to drain through the gravel system it will then enter the small holes in the drain pipe and will exit from the green area.
