Vertical mowing of greens

We've been trying to groom/vertical mow our greens on a regular basis. Yesterday, we did all 19 greens using our riding mower verticut units.

Vertical mowing has a number of benefits for our greens.

1. Reduce thatch in the top layer of the green. Thatch is a combination of living and dying plant material which accumulates in the top mat layer of the green. Most greens should have approximately 1/2" of thatch(mat) which help protect the turf from injury and impact from golf balls.
2. Incorporates sand into the thatch layer which helps with oxygen exchange and protects the crowns(growth center) of the plant. Oxygen allows the microbes to thrive in this layer which help in keeping the thatch layer broke down which allows for water penetration and the release of nutrients into the roots of the plant. Greens that have too much thatch have a tendency to feel spongy when you walk upon them and will ball mark rather severly.
3. Bentgrass by its very nature will prefer to lay over to the side. Turf that is laid over will become long creating more surface area for the ball to roll upon which then creates drag on the golf ball. The old Johnny Miller phrase grain which speaks to the direction the turf tends to grow or lay over. In most cases in tournament golf, cutting heights are so low and tight that grain very rarely exists to any extent. We want the turf to stand up straight so it will be cut cleanly and consistently. Topdressing sand will be able to be worked around the upright grass blades which reduces fricton on the ball which increases speed.
4. Bentgrass will also rejuvinate from the slicing action that the verticutter uses to do its work. There are over 2500 grass plants per square foot which can become very tightly compacted in time.

Below is a one inch plug which I took out of one of our greens this morning. The top or turf side is to the left and there is about an 1 1/2" of soil on the right which make up the base of our greens. Between the surface and the soil is a sand layer which varies from 3-5 inches from green to green at our facility. We have near 1" of thatch which is ok but needs to be controlled. Regular topdressing, aerification, vertical mowing and control of fertilization will help in keeping this material from expanding any further and will hopefully reduce the amount of thatch we have on our greens in the future.

The picture below shows the vertical mowing lines and how the turf is forced to stand tall.














Assistant Mike is using the vertical mower without baskets to incorporate the sand that is being pulled up back onto the green surface. As Nash had questioned the other day about going a different direction, we do try to alternate the direction from time to time which will assist in reducing the amount of grain in our greens. We also change our mowing direction daily to help in reducing grain in the turf.














Close up picture of the vertical mowing blades. The units are set to a depth below 0" so that it will cut into the surface of the turf. Each blade is seperated by about 5/8". As the unit moves forward on the green, the hydrallics of the system turn the unit which then allows it to cut into the surface of the green.















This is a view of the complete unit. It is the same size as our mowing units which can be placed on the same mower.

Assist Skip is putting a light topdressing on the green so it will help with smoothing our surfaces and allow the sand to move into the profile of the vertical mowing.

We then took our cocoa mat drag to our greens across the direction that we would mow which would stand the turf up further and they would be mowed with a normal mowing unit.

Zoysia/bermuda surrounds

Over the last few weeks, I have been questioned on a number of occasions regarding the potential fate of the zoysia/bermuda intermediate cut around our greens. I believe a majority of this turf will be in good shape when we get some good warm season growing conditions. If we look at a number of fairways and or tees, some of the warm season grass is still trying to come alive so it is not just the green surrounds that are having the difficulty. No doubt the green surrounds are the most visible because of the overall weakness in the turf. A majority of the problem has to do with zoysia's inability to handle wear and tear during its non-growing season
and other stressors which are put on the zoysia by surrounding it in an area that is dominated by cool season turf. Different fertilization, water, and some of the chemisty is not compatible between the two different turf types.

What steps are we going to take to help with the situation? In the areas where it appears that there is no hope, we will replace the dead or near dead material with zoysia from our nursery; pg, 5, 7, 12, 15 and other areas which we will continue to evaluate.

Today, we just repaired the the front left of #11 green approach.

The picture below does not show up as well as the area appeared today when we tore out the dead material.
















We replaced a section of zoysia from our nursery fairway that was 6 feet wide by 27 feet long. The guys did a nice job in removing the old material and placing new sod in its place.

We are going to test some carpet for walking greens mower turning tomorrow morning which will ease some potential wear issues. We also will be making adjustments in our green spray program to reduce inputs to the zoysia/bermuda areas. We will beging to lay plastic sheeting over the zoysia turf from our sprayer operation for our greens. A round green requires you to keep booms on to spray through the collar which may cause some of the material to get onto the zoysia/bermuda. Fertilizers and growth regulators can cause the most potential harm to zoysia turf during the spring and the fall of the year. Zoysia uses 50-70% less fertilizer than bentgrass and does not like to be regulated until it is actively growing in the summer. Also, some regulators used for greens are somewhat harsh for zoysia/bermuda combinations to handle.

You can be assured we are taking steps to improve this situation as the weather and overall conditions improve.

In two of the last four seasons that I am aware, there has been damage to green surfaces because of the use of roundup and revolver which was tracked or drifted on the bentgrass from the surrounds. We have made very light and directed applications with backpack sprayers on the surrounds in an attempt to remove cool season grass(clumps of grass) from the green surrounds. As you probably are witnessing, we are fighting a losing battle right now but we have not given up the fight. We have been sending staff out with knives and they have been removing some of this extra turf. They have been filling the holes with sand to mask some of this work. We will also continue to do some chemical treatments in very light back pack spraying in an effort to remove this material.

We will do some additional cultural practices to the zoysia as the weather improves.

Nature and some interesting sightings

Today, Lady and I were driving in to the shop via #18 cart path. Mr. Bob May was parking his cart at #1 green where we greeted each other. As I came to a stop, I noticed a lot of flying something in and around our carts and above in the tree. Bob walked quickly to the green and I pulled my cart a bit further away from the activity. Honey bees were swarming to encircle their queen and prepare to move to a hive site. Hollow trees seem to be their most favorite sites which we have many on the property of Glen Echo.

The first photo is the hive as it came together. Within about 15 minutes, this large group of bees went from a swarming group to one large massive group.

You can see #1 green in the background with the swarm of bees in mass in the middle right section of the tree. I got busy with other work and forgot to check and see if they were still there before I left tonight. I will check it in the morning to see if they are still there but I'm sure they have moved on to their summer home.

Have you seen our bluebirds floating around on the west side of the golf course? I saw a pair over along the ditch line on 13 today. We will have to spy their nest and get some pictures for you to see. Its great to have them on property. They love to eat insects.

I was sitting around the pro shop last week when I heard an interesting bird calling. As my interest in its beautiful sound began to desire my need to see the little guy, I finally spotted the guy in the Sweet Gum tree next to the pro shop. To my excitement, it was an Oriole in all its splendid orange color. I have since heard him in the short range area and around our maintenance building. What a great bird and you can't beat the color. Keep an eye out for this guy and see if you can't begin to spot him by his call and not just his color. I'll see if I can get a recording and play it back on the blog for you.

Bed Plantings

This past Sunday marked the beginning of our ornamental bed planting at Glen Echo CC. We have a few thousand annuals to go into the ground over the next couple of weeks as time and weather allows. I'm excited because I can now get them out of the greenhouse and into the ground. I'm also excited to see how this plant material will add to beauty of our facility for our members, guests and our staff who enjoy the grounds as well.

Golf Mound Coleus, Orange Magellan Zinnia and white Nicotiana make up the plant material on both sides of the formal entrance. I did have to add a couple of impatiens to the left of the door because of some extra shade that would not help a couple of the selections. Also, the left bed received a couple of New Gold Lantana after I was a couple of plants short of the Coleus. I guess my spacing was a little too close from the original plan.

Near the pro shop we've planted pink Elfin Impatiens mixed with the fuzzy and gray leaves of the Plectranthus Silver Shield and the Persian Shield. The Woodland Garden off of #9 is going through some pretty nice changes over the next few days. We've gotten a majority of the weeds knocked down and chemically treated. We will begin to mulch the dam side of the bed in the next couple of days. The tee side of the bed still needs some work. Our goal is to have this area cleaned up and pretty for Mother's Day at the club and then keep the area under control the rest of the season. We appreciate your patience as we try to accomplish or varied tasks on the property.

Large Patch on Zoysia update

Last week, I posted some information regarding Large Patch on Zoysia. We made a curative
treatment on a number of areas which broke out in the disease last week. It appears that most if not all the areas are now in check or have stopped being actively attacking the turf.

The 1st photo is the picture of the disease actively growing which I posted with the original information. The orange ring around the outside shows the activity level.

















The 2nd photo shows the straw discoloration from the disease but you do not see any bright orange ring. It appears the fungicide did its job.

Large Patch in zoysia

Our zoysia on the course can be susceptible to a disease in the early fall and middle spring of the year. The disease is more active in the spring because of the cooler temperatures and heavier moisture conditions. The disease that I am describing is called Large Patch. The disease is not a devastating disease if treated preventatively. This disease is normally limited because of our treatment schedule but if the conditions are right, it can become active and can break through our fall treatment. A member and guest might notice this disease because of its bright orange color against the dark green of the zoysia turf. There are sometimes multiple diseased spots within a given area which can make it more obvious to you that something is a bit unusual in that part of the fairway or tee.

We made a preventive application of fungicide in the fall to discourage the disease from starting. The reason why a disease becomes active and creates damage is because the organism that causes the damage becomes very high in numbers in the soil and or on the plant and will begin to cause health issues for the plant. Cultural practices which improve the soil condition around the plants are important in trying to keep disease in check but sometimes we must resort to the last cultural practice which is spraying chemicals.

There are other physical and environmental factors which can increase or decrease the pressure from a disease. Below are just a few of these factors.

1. Fertilization


2. Aeration is usually always an improvement to a condition but sometimes can lead to damaging turf if completed during severe temperature or moisture events.


3. Temperature.


4. Moisture levels.


5. Air movement.


6. Physical damage from mowing, dragging or topdressing.

An increase in heat last week was great for allowing our warm season turf to grow but it also increased the soil temperatures which is one of the factors that brings on the large patch disease. The temperature of the soil has to get high enough for the disease to grow in the soil. Almost everything having to do with turfgrass either good and or bad has to do with soil temperature levels. Turf does not grow until certain temperature levels occur but also diseases do not increase until the right temperature encourage the growth of certain bad organisms either in the soil or along the base of a plant. The other factor which has encouraged this disease to become active has been an increase in moisture and then cooler temperatures which has happened this week. The following pictures will give you a few examples of what the disease looks like on our turf. We did a curative application on these spots and will be scouting for other areas that will need additional treatments. It is difficult for us to see every spot of zoysia so we have taken our operators out into the field and did some education in regards to how to spot the disease. Five or six pairs of eyes are always better than two or three when it comes to trying to find problems on the golf course.

This spot is on the left side of 13 as you begin to go up the hill. The orange ring is the active area of disease. The darker area is some bermuda that we are attempting to kill with our fairway treatments which have been applied twice since fall.

This is a classic example of the disease. This is in the same area as the picture above but has started in the intermediate rough and part of the left side of the ring is in the fairway. The lighter or straw looking turf has been damaged but should recover.

This spot is on the right side of #5 fairway. Another classic ring but the interesting part of this ring is that it is only 1/2 a ring. At each end of the ring is bermuda grass which is not normally susceptible to this disease. The only problem with that statement is that we have some real activity on the 8th approach fairway on the fine leafed "Baby" bermuda grass. I believe some of the material on the inside of this ring that is bleached out is also some of the other finer leafed "U3" variety of bermuda that is on the course which has been slow to come out of the dormancy of winter.














This is a close up of the ring above. My radio which is about 4 inches long gives you an idea of the width of this active ring. Some rings are only an inch or two wide. They vary in size but are normally round in shape.

There are a number of cultural practices which we utilize to reduce the impact of this disease.

1. Aerate regularly to reduce thatch.


2. Reducing irrigation in the fall which helps discourage the formation of the disease in the fall. Disease that forms in the fall can potentially activate in the same area in the spring.


3. Do not fertilize fairways until warmer temperatures in mid-spring/May or until increased temperatures and disease is not actively growing.


4. Do not aerate in the spring. Cores can move disease to different areas of the course that are not currently infected.


5. Apply preventive(before disease occurs) in the fall and curative(treat when you see disease)in the spring.

Rainy wet days

Well, we have had a few wet days lately. Dry enough to get most of our mowing completed at least once during the week but we have not been able to make it around twice like we normally attempt. On some of the wet days when we attempt to keep the larger equipment off of the course, we have other jobs that have to be completed sometime during the season. As you know, the property lines are fenced which creates issues for us from time to time. Plants of all types attempt to start their lives in our fence line. This week, we've spent some time working along Lucas & Hunt and the property line along #6, 8 and 9.

The Amur Maple which provides some welcomed screening from the traffic is our main tree along Lucas & Hunt and we are required to remove some of the dead and or dying wood. We also attempt to remove some of the low hanging branches which affect our ability to mow and the trimmed trees improve the overall aesthetics of the facility. We also have unwanted species such as honeysuckle, mulberry and other junk trees that attempt to take up rights to our property. If we do not remove them when they are small, it requires twice the work when they get large. We also must prune the hedges which grow along the fence line of 6,7 and 8.

An ornamental grass planting has been growing to the right and down the hill from the 9th tee along the fence. The staff cleaned this area and placed free wood chips from our grinding operation over the winter along this bed to make it easier to mow and improve the look of the area. They also cleaned the fence line between the bed and the back gate which had become overgrown with poison ivy, honeysuckle and some other weedy material. Last fall, the staff mulched the tree and shrub border which goes around the lower end of the employee parking area and they freshened up the mulch again in the last few days. We also used the chipped material for the shrub and grass beds along Wallinsford as you drive by the short range area. Sometimes chipped material has a tendency to fade and not have a good look to it but since there was some pretty substantial oak chips in our ground material, I think the look is pretty good.

Here are a couple of pictures to show some of the work.

Arturo(closest to the chipper), brothers Jose and Armando are completing the chipping of the material that was hauled into the yard area. You can see the fresh chips in the background. We probably had at least 20 yards of free chipped material that we were able to use since last fall. This has saved on hauling costs for our large waste dumpster and we have saved money by using less mulch which we have to purchase.

Tom hauling in another batch of Amur Maple limbs.

This is the view from the employee lot looking toward the 9th tee box. You can see the mulch along the parking lot which has some grasses and trees and to the left of the photo is the grass bed which was cleaned and mulched along the fence line.