Golf
Same day, different weather!
“The fog has the potential of being socked in all day and night, or breaking at 12.00 midday”
However, in collaboration with the superintendent, we have managed to achieve this goal using a low fertility programme and growth regulators. The fertility programme is unique in that our goal is to keep the plant as lean as possible without sacrificing turf health. Therefore, we constantly monitor soil test reports and supplement accordingly using custom nutrient blends from a local distributor. The use of growth regulators also assists in our struggle to maintain consistently smooth surfaces. In addition to mowing frequency, growth regulators are used to provide a horizontal growth pattern, thereby reducing clipping yields and preserving smoothness. Given the unpredictable nature of the weather patterns, growth regulators are probably the most important weapon in our arsenal.
Of all the struggles we encounter in
our effort for superior putting surfaces, the most significant is limiting the establishment of Poa on the bentgrass surfaces. In 2010, the existing USGA greens were renovated from Poa annua to bentgrass. The Poa surfaces were stripped and the top four inches of sand was removed. The surfaces were restored with four inches of USGA specification sand and a bentgrass blend of Tyee, T-1 and 007. Given the fact that the microclimate of the San Francisco Bay Area is conducive to Poa, the relentless battle between Poa and the greenkeeping staff continues to rage on daily. I can safely say that the weather affects our decisions by the hour during the summer months. The fog has the potential of being socked in all day and night, or breaking at 12.00 midday, which forces us to redirect our efforts of the day to managing wilt.
The course is closed on a Monday of
each week, which allows us a maintenance day, which is great. So, on a Sunday around midday, I’ll set the computer to perform an irrigation cycle that night to soak the entire course, sometimes applying more than 500,000 gallons of water to a property of just 136 acres. Deep and infrequent is the motto! Then, on a Monday, I can cruise the course and turn on irrigation heads individually if any areas need more water than others. The crew is divided into sections. So we have the guys who will take care of the mowing, blowing and other machine operated tasks, and then we have four guys who look after their section. We have the 18 holes and practice facilities divided up into four sections. Each section requires one maintenance employee who is tasked with the management of every inch of their section.
Amongst other things, these employees FEBRUARY/MARCH 2012 PC 25
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