Growth Regulator -
Throughout the year I use a growth regulator on all bentgrass, course wide in order to reduce clippings and keep ball roll up. Depending on rate of chemical, rainfall, and temperatures, we can expect to get 10 to 21 days control from 1 application. I use a lower rate on greens due to the lower height of cut and risk of injury, which will typically get us 7 to 10 days. The bigger rate is for taller turf on tees and fairways, which keeps the growth at a minimum for up to 21 days. This window fluctuates all year long due to the weather. I could get deep into the weeds explaining Growing Degree Days, but I will spare you the boredom. In order to keep the turf in constant regulation, the following application needs to be made somewhere around 170 to 200 growing degree days (GDD) on greens and 400 to 450 GDD on fairways after the previous app. We have averaged around 27 GDD per day this year. If we miss our window, then a huge flush of growth occurs and the place looks shaggy. I missed the window a couple time this year. If you cheat the window on the short side, you can injure the plant. All that being said, we removed the regulator from the green's spray the week before aerification knowing that it would have slowed down recovery. I heard the rumor that members thought I wasn't mowing greens anymore. That is not true, they were just growing more throughout the day.
Growth Hormone Product -
I also added into the spray tank, a product that I have become a big fan of. It is a 3-way blend of plant growth hormones so I can get the plant to grow more without adding extra fertilizer. I only use this product during aerification time or on new seedlings. I sprayed it on the driving range tee and Holy Cow It Works!
So there are 2 things that cause me to lose sleep.
1. The Razorback football team going 2-10 again this year
2. Dying turf
The Hogs have found a QB now so we might get to 5 wins this year haha.
I have lost a little turf on green's surrounds and collars, but I am gaining on the cause and the fix. Most of these areas just got too wet which led to its demise. Holes 17, 11, 12, and 13 are the ones that are going to require some different management techniques. On 17, the middle right collar is toast at the bottom of the valley. I sent some samples to the University of Missouri for disease analysis. There was some and we have sprayed for it, but the main cause was black layer that has formed due to this area being too wet and not draining properly. I have added a photo of the plug I took. This layer is only in the valley and prevents oxygen and water from reaching the rootzone. You can see the clean sand channel made from our aerification and new healthy roots are growing in those channels. We are going to perform our drill and fill process on this area to break this layer up even more.
As for 11,12, and 13, they fall victim to minimal air flow and morning sunlight. There will be a few less trees around these greens come spring. The pattern of death around these greens seem to be similar and really makes me question the integrity of the green's drainage system. I feel like water filters through the green, down to the gravel layer and then just sits there up against the native soil wall of the green cavity. If this area is not properly drained then it will cause wet wilt and disease in the heat of the summer, especially if the green is closed in by trees. Since there are no maps, I plan on building my own drainage maps using my 3 foot probe to feel for drain line.....yes this stinks. There should be what they call a "smile drain" at the low end of every green which will keep water from building up against the cavity wall. If we don't find one, then we will have to install one on these holes. The good thing is that if the forecast holds true, then these spots will heal up nicely in a short amount of time, but that doesn't mean the problem is fixed.
As far as the rest of the course, I am extremely pleased. There was a point about 3-4 weeks ago when the course got pretty wet. I apologize for this as firm is always my goal. I believe that the sun angle and intensity changed as fall approched and I didn't react quick enough. Even though we still had plenty of hot weather, our water table couldn't take anymore moisture and we got soft. I had been lessening my irrigation output, but it didn't seem to help. It just took me some extra courage to shut the whole thing off completely. I believe that we have firmed up nicely once again now and that is the game plan from here on out. I will keep you all informed on my drainage findings and plan in order to fix these issues.
As always, please feel free to stop me on the course and ask me anything.
Brien
