With more frequent precipitation events the last couple weeks we have been able to let the irrigation pumps rest a little bit. We only have been starting to see some areas drying out in the last day or so. The greens have been pushed with frequent double cut and roll days. That and a stacked tee sheet has them showing some signs of wear. We managed to go the whole week without having to put much of any water on the greens. Only today has there been a few spots starting to light up showing the early signs of wilting. The poa annua populations are setting to seed, something that occurs multiple times a year, but can be a sign of stress. With an incoming low pressure system this weekend we could afford to be aggressive in terms of pushing firm and fast conditions leading into the weekend.
With our team fully staffed for the summer we have the ability to do a lot more detailed work on the course. Much more work is going into the bunkers and will continue a big push for the next couple weeks. Brick pads at the tees are being cleaned up, clippings are being blown, weeds and divots are being managed in the fairways, among others.
Something we have been pushing recently is the blemishes left from ball marks on the greens. In a perfect world, every ballmark would be properly repaired and no evidence of damage would be left. That unfortunately is not the case. More often than not the marks are improperly repaired, leaving an unsightly scars that can remain for weeks. Rather than lament at the situation I am making great efforts to seek opportunity in it! We purchased green sand to incorporate into our tee divot program. The green sand is much better looking than the brown soil or yellowish/white damaged turf. It provides a more suitable growing medium for the turf stand to regenerate new leaf shoots.
In the worst cases, it is more suitable to take more drastic measures. We have a tool that has an aeration tine on the end.
The tine is used to take a small plug of where the damage lies
The other end of the tool has a spike to repair the area, similar to what a ballmark repair tool can accomplish.
When the spot is ready, green sand is sprinkled over top and then rolled out to be level. Going back to the opportunity in the situation, we have mixed bentgrass seed in with the sand. Any chance to increase bentgrass populations in the greens is a worthwhile endeavor. The voids that ballmarks leave are inevitably filled. Poa annua sets seed so frequently there is a "bank" of it in the soil at all times, which is what has the greatest chance of coming through. By frequently incorporating bentgrass, over time we can help keep poa from becoming the predominant species that we manage.
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