2018 Fall Update and Winter Planning

I am certain that most, if not all, turf grass managers within the Mid-Atlantic will be glad to toast the arrival of 2019. 2018 did not provide ideal weather for growing grass 😊 In fact, I'd say that 2018 provided some of the most difficult weather that we have experienced for quite some time. And that fact was true for both, warm and cool season turf.  

From a persistently cold spring to a remarkably warm September, temperatures were difficult throughout the season. In addition to difficult temperatures, we saw unprecedented rain. The summary would look like this: 

1. An abnormally cold spring persisted well into April causing extended dormancy and a painfully slow green-up. 

2. May and June were two of the wettest months in the history of Richmond weather. Literally!! 

3. July began seasonably, but then the rain and humidity returned and persisted through August. 

4. September was simultaneously, one of the warmest and wettest Septembers on record. 

5. Cool nights and a sustained break in humidity did not begin until the second week of October. 

I could ramble on for hours regarding the weather of 2018, but the point is this: 2018 presented some of the most difficult challenges that we have ever experienced in this region. From biotic stresses like: summer patch, brown patch, pythium and gray leaf... to abiotic stresses like: scald and wet-wilt, cool-season grass was dealt a difficult growing environment. 

For our operation, as of August 1st, we were tentatively pleased with how the turf was handling the summer. But at some point in August, our primary rough and intermediate cuts began to succumb to the stresses listed above. Specifically, summer patch was a major nuisance in our mixed-stand of KBG/TF rough. And that makes perfect sense as summer patch colonizes root systems in the spring and with the excessive rain of May and June, the stage was perfectly set. 

As our rough declined throughout the month of August, we began planning our fall aeration and over-seeding operation (s). We began seeding affected rough on August 27th and continued through mid-September. Although we began to see significant germination, the excessive rain and heat of September set off a terrible bout of Gray Leaf Spot (GLS). GLS normally attacks PRG, but in 2018, we saw this disease affect Tall Fescue at historic levels. 

* Note: Our fungicide program is well-designed and well-executed. We began spraying for disease preventatively in April and continued tight applications throughout the summer and fall. Unfortunately, if environmental pressure reaches a certain apex, fungicide applications, well-timed or not, become synonymous with band-aids... they provide little relief.* 

So, by the third week of September, much of our emerging seed was either crippled with disease or washed from its new home. We had areas that were literally 75% thin that were growing in at 100% coverage that returned to 75% thin... all in a matter of days. 

Despite this set-back, we continued seeding throughout the month of October and into mid-November. To combat the colder weather that arrived in mid-October, all of our planted seed was covered in composted soil. Aside from retaining moisture and providing a nutritious growing medium, the composted soil retains heat and acts as a seedling incubator. As October settled in, we began to see tremendous recovery as grass seed germinated in full force. In fact, due to the composted cover, we are still seeing fresh germination as of this post! 

There is no question that we have a lot of work left to do, but the golf course looks good and in addition to the continued progress, the golf course is well-positioned for a fantastic spring. 

In years like this, there are always ways to learn from your mistakes. And while we will reexamine our plant protective applications, irrigation patterns and other agronomic strategies, the fact remains...Mother Nature will have her way regardless of strategy. Our programs are well-vetted and well-executed, but when turf grass is subjected to certain environmental stresses, our best bet is to mitigate what we can and prepare for the quickest, possible recovery. 

Interestingly, our L-93 bent grass putting surfaces had a fantastic season. From spring and throughout the fall, we experienced almost no trouble on our putting surfaces. In fact, our bent grass tees and fairways endured the season in fairly good shape. While we had some isolated turf loss on several fairways (wet-wilt), the bent grass, in general, survived the season better than we might have expected.  

Now that our season is winding down, we will turn our focus to the off-season and 2019. This off-season will give us a chance to address: 

1. Drainage - Any areas that were noticeably affected by substantial rain will be drained. 

2. Basins - All fairway basins that are situated below grade will be raised and leveled. 

3. Creek Banks - All eroded creek banks will be repaired, stabilized and sodded. 

4. Irrigation - All sprinkler heads will be evaluated for performance and efficiency. 

5. Chemical Planning - All applications for 2019 will be forecasted.  

6. Tree Work - Wood-lines adjacent to pocketed sites will be thinned. 

7. Aeration - As we look ahead to the planned closure of 2019, we have decided to defer greens aeration this coming March. Aside from the 8, actual days of closure, not disrupting our putting surfaces will provide our members with at least 4-5 weeks of excellent play-ability in late March and all of April. We made this decision so that our members will be able to enjoy the longest spring possible. And we are comfortable with this deferment because the greens will not be under the daily pressures of golf activity from July 1st through October 1st. However, we do need to core aerate our fairways, tees and rough. To accomplish this, without closing, we will sequentially aerate each hole throughout the months of January and February. Our plan is to finish all aeration by the end of February and by the middle of March, allow our members to enjoy great conditions until July. 

These winter plans are exciting and will continue to make the golf course better. In the mean time, we hope everyone enjoys the Holiday season and we look forward to seeing many of you throughout the final month of fall. And as always, if you ever want a more specific understanding of our operation, feel free to call or email. 

Below are some pictures of the golf course that show our progress this fall. 

 

Rough on the 9th hole that was 70% thin before we seeded. 

 

A creek bank on the 4th hole that was devoid of Fescue 

Rough on the right side of the 8th hole that was re-established through seed. 

Left rough on the 1st hole that was re-established through seed. 

4th Hole 

9th Hole 

16th Hole 

1st Hole 

Summer Aeration Recap

The golf course was closed from August 20th to August 29th so that we could perform our semi-annual aeration process. As always, I would like to thank the management and members of our club for the patience and time that we are given. Also, I'd like to thank our assistants and equipment manager for their amazing efforts. Michael Nowicki, Duggan Cannon, Robert Andershonis, Blake Heinz, Adam Sauls and Terry Kennedy comprise one of the finest teams imaginable. These guys, supported by our tremendous staff, make Kinloch Golf Club what it is and I am sincerely grateful to work with this team.

Our greens have had a very strong season and this particular aeration was more like an aggressive venting than an aeration designed to modify the profile. The greens were aerated with 1/4" quad tines to a depth of 2.5". The greens were lightly topdressed on 3 separate occasions throughout the 10-day closure. They were rolled multiple times and lightly hand-brushed. The healing process is rapid and the greens are already putting well. Over the next ten days, as the greens fully heal and retain the appropriate smoothness and firmness, we will begin lowering heights and re-introducing our regular rolling practices. In addition to the aeration itself, our collars and interfaces were repaired where there was summer thinning. On the whole, I expect that our members will be pleased with how quickly the greens return to form. To that point, I'd like to remember the very aggressive, double, 1/2" core aeration that we perform each spring. Because this aeration is so aggressive (displacing 15% of our surface areas), our foundation for the season is set and we can be far more gentle in the summer. So, while our spring aeration is aggressive and the recovery can be trying, these methods are proving to be very effective in not only reducing summer stress, but allowing for an extended fall season.

Our tees and approaches were core aerated with 1/2" tines on 2" centers to a depth of 2.5". Once cleaned and rolled, these surfaces were topdressed with fresh sand. Once the sand was drug-in, the surfaces were rolled and mowed. In addition to the greens, any evidence of summer decline was addressed during the closure. The condition of the tees and approaches should rapidly return to form and theses areas are setup for a great fall season.

Our fairways were deep-tined on 3" centers to a depth of 7". Once the fairways were punched, they were rolled and mowed. There is almost no visible disruption to our fairway surfaces and like our tees and approaches, any summer decline from wet wilt was repaired. While our fairways are not perfect, they are in outstanding condition and poised for an awesome fall season.

Our rough and intermediate cuts are not aerated during the summer closure. Traditionally, we find that there is too much summer stress so we focused our efforts on over seeding areas of summer decline. Due to the rainfall and humidity of 2018, our rough was affected by decent amounts of summer patch and pythium. Although our spray program is well-designed and diligently applied, there are certain areas of the rough that are more sensitive than other areas. For these areas, we apply 7#'s per 1000 square feet of tall fescue seed, core aerate over top of the seed and then drag the area so that the seed finds the holes and we achieve great seed to soil contact. We are already seeing solid germination throughout the seeded areas and expect solid recovery over the next two weeks.

In addition to our summer aeration, the golf course native areas were mowed and trimmed, countless detail projects were executed and all of our landscaping received a fresh haircut. Coming out of this closure, I expect the golf course to be ready for a great fall season and look forward to seeing the activity ramp back up.

2018 Spring Aeration

Today we are putting the final touches on our 2018 spring aeration. Originally scheduled for March 19th - March 26th, our aeration was extended through March 28th. The golf course officially reopened today.

Before I spend time on the actual process, I want to thank our club membership and leadership for the 2-day extension. The week prior, we received an inch of rain on Tuesday and several inches of snow on Wednesday. Couple the precipitation with frigid nights that were setting up long frost delays and we could not have accomplished what was accomplished without our club's support and patience. So, on behalf of our maintenance team, Thank You!

Our spring aeration has become the bedrock for our agronomic plans each season. We use this time to disturb a tremendous amount of turf. The timing of our spring aeration works well because the weather is conducive to aggressive practices without collateral injury and golf levels are generally very low so our membership experiences minimal discomfort.

Generally, I walk through each turf area (green, tee, fairway, etc.) and explain what we do and how we do it. This summary will still cover our putting surfaces, but focus more on the level of general topdressing across the property.

Our greens are first topdressed with a sizable layer of USGA spec putting green sand. This season, we were able to apply just over 1200 lbs. of sand for every 1000 square feet of surface. Once the sand is applied, our greens are deep tined with 1/2" diameter tines to a depth of 7". These holes are drilled in on 2" x 2" spacing. These deep tines not only create deep and sustainable channels for advantageous spring rooting, but fracture the soil as they move up and down. Following the deep tine, the greens are aerated with 1/2" diameter coring tines to a depth of 2.5" and a spacing of 2" x 2". Following this aeration, the same machine with the same specs makes a second pass at an alternate angle. Once the cores have dried, they are broomed to the perimeter of the green for removal. Following a second blowing, the greens are swept in three different directions to assure that all of the holes and channels are full with clean fresh sand. After the sweeping, the greens are rolled three separate times and then fertilized and watered. The first morning of re-opening, we mow the greens for the first time and we are off and going! 

This is what the finished product looks like. Many holes filled with sand. According to the ISTRC displacement chart, we displace about 15% of our surface area. Considering that the USGA recommends 20% displacement for the whole season, we accomplish 75% of that goal in one aeration. 

There is no question that this is an invasive and aggressive aeration. Yet, we are not only passionate about it, but extremely excited about what it does for our turf. 

As greens mature, the sandy profile that is full of air porosity, infiltration and percolation begins to "slow down" as naturally occurring organic bio-mass begins to accumulate. Simply put, as the profile matures, the plant's ability to breathe is reduced. The screenshot below, shows some data work we did on our 5th green. 

But the maturity of the profile is not all bad. In fact, as the profile matures, its' ability to retain moisture and nutrients increases. Plants need food and water to survive, but they also need oxygen. So the best case scenario is a soil that drains and breathes like sand, but retains nutrients and water like top-soil. 

To achieve this mythical balance, cultural processes can bridge the gap. By removing piles, literally, of old stagnate profile and replacing it with clean fresh sand, we can achieve the best of both worlds. We can maintain a profile that breathes, while still retaining nutrients and water. 

The profile shot above was taken from our 9th green. In the photo you can see the darker material and the lighter channels streaking about. These lighter channels represent the clean channels that are created through topdressing and aeration. Furthermore, if you look closely at the canopy, you can see the topdressing layer that is responsible for thatch suppression, smoothness and firmness. 

Although not as aggressive, our fairways tees and approaches were verti-cut, deep tined and topdressed. This time around, we spread over 2,000,000 pounds of sand. So while it is sandy now, the dividends for the future will be immeasurable. 

Select Tree Clearing and Drainage #2 Tee Complex

The following blog was put together by one of our senior assistants, Michael Nowicki. 

 This winter we have been working on an improvement project for the right side of 1 green and 2 tee complex. Historically this is an area of the property that often struggles due to poor drainage, lack of sunlight, and poor airflow. This is one of the most difficult micro-climates at Kinloch to maintain healthy turf throughout the season.

           

 Our approach to tree management at Kinloch is very unique. We must consider the functionality of every tree i.e. is it a hazard, does it frame the hole, or is it a reference point for the golfer. Our process for removing trees starts with identifying the specimens that we must keep. Then we do a walk through with the golf course architect and select the trees that can be removed. This is a very selective process and every tree is scrutinized to ensure that we don’t change the character of the hole, but also put ourselves in the best position for agronomic success.

             

We recently applied this strategy to the right of 1 green and 2 tees. This area experienced a lack of morning sunlight and poor airflow that often resulted in turf decline. Much of the underbrush was thinned out during the project but we left the focal specimen trees that frame the area. This also opened up vistas that allow you to better view this portion of the property.

 The subsurface of 2 tees and the surrounding rough were also in need of attention. During construction a silica based sand was used to cap the tees. Silica sands hold more moisture than river or rock based sands. While this method has worked great for most of the tees at Kinloch, it holds too much water on 2 due to the aforementioned microclimate. This coupled with there being no internal drainage in these tees meant our team had to take necessary steps to remedy the problem.

               

We installed a herringbone drainage pattern in these tees. This is very similar to the drainage design of a USGA green and is the most efficient way to catch water and move it off a site.

The process begins by stripping the sod in the pattern that we want to place the drain tile. These trenches are excavated to a depth of 16 inches to provide ample space for the necessary gravel, pipe, and sand. While the trenches are being excavated we are continually checking the slope of the trench floor to ensure we have a minimum of 2 percent fall throughout the drainage network using a surveying tool known as a transit. Once we have sufficient slope to move water we cover the trench floor with 2 inches of pea gravel. Corrugated drain tile is then placed on top of the gravel and covered up with 4 more inches of gravel. Six inches of sand similar to the silica sand found in the tees is used to cap the project and is heavily compacted to ensure that we do not have any future settling. Sod is then put back and rolled for a smooth finish.

    

 Moisture management often extends beyond our irrigation system and how much water we apply. Thought must be given to the ability to move excess moisture from playing surfaces along with the sunlight and airflow needs of the turf. These projects will help us better manage moisture and provide the world class conditioning Kinloch is known for.