Fairway/Approach Fall Aerification

Aerification is commonly one of the taboo words related to golf and a golfers expectations on course conditions. With the great leaps and bounds in golf course equipment technology over the past 10 years we are able to perform these operations more efficiently and with less disruption to the surface... Ultimately resulting in better course conditions immediately following core cultivation and little or no impact on your round of golf.

Goal- 

A healthy stand of grass naturally recycles organic matter into the upper soil profile of the fairways/approaches when roots, shoots, stolons, and other plant parts are replaced throughout the season. This organic matter accumulation must be removed with core aeration. When a significant layer of thatch and organic matter develops, the surface becomes "spongy", holding water and creating other issues related to plant health and disease susceptibility.

Process-

1. Fairways/Approaches are punched with 7/8" tines on 2"-3" spacing, 5" deep, removing a significant amount of material and leaving one heck of a mess on the surface.

 

2. Plugs are allowed to dry slightly on the surface before they are broken apart with a large drag, removing the soil from the organic layer.

3. Once the plugs have dried to the correct moisture level, a large drag is run in a couple different directions to break the plugs apart and seperate the thatch from the soil particles.

4. After the dragging process is finished, soil has been removed from the organic matter pieces and deposited back into the open holes leaving behind some light fluffy mayerial and most all holes filled.

5. The fairways/approaches are then blown off by a team of blowers, blowing all the grass and organic matter to the side for removal.

6. The material is then vacuumed up from the sides and moved to the compost site.

7. Final cleanup preparations are performed and debris is cleaned up in specific locations where the blowers and vaccum didn't clean to a desired level.

8. The fairways/approaches are then mowed to remove any tufts of grass sticking up from the aerification process and cleaning the surface for play.

Finished Product-

The aerification process really does leave behind very minimal disruption to the playing surface but creates so many key benefits to plant health and maintaining proper soil structure. Holes will be completely healed within a week and there will be little to no detection anything ever happened.

Take Home Message & Benifits-

An important purpose of core aeration is the physical removal of unwanted organic matter from the upper portion of the rootzone. When core aeration is neglected, the upper portion of the profile can become an inhospitable place for plant roots to grow. The pore space in a dense organic layer is dominated by small, water-filled capillary pores, while the large air-filled macropores are lacking. Oxygen is necessary for the plant to cary out respiration, which is the conversion of stored food to energy. Respiration takes place in the roots and, therefore, good air exchange in the upper soil profile is vital to plant survival. 

Aerification of Turfgrass is a necessary evil (cultural practice) to maintain healthy plants. Benefits are Thatch Control, Compaction Relief, Beneficial Air and Gas Exchange to the root zone, Improved water movement, Greater nutrient penetration, Increased shoot and root growth, Improved soil structure... All vital to a healthy stand of grass. The medicine (Aerification) does not always taste good, but a healthy patient (Grass) is worth the effort and inconvenience. It is always our goal to make aerification as painless as possible.

 Short Videos Showing the Fairway Aerifyer In Action

 

Tee Project - Week 2 Update

 

The tee box renovation project is progressing along better than expected on this second week and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel now, with construction nearing the final few tee box locations. Weather has been fantastic this past week and the crew made huge progress with the dry and cool temperatures. We now have 14 tee boxes completed and seeded with only 7 left to complete. The construction crew is doing a fantastic job on all the many details related to the scope of the project and leaving behind virtually no damage to the course.

#3 Back Tee

#2 Forward Tee

#1 Forward Tee

#10 Forward Tee

#8 Forward Tee

#8 Back Tee

#17 Forward Tee

#18 Back, Middle, Senior (New), Forward

#16 Forward Tee

Tee Project - Week 1 Update

With a very productive first week of construction in the books, things are really starting to take shape on the first 10 tee boxes of the tee renovation project. The weather has created several challenges already, haulting work on two days and delaying work on two others with heavy rainfall and wet conditions. The construction crew is doing a fantastic job and making huge progress, working sun up to sun down 7 days a week and leaving behind very minimal disruption to the golf course.

#7 Forward Tee

#12 Forward Tee (New)

#14 Back Tee

#9 Back, Middle, Senior (New), Forward Tees

#11 Forward Tee

Construction Equipment Arrives On Site

Tree Removal At #9 Back & Middle Tees

Tree Removal At #18 Back & Middle Tees

Proper Driving Range Divot Patterns

When practicing from the driving range tee, it is important to remember the proper divot patterns that are recommended. Spreading divots around or taking divots in strips with undisterbed turf between, is the preferred method we ask that you use. 

Leaving small areas of turf between divots, will provide a much faster recovery time to the teeing area. When a large hole of concentrated divots is created, this requires a much longer recovery time with no remaining turfgrass plants within the area, to aid in recovery from the inside out. This situation requires the damaged area to only recover from the grass seed/sand that's applied by the grounds staff, while the single divots or strips are immediately filling in from the sides and healed much faster. 

Large hole divots suffer from erosion and heavy rainfall, washing the seed/sand out with no remaining turf to stabilize area or help it re-establish. Mowing equipment will also essentially push or scoop sand from the large holes as the cutting units pass over the uneven surface, ultimately delaying recovery of that particular teeing location.

We appreciate your help when it comes to the health of the practice area turf and keeping the driving range tee/shortgame area in good condition. Continuing to educate members and your peers on the proper divot taking methods will keep the turf recovering consistantly throughout the golfing season, always providing a quality surface to practice from.

Tee Project Planning Meeting

Today we had our pre project planning meeting for our upcoming tee box renovations. This was a great opportunity to meet again with architect Chris Wilczynski and Contactor Chris Furness with Great Lakes Golf & Site Development, Inc. Both of these guys are fantastic and so very creative when it comes to golf course design and construction. We are all getting excited as the project starts in just 6 days now!

We finalized the plans for the 10 new forward tees and laid out the new tee box locations with paint and flags. The new forward tees will be a wonderful addition to the golf course and a much needed addition for the women, seniors and higher handycappers. 

We also laid out the 8 existing middle and back tees that will be expanded and leveled. The new renovated tees will provide more teeing ground with better alignment with the hole and more variation in yardage for golfers of all skill levels. 

Finalizing Plans, Equipment, Irrigation and Material Staging Areas

 

Laying Out New Forward Tee On #1

 

Marking Correct Tee Box Locations From Site Plans

#7 Forward Tee Laid Out For Expansion

 

Laying Out New Forward Tee On #17

How-To Divot Repair

With the busy golfing season in full swing, this is a good opportunity to discuss divot repair and how we can all do our part daily to keep Gull Lake C.C. in pristine condition. Filling divots in fairways and tees is very simple and only takes a couple seconds, with very minimal impact on your round of golf. The grounds team spends a fair amount of time each week filling divots in fairways, while divots on tees are repaired everyday throughout the golfing season. We have provided some tips below on getting your divots filled properly depending on the extent of the damage to the turf and what condition the divot piece remains in.

(1)

Large Divot With Soil Still Attached- 

When a divot is taken from a fairway or a tee box and the soil is still attached like the picture above, the divot should be placed back into the hole and in the same shape it was removed from. When soil remains attached with some root structure in tact, the divot will continue to grow without drying out. When there is minimal soil attached or it's blown apart like the picture below, the divot will simply not survive and will ultimately be removed and re-filled by the grounds staff... Delaying its recovery tremendously!

(2)

Small Divot Blown Apart In Pieces-

When your divot is small or maybe blown apart into a bunch of small pieces, this is when you grab the provided green sand bottle for repair. The small pieces, even replaced very neatly will not survive, due to the lack of root structure and ability to stay moist for reestablishment. When repairing your divot with green sand, please fill the damaged area completely so that the sand is flush with the surrounding turf and tap down with your shoe. The pictures below show divots that were repaired with green sand and recovering very nicely from the outside edges in, while plants also establish inside the damaged area for full recovery of the divot location.

Take Home Message

Properly repaired divots will heal up much faster than a divot that's either left unreparied, or simply sprinkled with green sand like salt on a steak. We have provided extra green sand bottles for you at the Pro Shop and by #10 tee, for those that need to reload at the turn. By all doing our part to repair divots and ball marks properly, the course will remain in better shape and the damaged areas will be repaired sooner.

Greens Rooting & Needle Tine Benifits

The greens have been in fantastic condition and very healthy this summer, despite the challenging environmental conditions Mother Nature has dealt us. Overall, this summer has been normal or below average temperature wise, and we have only recorded a few days over 90 degrees at the club so far this season. The main challenges for the turf this summer has been heavy rainfall events with hot and humid weather conditions following for a week at a time. The greens have battled through the stressful periods of this summer season in fine fashion so far, with the help of routine needle tine venting and our aggressive cultural practices. Opening up channels for roots to breath and allowing the rootzone to rid itself of harmful gasses, makes all the difference in the world. Getting oxygen to the root system through needle tine venting, allows us to keep the greens in championship form throughout the stressful summer season.

Members ask from time to time... "Why do we punch small holes into the greens periodically during the summer?" Routine needle tine venting greens throughout the summer months has some wonderful benefits and there is a perfect example pictured above. The beautiful, white, healthy roots headed south into the rootzone, thriving in an oxygen rich environment and loving life.

Step by Step Greens Needle Tine Aerification Process

For more information on the needle tine process. Click Here