Willow Ridge Country Club Turfgrass Chronicles: Like Riding a Bike

Golf has officially begun, and while temperatures still remain below average for this time of year the greens department is beginning to hit our stride. The previous week was highly productive with the completion of tee aerification, a thorough course cleanup, continued progress with stump hole cleanup as well as putting the initial cut on greens, tees, and fairways. However it was just a prelude to this week and the weeks to follow. Greens aerification was our primary objective for the week, and it resembles tee aerification in many ways. However rather than verticutting the cores, we physically pick up everything removed from the green, and then follow the cleanup with the incorporation of sand into the holes. While a laborious process for the crew, we find that incorporating the sand with push brooms is most effective. That being said the crew really put in some long hard hours on approximately 100,000 square feet of greens surface, and the final product speaks for itself. We fill the aerification holes with sand in order to replace the organic matter removed from aerification with mineral matter. High organic matter concentrations can be detrimental to the greens in both the immediate and long range future, exacerbating disease incidence, moisture retention etc. (see two posts ago). Following aerification golfers can temporarily expect an inconsistent playing surface, however with temperatures beginning to warm, growth will continue to increase and within a few weeks the playing surface will be uniform and true. We have also been rolling more frequently to promote a smoother playing surface. Also this time of year the grass is beginning to break dormancy, so during this time the grass if very susceptible to damage and does not have the full capacity to recuperate as it would during the peak season.