Bentgrass Contamination in Roughs

By now you've heard me talk about or read many articles I've written about the challenge of maintaining clean Kentucky Bluegrass/Tall Fescue roughs.  See the latest edition of The Piper if you missed it.  One of the products available to Superintendents to fight the good fight is called Mesotrione.  It's sold under the trade name, Tenacity by Syngenta  It is labeled to remove Creeping Bentgrass selectively from stands of Kentucky Bluegrass and Tall Fescue.  We spray the product annually with mixed results.  In order for the product to work, three applications are required, the first application starting now.  Timing is critically important. Unfortunately the timing doesn't bode well with our Member/Guest Tournament.  This product is not effective at other times of year.  The three applications must be made two weeks apart.  Therefore, to get the applications in before winter, we must start now.       

Mesotrione turns Creeping Bentgrass stark white.  You simply can't miss it.  This week, I started treating a couple areas on the front nine holes; mostly on #1.  Depending on the results we see, we may or may not re-sod a couple areas before the Men's M/G tournament.  I will be talking more about this in the next two weeks, so please stay tuned!  If you missed the latest Piper article, I posted it below:

Each offseason, the Agronomy team spends a considerable amount of time on the golf course resodding turf in the rough.  The question is, why do we bother continuing to do this if it's a losing battle and the Creeping Bentgrass and Poa annua that comprise a lot of our rough, will only return?  It’s a valid question but one with several answers.  First, it’s important you understand these grasses and how the weather plays in this.  For the sake of this article, I am going to refer to Creeping Bentgrass as CBG and Kentucky Bluegrass as KBG.  When Bentgrass (CBG) is growing in the rough, it thrives in wet conditions compared to Kentucky Bluegrass (KBG), the desired species for our rough that does better in sunny, dry and well drained environments.  Knowing Highlands weather like you do, you can see CBG already has a competitive advantage here over Kentucky Bluegrass (KBG).  You also know that our climate is extremely mild compared to other “cool season” climates in the country.  This allows any grass that germinates in the rough to survive.  In other areas of the country, CBG cannot survive the hot and dry summers in the rough, where irrigation coverage is somewhat limited compared to fairways, for example.  Therefore, a young CBG plant never gets the chance to establish.  In our Highlands climate, it is given the opportunity to thrive simply based on mild temperatures and excessive rainfall.  All this said, the life of Kentucky Bluegrass sod at Highlands CC can last anywhere from 3 years, up to 7 years before the contamination of other turfgrasses requires it to be resodded again.

 Everyone loves the clean look of KBG rough.  It provides a beautiful contrast between a lime green CBG fairway and the dark green rough.  From a playability standpoint, a golf ball also sits up on it so nicely compared to 2-3" tall CBG, where the ball settles down into the turf.  This makes for a very difficult shot as we’ve all experienced. 

 Agronomically speaking, CBG in the rough comes with its fair share of challenges as well.  Both Bentgrass and Poa annua are far more susceptible to fungal diseases, heat stress and insect pressure.  This means that they require a lot more inputs like fungicides, to remain looking good.  Even in the photo below, this area has received four fungicide applications this year to date, and the Poa annua and CBG are still struggling.  When we have warmer and dryer summers, like 2026 has been, we are challenged with the task of keeping the CBG in the rough alive.  As hard as we try and the more resources we throw at it, it’s still nearly impossible to keep up with it.  The turf doesn't look good and still requires us to apply chemical treatments that KBG does not require.  So, another reason why re-sodding roughs is important is that KBG rough saves resources and reduces chemical inputs.

 There remains one more major reason why CBG dominates roughs, and it begins every spring when we start getting the occasional 50*F warm day and turf begins waking up from winter dormancy.  CBG and Poa annua have about a one-month or more head start on the Kentucky Bluegrass, which requires much warmer temperatures for growth.  CBG and Poa annua are the two grasses in the cool season family that wake up first following a long winter.  During this time, these unwanted grasses have a competitive advantage and use it to their benefit.  During the entire month of April, while KBG is still relatively dormant, the CBG is busy creeping overtop of the KBG.  This is the time of year when CBG gains the most traction, in my opinion.  The same phenomenon happens in late autumn, when temperatures cool enough to shut down KBG, but CBG is still in a state of active growth.  

 Hopefully by now, you can clearly see that Highlands’ climate of mild temperatures and abundant rainfall, CBG and Poa annua are always going to be a challenge in the rough. So far I have identified two reasons why a pure stand of KBG is important in the rough.  The issues we face with CBG in the rough affect both aesthetics and playability. 

Every year, we allocate about $70,000 to our operating budget to replace the rough in the worst areas on the golf course.  $70,000 is enough money to approximately re-sod the rough on one golf hole, the average length of a par 4 hole, specifically.  We prioritize the areas where playability is a major factor or areas that are visually not as attractive as they could be.  We also try to use these funds by re-sodding large areas rather than small areas here and there.  This allows us the ability to apply an herbicide, known as Tenacity, that selectively removes CBG from a stand of KBG or Tall Fescue.  The chemistry isn't perfect and only about 60% effective, but it does help prolong the life of the KBG before it needs to be resodded.  We've been using this product for many years, and you would know it because it turns the Creeping Bentgrass bright white in color, in the fall, before it dies. In fact, we’ll be starting those applications in mid to late September when soil temperatures cool into the 50’s.  This chemical requires three total applications, at two-week intervals.

Speaking of weather, 2026 has been one of the dryest on record.  At the end of August, we remain 24” below average for 2026 alone.  When you combine 2025 and 2026, we are 44” below average!  While it seems like 2026 has been rainy, the rain totals we receive are often minimal and not the typical Highlands rain events we are used to getting.  But, we all know that can change any day and we’re excited to see what Mother Nature has in store for us this fall.  In the meantime, continue to enjoy your golf course and from my entire staff, we are most appreciative of your continued support!

Mole Activity

Early every fall, mole activity picks up and we deal with tunneling around the golf course.  Currently, we are battling these guys on holes #3, 6, 9, 17 and 18, with more areas sure to pop up each day.  Getting rid of these guys is difficult.  First, they are illegal to kill in North Carolina using chemical means.  There are no pesticides that can be used on them.  Second, they are mammals that feed on earthworms and grubs (if present, which they are not at HCC).  They are NOT rodents (like mice etc) and because of that, typical rodenticides don't work.  They don't eat the things that rodents do.  Our only method for removing them is physical removal by using traps or stepping the tunnels down until we see it move and then grab it.  That is much easier said than done!  I pay my staff a $10 bounty for every dead mole they bring me.  This started about 20 years ago and generated a lot of interest in killing moles amongst the staff!

Mole activity is always intense during fall and spring when the soil is more damp compared to summer and tunneling occurs at the surface rather than a foot or more below ground.  They are also eating more this time of year because they know winter isn't too far away.  Of course they don't hibernate, but they know food is scarce once worms start moving deep in the soil.

This week, you'll notice mole traps being set.  We'll keep doing what we can to eradicate this animals and minimize the destructive tunneling they are capable of.  

Fall Greens Aeration Plans

 

I've been asked about greens aeration plans for the fall a couple times recently.  We will not be performing any greens aeration until Monday, November 2nd, when all putting greens will be DryJect aerated two directions.  We'll also be doing the same process to our approaches, one direction.  Again, there will be no disruption to greens through the fall season so please don't be concerned about inviting guests to Highlands CC.  Enjoy the golf course!

Snow Prediction Model?

  

This is an early snowfall predictionc model for the coming winter. I never put a whole lot of weight into these early models. 

USGA Green Section Record

 CLICK HERE!

Click above to view the latest edition of the Green Section Record.

Mowing Patterns

For something new and exciting, we decided to mow fairways with the stripes going from front to back, on #3, following contours.  This just throws another angle of cut into the mix, giving us an even better quality of cut.  

7-Day Forecast

 

Help Needed! Replace your Divots!

 

Every morning when I walk the golf course, this is a common site.  Many deep divots taken from a fairway, often laying within 10 feet from where the ball was hit.  Instead of replacing the divot, the golfer decided to ignore it and fill the void with sand.  Having sand on golf carts gives most golfers the idea that sand is the best practice for repairing divots. It's not, however.  On cool season grasses, replacing the divot is far superior to using sand.  In order for that divot to fully recover by filling it with sand, will take weeks!  Bentgrass does not have the aggressive growth characteristics as Bermudagrass, which heals rapidly.  With the amount of play we continually push at Highlands CC, our fairways become unplayable in areas because of the concentration of divots- most all are not repaired correctly, exacerbating the problem.  This is the one thing that golfers can do to take pride in your golf course and help keep the condition of the golf course where it needs to be.  The best practice is to replace your divot, firmly step it down to ensure good root to soil contact and if you want to take it a further step, lightly topdress the seams of the divot with the sand on your cart.  If you divot were to 'explode,' and nothing was left of it, this is the only scenario where filling the void with sand is acceptable.  However, on Bentgrass fairways, this is rarely the case.  Most divots are small pieces of sod that fit back in the void like a puzzle piece.  I hope you'll share this information with others in your golf groups and together, we can improve the condition of your fairways by putting forth a little more effort by correctly repairing divots.  Thank you!

Deer on #3 Tee

 Five deer were caught standing around #3 tees this afternoon.

Zoysiagrass Update

Our Zoysiagrass on the practice tee is now lowered to the height of cut of the rest of the tee.  In the coming weeks, we will be setting up one or two stations on this turf for you to try out.  Of course, it will take some time through topdressing and aeration to firm up the surface to make acceptable.   

USGA Green Section Record

For the latest edition of the Green Section Record, CLICK HERE!

7-Day Forecast

 

Deer at Practice Facility

This morning, James was visited by three bucks at the practice facility!

Employee Recognition

 

Alberto Zetina

We have a awesome team at Highlands CC!  We all work together to make the golf course the best it can be.  While everyone on our team plays a critical role, I do want to recognize Alberto, who is one of our seven seasonal H2B visa workers on the golf course.  He has been with us for 5 years now and is the man who prepares the bunkers for play every morning.  He does a wonderful job and is very meticulous, always leaving the bunkers without a blemish each morning.  Raking sand bunkers is a tedious and mundane job but Alberto keeps finding ways to make them better.  He's done extensive research on which specific type of leaf rake gives him the best finished look.  He developed his own methods of using different types of rakes, depending on the moisture content of the sand.  I very proud of the ownership that Alberto takes in his job and this is one example of many, that allow us to keep your golf course looking and playing great all season long.

For Your Information…

During the storm last night, it's reported that Old Edwards Inn experienced a major fire at their 'Pavilion' structure on their OEI Farm property on Arnold Road.  Several tanker trucks were dispatched from surrounding communities to help get the fire under control.  As a result, portions of the golf course were covered in charred debris that blew away from the fire.  We spent the better part of the morning cleaning this material up but there is more to do.  The worst holes were #7, #8, #9, the croquet lawns and #18.  There is material in the lake as well that we've been scooping out as it floats to the edges.  Please be advised of this because you'll be seeing charred material like this for the next few days as it blows around.     

PLEASE NOTE: This information is based on the first responder calls received from dispatch.  Several members of our Greenkeeping team are volunteer firefighters.  As days go on, I'm certain we'll learn more information on exactly what happened at the OEI property last night.  Obviously, we hope no one was there at the time and more importantly, no one was injured.      

Here are two photos of the croquet lawns this morning, covered in burnt ash material.

Above is a baseball size piece of what appears to be burnt insulation that was found on the golf course.  We found pieces the size of a golf ball all the way up to that of a basketball.  We feel most of the debris is actually burnt tar paper.