In the last few weeks, I've had 2-3 people comment or ask me about ways to improve firmness of the golf course. In a rain forest climate, that is sometimes difficult because water is the #1 reason that playing surfaces are not firm. When we get into extreme weather patterns, firmness isn't an option because weather is out of our control. However, there are many things we can control but require the patience of the membership. Unfortunately, golfers typically despise those practices that lead to firm surfaces, making it a double edged sword.
It's easy to forget where we've come from. 20 years ago, driving a cart on holes like #1, #6, #10, #11 and #17 was unheard of. After a rain, you very well might lose it. There has been a lot of work done in the past and we continue to focus on this priority. Here are things we do to firm surfaces:
1. Aerate greens and fairways and back fill the holes with sand. This alone is one of the most beneficial practices to firm up greens. Organic matter or thatch, is soft and replacing it with sand can't be done enough.
2. DryJect. We do this process 3x a year on HCC greens. DryJect and topdressing in general are benefits that are seen over time. Doing it once will not result in a noticeable benefit. However, over time the results are invaluable. We even Dryject approaches annually as well.
3. Regular and consistent topdressing. At Highlands CC, we perform light topdressings every 14 days. In recent years, this has expanded to include approaches as well. Fairways are aggressively aerified and veriticut during the winter and topdressed with anywhere from 30 tons to 100 tons of sand annually.
4. Good internal drainage and surface drainage. This is ongoing at HCC and we've made a significant investment in drainage over the years. I don't think anyone can argue this point!
5. When is does rain, the quickness at which the turf dries out can be attributed to 2 things...air movement and sunlight. We also know dense turf dries faster. If turf is thin due to shade, the issue is compounded. It goes without saying that HCC would benefit for more aggressive tree removal. This winds up being a member issue and how the course should be presented. However, we can't have it both ways. Firm and fast does not mesh with dense trees and shady conditions. One must ask, "what in the priority?"
6. Irrigation coverage. Water distribution is a big issue on golf courses. Today's irrigation systems allow superintendents to have today control of which surfaces are irrigated and can be manipulated with precision. Unfortunately, we don't have that ability just yet. Again, in our climate, it is difficult to gain support for such a system given our rain totals. However, when we do irrigate, there is simply no efficient way to do it with the system we have. In order water roughs, we have to overwater fairways. As I talked about in the past, the challenge becomes: we can provide firm conditions if we are willing to tolerate some brown turf. In general, that isn't acceptable to most of our members. So it goes back to; how do we maintain green without and effective way to deliver irrigation water?
This gives you the basic overview of how we can impact firmness. Most of these require patience or a significant investment from the golfer, many of which are not willing to tolerate. Like most things in life, it comes down to a balance and there is no easy way to provide or please everyone in this area given our infrastructure shortcomings and expectation for minimal disruption on the golf course during the season.
