#2 green at 9:45am- no sun has reached this turf.
As you are aware, we've experienced some thinning of turf on greens #2, #15 and #16. The cause is due a combination of factors, with the primary reason being shade. These 3 greens simply do not receive enough sunlight to sustain adequate growth. Every year, we experience some thinning on these greens due to the changing sun angles this time of year. This year however, has been worse. The reason it's been worse is due to the high rain totals we've had as well as some scalping we experienced in mid-August following an aeration procedure we did. The lack of sun creates an environment where it is difficult to recover from these extremes. On #16, traffic patterns are a tremendous issue to overcome as well. While it is true we only do 13,000 rounds per year, they are compressed into a short time period that is the equivalent of a year round facility doing 30,000 rounds/year. Working with golf architect Ron Forse, traffic patterns are something I hope to be able to address in the coming years. As for the shade issue, I am hoping to do work with a company called, ArborCom. ArborCom comes in and sets a device on the greens that measures the amount of sun a putting green is getting. This computer program then takes that data and applies it to the entire year so we can see how much sun is reaching the green at any given time. They can also use this data to determine how the growth of surrounding trees has impacted the green over time. Again, quality turf requires at least 8 hours of morning and early afternoon sunlight to perform. Many of our greens receive none. Unfortunately, there is no magical replacement for sun. It is my hope, that working with ArborCom, we'll be able to create an awareness of what this golf course needs and currently lacking.
We will continue to use 1/4" tines on these greens to be sure the root zone has plenty of oxygen. This also ensures an environment to where the turf is better able to recover. These greens will not continue to deteriorate. Rather, the fall weather that we are about to experience will help us recuperate from the damage. We will keep the soil aerated through the fall to help with this as well. As the Dryject holes continue to heal and we get some cooler temperatures with reduced humidity, I think you'll notice improvement on these three greens. There are a few areas, specifically on #2, that we will begin plugging in the coming weeks. Now that we have a nursery established at the practice facility, we'll be able to have a source for plugs.
If you have any questions about this or any other projects we are working on, please don't hesitate to call me or shoot me an email!
#15 green at 9:50am- again, no sun is anywhere remotely near this green.