Reel to Reel

Everything is looking good on the golf course. It is hard to believe we are halfway through June.

We are adding another tool to our in-season aeration program on greens.  This year we will be utilizing the Air2G2. The Air2G2 is an aeration tool that pokes 3 small probes into the soil and blasts air into the soil profile.  The air causes a fracturing effect as the air works its way back up to the surface.  The fissure that the air creates immediately relieves compaction and increases oxygen to the root zone. We will be using the Air2G2 once in June and once in July.  The increased infiltration rates, increased porosity rates, and decreased compaction are going to make for healthier plants and a better playing surface throughout the season. Here is short video I took this morning of the Air2G2 in action:

If you happen to be keeping score, we've been winning the Poa annua seedhead battle over the last eight years. As you know, our greens are comprised primarily of Poa annua. This grass type has two major limitations: it has poor heat tolerance and it is a prolific seed producer. The seeding of the Poa annua in the spring can be a playability issue due to the bumpiness and slower speeds caused by the seedheads. Seedhead suppression is a complicated endeavor due to numerous Poa annua biotypes and environmental factors that affect seedhead production each year. We have been extremely successful over the last eight years of suppressing the seedheads with properly timed applications of growth regulators throughout the spring. The applications do not eliminate the seedheads, but they do suppress them and keep them low enough in the turf canopy not to affect ball roll. Below is a photo from an untreated check plot on #17 green. As you can see in the photo, the seedheads are explodin...

We are always looking for ways to increase efficiency and improve playability of the golf course. There are many different jobs we undertake in a given week. We are constantly searching for better ways to accomplish our maintenance goals. Sometimes, it is as simple as changing the technique in how we do a particular task. Other times, it might be how we logistically move around the course, or it might be a piece of equipment that can improve quality. We are excited to have purchased two new pieces of equipment this year that will improve our efficiency and help produce a better product. Since our bunker renovation in 2001, we have hand raked our bunkers. Due to their small size, we could not get a mechanical rake inside and turn around without damaging the bunker edge. Hand raking them has worked out fine, but has been extremely labor intensive. Toro recently developed a zero-turn bunker rake with a much tighter turning radius than previous models. We demoed it in the fall and were...