As December begins we find ourselves still very busy out on the golf course. We have just completed our winter preparation plan for our greens. After dealing with the harsh winter of 2014, we have modified a few elements of the plan from previous winters. The following is the plan in chronological order (as completed):
September:
-Height of cut raised following Men's Club Championship weekend. This process reduces the stress that we place on the turf following a long summer. More leaf blade allows for more sunlight and more fertilizer to enter the plant. Another added benefit to longer turf is the ability to build our sand layer within the canopy of the turf, further insulating the crown (growing point) of the turf.
-As previously noted, Topdressing, we continued our Bi-weekly topdressing program from September to the installation of our covers. Insulation of the crown helps to protect the plant during cold and harsh winter weather.
October:
-Increase in fall fertilization. This fall we focused more on continuous feeding of the turf to establish the healthiest possible plant and root system going into the winter. To combat the issue of reduced green speed, which typically happens with growing turf, we increased our fall rolling program. Again, by reducing mowing, we reduced another abiotic stress.
-Aeration: Part of our aeration schedule is to core aerify in October. This year we did so, along with a deep verticut with heavy sand incorporation. Sand incorporation helps going into the winter as well as coming out of the winter. A firmer, smoother surface is created by sand incorporation (along with the dilution of organic matter).
November:
-Drainage: The majority of our greens have subsurface drainage systems installed. This system helps green performance at every point in the season. Subsurface drainage not only pulls water from the surface, but from the bottom and sides of the trenches, therefore reducing the moisture content as a whole. Where this helps with winter preparations is that the plants are drier going into the winter, allowing them to harden off. In November our drainage contractor installed this system of both #1 and #8 greens.
-Collar Dams: Collar dams are developed through consistent topdressing when the sand builds up in the longer turf in the collar. Therefore retaining water during thaws, melts or even heavy rainstorms. On some of our more pronounced collar dams, we sod cut and lowered the soil profile. The sod was then relayed to establish positive water flow.
-Drainage Channels: We cut these exit points each fall into the collars and green surfaces to allow positive water flow off of the greens during thaws and melts.
-Deep Tine Aerify: As we usually do, we deep tine aerified all of our greens. These 1/2" holes are 8" deep. These holes aid in surface drainage, allowing somewhere for the water to go.
-Snow Mould Protection: Through out the fall season, we follow a strict fungicide program to keep our greens disease free. This year was no different. With the wetter than normal fall weather we were very disciplined in our applications. Our last fungicide application prior to installing the covers went very smoothly without any complications.
-Installation of Permeable covers: On November 26th we installed all of our permeable covers on our greens.
Through this long process we are all very confident that we have prepared our greens for winter to the best of our ability. As always, some luck and cooperation from mother nature is always appreciated!
September:
-Height of cut raised following Men's Club Championship weekend. This process reduces the stress that we place on the turf following a long summer. More leaf blade allows for more sunlight and more fertilizer to enter the plant. Another added benefit to longer turf is the ability to build our sand layer within the canopy of the turf, further insulating the crown (growing point) of the turf.
-As previously noted, Topdressing, we continued our Bi-weekly topdressing program from September to the installation of our covers. Insulation of the crown helps to protect the plant during cold and harsh winter weather.
October:
-Increase in fall fertilization. This fall we focused more on continuous feeding of the turf to establish the healthiest possible plant and root system going into the winter. To combat the issue of reduced green speed, which typically happens with growing turf, we increased our fall rolling program. Again, by reducing mowing, we reduced another abiotic stress.
-Aeration: Part of our aeration schedule is to core aerify in October. This year we did so, along with a deep verticut with heavy sand incorporation. Sand incorporation helps going into the winter as well as coming out of the winter. A firmer, smoother surface is created by sand incorporation (along with the dilution of organic matter).
November:
-Drainage: The majority of our greens have subsurface drainage systems installed. This system helps green performance at every point in the season. Subsurface drainage not only pulls water from the surface, but from the bottom and sides of the trenches, therefore reducing the moisture content as a whole. Where this helps with winter preparations is that the plants are drier going into the winter, allowing them to harden off. In November our drainage contractor installed this system of both #1 and #8 greens.
-Collar Dams: Collar dams are developed through consistent topdressing when the sand builds up in the longer turf in the collar. Therefore retaining water during thaws, melts or even heavy rainstorms. On some of our more pronounced collar dams, we sod cut and lowered the soil profile. The sod was then relayed to establish positive water flow.
-Drainage Channels: We cut these exit points each fall into the collars and green surfaces to allow positive water flow off of the greens during thaws and melts.
-Deep Tine Aerify: As we usually do, we deep tine aerified all of our greens. These 1/2" holes are 8" deep. These holes aid in surface drainage, allowing somewhere for the water to go.
-Snow Mould Protection: Through out the fall season, we follow a strict fungicide program to keep our greens disease free. This year was no different. With the wetter than normal fall weather we were very disciplined in our applications. Our last fungicide application prior to installing the covers went very smoothly without any complications.
-Installation of Permeable covers: On November 26th we installed all of our permeable covers on our greens.
Through this long process we are all very confident that we have prepared our greens for winter to the best of our ability. As always, some luck and cooperation from mother nature is always appreciated!
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