A Tale of Two Greens...

Mark Kienert, CGCS, Bulls Eye Country Club, Wisconsin Rapids, WI:

Bulls Eye #16 green: "I came out of winter looking like this. I was cut seven days per week, rolled 3-4 times per week, topdressed regularly, sprayed biweekly on schedule, watered as needed. When things got tough this summer, I was watered by hand and cut using a walking mower with a solid roller to reduce the stress on me. I was seeded no less than eight times. Live sod plugs or sprigs were used at one time to try to help me fill in and I was fertilized biweekly to help me grow strong. I wasn't aerified at all in 2010.

Tri-City #3 green: "I came out of winter looking like this. I was treated the same as #16. The only difference in routine maintenance is my mowing height of cut is .045 of an inch higher. I was cut with the same old tri plex and I don't even have a quick coupling valve needed for hand watering. I wasn't seeded at all and the only fertilizer I received came with the sprayer at around a tenth of a pound of Nitrogen. I was aerified in September 2010.

Today I look and feel much worse than this. Turf blankets cover my sores.

Today, I look like this!

Sometimes you just scratch your head. Toss everything but the kitchen sink at a problem OR is it better to leave well enough alone? You decide."

Visit Mark's blog at bullseyegreensblog.blogspot.com

Compost use...

Scott Phelps, CGCS, Newcastle Golf Club, Newcastle, WA:

"We did some trial work on compost and have been pretty happy with the results. We have found some of the batches vary in freshness so where and when you use it could be a concern. Overall though, using it in our divot mix has been great for speeding up germination and divot recovery. It is also showing significant promise in our high wear and droughty areas. See the link for the testimonial we did for Cedar Grove Compost." http://youtu.be/NL0B0g6EgUE

Visit Scott's blog at newcastleturf.blogspot.com

Rough Renovation...

Brandon Collins, Country Club of Woodmore, Mitchellville, MD:

"We are currently in the middle of a two part rough renovation project. Part one is a Bermudagrass/Bentgrass eradication project.

As you play the golf course you will notice rather large areas that have been killed in the roughs. We are controlling an infestation of undesirable grass species that has become increasingly worse over the last several years. The areas that we chose to renovate were threatening to encroach on to fine turf areas such as greens, fairways and intermediate cuts of rough. If we did not do this now, we faced the possibility of a more costly, labor intensive repair in the future. We have already made an application of non-selective herbicide and these areas were seeded Thursday, August 25th. We should see germination of this seed in the next seven to 10 days and the areas will be playable by the beginning part of October. These areas have all been marked as ground under repair and should be played as such.

Part two of our renovation is to continue with our annual inter-seeding program. In this process, we seed stronger, more stress tolerant tall fescue in to weak areas of our Kentucky bluegrass/ryegrass roughs. These areas are then kept wetter than normal to encourage seed germination and growth. Over the past four years, we have seen steady improvement in the quality and stress tolerance of our roughs by sticking with this program."

Visit Brandon's blog at ccwoodmoregcm.com

What's Eating You?

Doug Ayres, Corral de Tierra Country Club, Salinas, CA:

"...that is what I asked the greens the other day. What's eating you? They said, "Anthracnose. Make it stop".

Usually, when the turf here at Corral contracts a disease it is not severe and doesn't take long for the turf to recover. The Poa annua suffers and the bent grass is given the chance to continue its takeover of the putting surfaces. The reason for this phenomenon is the way we fertilize the turf. As has been mentioned in other posts on this blog as well as posts written by fellow believers in this method, we are trying to harden the turf plant off so that it is strong, slow growing and less susceptible to disease all while promoting bent grass and deterring Poa annua.

Ingredients found in a typical multi-vitamin are used to feed the plant on a weekly basis. In fact micro nutrients given in heavy doses can help manipulate the playing surface extremely well.

Vitamin B, citric acid, iron, calcium, iodine from kelp, potassium, magnesium, manganesse, copper, zinc, and boron are all put into a mix that is sprayed on the grass. Good for you, good for the grass. One ingredient that really helps kick out one of the legs on the 3-legged stool of disease is iron. Ferrous Sulfate dries out the surface and doesn't allow the disease to find a comfortable place to live and spread. Zinc and manganese act like those lozenges that help you recover from a cold or sore throat.

With all that being said... sometimes all the random conditions that are perfect for a disease outbreak fall into place and the grass succumbs to the pressure. That is what happened in June to our poa / bent greens.

Anthracnose got so bad it dropped into the roots and affected the plants to the core making it even more difficult to stop the spread.

This year we were unable to go the entire 365 day stretch without appling a fungicide to the greens as we have in previous years. We did however stop the spread of the disease and witness complete turf recovery in a relatively short time period. The things we normally do and the fertilizers that we normally use will continue to be utilized. I believe the method of keeping the surface dry, smooth and short have helped protect the grass from disease. When necessary, fungicides will be used for the health of the plant just like a shot of penicillin.

Good news is that the bentgrass was not affected and was allowed to overtake the sick Poa annua and fill in the diseased areas."

Visit Doug's blog at corralmaintenance.blogspot.com.