Happy Sunday!

Just another beautiful morning at Isla Del Sol!

Topdressing Approaches

The Grounds Maintenance Department took advatage of the nice weather and light tee sheet this morning to topdress approaches. Topdressing is the spreading of sand over an area of turf. The main objective we are trying to reach by topdressing approaches is to firm these playing surfaces over time. We have identified topdressing approaches as a program we wish to increase during 2016 growing season and took today as an opportunity to get a head start. 

   #6 Approach after topdressing application

   #6 Approach after sand was incorporated

Sunrise

Watching the sunrise over the golf course is still one of my favorite things to do. I wish all of you many birdies in your golfing endeavors this weekend.

Now That The Monsoons Are Coming To An End...

This has been a very challenging summer to keep up with maintenance and efficiently complete projects. Repeated low pressure systems mixed with summer weather patterns brought us consistent rainfall. Everytime we began to dry out another rain event occured. Even now that the rains have decreased, the ground remains close to saturated. Besides keeping up with the mowing, one of the most challenging aspects has been weed management. Rainy weather decreased both the frequency and effectiveness of herbicide applications allowing weed populations to increase. 

You will notice we have been more active applying herbicides over the past couple of weeks. This is evident by the brown weeds and sometimes thin areas of turf where weeds have died. #6 fairway (one our wettest) was one of the worst locations for weed development this summer. When we sprayed out the nutsedge (weed) we were left with areas of thin turf. We had some sod leftover from a recent project so we chose to sod the worst areas in 6 fairway as opposed to waiting for recovery. These areas are currently marked as ground under repair but will be ready for play within a couple of weeks. 

This week we are applying fertilizer to provide the grass with the nutrients necessary for healthy growth. A large truck is used to apply the fertilzer. The grounds maintenance staff will repair any tire tracks left by the truck. However, if you find your ball lying in an unrepaired track you are entitled to a free drop. 

   Nutsedge is the shiny appearing blades mixed in with the turf.

   Nutsedge used to reside in this location before herbicide application.

   Day old sod leftover from a project used to patch 6 fairway. (It will green up!)

   Areas of tropical signalgrass killed on #16. The bermudagrass will recover.

Turf and Surf?

This week the grounds crew installed sod by the new wall along the parking lot. A few areas were left open for landscaping to be installed next week. 

   Sod Along New Wall

Extra sod from the project was used on select golf course collars. These areas had experienced higher concentrations of goosegrass following the summer rains. Because of the proximity to the green, herbicide applications in these areas are not safe. The infested areas were removed and replaced with new sod. These areas have been marked as ground under repair. While it is currently taller than the existing collars, over the next month the sod should establish and we will be able to cut it at the normal height.

   Sod On Collar

A few people have raised questions regarding fishermen under the new bridge. Most of the concerns are over vehicles traveling where they may endanger golf carts or pedestrians. As you know, last winter we installed new bollards in the cart path with Casa V's approval. This has prevented automobiles from using the cartpath as a driveway. However, where there's a will there's a way. It seems that some people are accessing the bridge by pulling their cars into the grass at the corner of Sun Blvd and the Bayway. While there are bollards installed here as well, they are fitting their vehicles in between. After numerous requests, the DOT intalled additional signage to prohibit unauthorized vehicles but that has done little to help. Technically, none of this area is our property and our options are limited. We can't completely close this area off to vehicles. "Authorized" vehicles from the city, DOT, Duke Energy and landscapers do need to access this area. At this time we plan to install posts in between the existing bollards at the corner. These posts must be removable to allow access for the "authorized" vehicles but we hope they will deter those who shouldn't be there with vehicles. 

Where The Green Grass Grows

We seem to have an abundance of green grass growing here at Isla Del Sol. It sure beats the alternative but it has been difficult to keep up with the mowing. We've experienced over 6.5" of rain over the past two weeks which has resulted in faster grass growth and reduced mowing time. Due to soggy conditions we have lost 4 days of mowing over the past two weeks because the golf course was too wet. It's important to understand that it takes all 3 of our fairway mowers 2.5 to 3 days to mow the golf course just one time under normal conditions. This normally allows us to mow everything 2 times per week which is typically frequent enough to provide the excellent conditions you prefer.  Keep in mind that almost our entire golf course is being maintained at fairway height including tees, fairways and green slopes. Due to faster growing grass and reduced mowing time the mowers have struggled to keep up. This has resulted in taller grass on the fairways and tees than we are accustomed to. This taller grass not only impacts play but also slows our mowers down as the workers often have to mow the same spot 3 times to get the grass fully cut. Obviously, this slows the process and makes it difficult to mow the entire golf course even one time in one week. For example, it took approximately 10 man-hours just to mow #6, one of our smallest par 4's! The grounds department will be working extra hours over the weekend to continue working towards catching up. If the weather cooperates, we hope to be caught up by the end of next week.

   Tall grass on a tee

   Trails of clippings left behind a mower.

   Placido on his second cut of this fairway.

Not only has the wet weather impacted the mowing process but it has impacted our weed control as well. Herbicide applications must be avoided during times of rain. This coupled with wet soil which promotes weed seed germination puts us behind in our control program. We experienced similar conditions last September but were able to catch up in October once the weather cooperated. 

   Tall grass mixed with nutsedge (weed) on 6 fairway.

What A difference A Week Makes!

The golf course was closed for four days from August 18th thru August 21st in order for grounds maintenance to perform the second of two aerifications this summer. While never popular, this is necessary for long-term health and playability. I posted numerous photos last week showing our activity and "destruction." I was pleased with the end results of the work performed and I am also pleased with the recovery. The grass looks healthy and the golf course is well on its way to returning to its excellent condition.

During the closure we also took the opportunity to construct a new forward tee on number 13. We have a target date of October 1st for opening this tee. 

For those interested, I had the pleasure of appearing as a guest on SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio last week on Katrek & Maginnes On Tap. For those who missed the original broadcast you can find it by clicking on "Kevin Sunderman" at the following link: PGATOURRadio-KevinSundermanInterview

   New Forward Tee on #13 

   15 Green Last Week

   15 Green This Week

   9 Fairway Last Week

   9 Fairway This Week

Coming to an End

It's been a long week for the grounds maintenance department but that activities of aerification week are coming to an end. We continue to work on the clean-up but the bulk of the work is complete. While conditions will be a little rough for a couple of weeks, we should see a little recovery every day. Thank you for your patience and understanding that this is for the benefit of your golf course. 

   Pedro and Arturo clean up the last of the aerification plugs.

   We used plugs on #8 fairway to improve the thin areas along the cartpath.

   #9 Fariway on Thursday following verticutting

   #9 Fairway on Saturday morning already starting to green up.

Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

The work continues for the grounds crew as we work towards the completion of aerification week. The title of this post is "Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder." That describes the results of the aerification process very well. I am very happy with the progress this week and consider it to be one of the best aerifications and vertical mows we've ever had. We were able to incorporate sand into the aerification holes up to 4+ inches deep. The sand helps the holes to maintain their integrity which prolongs the benefits achieved through aerification. This will help to improve the movement of air, water and nutrients within the soil. A good deal of thatch was removed from the greens but an immense amount of thatch was removed from the fairways! Especially with the significant amount rain this summer, the grass tends to grow so fast that it grows on top of itself as opposed to growing on top of the soil. We were able to harvest a great deal of thatch from the fairways which should result in improved health and playability once they recover. While I'm excited, I realize that golfers may not see things in the same light. I assure you that the short term pains felt following aerification yield long term gains in aesthetics and playability! Full recovery typically takes a couple of weeks.

   15 Green with holes full of sand

   Dillon aerifying 5 tee

   Fernando running the fairway verticutter

   Lines where the verticutter pulled up thatch

   1 Fairway following a verticut and mowing

   Chris putting the final touches on grading the new forward tee on #13

The Work Continues...

At the end of day two of the course closure we have completed pulling cores from the greens, more fairways were verticut and we began aerifying tees and green surrounds. 

Today we are working on incorporating sand into the empty holes on the greens. We continue to aerify tees and surrounds and verticut fairways. Assistant Superintendent, Chris Hewitt, is working on renovation of the Red/Gold tee on #13. In between all of this the crew also begins the cleanup efforts to haul the debris removed during the fairway verticutting. 

   Sand on #14 green ready for incorporation into the holes

   #9 tee following aerification

   Here lies the pile of thatch removed from #1 fairway. That's a lot of loads to haul! 

Turn the Radio Up? Aerification Day #1 is Complete!

For those who listen to SiriusXM Radio, I will be a guest on PGA TOUR Radio on Katrek & Maginnes on Tap at 6:00pm this evening, August 19. You can find PGA TOUR Radio on Sirius #208 / XM #92. I will have the opportunity to speak with Brian and John about current regulations impacting the golf industry and look forward to being their guest.

Yesterday was day #1 of our aerification. It was a long, hot day for the maintenance crew but they managed to get a good start. While it's not fun for anyone, aerification is a necessary practice for the long-term success of turf management, especially on putting greens. Serving multiple purposes, aerification is primarily performed to create space for air, water and nutrients to move into the soil as well as thatch removal from the green surfaces. This promotes healthy turfgrass and superior putting surfaces throughout the golfing season.

   Arturo is happy to be on his last green for the day.

   #9 Green has been aerified and the fairway verticut.

   #9 fairway following vertical mowing.

Grounds Update

Towards the end of last week there were a few greens that experienced some drought stress. Yes, we've recently received some significant rainfall but greens are built to drain quickly. Irrigation on these stressed greens most likely occurred just a few hours too late. A program has been put into place to promote recovery. What doesn't readily recover will be repaired following aerification.

Speaking of aerification, the golf course will be closed August 18th thru August 21st for the second of two aerifications this summer. Greens, tees and surrounds will be aerified and the fairways will be verticut. While not popular amongst golfers, aerification is a necessary practice for maintaining a healthy golf course. The golf course will reopen August 22nd for play. Please expect a couple of weeks for full recovery.

Finally, due to the significant rainfall the past few weeks we have been "cart path only" several days. As a result it appears that there are a few more unfilled divots than normal. It would be greatly appreciated if you would take the time to fill any divots you may come across. Thanks!

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head

A couple of weeks ago we really needed rain and finally received some. Then we we received some more, and more and more! July brought us a total rainfall of 12.55" with 11.75" coming during the past two weeks. It has rained 14 of the last 18 days with more heading this way. Fortunately, the forecast is calling for a return to a more normal summertime pattern later this week and it will be welcomed.

With all this rain it is obvious that the golf course is wet. We are very fortunate that we have received less rainfall than many of the neighboring courses to the north. I'm aware of some courses that have been closed for the past two weeks and some even have greens completely submerged under flood waters! We are also fortunate that Isla drains very well. With all that being said, we are definitely waterlogged at this point. We've done well to eliminate many of the areas for standing water by installing drainage last year, but now the soils simply are saturated. Because our soils are sandy, once we stop receiving precipitation we should dry out quickly. In the meantime I appreciate all of you for understanding when we have cart restrictions to drive on the paths only. I know it is inconvenient but we are looking to make short-term sacrifices for the long-term success of our golf course. The grounds department surveys course conditions and communicates the appropriate restrictions to the golf shop. While some areas may be dry enough to operate golf carts there are many areas that are prone to rutting and possibly getting carts stuck. While sometimes it is possible to restrict cart traffic on just a few holes, there are other times when the problem areas are too widespread to do so. While you may have played a few holes and not encountered many wet areas in the specific areas you have travelled, the grounds department has surveyed the entire property before making their decision. It is our goal to minimize any inconvenience to you while at the same time protecting the golf course. I'm pleased to say that I have observed minimal violations of our recent cart restrictions. Thank you for being so understanding and cooperative!

   Another round of showers rolling in this morning.

Consider The Reset Button Pushed

June and early July had been relatively dry as far as rainfall goes. While we were sufficiently maintaing with irrigation, I was asking for the reset button to be pushed in terms of getting some good, flushing rain. Consider that button pushed! We've experienced over 8 inches of rain in the past week and more rain is beginning to fall at this moment. 

   Rain rolling across #1 fairway

Included with the summer storms comes lightning. Sometimes it's too close for comfort. A recent lightning strike hit a couple of our Washingtonian Palms on #1. Keep this strike in mind when deciding whether or not to keep golfing or take shelter.

  Notice the peeling bark streaking down the tree

The grounds department continues to progress nicely on the new retaining wall along the parking lot. The construction should be complete within the next 2 weeks leaving just the backfill and landscape work remaining.

Scottish Crows

Waiting for these crows at The Open Championship to fly off with a golf ball. Evidently, they are not related to Isla crows!

Pushing The Reset Button

As usual, this summer has kept the grounds department busy. Everything grows much faster this time of year plus this is when we do most of our projects. The most recent project underway is replacement of the retaining wall along the south side of the main parking lot. The old wooden wall was in extremely poor condition. A new vinyl wall, like the one installed on #5 last year, will be taking it's place. 

   Nice progress after just 3 days of work.

So far this summer has been hot and dry. June brought only 2.5 inches of rain. Most of that came in a 2-day period. We've had a little rain this week but we are still looking for a nice flushing rain to "push the reset button." The hot and dry weather has caused several dry spots on the golf course. A good rain will help these areas recover. A few of the greens have experienced hot spots as well. Most significantly, #14 green suffered some areas of wilt after encountering an irrigation issue. Unfortunately, paspalum greens take a long time to recover from drought stress. We will continue to promote recovery and restore these spots back to their normal pristine condition.

   Visible signs of drought stress

   Wilted areas on #14 green.

Another normal part of summer maintenance is weed control. We undertake a diligent spot-spraying regimen in the summer where we direct herbicide applications specifically to actively growing weeds. This sometimes results in the grass turning brown around the weeds sprayed. This is a short-term effect and the grass quickly recovers while the weeds die.

   Areas of grass following herbicide treatment.

What's The Deal With Chambers Bay?

The 2015 U.S. Open has just concluded and I keep hearing the same questions and comments. "What's the deal with Chambers Bay? It looks terrible. Is the grass dead? What's up with the greens?"

Let me start by saying that what we saw on tv is most likely not representative of normal conditions at Chambers Bay. The USGA dictates what they want for course conditions including mowing heights, green speeds, course firmness, etc. The USGA strives to provide the toughest stage for the world's best golfers to compete. At Chambers Bay they must have decided that a very firm and fast golf course was the way to go. Chambers Bay is built on a hill of sand which means it dries quickly. The USGA most likely dictated that irrigation be applied at a minimum to speed up the golf course, even if it resulted in wilted turf. What we saw was beyond wilt. Much of that grass was drought stressed to the point of dormancy. While it appeared dead, most of the turf should come back once it receives adequate moisture. 

   Chambers Bay looking green. (Maybe a little photoshop but the turf looks lush)

Now the greens... those poor greens. While tv never does the undulations justice, those were some undulating greens. I would guess that they were designed to roll between 8' to 9' on a Stimp Meter in order to be fair. However, they were at 11'+ this past week. The normal mowing height for those greens is 0.25". (That's unfathomable to me. Due to their density, if I mowed Isla's greens at .25" they would roll about 5' on the Stimp Meter!) For the U.S. Open they were cutting the greens at 0.180". When you think about reducing the height to 70% of normal added with starving them for water and nutrients you are going to have thin turf. When you have areas of thin turf you get bumpiness. These greens were not only fescue but they had some Poa annua which had managed to find its way to Chambers Bay. Throw in the Poa annua and you get even more bumpiness. 

   Ian Poulter posted this photo of a green. Notice wilted blades of 

   grass in all the thin areas. Proper maintenance practices for these 

   greens would help improve their playability.

I'm not going to discuss layout because golf course design is like art, subjective and open to interpretation. However, under normal conditions I would bet that Chambers Bay is a difficult but fair place to play. I would also believe that the fairways aren't "dead" and the greens much better when maintained in their intended form. It caused me pain everytime I heard how awful the golf course conditions were because I know there are some talented and dedicated people who care for that facility the same way my staff and I care for Isla. I bet that we would have seen different golf course conditions this past week if the management was left to the Chambers Bay Director of Grounds and Superintendent. 

What is the Significance of 9,408,960?

What is the significance of 9,408,960? That is the approximate total number of holes punched into the greens this week. 

   Closeup of an aerified green

Yes, this week was the first of 2 aerifications of the summer. Aerification is one of the necessary evils required to maintain a quality golf course. Aerification serves multiple purposes but primarily it is done to remove organic matter (thatch) and relieve compaction. As a result, playing conditions are improved and the grass is healthier throughout the year. Greens, tees, aprons and other select areas were aerified.

Fairways were verticut this week which is conducted to remove thatch. The end result, once again, healthier grass and better playability. This year verticutting became a much bigger project since we expanded our fairway cut from 20 acres to 55! The amount of thatch material removed is remarkable. 

   Clippings from #1 Fairway

During the verticutting process, we store the clippings on nearby cartpaths for removal later. This is done to keep the verticutting efficiency at it's best. We then come around with a tractor and trailer to remove the clippings from the golf course. Our intention was to finish hauling Saturday morning but the trailer had a hose break. Unfortunately, we won't be able to remove the remaining clippings until Monday after parts are received to repair the trailer. Sorry for the inconvenience. May I suggest holding your nose as you pass by the few remaining piles?

As done in years past we used the aerification plugs from the greens to renovate or construct select tees. Much of the time these tees are the forward tees used for both red and gold play. Originally, these tees were constructed to accommodate a small amount of play. Golf's demographics have changed greatly over the past 35+ years bringing many more women to the game. Plus the addition of gold tees has concentrated a great deal of play from some very small tees. This doesn't allow much room for rotation of teeing area and results in wear. We have focused the past couple of years on improving these tees. This past week we expanded the red/gold tees on 3 and 14. We also added more square footage to the red tee on 9 and built a brand new gold tee on 18.

   Aerification plugs after removal from green

   #3 forward tee. Left side is original tee. Right side has been newly constructed with soil.

   Topdresser used to spread plugs evenly on green

As you can see the hard working men in grounds maintenance accomplished a lot in the 4-day Memorial Day week. However, the work from the past week is not yet complete. Most of the "destructive" practices have concluded but we will still be working on recovery, clean-up and other cultural practices such as topdressing to ensure a good and speedy recovery. 

   Aerification certainly didn't dampen the spirits of the Friday Bocce players!