Isla Del Sol Golf Course News: Time for Some Culture

It's time for some culture, cultural practices that is. Here in Florida, there are certain summertime maintenance practices that are crucial, not only for the upcoming winter but for the longevity of the golf course. We refer to these practices as being cultural practices. They are things we do to improve the health of the turfgrass and soil that go beyond mowing and don't involve fertilizer or chemicals. Aerficaction, verticutting and sand topdressing are some examples of cultural practices.

Fortunately for our golfers, we have adopted a more frequent but less disruptive cultural program for our greens. You may notice small holes punches in them from time to time or small dustings of sand applied to the surface. Instead of closing 2-3 times per year to perform very disruptive large-tine aerifications, we opt to perform 15 less disruptive aerifications throughout the summer. When you do the math, you still accomplish the same thing without having punched greens with big holes that take weeks to heal. (Please understand that while this works for us, it may not work as well for other golf courses, especially those up north. If you belong to another club besides Isla, I recommend you defer to your golf course superintendent who knows their property better than anyone else.)

While our greens program is barely noticeable, our tees and fairway work has commenced this week and you will definitely see the work being done. The first step is to verticut the fairways and green surrounds. Due to our major renovation projects in 2018 and 2019 we didn't have the opportunity to do much for the fairways those years. This has resulted in fairways that have a significant amount of grain and thatch. This makes them feel kind of spongy and can result in unsightly scalping at times. The verticutting consists of a series of knives that slice the horizontally growing plants and pull thatch up to the surface. As you can imagine this creates quite a mess with grass clippings. Another benefit to the verticutting is that it helps to plane unevenness. This will be most noticeable around the mounding on our newly renovated green surrounds. While overall they look fine, there is a lot of unevenness resulting from the construction and sod installation. The verticutting will help to smooth the surface. It may be shocking at first but the grass will grow back quickly in these areas.

Following the verticutting we will circle mow all the fairways. Circle mowing is exactly as it sounds, mowing in a circle. We will actually drop the mower height and then drive the mower in circles, slowly spiraling up the fairway. This circular direction aids at standing up the grass and removing additional grain. While many of our fairways may appear to be scalped, rest assured we will not keep them that tight and they will recover quickly.

Following the verticutting and circle mowing you will see us add a layer of sand to many areas surrounding greens. This sand application is referred to as topdressing. The topdressing helps to fill any voids where there is uneven turf, creates a healthier environment conducive to air exchange and water movement and also helps to firm the playing surface to increase ball roll.

Finally, in the coming week you will see us begin to aerify the entire golf course. This becomes extremely crucial this year with a significantly higher number of rounds all being played with single-rider golf carts. This traffic is detrimental to the health of the turf and underlying soil. The aerification is necessary to relieve compaction which will help with the exchange of air, water and nutrients as well as provide ample space for root growth.

Instead of closing like in years past, our intent is to perform this work while at the same time facilitating an enjoyable golf experience for you. It is likely you will encounter some messes along the way, but they should be isolated to where we are currently working. The greens should continue to be in the fantastic condition we have grown accustomed to.

Thanks for your patience and understanding.