Happy Birthday to the Greens!

10 years ago today our greens at Isla Del Sol were planted with a new grass called Seashore Paspalum. At the time, our greens were Tifdwarf bermudagrass that were 11 years old. The Tifdwarf required winter overseeding, had numerous pest issues and was not tolerant of the poor water quality that we often receive through our reclaimed irrigation water supply. Seashore Paspalum presented an option that was much more tolerant of the inherent issues we face at Isla. While it took some time for the new greens to mature, Isla has built a strong reputation of having beautiful putting surfaces and has become a go-to source of information for other facilities looking to maintain quality seashore paspalum greens.

 

Mission Accomplished

Last week the golf course was closed to perform extensive cultural maintenance practices including greens/tees aerifications and fairway verticutting. I am happy to say that all went well. It appears that the fairways will fully recover faster than normal. From what I have seen, they look great. The greens also look very healthy and should take the normal 10-14 days to fully heal. (As I write this, the rain is pouring down which always helps to speed recovery!) You may notice on a few of the greens where a small area of turf may have lifted and is in need of repair. This is a normal occurrence due to the aggressiveness of our aerification program. Over the next week we will repair any spots that are in need. We will also be aerifying and topdressing the collars and approaches on Tuesday.

The grounds department also took advantage of the closed days to perform some other tasks. One of which was the hanging of new driving range nets. Another task performed was the spraying of Round-Up in the area between 10 and 18 fairways. We will be removing the turf in this area and replacing with a waste area similar to the ones on 1, 3 and 5. At the same time we will remove the old, dying bottlebrush trees and replacing with palm tress. The addition of the waste bunker aids playability, improves aesthetics, reduces the need for chemical and fertilizer inputs, and requires less manpower to maintain. You will see this work completed over the next few weeks.

   Just a few holes on 6 green

   Jason and Jesus hanging new nets

   Dark area between 10 and 18 will become a waste bunker

Necessary Evil

The golf course will be closed May 30th thru June 2nd for greens aerification and fairway verticutting. Aerification involves the pulling of cores from the green surfaces and backfilling the resulting holes with sand. The sand helps to maintain pore space allowing for the exchange of water, nutrients and air. Verticutting of fairways results in the removal of grain and thatch. While the golf course will be in recovery for a couple of weeks, both aerification and verticutting produce healthier grass and better playing conditions in the long run. 

 

We worked out the kinks last week aerifying the chipping and nursery greens.

What's Up With #2 Bleaching Her Hair?

You may notice some grass that looks almost white on number two. This is part of a trial I am conducting to gauge the effectiveness of a specific herbicide on killing goose grass. Following the warm winter our goose grass population seems to be worse than normal. I am looking for an efficient and cost-effective way to control it. If found to be effective, I intend to apply this product while we are closed for aerification. By the time the golf course recovers, the grass should also be green where we apply this product. 

Trial On #2

 

 Healthy Goosegrass

Family Milestone

The Sunderman family reached a milestone this weekend as our oldest child Trent graduated from Lakewood Ranch High School. Many of you probably remember Trent as the youngster from over 10 years ago when I first started at Isla. Or possibly the musician who joined me at the pool bar to play guitar a few years back. He is now a high school graduate! Trent plans to attend Florida Atlantic University is Boca Raton in the fall where he plans to major in architecture. 

 

Don't Wait To Read This Post. Golf Depends On It!

Many of you know that I am a current board member of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA). The GCSAA has nearly 18,000 members and provides services in 78 countries. GCSAA is dedicated to serving its members, advancing their profession and enhancing the enjoyment, growth and vitality of the game of golf. One of the ways we fulfill our mission is through our philanthropic organization, the Environmental Institute for Golf (EIFG). The Environmental Institute for Golf fosters sustainability through research, awareness, education, programs and scholarships for the benefit of golf course management professionals, golf facilities and the game. 

The EIFG is currently conducting an auction of golf rounds to raise money to help support its mission. This auction is called Rounds 4 Research. Through this auction there are over 1000 golf courses nationwide and beyond who have donated rounds of golf to be auctioned off to benefit the EIFG. Through this auction you have the opportunity to gain access to some facilities otherwise difficult to access as well as possibly pick up a great deal at other facilities. Some bids start at under $100 per foursome! This is definitely worth your time as a golfer to check out. Please check this out and share with any golfer friends.

Don't Delay! Auction ends May 7th at 10:00 pm EST.

Visit Rounds4Research.com to check out the available courses.

A Little Thirsty

Over the weekend some of the greens showed signs of being dry. Low humidity and high winds caused some wilt of the leaf tissue. The greens have bounced back nicely although a few areas still show signs of the drought stress, most noticeably #4. Any remaining areas should recover fully over the next week.

 

Front of #4 Green