I touched on some of the turf problems you might see in your lawn a few posts back, and now that temperatures are warming up and with the above-normal rainfall we’ve had in central Indiana, I wanted to share with you some of the problems anyone who has experienced quite a bit of spring rain is likely to encounter this summer.
When soils are waterlogged, turfgrass roots tend to stay shallow and don’t develop the root mass that normally occurs in the spring. This will probably lead to turf that will be easily stressed when the soil dries up and summer temperatures climb.
Fewer roots will necessitate increased irrigation if you water your lawn, as well as more severe damage from grubs in August and September. If you’ve experienced grub problems in previous years, plan on a preventative insecticide application this year.
Shallow rooting also will make the turf more prone to damage from root-borne diseases like summer patch. This bulletin explains the disease and some of the measures you can take to help your lawn through it.
Lastly, with a decreased root system, we will probably see above-normal thinning of lawns, leading to increased populations of crabgrass, goosegrass, yellow nutsedge, prostrate spurge, purslane and oxalis.
There are a multitude of informative publications available at this Purdue University Web site if you have questions about any of the above-mentioned problems that may be seen this summer if it’s been wet in your area.
Jeff Stuart
Course Superintendent
Brickyard Crossing
As you may know, golf course maintenance equipment is highly specialized and not inexpensive. Walk-behind greens mowers can cost over $8,000, riding triplex greens mowers around $26,000 and fairway mowers over $35,000.
Throw in a few mowers for rough ranging from $25,000 – 50,000, utility carts costing $7,000 – 15,000, a computerized sprayer or two at $26,000 a pop and numerous other pieces, and you have a significant amount of money invested in equipment inventory.
The one thing that these all have in common is that they take a trained staff member to operate. Well, until now.
Enter Precise Path Robotics, Inc. www.precisepath.com, an Indianapolis company that is developing a robotic greens mower (RG3). You still need someone to deploy the robot at the green, but then that employee is freed up to complete other tasks such as changing the hole position, raking bunkers, picking up trash, etc. And considering that 55 – 65 percent of a golf course maintenance budget goes to labor, this could be a good tool to help stretch that budget dollar.
After a recent tour of Precise Paths’ facility, I invited them to bring out the working RG3 to test run on one of my practice greens. The robot is still being developed, but I have to tell you, it was pretty amazing watching a totally autonomous greens mower in action. This is not your mother’s Roomba™!
If you press the play button to look at the video clip below, you will see a very wet practice green with the unit running some practice laps, not unlike the Indianapolis 500 practice laps you will hear in the background.
Below are some pictures taken of the RG3 in action at the Brickyard.
Jeff Stuart
Course Superintendent
Brickyard Crossing
I’ll get back to turf care next time, but I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you about National Golf Day and to let you know how significant the game has become.
In case you missed it, Wednesday, May 13 was the second annual National Golf Day. The leaders of 10 of golf’s major organizations met with members of Congress in Washington to share information about golf’s economic impact on our national economy and to ensure that Congress is aware and understands how legislation can affect it.
Golf is estimated to be an $80-billion industry with a total economic impact of over $195 billion. The golf industry employs over 2 million people with a total wage income of $61 billion. GCSAA President Mark Kuhns, CGCS, stated that the golf industry is larger than the newspaper industry, larger than performing arts and spectator sports, and larger than the motion picture/video business. There are more than 29.7 million people who consider themselves golfers in the U.S. Although charitable contributions probably will be down from last year, approximately 150,000 fundraising events funnel $3.5 billion to charitable causes annually.
Professional Golf Association (PGA) Commissioner Tim Finchem told reporters: “The professional side of the game has a $3.6-billion impact and last year raised $124 million for charity. And so we are integrated into communities to raise money for charity. Most of the reaction I get from members of Congress is they recognize the value of corporate sponsorships in sports marketing generally, and particularly with the PGA Tour, which is 100-percent organized for charitable purposes.”
Golf courses also have a positive environmental impact. Along with providing valuable green space with grass and trees that produce oxygen, they also offer excellent wildlife habitat. Almost 50 percent of all courses have increased their natural or unmaintained areas by 10 acres or more in the last 10 years, creating approximately 80,000 acres of new habitat. At Brickyard Crossing, we have added close to 15 acres.
Turfgrass provides exceptional filtration for runoff and for recharging groundwater from rainfall and irrigation. The majority of golf courses utilize computerized irrigation control, many with weather stations that calculate the amount of water lost to evaporation. Golf course irrigation accounts for 0.5 percent of the water used daily in the U.S., and fewer than 15 percent of golf courses utilize city water supplies.
Jeff Stuart
Course Superintendent
Brickyard Crossing
It’s spring, and you’ve noticed some problem spots in your lawn or areas of growth that definitely aren’t grass. These very good photos from the Ohio State Turf Web site are representative of things you might be seeing and can help you pinpoint the problems.
Common Chickweed
Wormcastings
Crabgrass
Dull Mower Blade
Knotweed in Compacted Soil
Leaf Spot
Poa Annua Seedhead
Poa Annua in Football Field
Red Thread - Low Nitrogen
Rust
More next week!
Jeff Stuart
Course Superintendent
Brickyard Crossing
I love watching The Masters and especially enjoy seeing near-perfect greens and the exacting putts they demand. I also appreciate the amount of effort it takes to produce putting surfaces and the resulting green speed.
After checking several sources, the consensus seems to be that the green speed was 12 feet + on Sunday. Just what is green speed? How is it measured? Why measure it? What variables can affect it? I’ll attempt to address these questions and hopefully give you a better understanding of green speed and the factors that influence it.
Green speed can be defined as the averaged distance a golf ball rolls when released from a Stimpmeter at a controlled velocity. The United States Golf Association (USGA) introduced the Stimpmeter in the late 1970s to enable tournament officials to measure ball roll subjectively in an effort to promote uniform and consistent speed between greens on a given course. They also came up with the following Speed Charts that are presented for general information only.
Speeds for Regular Play
8’6” Fast
7’6” Medium-Fast
6’6” Medium
5’6” Medium-Slow
4’6” Slow
Speeds for Championship Play
10’6” Fast
9’6” Medium-Fast
8’6” Medium
7’6” Medium-Slow
6’6” Slow
The USGA’s “Stimpmeter Instruction Booklet” (http://www.usga.org/turf/articles/management/greens/stimpmeter.html) states that the Stimpmeter is an extruded aluminum bar, 36 inches long, with a V-shaped groove extending along its entire length. It has a precisely milled ball-release notch 30 inches from the tapered end.
It goes on to say that the Stimpmeter is a simple, accurate device that allows one to make standard measurement of, and place a numerical figure on, the speed of a putting green. It has proven to be an invaluable asset to the game of golf and a helpful management tool for the golf course superintendent, but it is not intended for course comparisons.
There are many variables that influence green speed, chief among them being environmental factors. Rainfall and high humidity result in slower speeds while dry and warm conditions cause faster speeds. Seasonal variations can contribute to ball roll distances of greater than 1 foot, while daily fluctuations during optimal growth periods can be 4 to 8 inches. The speed can become faster or slower, depending on conditions.
I’ve also discovered that there are many maintenance practices that affect green speed. Lowering the mowing height, to a point, will increase ball roll because there are fewer grass blades to slow the ball. Likewise, decreasing or limiting nitrogen fertilizer inputs makes for greater speed by decreasing leaf thickness and/or stand density. Rolling greens as part of an overall program can increase ball roll 4 to 10 inches without causing compaction on high sand content greens like those at the Brickyard.
One of the most interesting research studies I’ve read, from the University of Arkansas and Michigan State, shows that rolling greens has a greater impact on green speed than lowering the height of cut. The study also found that mowing frequency could be reduced without a decrease in ball roll distance if the greens were rolled on the days mowing was skipped.
This mowing/rolling regime produced the most consistent day-to-day green speeds. Light, frequent topdressing causes an initial decrease in speed but then a 4- to 8-inch increase as the topdressing works into the turf canopy. Core aerification impacts surface smoothness, and unless the holes are filled can decrease green speed for many weeks.
Plant Growth Regulators (PGR’s) are used to help increase speed by slowing the rate of growth and eliminating or reducing annual bluegrass seedhead formation.
All of the above factors, plus the type of soil, turf type and amount of thatch contribute to green speed and must be considered when developing management programs. But when everything comes together and results in fast, smooth and resilient greens like Augusta National just presented, it’s awesome!
Jeff Stuart
Course Superintendent
Brickyard Crossing
I want to follow up on my last blog, about crabgrass control, to share some information about fertilizer types, recommended programs and a handy “fertilizer calculator” that will help you get the most bang for the buck.
While you might use a 20-20-20 fertilizer on your garden, it’s not the best choice for your lawn. The 20-20-20 numbers represent, by weight, the percentage of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) found in the bag. Research has shown these nutrients occur in cool-season turfgrass in roughly a 4 – 1 – 2 ratio, so using fertilizers with this ratio makes sense.
A soil test is the best way to determine P and K levels, but unless you have either a very sandy or a very heavy clay soil, applying nutrients in this ratio, over the course of the season should be fine. Because N elicits the greatest response in turf, most recommendations are listed as pounds N per 1000 ft2 (lb N/m).
Nitrogen can be either quick release (soluble) or slow release (insoluble), and both forms are usually blended to make a single product. The soluble portion provides green up within a week while the insoluble N can release over a four- to 12-week period.
Slow-release N (SRN) can be sulfur coated urea (SCU), polymer coated urea (PCU), methylene ureas or natural organics. Quick-release N can be formulated as Urea or Ammonium (NH4) and nitrate (N03). There are myriad combinations and release characteristics of the N sources listed above.
Regardless of the way they are combined, you should probably not apply more than one-half pound N/m of a soluble source at one time while the turf is actively growing. The following table is adapted from www.agry.purdue.edu/turf/pubs/ay-22.pdf and shows several N programs recommended by Purdue University. Their research has shown that applying most of the annual N in the fall results in the healthiest turf throughout the year. The chart shows how much you should apply at each time of the year depending on what program your lawn is on:
Mid-April
Lb. N/m: .75
Pre-Emergent: Yes
Max w/Urea: No
Max w/SRN: No
Standard: No
Minimum: No
N Release Form: Slow/Quick
May 15-June 1
Lb. N/m: 1.0
Pre-Emergent: No
Max w/Urea: Yes
Max w/SRN: Yes
Standard: Yes
Minimum: No
N Release Form: Slow
July 15-30
Lb. N/m: .5-.75
Pre-Emergent: Yes
Max w/Urea: Yes
Max w/SRN: Yes
Standard: No
Minimum: No
N Release Form: Slow
Sept. 15-30
Lb. N/m: 1.0
Pre-Emergent: Yes
Max w/Urea: Yes
Max w/SRN: No
Standard: Yes
Minimum: Yes
N Release Form: Slow/Quick
Sept. 15-30
Lb. N/m: 1.75
Pre-Emergent: No
Max w/Urea: No
Max w/SRN: Yes
Standard: No
Minimum: No
N Release Form: Slow
Nov. 1-15
Lb. N/m: 1.0
Pre-Emergent: Yes
Max w/Urea: Yes
Max w/SRN: No
Standard: Yes
Minimum: No
N Release Form: Quick
Total N for Year
Pre-Emergent: 3.5 lbs.
Max w/Urea: 3.5 lbs.
Max w/SRN: 3.5 lbs.
Standard: 3 lbs
Minimum: 1 lb
The pre-emergent and maximum programs will produce the greenest turf but will also require the most irrigation and mowing. The standard program will provide healthy turf without as much mowing and irrigation, and the minimum program requires the least. An important point to remember is that if you collect clippings, you will be removing almost 1 pound N/m; essentially throwing away an application per year and would need an additional application to meet the program totals listed above.
The following link, www.agry.purdue.edu/turf/fertcalc/Fertilization%20calc.html, is a fertilizer calculator that you can use to determine how much of what analysis you need for a given area. This is a valuable tool to use when looking at different products. It will tell you which product will give you the most bang for your buck! An additional step I use is to also factor in the release time to determine the cost per day.
Jeff Stuart
Course Superintendent
Brickyard Crossing
In my last blog entry, I tried to emphasize that no two golf courses or maintenance programs are the same. However, there are some basic agronomy terms relevant to most courses that I’d like to share with you. Hopefully these will increase your understanding of some of the terminology and ongoing maintenance practices you may encounter while playing.
Aeration: The working of a turf soil without destruction of the turf by coring, slitting, grooving, venting, spiking or other methods to reduce compaction and improve water and air movement through the soil.
Blend: A combination of two or more cultivars of the same grass species.
Cultivar: A variety or strain that has originated and persisted under cultivation or was specifically developed for the purpose of cultivation. A term used to distinguish cultivated varieties of plants from the naturally occurring varieties. Example: Penncross creeping bentgrass.
Cultivation: A mechanical procedure such as spiking, grooving or core removal on established turf without destroying its sod characteristics.
Cutting Height: The distance above the soil line that grasses are clipped.
Bench Setting: The height at which the bedknife is set above a firm, level surface. This is generally the accepted measure for determining cutting height. Bench settings for our greens range from .125 of an inch to .145 of an inch.
Effective Cutting Height: The actual height at which grasses are cut, differing from the bench setting, depending on the amount of thatch and the flotation of the cutting unit.
Desiccation: Winter injury sustained on exposed turf areas when subject to high winds, or the loss of moisture from a plant because of hot, dry weather or chemicals.
Foot Printing:
Frost: Dead leaf tissue formed by walking on live, frosted turfgrass leaves.
Wilt: Usually temporary impressions caused by walking on grass plants that are unable to spring up due to insufficient moisture in the leaves.
Green Speed: Describes the condition of a putting surface as it relates to ball roll distance measured by Stimpmeter or Pelzmeter readings.
Leaching: The removal of materials (eg. salts) dissolved in the soil solution caused by the movement of water down through the soil, past the root zone.
Localized Dry Spot: An isolated dry area of sod and soil that resists water infiltration; caused by factors such as heavy thatch, soil or fungal organisms.
Mixture: A grass seed combination of two or more turfgrass species.
PGR: Plant Growth Regulator. A chemical used to slow turfgrass leaf growth and/or suppress seedhead formation.
Syringing: A light sprinkling of water on turf, usually done during the hot part of the day to prevent wilting. Also done to help expedite frost removal.
Winterkill: The general term applied to the loss of turf from a variety of causes during the winter that become evident in the spring.
I would also encourage you to e-mail me at jstuart@brickyard.com with any questions about these or other turfgrass terms. Most of these definitions came from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.
Jeff Stuart
Course Superintendent
Brickyard Crossing
Hello, my name is Jeff Stuart, and I’ve been the Certified Golf Course Superintendent (CGCS) here at Brickyard Crossing since 1991, having achieved certification in 1990 after serving as golf course superintendent at the Country Club of Indianapolis for six years.
I’ve been in the turfgrass industry for 33 years and have served on the boards of the Indiana Golf Course Superintendent’s Association and the Midwest Regional Turf Foundation. Activities I enjoy include gardening, aquatic landscaping, woodworking and fishing.
In this weekly blog, I’ll write about a variety of topics that cover the spectrum of turf care and maintenance at a busy course like Brickyard Crossing. I’ll also try to offer a few tips on how you can keep your lawn and yard looking great throughout the year.
Some of the topics I hope to cover include:
•What is CGCS?
•Golf courses maintenance overview
•Turfgrass terminology
•Golf course grass
•Frost delays
•Myths and realities of green speed
•Aerification and topdressing
•Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program
•IMS turf care
•Turf prep for races
•Mulch or bag clippings?
•Irrigation and syringing
•Recycling of racetrack retaining walls (What to do with more than 2½ half miles of track wall?)
•Mulch or bag leaves?
Now for the topic of this first blog: Winter Work?
I am often asked the question “What do you guys do in the winter?” The short answer is, “Review, plan, repair and update everything.” Explaining what everything is takes a bit longer…
“Everything” includes, but is not limited to, equipment maintenance and repair, tree work, drainage work, irrigation work, landscape and flower bed preparation, cart path and bridge repair, creek bank stabilization, bulkhead repair, and bunker rebuilding and repair. There are also maintenance programs, schedules, inventories and purchases to review and update. We also must gather information and prepare documentation to maintain our status as a “Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary.”
Throw in several educational programs, seminars, Webcasts and trade shows to update ourselves and to earn credits toward renewing our Certified Pesticide Applicators licenses, and believe it or not, we stay pretty busy!
Jeff Stuart
Course Superintendent
Brickyard Crossing