New Fowler #9

The sodding of  new #9 on the Fowler Course is complete. Here is the process:

First the green location was confirmed, and soon after we were able to install the drainage and core out our green.  The sub floor matches the contours of what would then become the finish grade.  We constructed this green and the other greens in the Fowler chipping area in the same method.  We have constructed what is essentially a modified push up green to help match these greens closer to the others on the course.  

After the drainage was installed and approved by the architect, the rootzone mix that I selected was then installed.  After the rootzone depths were checked to make sure that it was correct we then began to install the irrigation components.

We used the existing valves off of the mainline and tied in new laterals.  Although we don't use effluent water here, we used purple pipe so that we could match the existing system.  There are two other irrigation systems in the ground out here, and for the sake of people in the future we are trying to make sure they can tell which is which.  We tied in, measured our head distances and installed the irrigation loop.

The irrigation was installed and wired in, so after backfilling and compacting the trenches it was finally time to sod the green.  We removed sod from the old #9 green that was going to be removed anyway and laid it on new #9.  We laid out plywood to keep footprints and movement of the rootzone to a minimum.  It took me and my staff about 5 hours to lay all 2700 square feet of sod, but I'm happy we did it this way, it turned out great.

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As soon as the sodding was finished we seeded the green with Creeping Bentgrass and hand topdressed the green with a heavily.  After the sand was allowed to dry we broomed it in by hand, helping to level and uneven areas as well and fill in any small gaps in the sod.  

We then handwatered the sod, being sure that every piece was soaked through.  We then protected the new green with some not so subtle caution tape, hoping to keep everyone off of it.  This green has since been mowed 3-4 days a week, fertilized and it has established 6-7" roots throughout.  

The finish work on the mounds behind the green is complete and we installed another irrigation loop it was time to sod.  This past Thursday we had a company come in and install "big rolls" of sod on the mounds and surrounds of the green.  

The bunker to the right of the green is complete as well.  We installed the sand prior to the sod, in the picture here you can see my staff distributing the sand evenly and compacting it as well.

We used sod from our fairway nursery to tie the approach in.  It matches up really well with what we already have on the other 8 holes of the Fowler 9.  

Here is a picture of the new #9 from the tee box.  (click on the picture and it will enlarge so you can see details)  It will be a few weeks of growing in the sod on the surround before we can open it up.  Right now we are one step closer to completion of the Fowler chipping area.  

Hazard Maintenance

When I started here 11 months ago one of the many problems that I faced was the playability of the bunkers.  The club had invested in a bunker renovation in 2008, and this changed the course for the better.  The bunker renovation added more character and strategy to the course as well as giving it an updated look.  Although the bunkers were designed and constructed well, I have been told that from the beginning there were issues with the bunkers playing extremely soft and buried lies were commonplace.  Unattractive and thin turf areas on the bunker surrounds were common as well.  A lot of the faces, noses and surrounds were weak and in need of attention.  Although this does not effect the way a bunker plays, visually these areas stood out.  We have implemented many tried and true methods of bunker maintenance as well as innovative methods for daily maintenance on the bunkers here at BCC.

Here is the plan I have implemented here at BCC:

1)  Although most people don't think of it, bunker maintenance is a year round challenge.  Even when the  ground is frozen in the winter we still must maintain adequate moisture on bunker faces, a lot of times more so than other areas on the golf course. The dry climate of Colorado and the extra heat given off from the intense sun reflecting off of the sand make bunker faces especially susceptible to desiccation injury.

Snow that was melted off the face and nose here on #7 green side  was shoveled onto the bunker face, helping to protect from desiccation in the winter

2)  The wind here in Boulder is especially brutal for the turf.  Using snow as well as the frost free system is essential to watering these areas and others to help keep them alive.  Wind also blew sand away from the bunkers, and this extra "top dressing" can effect the bunkers shape with the lips of the bunkers actually becoming higher than the surrounds.  We sent out a crew in the spring to physically wash the sand back in to where it came from.

3)  Coming into the spring after we pressured up the summer irrigation system we immediately fertilized the bunker surrounds.  Getting an early start is essential and as the Kentucky Bluegrass came out of dormancy we experienced a welcomed flush of growth on the bunker surrounds.   New rhizomes from the Bluegrass filled in many areas that were thinned out from winter injury.  Any areas that did not fill in were stripped and sodded.  We have implemented a wetting agent and fertility program that has been individualized for the bunker surrounds. These items will be applied on a schedule throughout the growing season to try our best to keep the surrounds looking as they do now.

Fresh sod on back bunker #3

4)  Sand depth was analyzed in each bunker, and any excess sand was removed.  We used a probe to map out what bunkers were the deepest.  4-6" on the floor of the bunker and 2-3" of sand on the flash faces are the appropriate depths as defined by the course architect.  The deeper the sand, the more difficult and sometimes impossible it is to pack.  The sand chosen during the renovation is a good bunker sand that functions correctly when maintained at the correct depths and with certain maintenance practices.  We consistently found 12-18" of sand in most bunkers. We are concentrating on correcting the sand depth on green side bunkers and we are slowly but surely making our way through the course.

Without damaging the drainage or disturbing gravel that lines the drainage on the bunker floors, the best and really only way to do this is with good old fashioned shovel work.  Each bunker is split into sections by using a probe and sand is skimmed out in order to correct the depth 

5)  Now that the sod has rooted in and the sand depth is correct, it is time to move on to contouring, packing and shaping the bunkers and their edges.

Sand is pulled down off of the edges and a reciprocating blade is run along the edge of the bunker.  This blade cuts off rhizomes growing into the bunker and gives the bunkers there distinct "edged" appearance

When the debris from edging the bunker has been removed and the sand that was pulled down distributed once more, it is now time for using a plate compactor.  Essentially this piece of equipment vibrates the top layer of sand and helps to firm the sand by forcing the particles together.  As you can see in the picture sometimes it is a two man operation to keep this plate compactor up on the edges.

6)  Bunkers now have the proper sand depth, healthy turf surrounds, firmness for playability and a distinct, edged appearance.  You will notice that bunkers here at BCC will have a 2" lip on the side that impacts a play towards the green (intended to eliminate being able to putt out of a hazard) as well as a much smaller but distinct edge on the other sides.  This other edge aids in rulings for tournaments by being able to distinguish what is rough, and what is hazard.

7)  The way that bunkers are raked on a day to day basis has also changed.  Fairway bunkers are maintained daily with a mechanical rake, or "sandpro" for fairway bunkers.  Green side bunkers are hand raked daily using plastic leaf rakes.  The equipment managers, Dave Stroup and Roy Pierce were able to fabricate this rake for the sandpro this winter.  The idea is to rake a smooth bunker but to do so by disturbing as little sand as possible to keep the bunker floors firm.

Green side bunkers are raked using large plastic leaf rakes, we use a sweeping action to smooth them out daily, but once again disturb very little sand.  

Well maintained bunkers can be very aesthetically pleasing and play as fairly as possible.  If you find yourself with tough lie, please remember that a tremendous amount of effort has been put forth to reduce the chances for that to happen.  I hope that instead you can just look at how pretty they look on your way to your birdie putt.

Another One in the Books

Spring aerification was completed on all 27 holes last week.  I was speaking with one of the grounds committee members after we wrapped up, and he asked how many steps it took to accomplish aerification on  greens.  Thinking about it, I realized that there were 14 separate steps to aerification on greens alone.  Although for a small time it is unfortunate to affect their playability, we will be better off in the long run and especially during the heat of the summer for the work we have put in last week.  Aerification of the course involves a lot of planning, preparation and execution.  Greens were aerified using a 14 step process.

1)  Topdress greens heavily with a 90-10 USGA and Dakota peat blend

2)  Deep solid tining then took place.  It is important to topdress before the solid tine, this helps work the sand deeper into the holes we have made.  We used 3/4"by 14" tines and went to a depth of 10"

3)  Once the sand was allowed to dry, the greens were dragged using a heavy steel mat dragged by a cart driven slowly on the green, which worked sand into the holes. 

4)  This steel mat was then followed by a "coco mat" which is essentially a stiff bristled mat that is dragged behind another cart to ensure that as much of our sand/peat blend was worked in as possible.

5)  We then applied a heavy irrigation cycle in order to knock in any remaining sand as well as to relieve the stress from the plants due to all of the mechanical wear they were taking

6)  We followed this by using our hollow tine pro-core, we used 1/4" hollow tines and 3/4" spacing at a depth of 4" to remove plugs from the greens.  This allows us to remove excessive organic matter at the surface as well as giving much needed space in the greens to allow gas exchange for our modified push up greens 

7)  After they were allowed to dry, these plugs were then picked up with scoop shovels and hauled away.  The cleaning up of these cores actually helps work even more sand into the aerification holes and off of the surface of the green

8)  I had the soil tested by a laboratory 2 weeks prior to aerification so that during this period we could help balance our soils inside the rootzone and help grow the strongest turf system possible on greens.  We added our soil amendments and the amendments were then watered into the soil profile.

Myself and the rest of the staff put in a very long first day of aerification, and we were able to accomplish these 8 steps last Monday, while still working on aerifying the rest of the course.  Here is day 2:

9)  Greens were then sprayed with a combined calcium and quickly released nitrogen source.  

10)  This was then watered into the rootzone using a heavy irrigation cycle.  This irrigation cycle helps the turf  recover from the stress of aerification as well as grow new roots.

Greens were then permitted to recover for the remainder of the day while we worked on coring, topdressing and cleaning the other areas of the golf course.  The aggressive nature of what we put the greens through resulted in small undulations and unevenness on greens.  On the third day:

11)  Greens were spiked using a "TIP" seeder, opening up small and very shallow new holes to give these small undulations room to be pushed into.

12)  Greens were then rolled with our speed roller to help work down these undulations.  Greens were once again permitted to heal through the weekend, and although they played slow and soft they will be better off in the long run for everyone

13)  On Monday we once again spiked greens with our "TIP" seeder, and greens were seeded at a rate of 1.5lbs/M of T1 Creeping Bentgrass.

14)  Greens were then topdressed, the sand dragged in and watered.

So that is it for spring aerification, I am very proud of our staff and the job they did during aerification to not only accomplish greens, but tees, approaches/bail outs and fairways as well.  The entire course is healing very quickly, we are currently working the cutting heights back down on greens and we are well on our way to healthier, happier greens here at BCC.

Just Hanging Out

The fox in the forefront of this picture was having a nice casual morning in the shade and made sure that the bunkers were being flymowed correctly.  It's been a very interesting spring so far this year, there have been a lot of wildlife spotted around the course.   The new addition of a fox den in a property neighboring our 1st hole has been a treat to see, occasionally you can catch the mother fox and her pups wandering around at dawn or dusk..  Although they do cause a few problems by digging at the edges of bunkers, the foxes around the Boulder Country Club property are always a pleasure to see and are a welcomed guest for us here.