Keeping Our Head Above Water

You know that feeling, and it's not a "Loving Feeling", when it seems you can never get caught up. It's been like this for our staff until a week or so ago. Our staff have been tremendous and have persevered through horrible weather and long days and it finally seems as if we can cross some items off the list.

There are always limbs to be pruned and willows to be clipped.

Seeding and soiling thin and rutted areas under the trees.

 Stopping to smell the flowers just for a minute. If not, is any of it worth it?

Next time you play take a moment to enjoy the scenery and wildlife Galt has to offer...

Poa Seed

If you’ve been out on the course, you may have noticed a ‘whitish’ haze developing on the greens.  What is it?  A disease? A Different type of grass?  I wanted to take a moment to fill you in a bit.

Once again it is that time of year when we see the development of seed heads on the Annual Bluegrass (Poa annua) population within our greens.  Every year in early to mid May, Poa annua produces a flush of seed head that lingers for about 2 or 3 weeks.  It’s a frustrating and challenging time to maintain greens as we see speeds fall off and the greens begin to feel a bit ‘sticky’ or ‘puffy’.

Even if our putting greens were sodded with Creeping Bentgrass, they will gradually transition to a Bent/Poa mix because of the nature of our property. Poa annua is a native grass species and has the ability to establish almost anywhere there is bare ground due to its prolific seed head production.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Poa annua has many positive attributes and, when properly maintained, can provide exceptional putting surfaces.  In fact, many of the top older golf clubs in our region and around Canada and the US have Poa greens, and  many major tournaments such as the US Open are  hosted on courses with Poa greens.

Poa annua does have some problems though; shallow roots which is a significant issue on our greens, disease susceptibility, ability to out compete Creeping Bentgrass and its seed head production among them.  As you can see in the close up photo below, it is quite capable of producing seed heads at extremely low heights of cut. (1/8” or less)

As you play the golf course, you may notice that the seed head is heavier on some greens vs. others. This is in part due to the amount of Poa that is established on each green.  A green like #6  for instance is one of our heavier producers.  I don’t think there is any coincidence that this is most often the green that shows the most disease stress through the summer.  It is widely believed, and I would agree, that greens that do not produce a heavy seed flush will be comprised of stronger rooted Poa plants better able to withstand the stress of summer. Poa Annua the older it gets produces smaller seed heads and can genetically transition into a more perennial type cultivar.

What can we do? Our friends south of the border have access to products (growth regulators) that reduce the extent of seed production.  These products are not available to us in Canada – perhaps they will in time.  In the meantime, we work within our cultural programs (fertility, brushing, verticutting, topdressing) to get through this time period and minimize the effects.

The flush is almost over and things are returning to ‘normal’ 

What you should excpect over the next week!

The weather stinks blog has already been used this year so lets just all assume we are on the same page with that one.

ROUGH
Over the next week as the temperatures warm up the rough is going to begin to grow and playability will become very difficult. We try our best to keep up with it but it always seems we are playing catch up. The rain and tournament this week has prevented us from cutting it twice, we will try throughout the weekend to get around and re-cut the longer areas. Staff are continuing with sod patching throughout the course, thin areas in the rough are being seeded next week.

Ask the pro shop for some tips on how to play shots from deep rough!

MAINTENANCE DAY
Aeration and spiking are a superintendents most important tool when dealing with compaction, thatch removal, root zone modification, increasing oxygen levels to the roots and the removal of soil layering within the root zone. It is our breath for turf grass survival throughout the year, without it the greens will not survive.
The greens will be aerated Tuesday May 24th, with a mini hollow tine that pulls a 3/16"core out of the green every 2 inches. These cores will be broken up, matted back into the turf and the remaining holes filled with sand. A seeder will be driven over the greens and collars seeding bentgrass into them. Members will see minimal disruption and the greens will resume there playing condition by weeks end.
Tee aeration will commence once the greens are complete and will continue throughout the week.

COURSE BEAUTIFICATION
Staff are beginning to prepare flowerbeds for the arrival of annuals in early June. Beds are being edged, mulched and weeded over the next week.

COURSE ETIQUETTE CONTINUED!

DIVOT FILLING

The soil we use for our divot mix consists of a mixture of finely ground compost, sandy loam soil and sand. It holds moisture beautifully and doesn’t compact, which makes for a good growing medium. On our fairways we use a mixture of Bent grasses. The seed is almost naked to eye, as there is over 6 million seeds per pound. On the tees we use a mixture of Perennial Rye grasses. The major reason for the difference is the speed of germination. The Rye grass germinates in 7 to 10 days where the Bent grass takes 14 to 21 days. If the Bent had a faster germination rate we would use that on the tees. Please do not fill the divot bottles on the carts with divot mix from the tees. The grasses are very different and we do not want the Rye grass seed used on the fairways. Also, please do not use the divot mix for fairways in the rough, bent grasses are an undesirable turf species for the rough.

Please replace your divot whenever you can especially if soil and roots are attached. Add divot mix around the edges to fill in. When filling a divot place enough mix in the void to fill to the top and gently press down with your foot to compact it.

IT'S COOL TO FIX BALL MARKS!

Ball marks, those indentations caused when a ball lands sharply on a soft green, have been ruining good putts since the days of Old Tom Morris. Unrepaired ball marks take two to three weeks to properly heal, leaving behind unsightly, uneven putting surfaces. On the other hand, a repaired ball mark only takes half that time to heal.
Beginner or pro, it is your responsibility as a golfer to fix your own marks. If you're truly a steward of the game, you'll fix any others you see while your partners are putting. There's really not much to it, but there are a few guidelines you should follow when making these repairs.

THE RIGHT WAY TO FIX A BALL MARK
        Use a pronged ball mark repair tool, knife, key or tee. 	      Insert it at the edges of the mark, not the middle of the depression. 
      Bring the edges together  with a gentle twisting motion, but don't lift the center. Try not to tear the grass. 	    Smooth the surface with a club or your foot. You're done when it's a surface you would want to putt over. 

ADOPT A HOLE PROGRAM

Once again the Greens & Players committees are implementing the Adopt a Hole Program at The Galt Country Club.  Over the season we are asking members for extra effort regarding the repair of ball marks and the raking of traps on the course. Guests are members responsibility and are asked to educate their guests about our course etiquette. We are asking for everyone’s participation.  Please see the chart below to determine which hole you have been assigned.  The first letter of your last name coincides with the hole you have adopted.  Take extra effort when playing your adopted hole and repair as many ball marks as you can and spend extra time raking the bunker if your ball happens to land in one.

Thank you!

Hole	Last Name	Hole	Last Name
1	A	10	L
2	B	11	M
3	C	12	N
4	D,E	13	O
5	F	14	P
6	G	15	Q,R
7	H	16	S
8	I,J	17	T
9	K	18	U-Z

It Can't Get Any Worse, Can It?

The weather affects what we do in so many ways. There is a fine line between pushing to get work completed and causing more harm then good. Over the past couple of weeks we have chosen to minimize the amount of equipment on the course. In wet conditions mowers slide, scalp and compact soils. Vehicles skid and tear the turf. The equipment we use on the course is responsible for causing most of the wear on the turf and we have to be aware of that when making decisions. We know what the staff are capable of achieving in a week of dry weather, and it will only take a short time of routine to get the course to where we would like to see it.

When it comes to greens speeds and inclement weather we are in a no win situation and I'll talk more about this throughout the season. I can't count the number of times we come to work in the morning and the greens are uncutable because of the amount of rain we received the night before. Oh, did I mention these days usually fall on Wednesdays and Saturdays. By 11am the sun is shinning and the tee sheet is full because those who cancelled in the morning now want to play in the afternoon. Then, the acidity of the rain helps to release a little of the nitrogen available to plant in the soil and as a result wet, flushing, uncut, slow greens. Or even more frustrating at times, we get a frost like the one last Saturday morning, potentially the nicest day of the year so far and we are unable to cut because of the delay. The weather will get better, I hope!

The storm last week damaged three trees on the course. Two pines between 6 and 7 and a Manitoba Maple at the back of the parking lot. The course cleanup is the frustrating part. We can't mow until we clean and we've cleaned 3 times this year.

By the end of today the course will be cleaned and our focus will turn to the bunkers and hopefully a mowing routine that will bring some consistency to the playability of the course.