Green Isn't Always Good Except with Money

Not all green is good green ... sounds strange doesn't it?  In the picture you see above if you double click this picture it will expand so you see what I see.  This picture of 7's fairway was taken yesterday and from a distant looks great.  If you look further you will notice two different colors -- light green (bermuda) and darker green (ryegrass).

The Above Darker Ryegrass Will Die

And will Turn Into This

What does this means? and who cares ... it is green.  This means that at the end of July there is still 40% ryegrass that hasn't died back yet ... but still will over the next two months, thus the course will never fully fill back in.  Second, the water requirements to keep the ryegrass alive is almost twice that of bermudagrass therefore thousands more are being spent in irrigation costs.  Last, but not least, that any turf grown from now to overseed will not survive next summer thus over time the fairways, tees and roughs become weaker and weaker until they can't recover without sodding help.

4's Fairway 7-30-12 (This Year)

4's Fairway 7-26-11 (Last Year)

Above pictures are of 4's fairway this year compared to last year ... this year the fairway is weaker.  So remember all green is not good except when it comes to money.  Weeds, ryegrass and other greens things lead to weaker turf in the long run and cost more in water, labor and materials to maintain.

Side note:  We are starting the aerification of the nurseries, small putting green and the chipping greens today.  This is so they will recover in time for the aerification in August.

Humidity Is Back

Just in the nick of time the humidity is back again considering that last night our pump station failed to work correctly and shut down.  Last week we had the number one pump pulled for repair and replacement and now we have a new issue to address.  Thus you may see additional irrigation ran today to make up for what wasn't pumped last night.

As the irrigation system ages it too starts to exhibit problems just like our maintenance equipment.  Currently we are having some equipment issues that are being fixed as quickly as possible.

Today I will be setting up the plan to repair not only our irrigation system but get the equipment functioning again.

Finishing the Week

As the members that are here during the summer know this past week has been extremely active on the golf course.  In the beginning of the week we finished up the course aerification and yesterday we finished the select green aerifications with aerifying 11 & 13's green.  Additionally, I decided that there were a couple of areas damaged during the transition that required sod to speed the recovery process thus we put out another pallet of Tifdwarf to address the issue.

12's Green Recovery from Repairs and Tuesday's Aerification

Today we are buttoning up everything and getting ready for the weekend.  We still will be working on select plug repair on the greens but have also started working on getting the detail back up to levels of expectations.  Transition of the golf course is progressing just as planned with only about 35% ryegrass left in the fairways, however, sadly the ryegrass surrounding the greens has started to die.  As this ryegrass dies and becomes quite ugly we will start addressing it as well.

Course Aerification is Complete, Greens Today

Yesterday we finished up the aerification of everything but the two greens we slated.  These two greens - 11 and 13 -- are going to be aerified first thing in the morning and should be finished well before play reaches them.  As with 12's green, these two additional greens should be considered as a two putt under local aerification rules.

Hand Pushing Plugs on 13's Green

Plug repair is still continuing in full force and some additional sod repair will be done on 11 & 15 (maybe a touch on 13) due to the time to recovery these areas would be longer than the members would desire, but would happen.  Any additional plug repair will continue until we are completely fixed ... and we are getting there. 

Working Areas on Back of 15's Green

Later today we will also being foliar applying fertilizer and the growth regulator Primo to our fairways.  This will promote lateral growth and retard vertical growth thus reducing the clippings.  Speaking of applications on Friday we will be addressing the algae issue on some of the back nine greens by applying Daconil Ultrex.  An additional application will be applied next week.  This algae development is a product of the percolation issues that we have been addressing with drill & fill, along with aerifications.  This way will take a few more years to get to our goal but short of making USGA spec greens at a cost of $30 - 35K per green it is our only option for now.

I have been talking to other superintendents in the Valley and almost all faced transition issues this year worst than some in the past mainly due to last year's issues with overseed.  As always some are better, and some are worst depending way too many factors to list ... but we all are addressing the problem as quickly as possible while remaining in the budget guidelines.. 

Just as with Realtors with the housing slump ... tactics change with any given problem but any new tactic takes time to see gains until fruition.  Nothing happens over night and for us tomorrow will be four weeks since we aerified using 5/8" tines on two-inch centers along with 1" drill bits on 6-inch centers that led to our immediate transition of the greens.  Very, very aggressive but very necessary given our poorly percolating push-up greens.

Aerification Still Continues

Yesterday we finished up the roughs and all of the front nine fairways along with several on the back nine.  This leaves us only driving range, 14 & 16's fairways to finish the aerification of the golf course.  Of course we still have greens 11 and 13 left to finally finish everything which will be done before play on Thursday. 

Aerifying & Dragging the Practice Area First Thing in the Morning

Yesterday the greens we spot aerified (1, 5, 10 and 15) and the 12th green which entirely done went smoothly.  These areas really needed this additional aerification (12's was the first time this year we aerified it) to aid in the smoothing of the newly laid sod and by the "bucking" of the aerifer were still facing issues in over compaction ... which limits the turf growth.

Blowing Drag Debris from Fairway

Plug repair still will continue until it is completed ... but speaking to the members lately the greens have been picking up speed and putting much better.  We will continue to strive for the best that we can for our summer members.

Problematic Greens Being Aerified

This morning we are addressing the problematic greens that still are having percolation issues by either full or spot aerification.  Areas such as the right side of 1's green which between roots from the tree located less than 10 feet from the green and the the shade of this tree has led to years of weaken turf on that side.  When the turf is weakened along with lower than needed percolation algae easily forms thus preventing the spread of healthy turf.  We are planning today to address 1, 5, 10, 12 & 15 ... and if play allows maybe 13 later in the day (did not happen).  Thursday we will address 11 & 13's greens.

Tee aerification has been completed and the fairways of 2 - 5 and 18 as well.  The fairway of 6 has had the first pass done but needs another pass to complete.  The roughs of 5 - 2 still need to be completed too.  We are starting on 1's fairway then going to 10 forward this morning.

Some may ask why do we have transitions at all?  The temperature is high and the bermudagrass enjoys the heat ... so why isn't transition seamless.  There are several reasons for transitional issues the vary vastly from course to course.  As you can see by the picture above the prep and the suppression of the bermudagrass especially on the green is quite drastic.  First the green is heavily treated with growth regulators to suppress the bermuda ... some course even chemically burn the leaf tissue off to obtain this effect.  Then the surface is scalped, heavy verticut in numerous directions including circle cut, then scalped again.  This process provides an excellent seed bed and stunts the return of the bermuda to allow the overseed to thrive without completion.  But sadly sometimes it also kills sections of bermuda that we must address during transition.

Some Aerification Pictures:

Pull Behind Aerifiers Working 18's Fairway

Aerifying 12's Green - First Time This Year

Dragging In Sand After Topdressing

Aerification Begins Today

Aerifying 5's Tee Complex

This morning after the initial prep has been completed on the golf course the aerification of the fairways and tees will begin.  We still have a few roughs also to complete and as time permits we will address those as well. 

Greens Repair Late July 2006

You may ask why we aerify so often ... well the answer is because thanks to being an older golf course who for years either extremely limited to never aerified the areas outside the the greens led to high organic matter (OM) in the profile.  This higher OM has led to many issues such as fertilizer lock up and not released, formation of algae due to staying damp and poor turf health both in and out of season.  These aerification aid in the breakdown of the OM by allowing air movement through the profile and provide the correct water/air ratio for healthy plant root growth.

Black Layer in 17's Green (Aug 2006)

Tomorrow, we will be addressing the greens that are still having "shut down" issues by either full or spot aerfications.  This "shut down" issue that I am talking about is caused by slow to low percolation and water movement caused by higher OM in the soil profile that was caused years and years ago by the stripping of the top layer of bentgrass after loss and leaving the root mass in the profile or worst yet tilling this mass deeper into the profile.  Leaving this mass led to lower percolation and thus the formation of layer and algae on the surface.

Side View of this Black Layer (2006)

Greens aerfications and deep drilling have aided in the relief of these issues caused by this "black layer" or zone of anaerobic zone but the greens still have a way to go until the sins of the past are gone.  We have over the years increased the percolation of the greens from 0.5 inches per hour to around 3 - 4 inches per hours (still less than the desired but better).  This increased percolation translates into being able to roll longer in season and improved conditions, and decreased puddling and algae formation.

Damaged Cause by Algae and Poor Water Movement in 2004

Humidity and Fill

Back Edge (Collar Cut) of 6's Green

Thanks to the recent humidity along with our recovery efforts the voids left behind when the Poa Triv died.  The voids that are slightly larger we are continuing to plug and repair.

Center of 1's Green

Tomorrow, the aerification of the fairways and tees begins again to allow for turf improvement especially in the transitional areas.  At first you will notice the tee markers will not be on the tee but as soon as we finish a tee complex we will be replacing them.  This speeds the process and allows us to get out of the way of the golfers sooner.

Starting on Tuesday we will be spot aerifying the newly sodded areas of 1, 10 and 15; and then later in the week we will be addressing 11, 12 and 13.  Maybe if time allows we may address 12 on Tuesday as well.  Starting the week after we will start the topdressing program again which will aid in smoothing the greens.

The bunkers have been completed both as projects and as normal maintenance.  The maintenance included softening of the bottoms along with the edging and weed eating of the faces.  During next week we will start the shoveling of the bottoms to remove even the slight lips that exists on a few.

Acid Test

With all of the recent humidity we are experiencing a flush of growth which will aid in the recovery of the turf from transition both around the golf course and of course the greens. The greens recovery program is in full force and includes: plug repair, verticutting, hand spiking, spot and full aerification and coming soon weekly topdressing. This upcoming Monday will be week four since the start of the aerification in June, and three and half weeks since we finished the aerification. This year was more aggressive since we combined the drill and fill along with the aerification process thus the recovery time will be increased.

Back of 13's Green August 2004 -- Before My Arrival

7's Green August 2004 -- Before My Arrival

The pictures above were the conditions of Avondale's greens in 2004 before I was hired. These were bentgrass greens that died every year costing the Club $100K plus every year to repair. There weren’t transition issues because the turf was meant to live the entire year ... but due to poor drainage and lack of air movement they died year after year. Upon my hiring in 2005 I was tasked to convert the greens to bermudagrass using a budget I never set up -- $104,000 in total to convert all of the greens. This never addressed the underlying issues which we have back addressing every year since with continuing success.

Acid Test as a Turf Manager: This has been brought up so I felt I needed to address this issue by giving a comparison outside the industry. Let’s look at a stock broker as an example: In 2008 and 2009 we saw the worse days on the stock market since the 1930's and many lost their fortunes thanks to misguided investments by a few. Was this crash the stock broker's fault for not being able to stop this? -- most likely no. The good stock broker took a bad situation and with some shrewd investments recouped his client’s losses, and maybe even made a profit.

So let’s compare: In November we had one of the worse weather conditions for overseeding that the Valley has seen in years and depending on when a golf course overseeding the effects were devastating in the form of pythium (disease) outbreaks. During that time I took a bad situation while staying in the budget guidelines and within 6 weeks of the start of overseeding gave not only fantastic conditions but enabled the sales team from JC Resorts to sell the most memberships in the Valley (61 in total) by providing excellent conditions on the golf course. Was the weather that led to this problem in November my fault? -- no. I faced the issue head on and fixed the problem.

So let’s look at transition this year: It is a fact that if you overseed in the desert of the Coachella Valley this ryegrass will die along with the Poa Triv. The facts are that we buy seed that will do exactly that just so we can have a base to overseed in during the next season. Increased seeding rates to repair what disease took out in November along with issue we historically have with our greens led to issues with some of our greens -- is this my fault, in part since I am the one who re-seeded the greens late October to ensure a quality golf course for the season which by the sale of memberships aided in Avondale to have the funds to remain open as a high-end golf course. Here is the acid test: Am I fixing the problem caused by transition? -- yes. Is transition my fault? -- no.  I and my team are working hard to quickly address the transitions issues while keeping our budget in line. Other than that this is not much more my team or I can do to make this difficult time better.

Sand Leveling and Bunkers

As you may have noticed this week we have been addressing the bunkers. Not only are we edging them and weed eating the sides but we are also softening the bottoms which always improves the playability. Additionally, we are spot sand leveling the newly sodded areas on the greens. This process along with next week's aerification will finally smooth the greens after the transitional aerification two and half weeks ago.

Bring On The Heat

I heard on the news that the last 12 months have been the hottest on US history since record keeping has started. Yesterday in Palm Desert was no exception to this trend with the temperature reaching 118 degrees. Today isn't going to be much better when the temps reaching only 113 ... Most likely higher. The only good news is that the bermudagrass loves the heat and humidity so these increases will aid in the transition. Sadly, these temps also will aid in the death of the ryegrass. You will see extra irrigation running during the day to help push the bermudagrass forward.

Recently with my team finishing the bunker project I have heard that we did not do some of the bunkers to the designers design. This is correct. We were tasked to remove five bunkers around the golf course to conform to the design requests ... Which we did. During that process we utilized the soil from the "humps" and "volcanic" lips as backfill. The removal of these lips was part of the request in the repair of the bunkers, but at no time did we try to get the bunkers in the design specs. In order to change the bunkers towards the design the right equipment would be required and of course funds that at the present time we do not have. Thus the only thing we did was remove the bunkers requested and approved, and some of the humps and edges.

Right On Track

Today we have been addressing the transition spots in the fairways and intermediate roughs by first heavy fertilization followed by the use of the Thatch Master. The Thatch Master will break up the matted dead ryegrass allowing the runners of the bermudagrass to tack down thus promoting the filling in the transitional areas. Also greens repair is right on track ... We verticut them this morning and performed spot repair all day.

Hydraulic Leak and Greens

Last Friday one of our rough units got a hydraulic leak that start on 9 and ended on 10. The good news is that the leak was minor and was treated quickly. Today the equipment issues continued with the loss of the spray rig. We were getting ready to fertilize the greens to aid in the recovery when the unit's pump failed thus we were not able complete the task. Luckily we fixed the unit later in the day so on Wednesday we will try it again. Tomorrow the greens recovery will continue with first the verticutting of the greens, then followed by plug repair. Additionally, we are addressing the pockets of algae formation that we face with these push up greens. We also started the aerification of the roughs today and this process will continue throughout the week until completion.

Major Sodding is Done

Yesterday we finished up the major sodding of the greens including some edge sod we put on green such as 4, 5, 8, 1 and 17.  Additionally, we finished the bunker project that was requested by the Board by finishing the back right bunker on 11.  The last project planned for the the summer is the DR tee expansion which is in progress.  Does this mean that we aren't going to address other bunkers ... no.  This just means that we are finished with the formal requests and if time permits we may or may not address other bunkers ... first is to get the golf course through transition and ready for the upcoming aerification.

Starting on Monday we will be aerifying the roughs all week along with Thatch Mastering the hot spots in the fairways.  This Thatch Master will address to the ever dying ryegrass by removing the "matting" of the dead rye thus allowing the bermudagrass to fill in its place.  So far 40 - 50% of the ryegrass in the fairways and surrounds has died and over the next couple of months the remainder of the rye will die ... the worst is still to come.

What do you mean you may ask ... "the worst is yet to come" ... well every year when the ryegrass dies around the green (which it will) ever member here gets that feeling that the whole golf course is "unplayable" and a dog track.  Of course this isn't true but that will be confided to me over and over via the members here all summer.  Rest assure once it happens, and it will happen, we will address it immediately and swiftly.

Yesterday I heard two or three interesting things that I would like to clear up.  First, I heard I close the golf course for 3 weeks every summer ... the plain truth is that I close the golf course for a total of seven days or 1 week ... four day in June (use to be three in year's past but with combining it with the drill and fill it became four), and three days in August.  That is two weeks less closing than the perception.  Second, that every other golf course in town isn't experiencing transition ... every one that was named to me I saw last week and they all are in transition (some better, most worst).  Last, that I control the show ... I wish (joking).  Since some of the summer guest who want to play the back nine instead of playing behind anyone and the fact that this is not allowed this MUST be Jeff daring to tell the members what to do.  Well the truth is the summer play plan brought by the Golf & Green Committees and approved by the Board both standing and past, was mandating how and what they expected from the maintenance department  for the enjoyment of all ... not Jeff's personal agenda.

Any member who whats to play a unprepared golf course and have the potential to get wet from irrigation ... go ahead.  All I ask is to not slow the crew from preparing the golf course for other summer members enjoyment, and do not put my team in harm's way.

Finishing Up the Major Sodding Today

This morning we will be finishing up the major sod repairs on the greens and additionally we are finishing the collar repair on the front nine greens. After today all of the repairs will be minor spot repairs which are slated to continue all next week. Speaking of next week we will be sand and leveling these newly sodded areas with plans to aerify them in another week after in a smooth effort. I will be out on vacation all of next week but still be in touch with my team's progress ... if my wife allows it I might even keep the postings updated.

Miguel Working of Sod Repair on 1's Green

I am still hearing that there are still some summer members that believe that the transition should never occur. The top management from JC is trying to address their concerns but the plain truth is that if you overseed there will be transition ... facts are facts. I truly wish that that there was some magic fairy dust that I could sprinkle over the golf course that would fix this problem but as on today's date no such dust exist.

Sod Repair on 1's Green

Another thing I hear that we treat our summer members as "second class" compared to the seasonal members. Nothing could be further from the truth. Most of my assets are slated towards the summer months to address heavy turf growth, higher irrigation usage, heavy defoliation from the trees and of course the golf course. Our staffing for the summer is increased 16% to address the needs of the summer time, but it is true that we also do things such as projects and aerification ... and of course transition.

Removal of Back Bunker Almost Complete

During the season ... at the start, we close for five weeks to switch for warm-season to cool-season turf. And we spend additional one or two months getting it strong for January the start of the heaviest play. While we are closed and in November the golf course looks ugly at first until the cool-season turf grows in ... but in the summer we remain open during the conversion back to warm-season turf thus what is only weeks seems like months of ugliness. If we were like Big Horn we would close for 10 weeks during this conversion to warm-season turf, or even like Bermuda Dunes, we would close for 2 weeks to make this conversion smoother. We are not like either of those courses and remain open during the entire process.

Other Course's Transition

Yesterday, Shaun the head pro, went over to Bermuda Dunes to check out their transition of their golf course ... and even with them having USGA spec greens they too had some issues that they were having to address.

Bermuda Dunes CC -- Addressing the Issues with Sod

This wasn't the issue of the superintendent doing a bad job or his crew not caring about their summer members ... it quite simply was that fact the transition from overseed is difficult and ugly.  The day before that I went to Desert Falls along with many other golf course.

Desert Falls CC -- After Aerification About 8 Days

Desert Falls and the other golf courses we visited had issues as well ... of course this wasn't because they didn't care, or thought less of their members and their guest ... it is TRANSITION.  Will all of us heal ... of course.  I know our team is working as hard as possible to address the issue ... and I promise the other golf courses in the Valley are too.  I am sure that there are some that are doing better, and I am sure that there are others doing worse, but if you overseed and look great during the season there is a price to pay.  And by the way, our summer members got to enjoy those fantastic season conditions too ... not just the seasonal members.
Today we are addressing 12's green and verticutting all of the greens.  I have said many times, if the decision was up to me I would consider the greens that we are heavily working (11 - 13) the same as I would temp greens and have them all as a automatic two putt max.  Additional greens that are going to be prepped today (small amounts) are large PG, 1, 4, 5 & 8.  These prepped areas along with the newly sodded should be considered GUR.

Happy Fourth of July

As I came into work this morning there were rain drops falling on the truck's window ... always enjoy seeing rain in the Desert.

236 years old ... WOW. America's official birthday is today and I could not be more proud to be an American. Today we will be putting out the American flag on 1 & 10, as well as at the practice ... please treat these flags with respect since so many have died over the years defending what they stand for to Americans.

As it has been the past two - three summers yesterday we went to look at other golf courses in the Valley to see how their transition is going compared to ours. These courses included Desert Falls, Desert Island, Marriot Desert Island and soon Bermuda Dunes. What was the conclusion besides the obvious that you can't compare apples to oranges (i.e. differing conditions at each course)? Well they all were in differing states of transition, some better, some worse but all transitioning.

Summer seems the harder that my team works, the less that this hard work goes noticed. Everyone forgets just how fantastic the season was which led to RECORD setting sales in the Valley! Summertime means transition ... if you overseed, ryegrass will die and look ugly in the summer. This year we decided as a Club to allow this transition to occur ALL summer long vs. chemically treating which speeds the process ... sadly the worse is still to come.  Transition has happened to Avondale every year I have been here and every year long before my arrival.  In years before my arrival it was so bad that the golf course closed long before October because there wasn't ANY turf in the fairways!

Comparing golf course many factors and questions must be asked: How many trees are there and what is their shade and root issue effects; age of the golf course and the organic buildup in the soil; type of underlying grass; amount of traffic; irrigation potential and efficiency; quality of equipment; amount of staff to address issues and budget constraints; overseeding rates; timing of the overseeding and prep required; etc. This list would be pages long and still never cover all of the differences not even factoring in the weather conditions for a given year and the timing of certain processes.

I can tell everyone these facts, USGA and turf professors around the world back these facts ... but any respond sounds like an "excuse." The plain fact is we are addressing all of the issue we KNEW that were coming as quickly as the team can. Other than a couple of hot spots just before aerification, 10 days ago there weren’t any complaints ... now that transition has started that fact is different. I and my team will continue to strive our very best ... our goal is excellent conditions, not to make the membership unhappy.

Sodding Continues Today

We prepped yesterday a couple of areas on 12's green for sod repair, and this morning we will sod those areas plus work on 13's green. With the holiday week leading to reduced man-hours I decided to get too much additional sod today so we could ensure the sod we have was in the ground instead of drying out sitting on the roll.

Work Has Finally Started on 12's Green

Since tomorrow is the Fourth of July no additional work on the greens will be done until Thursday. Hopefully, on Thursday we can finish the green's repair project or at the very least by Friday morning. Speaking of greens, we tried to verticut them today to promote lateral bermudagrass growth when our steering column broke on the verticutter putting a halt to the maintenance after just one green. Aging equipment without any capital inputs lately has led to many of the changes in our decisions (i.e. having both buffalo blowers break led to us not blowing the fairways until today).

18's Rough Near the Approach -- Ryegrass Dying, Bermudagrass Healthy

We will continue to overcome our equipment issues and continue to prep the golf course in the best conditions possible. I should note, however, that lately thanks to extreme temperatures the golf course is experiencing transition since this year we are allowing the course to "naturally" transition compared to past year's chemical transition. Chemical transition is uglier at first but heals quicker ... while natural last longer and at times doesn't allow for complete healing. We are photo’ing this process and this may change next year.

14's Fairway- Hot Spots Due to Ryegrass Dying -- But the Bermudagrass is fine

I have been also hearing that we are not putting enough water out at night. Part of this might stem from the fact that one of our pump station's pumps went out, but let me assure you we are still irrigating at the same rate as before ... just using a longer irrigation window (ex. 1.2 million before in 10 hours vs. 1.2 million in 12.5 hours). This is why you see the irrigation still running at 8:00 am on the back nine.

Starting on 13's Green

This morning we will be finishing 11's green and starting on 13.  The first step is to strip the bad area and get it ready for the incoming sod as quick as possible since for most of the crew today is a short work day thanks to the upcoming holiday.

Team Prepping 13's Green for Incoming Sod

Basically, most of today will be put towards getting general maintenance done with just a couple of side jobs here and there.


Area Has Been Sod Cut -- Barraza, Miguel & Adrian Prepping



BTW ... heard there was a member that thought we weren't putting out enough water ... truth be know we are still pumping 1.2 million plus nightly using an extended watering window and additional inputs during the daytime. What he is noticing is called transition thanks to the 110+ temps we have been experiencing over the past three weeks. The ryegrass is dying but the bermudagrass is quite healthy. Unlimited water use will not stop transition, it will just lead to soggy conditions and rot of ALL grass species.