Seeding

We just purchased more Poa Triv to be able to continue to seed and improve the Pythium infected greens.  Basically, everyday we are spot seeding the few remaining damaged greens.  Now with the roads finished around Avondale our focus will to germinate this seed before opening next Friday.

There is still lots to do before opening this upcoming Friday the 4th of Nov. and the team is focused on getting everything ready for that day.  Between being shorthanded and having five to seven days less than normal our maintenance team is on the right path and has been working extremely hard to get everything done.  Trust me ... it is quite a lot.

13's Green on 10-24-11

13's Green on 10-30-11

Vast Improvements

Back of 12's Green -- Improve in Past 3

With the weather improving we are starting to see re-growth in the weaken areas that were hit by the Pythium.  Over the past week we have added an additional 500 lbs of ryegrass seed to the fairways, 250 lbs of seed to the tees and other weakened areas, and have been re-seeding and lightly topdressing the damaged greens.  All of this hard work has been paying off and we will continue to improve over the upcoming couple of weeks.

13's Green of Right Side -- 50% Improvement from 3 Days Ago

It is Getting Better

The weather is cooling down and the hard work is starting to pay off ... the greens are improving.  Still lots of work to do but we are going down the right road now.  The fairways and tees have had their additional seed added and we should see improvement there soon.

It has been a tough year in the Valley with some losing their entire crop of seed.  So far we have been damaged but much less than others.  We have a week and a day before we open which we will spend a great deal of effort working on repairing any damage remaining.

The Wind Continues

All I wanted was a slight breeze and lower temperatures ... well I am getting 10 - 20 mph that are drying out the course alright but with the streets being done may lead to some more issues that we will have to deal with. 

We continuing to be aggressive with the greens repair and will continue to progress with the long list of things that need to be done before we open.  The good news is that the streets will be done this weekend and we can get back to unimpeded work.

Windy Conditions Requested

My Mom always told me to be careful for what you ask for ... I asked for a breeze and got a windstorm.  With the winds we were only able to seed a couple of hole's fairways but the good news is we got the ones that would be in the way of the road slurry tomorrow.  Instead of seeding we were able to fertilize the fairways and tees without worrying if to irrigation needed to water the fertilizer in was going to lead to more pythium.

Between the roads being done and us having to prep the golf course there may be some things that slip through the cracks before opening.  Our number one concern is the greens the were infected with pythium and their repair ... progress has been slow but going forward.  I even had to reach into my bag of tricks from growing bentgrass in the transition zone of Memphis TN and added to that to help expedite the damaged greens repairs.

Cooler and What This ... A Slight Breeze?

Yesterday we got finally some relief from the heat in the form of clouds ... felt cooler than the 92 degrees it was.  And then this morning there was a slight breeze blowing ... this is some good news for the turf.  Today once again we addressing the bad areas with some out of the box thinking and a little fertilizer.  Additionally, we are reseeding the fairways again today.

Darn Heat and Disease

Looking good ... isn't it?  Well lets look closer.

Not as nice up close ... let's look at another green like 12.



Not bad is it ... well another look up close.

Yikes!!  Not so good after all.  So what happened??  Due to the heat and the lack of wind Pythium raised its ugly head and damaged several of the back nine greens.  We have already reseed all of them, treated the disease and continue to spike in seed to repair these damaged greens.

Today, we noticed that the seed is ready in some cases to start germinating so we spiked in the seed, and lightly topdressed them.  Rest assure, ALL efforts are focused on repairing these diseased, damaged green.

97 Yesterday

It is still too hot and still no wind.  Yesterday reached 97 degrees but according to the weather channel this (today) is the last day of the heat.  We are continuing to attack the pythium struck areas and this week will seed the fairways once again,along with some fertilization.  We are seeing some improvement on the B9 greens but this week will show if all of our hard work has been successful.

98 Again!

Can we ever get a break from this weather ... please.  I sprayed numerous pythium spots yesterday, we have had to reseed numerous areas including some of the greens and still the heat without any wind continues.  According to the weather channel relief is right around the corner however, they have been saying that over the past week ... and again yesterday was 98 degrees.

Rest assure the crew is working hard to repair all of which Mother Nature is throwing at us but a little prayer would not hurt.

Pythium

With all of the heat lately we got hit by our old friend Pythium root rot.  The good news is that we have treated the infected areas and the reseeding has begun.  The even better news is that in the Valley there are some courses that are re-seeding their greens ... luckily other than some spots we did not get hit as hard.

8's Approach Wiped Out by Pythium

KEEP OFF THE GRASS

Left of 4's Green

There are just some things in life that make you mad ... such as seeing tender young seedlings die thanks to someone want to drive past the cones and onto your hard work.

14's Rough Along Road

Then you see even more places that people drove not giving a care to the members of Avondale Golf Club or the time and effort it takes to create such a pretty golf course.

9 In Gap

But that isn't even the worst of it ... they (meaning the people who did this damage) wanted to just see how much of the golf course they could damage ... well, it was a lot.

Behind 8's Green

I just stop taking pictures of all of the damage.

Nine Days After Seed Was Put Down

We have just concluded the ninth day after seed & irrigation was finished and we are overall progress well.  The back nine greens are a touch behind where they should be but that is due to the fact that they were finished last and they are historically slightly behind the front nine.  By tomorrow with will have mowed all of the greens, tees and fairways at least once.

With all of this heat form the past week the Pythium has reared its ugly head even though we put down some preventive.  Tomorrow we will be spray all of the greens to reduce the chance of them becoming infected and I just got though purchasing some more Subdue GR to slow the Pythium in the approaches.  We have also reseeded most of the areas we have lost and expect to be almost completely recovered by then.

Flowers & First Cut

The flowers have been delivered and we have started planting them in their new design ... and yes, this year we are doing something different that I hope will be a big hit with our members.

Flowers at Entrance of the Clubhouse

Additionally, today was the first day of the mowing of some of the greens ... after further evaluation it was determined that all of the green were ready but by tomorrow we should be mowing them all (and starting a couple of the fairways).

Putting Green's First Mow

Mowing Tomorrow

Most of the greens are ready for their first mow and the only reason I am not mowing them today is because I do not have the manpower today.  Thus, we will be starting our first mowing cycle tomorrow.

4's Approach 10-16-11

Germination Happens!

8's Green Early Saturday Morning

On the first holes seeded we are starting to see that light green color indicating the seed germination.  We were hoping that tomorrow we would be able to start mowing the first seeded greens but sadly I thing tha will have to wait until Monday.

5's Tee Cart Path Repair

The new cart path going from 4 to 5 has been finished and looks great.  Hopefully, you will now be able to drive quicker when leaving 4's green going to 5's tee without damaging your golf cart ... lol.

More Seed??

I heard today that now we are putting down more seed this year ... well this is incorrect.  We have purchased so far the same amount of seed that we have for years now ... no more, no less.  Where the confusion comes is in the rumors that we are putting down 835 lbs of seed per acre ... well once again this is not exactly correct.  Lets do some math:

           Bought 96,000 lbs of seed and we have 115 acres 
                    -- by simple math equals 835 lbs / ac

Well it not that simple, we have to figure some subtractions:

           96,000 lbs bought
        -    5,000 lbs used for the greens (to stabilize the Poa Triv)
        -    8,000 lbs used in hand work (missed areas, around bunkers, etc)
        -    4,000 lbs used for divot mix (sometime even more)

         79,000 lbs remaining 

                    -- thus using simple math minus 2.0 acres for greens
                                  equals 699 lbs / ac

But that to is not the entire picture.  We used much more in the fairways than we do in the roughs.  Historically speaking using the past six years as reference we have initially seeded the roughs at 491 lbs/ac and the fairways at 701 lbs/ac.  Thus when you speak to other golf courses this is the numbers you hear ... are they right??  No.

Unlike the other golf courses I have a Master's degree thus I am very analytical and I calculate all the sweetening passes we do as well in my calculations ... others mostly do not.  Thus historically, we seed our fairways to 1,079 lbs/ac, which is needed if you figure that we do not have cart paths and receive a 15 - 25% loss in our ryegrass crop.

So are the others lying ... no, they just do not know nor calculate these additional passes.  And if they do, normally they do not try to explain these numbers or reasons to their GMs ... it usually confuses them since they are not agronomist. 

Thus if you do the simple math with them you will discover the same at first large number.  I know because I did and came up with:
              855 lbs/ac for Desert Island,
              837 lbs/ac for the Lakes, and even
              771 lbs/ac for little old San Rosa.

Turn Off The Oven

WOW ... can you believe just a week ago how perfect the weather was and now it is back over 100 degrees again.  At the present moment other than slightly drying out the seed it will aid in germination; however, if it continues after the first mow that is when disease sets in.  Do not worry we are watching every where for the first signs of any kind of disease and we will address it like we always do.

If you have been walking on the street of Avondale you may have noticed the cart path on both sides of the road near the tee of 5 that is is torn out.  The HOA working along with the Club is fixing the slope of the exit (from 4) and entrance (to 5) ramps so your carts will no longer bottom out ... well at least at normal traveling speeds ... just kidding.

Irrigation On, Waiting for the Burst of Green

The irrigation computer runs each and every irrigation head 3 minutes, 12 times per day until the seed germinates ... which is coming soon.  It is like one day you are brown and waiting to see if the seed is alive and then

15's Green -- 2 Days After Irrigation

Looking Towards 7's Tee -- Two Days After Irrigation

the next morning the golf course is green.  This green up should be starting a little on Monday or Tuesday, but will really green up on next Friday.  I should note that we will already be mowing the greens well before that "pop" in green color.

Now the Real Work Begins

With having all of the seed on the ground and the irrigation on you might think that we are finished and just waiting to start the mowing ... well nothing could be further from the truth.  Between getting everything ready to put back on the golf course, repairing the equipment from the overseeding process, repairing irrigation, etc. we find ourselves busier than ever.

Prepping the Last Hole

Prepping and seeding the golf course is the easiest part ... now the work really begins.

End of Day Six

We have finished day six back on schedule (some what) and have finished the seeding of the golf course.  The irrigation is on every hole and the next couple of days we will be making sure it is working properly.  We look at the green that was damaged and looks like we may have fixed it but will know more by tomorrow.

Start of the 6th Day

After two days of damaged (vandalized) greens I am hoping that since we now have the irrigation on that hole that the damage will quit ... I will know more once the sun comes up. 

Speaking of irrigation; holes 1 - 5 and the driving range are completed with their seeding and have the irrigation on.  The front nine and major parts of the back will be finished today, thus please do not drive on the golf course or move the cones that block access.  The grass is extremely susceptible to damage during its early stages.

4's Green Damage

I thought yesterday's damage to 4's green was bad ... this morning it was even worse.  Kids took there bike onto the green and did "doughnuts" wrote graffiti all over it.  We have what we think is there name and all indications point to grandchildren whom are visiting but that is a matter the HOA is addressing.  Depending on how the green germinates at this pint will determine if we have to scalp and re-seed the entire green again.

Start of Day Five

It is still dark out and I am drinking my coffee getting ready for today.  We have finished seeding of 2 - 5 and are finishing the final mow and blowing of cart paths and roads.  Sometime this morning the irrigation will start on those holes and if all goes right maybe the entire front nine by day's end.  Still lots to do but we are back on track and still only about half of a day behind schedule.

Seeding of the Third Hole

Things That Make You Want to Cry

This morning we noticed on one of our greens someone living at Avondale went out yesterday and vandalized our hard work.  See pictures below:

A lot of hard work goes into keeping the putting surface even and smooth thus when some does this kind of damage such as on the 4th green, it may or may not smooth out for the year and very likely will be there for months to come.

Just Finished Day Three of Overseeding

We have just finished the third day of overseeding and the prep of the golf course has been completed ... well enough that the seeding can start.  Getting the greens ready is always the biggest

Final Prep Work of 4's Green

project to get complete and as of this morning we have finished that process.  Later this morning we started the seeding of the greens we both ryegrass and Poa Triv.  The ryegrass has been placed onto every green including the practice and the Poa Triv is on only a few select greens (the ones that

Team Seeding One of Numerous Passes of Seed on 4's Green

currently have sand on them.  The reason we put down the sand to prevent and reduce the potential of the seed getting blow away if there happened to be a heavy windstorm.

Topdressing the Green to Prevent Seed Movement

Tomorrow we will start the seeding of the first (hole # 4) hole on the golf course and hopefully will be done soon.  Even though we are short-handed thanks to our summer members we were allowed to get a jump start on the process and thus we currently are only about a half of a day behind.

First Day is in the Books

Yesterday was the first day of overseeding and all and all it went pretty well.  Rain loomed in the air and the winds on several occasions tried to pick up but over the eight hours the team was working neither seemed to slow us down.  We were able to get quite of the front nine initially prepped and even started on the back nine.  If all goes well today we may have our first complete hole prepped today and ready for the seed.

Spraying the Bunkers to Prevent Seed Germination

Also, yesterday I noticed some homeowners driving their golf cart on the golf course.  I met up with them and explained the importance of not driving on the golf course and the potential damage it can cause.  We (meaning my team and I) are not here all day thus I ask that if you notice someone driving on the golf course please ask them not to ... nicely.

Prepping the Green

Tomorrow Overseeding Starts

As you can tell with the winds picking up and tomorrow's forecast for rain that it must be time to start the overseeding here at Avondale.  I am not sure how many more curves can be thrown at the maintenance department from lower staffing to weather, but rest assure that my team is ready for any challenge pitched at us.  We have our game plan in place and will do whatever it takes to ensure that we continue to produce the high quality product that our members have come to expect and well deserve.