The National Championship- Torrey Pines

Playing in this year's GCSAA National Golf Championship was a blast! Who could complain about playing golf in San Diego this time of year.....let alone at Torrey Pines! Somehow Torrey didn't make the list of courses I'd played the previous twop visits to San Diego. Mistake made and made up for now! If you haven't experienced Torrey Pines, place it high on your list. The two courses there, the North and the South, are both magnificient in my eyes. The Pacific Ocean is part of these courses, and it doesn't take long to notice as it's visible from the golf shop and the first tees on both courses. Each course has several holes that play down to or alongside of the ocean, and better yet, the ocean breeze and fog are cool elements (no pun intended) across the entire property most days. We experienced a two hour long fog delay on day one of the tournament, something that I'll remember for a long, long, time. My Phoneix buddies and I spent most of the delay putting for dollars on the practice green.This is about the only place I can win money off of these big hitters. The dense and healthy poa annua turf was in fine shape, running very smooth and fairly fast. the putting green fits the greens on the course with plenty of slope from back to front. Our coversation included our taste for the split rail fencing and brickwork that surrounds the putting greens. I liked it, some others didn't. I'll show you a photo so you can get your taste. The fog was thick enough and lasted long enough to convince several competitors that bloody mary's were the route to more pars, I thought otherwise knowing the day would be tough enough without them. Once on the course, I was half consumed with looking at the course and it's archtecture and half consumed with trying to make pars. The overseeded rough was a challenge, wet, dense, about four inches in length and the ball sitting down in it all day. Overall the course was in fine shape. Narrow fairways, I'd say averaged about 35 yards wide, which placed my cut off the tee into the right rough most of the day. Adding a club or two out of the rough wasn't always the answer as it was difficult to get it up and out to begin with. Like many courses with back to front green slopes of poa annua, you need to stay below the hole to have a better chance. Not always easy though as many pins were tucked behind the often single, well groomed bunker protecting the green. The spectacular views added up across the course as did the unspectacular bogies. I'd love to play these courses on a regular basis like many in San Diego do. Pacific poa annua doesn't get any better than this!

  

Hot Weather Requiring Extra Watering

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If I were a corn grower right now, I'd be loving this hot weather! But I'm not, I live turfgrass, and it's sort of ironic that they classify the grass in this region of America, cool season turfgrass. Corn is a monocot also, but it loves really hot days. Turfgrass not so much. 

 

Yes, that's me in my in-laws cornfield a couple of weeks ago. They are Bill and Sharon Wintz of Milford, Iowa, and as you can see, they have a beautiful piece of America's heartland. They tell me you can almost see the corn growing on a real hot day. The classification of cool season turfgrass for our area is correct though, as we're growing grasses that grow best in cooler temperatures. 

 

This extra hot weather we're experiencing now, increases the need for irrigation of our turfgrass. We would prefer not to water as much as we've been forced to, as playing conditions and the health of the grass are both compromised. Soft greens occur when we have to cool the turf during the day, and roots actually become shallower and weaker with the constant availability of water at the surface. Each time we've attempted to withhold water for the sake of playing conditions recently, it's come back to bite us, with wilt occurring in the hot afternoons. 

 

We're between a rock and a hard place, as the surface needs to be cooled, but the soils beneath are already saturated. Unfortunately no one wins under these conditions. We are also nursing along certain areas on greens right now that are suffering from a number of damaging conditions, including poor surface drainage, poor water percolation, weak roots, shade, and increased traffic levels. Turfgrass thrives in temperatures between 55 and 75 degrees, and we're well beyond that right now. Our turfgrass will hold up though in the majority of areas on the course and the course will continue to play nicely. 

 

We are evaluating some of the weakest areas on greens this summer, and determining what steps or procedures we can take to alleviate any poor conditions that exist that is contributing to the decline of turfgrass. Glass half full, as we will improve these areas once more favorable weather arrives and we determine the correct cultural methods to alleviate some the detrimental things occurring in those areas.

Japanese Beetles Attack Minnesota Valley

Over ths past week, thousands of adult Japanese Beetles have appeared on the golf course. Some of these emerged from the ground right here on the course, and some flew in from other areas. As I drove out to the course two mornings ago, one flew right into my lip. I lucked out and didn't swallow it.

These are true pests to golf courses and need to be controlled when they reach large populations. They can damage leaves on trees and shrubs by chewing on them, leaving a skeletonized look to the leaves. They also love to deposit their eggs into turfgrass, where in a very short time, the eggs turn into grubs which chew on the roots of the grass.

We started seeing more of them two years ago, and in 2010 their populations grew to the point where we had to make applications of insecticide to protect our plants. We made a preventative application on all greens several weeks ago, which should give us good residual activity. An application to tees and fairways will be made in the latter part of July, targeting the very young grub stage of the insect. We will also be making an application to some of the trees on the course where we see large numbers of them. They especially like to chew on elm, linden, apple, and some Maple trees, and also reside in many evergreens such as white pine.

You'll see them on the course right now in clumps, especially on fairways. They are mating, and the female will lay up to 60 eggs in one season in several locations. It's best to target reducing the very young grubs which result from the egg hatch which normally happens in late July. They are identified by their metallic colored overcoat, of which is green around the head and a golden brown on the rear. They do not bite, but try not to swallow any, I don't think that would be any fun!

Light Topdressing on Greens- Thursday, June 23rd

Greens were lightly topdressed with sand on Thursday, June 23rd. Six staff members were needed to complete the process, and their work was completed in the following order (photos to follow text); Mow and groomed greens, topdressed with sand, dragged the sand into grass with a mat, mowed the green for second time to mow off any grass stood up by dragging, cut a new cup location and cleaned out the cup, watered green for four minutes to wash sand off and reduce sand particles on grass leaves. 

 

Conditions weren't ideal as a light mist filled the air at times during the morning. However, they needed it, especially with all of the rain we've received lately, which has accelerated growth and slowed ball roll considerably. The process went very well.

 

The benefits of this process include; a smoother surface, increased ball roll or speed, reduction of thatch, better drainage, and protection of the plants from mower damage. We typically topdress greens every two to four weeks, depending on the health and growth of the grass and the golf calendar. It will be necessary to topdress again the week before the Heritage Invitational which begins on July14th. Greens can be expected to be at their best shortly after a topdressing. The following photographs show some of the equipment and process used. Greens should increase in speed over the next few days if we can begin to control the amount of water placed on the green as opposed to Mother Nature doing it for us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dakota Pinnacle and Zestar Apple Trees Planted on Golf Course

Ten new trees were planted on the golf course this week. Six Dakota Pinnacle Birch trees were planted behind the 17th green, and four Zestar Apple trees were planted at separate locations on the course.

The Pinnacle Birch trees are part of the establishment of a new treeline and backdrop to the 17th green. And by the way, we're quite happy with the progress of the green addition there, and have started locating cups near the additions. Dakota Pinnacle Birch trees are narrow, spire-like trees, developed at North Dakota State University, and will mature to 20-30' X 6-10'. Perfect for the narrow stretch of ground between the cart path and the service road behind the 17th green. They're very tough trees, tolerant of a wide variety of conditions, and are very attractive. They have the typical white birch bark, a cute dark green leaf, and dark brown branches. They will also provide a good yellow fall color behind this green.

Minnesota Valley had at one time, many apple trees that members could count on for a tasty snack as they played the course. Nearly all of those trees are gone now, so we thought it would be nice to add several eating variety apple trees at various locations on the course. You'll find these trees next to the cooler station on the 4th tee, between the 10th green and 11 tee, next to the 14th tees, and next to the on-course refreshment house next to the 15th tee. The Zestar Apple is an early apple with crisp, juicy fruit and tart flavor. It has better storage ability than most early apples and is good for eating and cooking. My better half, Shelby, and I, picked three pecks of them at an orchard near Winsted last fall and enjoyed them well into winter. Zestars were developed at the University of Minnesota and will grow to 18' X 18'.

While I'm writing about trees, it's also worth mentioning the great performance of the six Princeton Elms we planted last year on #13, 14, and 15. These trees are fast growers, disease resistant, and rated one of the best new elms. Take a close look at all of these tree varieties as you play the course. I highly recommend each of them for planting.

Audubon Society Sign

You may have noticed the new addition to the flower bed under the flowering crab near #1 Tee. Last week, we installed a sign recognizing Minnesota Valley Country Club's dedication to the Audubon Sanctuary Program. Minnesota Valley is a leader amongst fellow clubs involved in the Sanctuary Program, we are very proud of this and felt adding a sign that every member and guest who visits our club becomes aware of the club's dedication to the Audubon Sanctuary Program.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sign was custom made by Redwood Signs in Osseo, MN. They did a great job, and we are quite pleased with the look after it was installed. Redwood Signs also made two new pesticide application signs that will be posted any time spray applications are made.

Speaking of the Audubon Sanctuary Program, look forward to a new blog post in the coming days with an update of our Bluebird Trail. Reports are coming back very encouraging and we should have some great photos to share soon.

On Course Projects

Over the past week a couple of projects on the course have begun. Work has started on re-seeding our turf nursery. Over the past couple of years nearly all of the nursery has been used up. Around 4,000 square feet of the nearly 15,000 of available space remains. Some minor grading and soil work has been done to prepare for bentgrass seed, which will be put down in the coming days. The turf nursery is a vital tool for many projects that are completed at Minnesota Valley. Turf from our nursery is used on numerous projects such as turf renovations due to loss of turf over winter, new tee construction and green renovation and expansion. Many "plugs" are often taken from the nursery throughout the season to repair small, minor blemishes on the putting surfaces.

The following photo shows the large size of the turf nursery, all of the soil in the photo will soon be seeded and maintained as a regular putting green.

Area to be seeded in foreground, existing sod in back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Work has also begun on improving the perennial bed that was added last year on #8 Tee. We found that during heavy rains much, if not all of the mulch and much of the soil would wash out the bottom of the bed onto the cart path. Timbers are being added to hold the mulch and lessen the slope. Soil will be added on the back side of the timbers and some plants will be added. We feel this bed has been a nice addition to the course, with a little improvement it will improve it even more.