This Years Environmental Conditions

Its been a tough couple of months out at Warnimont, and it looks like its only gonna get tougher. My grounds crew staff is slowly beginning to dwindle down as they return to school and the work continues to grow. We have accomplished alot this year and without my wonderful crew, it wouldn't have been made possible. With the steady amount of rain we have received throughout the season the course has looked lush and maintained a beautiful green appearance all year. This has been a blessing, but on the same note, has caused some deeper problems underneath the beautiful aesthetics of the course. With the constant rain we got this year the Poa Annua grasses in the green have been unable to produce a deep root system. They have only an inch or two of roots, because of the constant moisture in the greens. Once the top couple inches of soil dry out, the grass plant is unable to acquire water, and declines rapidly or even results in desiccation.

If you take a close look at the greens you might observe a black slimy layer within the turf, especially were the grass has thinned. This is a organism known as cyanobacteria or as we call it "algae". This is also produced by the excessive rainfall and humid conditions. Algae like thatch will impede water movement into the soil profile. Thatch is the organic matter under the turf canopy which consists of dead debris, roots, crowns, and stems. Two factors which greatly increase thatch is excess nitrogen and WATER! Thatch not only impedes water movement, creating hydrophobic areas on the green, but also puffy areas allowing the turf to scalp during mowing, which has been seen at many courses in the area.

So in order to battle these detrimental factors we increase verticutting(which pulls out the thatch),topdressing(this is adding sand to the surface of the green), and aerifying(pulls soil cores). These three processes help break up the algae layer, and thatch, which increases water movement and gives the Poa Annua and Bent grasses optimal growing conditions.

The progress report

Its been a bit since I've posted my last blog, and alot of progress has been made at Warnimont. First off we got our pump screen back, which has allowed us to get our pump up and running to the proper pressure for our irrigation system. We had a problem with a transducer(a sensor which allows the computer to read pressure) and with our new screen we were able to diagnose the problem and fix it. But unfortunately we still have to water in the early morning because of a high pressure alarm, which hopefully will be resolved so the watering can be done automatically at night. This would be ideal because it would save us on man power and the condition of the greens would be better for our early morning golfers. We have also begun the installation of our new tee signs and posts, which will most likely be completed this week. The signs we had at the tees boxes we falling apart from extreme weather, and some didn't even have the yardage sign at all! Although the signs are handmade, they look nice and will add some aesthetics to the course, and now it won't be a guessing game for the golfers who are wondering what hole they are on and the yardage of it. We also received some more money that was added to the seasonal budget, which allowed me to focus more on the equipment maintenance, since a mojority of it was severely neglected. The equipment maintenance was quite a challenge for me, but now I'm definately getting the hang of it. Our reel mowers are looking more uniform, mechanics and adjustments are being taken care of, oil and hydraulic leaks are fixed, and proper mower maintenance is being taught to the crew and they are all catching on quickly! I must say I'm very pleased with my crew, they are doing a great job and I couldn't get a crew better than them.

Pump problems

Well the irrigation is on, but now we are having problems with the pump. We are only able to operate with city pressure at this point, which is only 40psi and is 3 times less than the needed pressure to get sufficient water and coverage. The reason that we aren't able to resolve this problem is because the screen on the pump control panel is broken and doesn't show any readings to diagnose the problem. These screens are very expensive and we were able to get by without it last year, but my boss was able to find a screen for a reasonable price through a company in the UK. So we have it ordered and it's on the way. Once we install the screen hopefully, we will be able to diagnose and successfully resolve our problems. The greens are extremely dry and for now we are fortunate that we got a good rain this weekend.

The Greens Are Thirsty!

Due to the large amount of courses in the Milwaukee County Park system, the plumbers haven't gotten around to Warnimont to turn the irrigation system on yet. They are suppose to come out this Wednesday and we should get the system rolling. In the mean time the higher temperatures and the lack of rain is beginning to take a toll on the turf grass in the greens. We have also had some pretty windy days which can increase evapotranspiration just like a hot, sunny 85 degree day. This could also lead to hydrophobic activity on the greens which can make the soil almost impossible to retain water. With no irrigation system and no rain in sight we really can't fertilize the greens to get the nice lush look we had last year. In order for optimal plant uptake of the nutrients from the fertilizer they need to get watered in, which delivers nutrients to the root zone. With the lack of water and nutrients for the greens, the grass will have a chlorotic or wilting appearance to the plant because of insufficient chlorophyll formation for photosynthesis. On the upside of things the greens are healthy due to our past management practices, allowing the turf grass plant to store carbohydrates and close the stomas to retain as much water as possible. Once we get the water back on we will get a wetting agent down to allow the soils to hold sufficient amount of water, reverse the hydrophobic areas, allow for optimal plant uptake of water, and producing nice healthy looking greens!

-The First Entry-

Thank you for visiting my blog which I have created to keep my golfers at Warnimont informed, and in order to present my ideas, goals, problems, and accomplishments, as I journey through my golf management career. I have recently finished my first year of the Rutgers two year golf turf program, and I'm excited to be back to the course and apply the knowledge I have gained while I was away. I have been the greens keeper of Warnimont GC Since August of 2008. Since I have been at Warnimont, my crew and I have been able to maintain beautiful greens, renovate much needed irrigation coverage to the greens, repair 6 out of the 7 leaks which I inherited, address the sclerotina homoecarpa (dollar spot) issue which was resolved, and return irrigation to the tees for the first time in 10-15 yrs. With my maintenance man layed off I have not only taken on the challenge maintaining the course but also the equipment. My first project since I've returned from Rutgers was to reshape the fairways, adding aesthetics and character to the course and giving it a much needed fresh new look. The next problem I plan to address is to fix the tee signs which have been vandalized, weathered, and dilapidated. During the off season I have constructed new signs and am hoping that we can get them installed in a timely fashion.

The greens have come out of the harsh Wisconsin winter beautifully with virtually no damage. Hopefully this will be a sign of good conditions and golf at Warnimont.