PC Conversion Update - 7/21/12

      Five closed weeks down and only three weeks remain. August 13th is fast approaching and our workload is slowly gearing towards opening day. We mowed the greens three times this week and verticut once. They are becoming smoother everyday. We are currently at 75% coverage throughout the course. Here is a picture of the surface on Friday.

      We are currently mowing the greens at (.150"). We mowed our former surfaces at (.125"). We are getting closer and closer everyday. Our expectations for opening on August 13th are still right on schedule. Here is a recap of week five and a look ahead to week six.    

Last Week 7/15-7/21

• Monday - We mowed the greens at a height of (.175). This height is equivalent to slightly less than 3/16". A standard height of cut is (.125") or 1/8". Today we also implemented hand watering into our irrigation schedule. Hand watering the weak areas of the green will help to supplement water where our irrigation deficiencies exist.

      Monday was also the beginning of our collar restoration. Here are some pictures of that process.

The first step is to cut a fine edge along the new putting surface. This will prevent the sod cutter from tearing the new surface.

Next, we cut the sod surrounding the green. We cut the sod at 24". This will match the width of the sod purchased from the sod farm. This matching will reduce waste and ultimately make our job move faster.

The following step was to clean up the cut turf from the collar area. We then used this "waste sod" in other areas around the course. Excessive traffic and low lying areas were the targets for our scraps from the collars.

These pictures above illustrate the collar waste I described. These traffic areas are normally sodded annually. By using these wasted sod chunks in these areas we are able to offset the cost of sodding the collars. In turn we re sod the collars and improve our traffic areas for relatively the same cost as sodding the traffic areas alone.

And last but certainly not least. A picture of the sod being laid and the finished product.

Here you see a finished collar on #18. This week we were able to finish the back nine and start on the front nine. We will complete this project in the middle of next week.

• Tuesday - Today we continued work on the collars. We also began work on more sight lines throughout the course. Number 10 and 11 were are target teeing areas.
• Wednesday - We mowed the greens today. The height of cut was lowered to (.165"). We also began the grooming process today. First we topdressed with a medium coat of sand/peat mix. Then we used a steel drag mat to move to mix into low areas on the green. The dragging helped to smooth the surface and "stand up" the turf. By standing the turf above the mix, we are encouraging new growth into the sand filled voids.
• Thursday - One task that became vital on Thursday was the scouting of the surfaces. We are scouting the surface for noxious weeds that appear. Our inability to spray herbicide on the immature turf has left us with no option but hand removal. Expect a blog post mid next week detailing this job in its entirety.
• Friday - Normally a slow day, Friday proved to be anything but that this week. We began the day by verticutting the greens. We verticut the greens at a zero setting. This setting does not cut into the surface. Our goal was to "tickle" the turf. This type of verticutting has many benefits. The two most beneficial are the smoothing of the surface and stimulation of new growth.
      Today we also made our first application of fungicide. This application will help to alleviate the symptoms of algae. See our post about algae here. The broad spectrum fungicide we used will also help to disrupt many other diseases that may be prevalent. 
      On Saturday we mowed the greens at (.150"). This our lowest height of cut to date. We plan to continue this decrease in height of cut through next week.

Next Week 7/22-7/28

• Mow greens three times. Decreasing height each time. goal is to be at or around (.125").
• Complete collar restoration.
• Fertilize the greens with potassium nitrate. 
• Continue scouting the surfaces for unwanted plants.
• Initiate our project of leveling sprinkler heads.
• Topdress and verticut the greens.
• Spray wetting agent around the greens. Our increased irrigation has resulted in wet areas around the putting surfaces. This wetting agent will increase the infiltration rate of our irrigation water. The increased infiltration will keep the surrounds dry until we can decrease out irrigation frequency.

      With three weeks remaining our efforts are continuing to increase in anticipation of opening day. The increased coverage of the greens and finished collars will have the putting greens looking like a golf course again. We continue to encourage people to come out and see our progress. Also, keep following the blog for updates on everything from the St. James agronomy department.