Sand HAZARDS

Over the past week, the crew has focused on bunker quality and maintenance.  Besides grooming, the bunkers are edged every 2-3 weeks and constantly checked for drainage and other issues that would impede play from the sand.  This week specifically, the crew individually checked each bunker to make sure it met the requirements for the amount of sand required (4" in the middle and 2" on the flashing or sides).  Light areas were marked and new bunker sand was applied. 

The type of sand in a bunker is obviously important, sand particle shape in particular.  The more angular shape to each particle the firmer the sand will be, providing for less fried-egg lies.  At MCC we mix a generic sand type with a Pro-Angle sand (provides desirable whitish color) at a ratio of 3:1 respectfully.  Since the bunkers have been redone in 1984, we have seen little issues in regards to drainage and are happy with the consistency of them as a whole.  After extreme rain events there is some pooling but these events are limited.  With 75 tons of new sand already applied, and 25 more on the way, the crew should be able to complete the process within the week.  Enjoy the beaches.   

    

Tee Times for Turf

The Michigan Turfgrass Foundation is starting it's annual Tee Times for Turf benefit program, April 29th and runs through the 15th of May.  Golf courses around the midwest offer tee times that are placed on auction, with all the proceeds going to turfgrass research.  This is a great way to further the advancement of turfgrass knowledge and all donations are tax deductible.  There are excellent clubs offered this year and great deals are possible so please visit this link; Tee Times 4 Turf if you are interested in bidding or want more information.  Enjoy.

Compaction, Crumb Rubber and the Environment

Throughout the season, certain areas surrounding MCC's greens see constant traffic (walk-on walk-off areas).  Whether it be from golfer and caddie, crew and equipment or simply just carts that were not driven and parked on the cart path, the high traffic areas around the greens see a substantial decline in turf health and density as the season progresses. 

What can we do? Encircle the green with traffic stakes and rope? Re-sod every 2 weeks?  There are feasible solutions.  The root of the problem on these areas is compaction.  The soil losses all its structure and combined with summer heat, makes a poor environment for anything to grow in, even for species as tough as turfgrasses.  To alleviate the effects of compaction, the crew will, on occasion aerify these areas.  However, there is a recovery time involved with aerifying and weather conditions have to be taken into account as well.

The solution, or so we hope, comes in the form topdressing.  Michigan State University performed a study in 2008-09 that compared the effects of topdressing with various materials in regards to traffic.  The materials included variations of topdressing sand and crumb rubber.  Crumb rubber was not applied as heavily as sand but yielded the turf with the least amount of density loss.  Admittedly, crumb rubber is more expensive than sand but the area's we intend to utilize it on are not large. 

Not only does crumb rubber perform the best, it is produced from reused material.  Automotive and truck tires are taken from landfills and junkyards and during the recycling process steel and fluff are removed, leaving just tire rubber with a specific granular consistency.  Sound environmental practices like these are a necessity that the golfing industry will have to embrace in the very near future.  What better time to start than now? 



Crumb Rubber Topdressing



Sand Topdressing



Fairway Aerification

Is it May already? The turf thinks so and the time has come to aerify fairways.  While this process is a hindrance to golfers and an eye-sore to members, it is a necessary practice to ensure quality fairways throughout the summer months.

Fooled by the mild winter, the turf in the fairways has been growing and accumulating thatch quicker compared to a normal year.  Fairway aerification removes a percentage of this thatch, which will provide better surface drainage and a firmer playing surface. 

Along with thatch removal, aerification will alleviate some of our compaction issues.  The lack of frost and cold temperatures never allowed the ground to freeze, and moisture remained near the soil surface.  Traffic on saturated soils compacts the ground extremely quickly, resulting in poor turf density.  Compaction and saturated soils combine to form another problem.  Air movement is very limited under these conditions, but aerifying the fairways opens up channels for air exchange.  Poa roots are not equipped for total anaerobic conditions and this will allow the roots access to oxygen.

The weather has been perfect for fairway aerification and the crew has nearly completed the daunting task.  Recovery time might be slightly prolonged due to the cold night time temperatures but we expect excellent results.  Enjoy. 

Driving Range Tee and Preferred Divot Pattern

The driving range is a high priority area due to logistics and the amount of use it receives from all classes of memberships, guests and clients.  The crew has made improvements to the range tee by increasing the tee size along with a special mist system that waters seeded areas.  We developed an irons only area and reshaped the main tee by taking the tier out of upper and lower tees, combining the two areas to increase square footage.
BIG IS GOOD and we need more square footage for today's needs. It would be nice to increase the tee size two-fold but real estate issues limit us in this aspect.  So to accommodate high priority practice days on grass throughout the golfing season, on certain days play is restricted to mats only.  As a group the Green Committee has scheduled mat's only on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Irons only Sunday afternoons. Mats will also be used during periods of inclement weather.  

The members have asked how to use the range in regards to divot pattern removal.  It is similar to managing a forest. Clear cutting leads to erosion issues, comparable to a golfer taking all of  his/her divots in one area. Large patches of seed and soil are moved or misplaced from mowing.  Removal of practice divots with rakes or blowers occurs and the areas that are cleared get washed away with rain which leads to a longer recovery period.  Leaving strips or clumps of grass, as suggested in the video, will help stabilize the soil and seeded areas from being moved mechanically or washing away.  Here is a thought from the Director of Grounds (and MSU Alumni) of The Philadelphia Cricket Club and if his methods are implemented, we hope to see positive results this season.  However, the real problem is still not enough square footage and a larger tee would be ideal.