Green Collars

We have begun removing sod from the collars on greens 10 - 14 in preparation to resod into bentgrass. This will give a much better playing surface that should be easier to putt off of.  We will also level out these areas to eliminate the rounded or high center of many collars.  Another goal is to eliminate the bad bounces off the edge of the collar where it meets the green, many times a chip will hit this area and bounce too far forward.  We will complete these greens this week and finish up the back 9 next week.  This spring we will resod the front nine collars.

Driving Range Sign

The new yardage signs are now on the driving range tee.  The yardage will be adjused daily by the golf staff based on the tee locations for the day.  Hopefully this will help everyone fine tune their short game. 

Aerification Patterns

You may have noticed some strange aerification patterns in the fairways that resemble crop circles.  Rest assured we have not been visited by aliens, as these patterns are areas of bermuda grass that have been aerified and seeded with kikuyu.  We did see some very good success with kikuyu seeding like this in the spring and other golf courses that have seeded kikuyu this time of year have seen greater success.  This is just another step to fully convert the fairways to kikuyu.

Practice Range Update

Today we added the poles to the greens on the practice range, the new poles are much more visible than the flagsticks and flags were.  New signage is also ordered for the range with yardages that will be changed daily as the tee locations are changed.  We also began trimming the trees back to open up the range and allow more light in without affecting safety. 

Sodding is Complete

Today we completed the sodding portion of the kikuyu fairway improvement program with two semi truck loads or 15,500 square feet of sod on hole #18.  Below are before and after pictures. 

We still have some work to do on the new kikuyu sod.  Next week we will continue aerifing and topdressing with sand on holes #13 and #14.  If #16 and #17 are ready and we have the time we will do those as well and finish with #18 the following week.  This process helps the sod knit with the native soil as well as even out some of the imperfections in the sodding process.

The next steps in the kikuyu fairway improvement plan will be some continued oak tree thinning in September and seeding areas that did not recieve sod in October.  We have noticed many new kikuyu plants in areas we seeded in the spring. 

Final Week of Sod Work

Good Morning, sometimes when I am driving around the course I just see a picture I have to take, its nice to have camera phones these days.  I will continue to share pictures as I take them. 

Yes you read the title right, this is our final week of kikuyu sod installation, we will be working on #16, #17 and #18 this week. 

Today is a very busy day for the golf course maintenance staff.  This morning we have begun removing sod from hole #16 and bringing it to the driving range, as well as installing the irrigation system and building the target greens.  We also have aerified the new kikuyu sod on #4 and #5 as well as the rough between the cartpath and fairway on #4 were so much traffic was concentrated during our work in that area.  We also topdressed the new sod on #9 tee again.  We will be reopoening the tee as soon as possible.

Practice Range

Yesterday we began the grading project on the practice range landing area, below are a couple of pictures, one from each end of the range before we began.

Then the rubber tire loader showed up.  Our goal is to level our the landing area (take the hump out of the middle) so it is easier to watch where the balls land.  We will then rebuild the target greens, resod with grass from #16 and #17 fairways and trim the trees back to enlarge the inside of the range.

Here are some more pics of the grading that has begun.  I will continue to update this post until we finish the range.

Here is another picture with the grading almost completed.  We cut over 3 feet of soil out of the middle and pushed it to the back of the range.  Next we will begin with the shaping of the target greens.

The last two days have had work done on the range that wasn't that noticable however very improtant.  We have begun the trenching to replace the irrigation system we removed before grading and we also rototilled the new area to loosen up the compacted soil to prepare it for sod.

8/29/13 UPDATE

We are almost finished with the work on the range as well as completing the kikuyu sod in the fairways.  This week we completed sodding the driving range and today we completed sodding the target greens with hybrid bermudagrass.  We are trying to complete everything this week so we can open the range for the weekend.  Please keep your carts off the new sod for a couple weeks so it can become well rooted.

Meet Charlie

This is Charlie, a 9 week old miniature Australian Shepherd that I picked up last Sunday to be my golf course dog.  When she gets a little older I hope to train her to chase away any rabbits, coots and geese that we do not want damaging the golf course.  She already chased her first bird away this morning.  She is loving all the affection she has gotten from the members that have already met her, so don't be afraid to say hi.

Latest Kikuyu Sod Installation

Today was another busy day of Kikuyu sod installation and Oak tree trimming.  Today we installed new kikuyu sod on holes 8, 10 and 11.  Below are a couple of pictures of 8 and 11 with the oaks trimmed and new sod installed.  The thinning of the oak trees allows for additional sunlight for the new kikuyu sod.  We are also pruning to balance the trees, if there is excessive weight on one side, to prevent broken branches or fallen trees.

Next week we will be working on holes 13 and 14 as well as regrading the  landing area on the driving range and rebuilding the target greens.

#4 and #5

 

We are ready for kikuyu sod on the #4 and #5 fairways tomorrow morning.  We have spent the last two days preparing these areas that were primarily bermuda.   



 

The tree crew has been doing a great job on the oak trees, we hope to finish up on #8 tomorrow, then we will start on the back nine next week. 

 

We will also be sodding the 9th tee with hybrid bermuda grass.  On Monday during the outside tournament we stripped the sod, leveled the tee and trimmed trees around the tee.  It will look like a new tee when you play it again in a couple weeks.



#3

Today we started removing bermuda sod from the third fairway.  We are concentrating on the second half of the fairway, as the winter conditions are not as playable as the first half.   
The sod we put on holes #1 and #3 a week and a half ago are looking better every day and the sod we put down on hole #9 four days ago has already rooted.  All of these areas were sprayed with iron and other nutrients today.  The other fairways are being sprayed with the same nutrient package as well as Primo growth regulator to control the growth of the existing kikuyu.  We will wait a month or two to start using Primo on the new sod, as reports are that yellowing occurs with use on new sod. 
We also completed our tree work on hole #3 and have started on the left side of hole #4.

Video of New Kikuyu Sod on #9 Fairway

Video of new kikuyu sod being installed the morning of Thursday, July 18 on #9 fairway.  Amazing they can lay out 350 square feet of sod in about 30 seconds.  All 22,000 square feet on #9 was finished by 11:00 a.m.

#9 Fairway

The stripping of the bermuda sod on the 9th hole is going very well, we will be sodding about 80% of this fairway on Thursday.  Malibu CC was in need of some sod for their tees and fairways, so they rented a truck and trailer and made two trips today.  That makes it easier for us, as thats about 5000 square feet we won't have to haul away.  Again if there is anyone you know that would like some sod please call my office and we can arrange a time for you to pick some up. 
The sod we put down on #1 and #3 last Thursday has already rooted two inches into the existing soil and is getting better every day. 

This is what #9 looked like stripped of bermuda ready for the kikuyu sod.  As you can see on this fairway it is the most extensive amount of sod needed with about 90% prepared.

#1

The new kikuyu sod looks better today after being mowed and watered. 

Kikuyu sod arrived today

After three days of work this week preparing #1 fairway for sod, this is what it looked like.

Then two semi truck loads carrying 44 of these giant rolls of sod arrived, along with the installation crew from West Coast Turf.

Here is the crew in action, using their specially designed equipment to roll out the large rolls.

Before 9 am they had completed rolling out 26 rolls on the first fairway and they were finishing their cleanup.

Knowing that they had more sod here than area we had prepared, first thing this morning we removed the bermuda sod from the landing area of the 3rd fairway and prepared it for sod, by 11 am this area was completed.  We spent the remainder of the day cleaning up after the sod crew, began repairing damaged areas caused by equipment, and filling small gaps between the sod rows with sand. 
This is a learning process for us, next week we will tackle the 9th fairway, and if needed do some additional work on 3.

Removal of bermuda

This morning we began removing the bermuda from the first fairway, new project employees Todd and Cody are seen here with the sod cutter cutting and rolling up sod.  If any members are interested in picking up some of this commom bermuda sod please contact me, my office phone is 818-883-4260.  We will be using some of it in bad areas of the rough, and Malibu CC has shown an interest in picking some up but there is plenty to be had. 

We also began the oak tree thinning phase today, this will allow even more sunlight into the fairways.  With all of the tree work we have done and are planning on doing, it has allowed us to slightly widen our fairways in some areas, such as the left side of #1.

Supplemental Irrigation

I'm sure that you have come across one of these small irrigation heads watering, during your round of golf, and wondered, why it is on all day?  We use these heads to irrigate small localized dry spots that our regular irrigation cycles do not properly wet.  These spots are usually caused by compaction, changes in soil type, changes in elevation or trees blocking sprinklers.   Because we can control the pressure and area we irrigate with these small heads it becomes more effective and saves water because we are not overwatering areas that are not dry with our large turf heads.  Also, with the low precipitation rate of these heads, if the soil is compacted, the water can better penetrate the soil instead of running off to a low area that may already be wet.  If the head is in your way while playing a shot, simply go to the quick coupler (the part that is plugged into the irrigation system at the other end of the hose) and turn off the small valve.  After you finish in the area please turn the valve back on, so we can eliminate this dry area.  We normally move these heads every 1 to 2 days depending on each areas need for water. 

Next week we will be starting the sodding portion of the fairway improvement plan, with bermuda being removed from the first fairway, and replaced with kikuyu sod.  Please check back with this blog for updates and pictures.  We will use some of the bermuda sod we are removing from the fairways to repair any areas in the rough that are not  in good condition, such as areas where we removed trees.  Other bermuda areas in the fairways that are not removed will be areified and seeded with kikuyu seed.  We will also be starting the oak tree thinning and cutting back next week, to improve the sunlight to more areas of the fairways.  Please bear with us during the construction period and I am sure that you will be satisfied with the condition of the fairways in the months and years to come.

Fairways

Our next process in the fairway improvement plan began today with the verticutting.  Verticutting or Vertical Mowing is very labor intensive practice that, simply put, has blades cut vertically thru the turf canopy, slicing the lateral growth of the kikuyu and bermuda grass plants. This removes thatch and creates a tighter and denser fairway turf.  This will also help reduce scalping and improve the cut we get from our fairway mowers.  We completed the front nine fairways this week, and will start the back nine next week.  This is a process we will plan on completing at least three times every summer, as recommended by University of Riverside studies and other superintendents that are managing kikuyu fairways. 
I have included a during and after picture.

The new fairway mower arrived today, so I ran it out to #1 and mowed the fairway.  I worked very well, just needs a couple of adjustments.  It will be great to have to help maintain the fairways with the added maintenance required.  Its also nice to get in time for the Girard. 

First Post - It was hot today

This is my first Post in a new venture.  So lets talk about how the last two days of 100 plus degree weather has affected the golf course.  I am happy to report that the fairways and greens looked great today, however the rough and tees did show a little heat stress, no need for concern as both are scheduled for irrigation tonight.