Poa Removal and Bunker Construction

In our efforts to maintain perennial ryegrass as the primary turf on our course (except greens) it is necessary to constantly keep removing it from infected areas.  One of the main methods of removal is to use a sod cutter and mechanically remove the infested areas and replace it with new perennial rye sod.  Throughout the future you should expect to see areas of the course that have been stripped and replaced with perennial rye sod.  This will minimize the ability for Poa to spread throughout the course. We are constantly trying to eradicate these areas so that we do not give Poa time to seed and spread.   This mechanical process was completed on a majority of the collars as well. We will continue to sod the remaining collars that are infested with Poa.  This collar process should be completed by the end of this winter.

Here's an area where we cut out Poa and getting ready to replace with ryegrass

Removal of the infested collar, ready for new sod

Sodding the Collar

 Along with removing Poa we are also continuing to rebuild and construct the existing bunkers.  Our main goal is to provide bunkers that function properly and are more aesthetically pleasing to the eye.  This process starts by removing the existing sand in the bunker and stripping two rolls of sod around the edge.  Next we will go in and re-contour the existing shape and place a bunker stabilizer “sta-lock” on the bunker floor that will not allow for contamination of the sand with soil.   The final step will be to install sub-surface irrigation around the bunker edges and replace new sod and sand. 

Removal of sod, sand and getting ready to re-contour

 

Re-Shaping

Sub-surface Irrigation install

Adding the Sta-Lock bunker floor.  This is probably the most vital step in the process.  This is the material that does not allow the soil to contaminate with the sand.  You can see once you run a vibratory plate over the aggregate it turns it into a firm surface.  We have a slightly different material on a lot of our walk-paths.

A closer look of the material compacted.  You can see how this will prevent any cross-contamination.

Bring on the new sand.

Waitea Patch

Wanted to give everyone a little background on a disease that we deal with on our putting surfaces.  Throughout the upcoming months I will try to give a brief description of some of the diseases and pests that we deal with here at Palo Alto.  Waitea patch is a particular disease that we can see on our greens sometimes throughout the entire season.  Fortunately for us it is not as devastating of a disease as Basal Anthracnose( look for a description in a upcoming post).  Even though it does not cause the severe damage like Basal rot, Waitea can leave some pronounced visual effects that are unpleasant to look at.   Take a look at some pictures below and next time you are out on our greens keep an eye out for this disease.  If you look hard you should be able to locate this on a few of our greens. Hint #18

Notice the Circular Patches.

 

Here's another look at it.

#1-#10 Tee Project

Thought it would be nice to show some before and after pics from #1 Tee project.

Article for E-Magazine

Palo Alto Country Club was designed by Clark Glasson in 1958.  Clark was known as local architect that produced fine course design.  By 1999 it was time for the course to have some upgrades.  Robert Muir Graves completed a renovation of the course in 1999 that consisted of bunker reconstruction, drainage work and some re-routing of the course.  A brand new Rainbird irrigation system was also introduced that upgraded our watering efficiency which in turn provided better playing conditions.

Within the last 4 years we have dramatically changed the appearance of the course with an emphasis on going more “Green.”   Our main goal here at Palo Alto is to constantly keep improving course conditions for our membership to enjoy while being role model stewards for our environment.  We take a lot of pride in completing all tasks with the environment in mind by using amenities like solar power, organic fertilizers, recycled water stations for washing equipment, composting grass clippings, and more.  Some of the major projects completed in the past few years include:

Total conversion of turf from poa annua to perennial rye grass.  Not only do the turf characteristics of ryegrass provide a deep green color for mowing patterns, this turf is a lot more drought tolerant than Poa.  You are talking some serious savings in water usage when you take into account that we are watering roughly 80 acres of turf on a nightly basis in summer months.  This conversion has drastically improved the overall appearance of the course along with providing the finest playing conditions around for our membership to enjoy.

                                               

 Native restoration is another area that we have been working on the past few years to be as environmentally friendly as possible.  We have been converting “out of play areas” on the course to wild native areas.  Considering that our course is bordered by Arastadero Preserve we are providing a lot more environment for our wildlife to enjoy.  To date we have converted more than 12+ acres of the course to wild native areas.  Not only are we providing environment we are making an impact on the financial side.  Once established these areas require minimal water, no fertilizer, minimal labor, and provide an outstanding contrast for the course visually.  In water alone we have calculated that these areas have reduced our water usage by 15-20%. 

                We have also converted a lot of our areas under Monterey Pines to straw beds.  These areas provide a real challenge in producing quality turf so instead of wasting labor and expenses we decided to convert to straw to achieve a positive in every area.  These areas provide a better visual for the course along with savings in water, fertilizer etc.  Once again this is a way that we can improve the course visually along with a savings.

         We will continue to find ways to improve course conditions for our membership and at the same time always consider the impact that it will have on our environment.  These days everything is moving towards being more “Green” and more sustainable.  The same thing can be said for turf managers.  The advances alone in chemical and agricultural production are pretty amazing.  With the technology that we have it won’t be too long until all chemical manufactures will be producing products that are strictly made of organic compounds and have zero effect on the environment.  It’s our job to protect what we have and be as responsible with our surroundings and natural resources to the fullest extent.

By: Andrew Morgan

Golf Course Superintendent

amorgan@pahgcc.net

Bunker Consistency

One of our greatest challenges in maintaining the golf course is to provide consistent bunker conditions throughout 18 holes.  This topic provides a lot of discussion in clubhouses around the world.  Either the sand is too soft or too compacted depending on who you talk to on any given day.   This year and moving forward the maintenance staff has added another process in attempting to achieve the goal of having all greenside bunkers play with the same consistency.

After receiving 25”++ of rain from winter storms the majority of our bunker sand is contaminated and compacted providing poor playing conditions.  This season we have purchased 3 new mini roto-tillers that are enabling us to get in the bunkers and “bust up” the sand and revitalize it.  The process involves us going through each greenside bunker and running the roto-tiller to loosen all of the sand.  At this point if we find that there is not enough sand in the bunker we will add the correct amount of new sand to be consistent with others.  Just a small note that in completing this processes it was only necessary to add sand to 5 of the greenside bunkers.  Once the tilling is complete we will then come in behind with wood rakes and smooth out all of the sand.  This process takes our staff roughly one week to complete and we plan on doing it 4-5 times per season.

              Our long term goal is to have the bunkers rebuilt with a new bunker liner and new sand that will drain properly. This rebuild will prevent any compaction, contamination and inconsistent playing conditions.   For now, we are doing everything possible to provide the most consistent bunker sand possible.

The mini Roto-Tiller we are using

Tiller in Action

Smoothing it out!