Filling In!





#1 Fairway



As we continue to aerify fairways the bermudagrass is continuing to come alive and filling in the thin spots more and more each day.  Today we spot aerifed #14 fairway as well as the landing areas in fairways #1 and #2.  We continue to fertilize these areas at 1.5 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 sq. ft.



#2 Fairway

Today we also fertilized the green surrounds with a granular product at about 1.25 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000  sq. ft.  Nitrogen is one of 3 macronutrients essential for plant health and is responsible for cell division and chlorophyll synthesis which promotes growth and green color.  This should help us accelerate plant growth a little more helping us fill in the thin areas.  We will be fertilizing tee surrounds next.

Fertilizing #14 Green Surround

Practice Area

We continue work on our IPM (Integrated Pest Management) program fighting weeds, disease and insects both culturally and chemically.  We are currently treating crabgrass and spurge in fairways and rough, and moss on the greens with much success.  I plan the make a fungicide application on greens Thursday morning to treat some of the dollar spot disease that has been popping up with a contact fungicide which will clean us up.  I will then follow up with a systemic application to give us some protection from any new cultures trying to establish.  We are also treating fire ants as they surface and start mounding as well as scouting for mosquitoes, rove beetles, white grubs and cut worms.

Yet Another West Texas Wind Storm

This years first sign of moisture came with high winds.  Some minor tree damage, but nothing too severe.  With higher overnight lows the golf course is finally starting to wake up, mowing is becoming more frequent and thin spots are filling in!



Cottonwood Between #4 and #5

Elm #15





Cottonwood #9



 We are continuing to aerify weak areas in the fairways and rough and are nearing completion.  Once we are are done working through these areas we will begin slicing fairways.  Slicers work by using a thin triangle shaped blade to cut a deep vertical slice in the turf and soil, this creates a place for gas exchange and water infiltration to occur which will promote overall turf health, the best thing about this process is its less disruptive and will not interfere with play, you won't even notice the slices!

Along with higher temperatures and humidity comes disease pressure.  One pathogen that we see the most at EPCC is Dollar Spot (Sclerotinia homeocarpa) which infects our creeping bentgrass greens.  We are currently combating this pathogen both chemically and culturally.  For more information regarding dollar spot disease visit http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/turf/publications/Dollarspot.html



Spraying Collars For Crabgrass



Fertilizing #15 Fairway After Aerification

Busy Times

Vertical Mowing



The EPCC golf course maintenance team has been busy working this week, from verticutting and topdressing to hand watering and fertilizing.  On Monday greens were verticut and lightly topdressed to help reduce thatch, promote air movement into the rootzone and increased water penetration.  Light, frequent topdressing has also shown to help in thatch reduction and decreased disease pressure.





Aerifying #15



Fairway and rough aerification continues, I want to thank all members for their help with keeping carts off the turf as we go through this process.







My 1 year old lab Remi checking heads



Injecting Water Into A Hot Spot















Tests

Collecting Soil Samples On #2

Last week we took soil and water samples to be tested, this will help us determine how to agronomically improve the health and condition of the turf. 

Water Samples

Current Tasks

We are currently aerifying areas in the fairways and rough where we have weak turf and compacted soils.  This process will help improve water infiltration, allow oxygen to enter the soil to aid with root growth and alleviate compaction.



Aerifying #18 Fairway



Aerification Holes









Early Morning Watering Of Aerified Areas

We are also working on our weed eradication program of Annual Bluegrass (Poa annua) and winter/spring annual broadleaves when weather permits.  The high winds make it difficult for us to spray during the day, so most of our applications are being made during early morning hours when the winds are calm.  We can do some spraying during windy conditions using a hooded boom attached to a mower, however, we are only able to treat smaller areas with the hooded sprayer.

No More Wind...For Now

The harsh West Texas winds have left us alone for a few days now, with low wind speeds we are finally able to get the irrigation water applied where it needs to be.  With improved water distribution and warmer temperatures on the horizon, it won't be long until the golf course fully wakes up from hibernation.

If you have been out to the golf course in the last couple weeks you may have noticed we have been running our well on number 17.  Due to below average snow fall at the Rio Grande head waters and below average rainfall in the region, the irrigation district has reduced our river water allocation this season forcing us to run the wells.  We will be running the wells during the day to help dilute the high amounts of sodium and bicarbonates found in our well water and increase the amount of irrigation water we have available between river water deliveries.  We are currently exploring new ways to improve water quality and conservation.

With the completion of tee aerification we will now move to fairways and rough.  We will concentrate on areas where we have a weak turf stand and compacted soils due to winter kill and cart traffic.  These areas will then be fertilized and have a wetting agent applied to aid in water retention.  This will be an ongoing process throughout the growing season.

Too Cool!

This morning I took some time to take some soil temperature readings on tees, collars and fairways to get an idea on where we sit.  Our average soil temperature was 58.3 degrees Fahrenheit taken at random locations throughout the entire property, bermudagrass will not start actively growing until soil temps. reach 65 degrees and our overnight lows stay consistently in the 50's, we are still seeing lows in the lower to mid 40's.  I also took some soil profiles to examine moisture, I'm starting to see some moisture loss due to winds drying out the soil and interfering with our irrigation cycles causing poor water uniformity and distribution.  Not to worry, soil moisture is still holding strong!

Tee aerification is nearing completion, all of the larger tees have been punched.  All we lack are the smaller tees that we will aerify with a smaller "pull-behind" aerifier.  Once tees are finished, we will start on fairways and rough.

Tomorrow we will be spraying greens, collars and approaches with a spray grade ammonium sulfate (21-0-0).  This process is known as "spoon feeding" which by using a liquid form, the fertilizer is absorbed foliar through the leaf blade and quickly translocated throughout the plant.  Granular fertilizer is absorbed through the roots which takes longer for the plant to take up the nutrients, however, higher amounts of nutrients are able to be absorbed through the roots rather than through the leaf blade.  Foliar applications are used to give the plant quick "bump" that can be noticed within 24 hours and has a very low burn potential due to lower application rates.  Spoon feeding is a very common practice on golf courses during the growing season.

Tee Aerification

Collar aerification is complete and they are taking in water and nutrients very well and overall turf health is improving.  Optimum soil temperatures for bermudagrass growth is 65 degrees Fahrenheit, we are currently sitting around 55-60 degrees, so just a little more time before we can start effectively growing the bermuda.

We have started on tee aerification this week and should take us about 5-6 days to get around to all of them.  Again, the process of aerification is to alleviate soil compaction, allow oxygen into the soil to help with root and plant health, water infiltration and percolation which also helps us leach out some of the salts locked up in the soil.  This agronomic process is very crucial for overall health of the plant.

We are using a 5/8 inch hollow tine at a depth of 4 inches to create the hole.  The tee is then drug with a steel drag mat to break up the soil and thatch, any remaining soil and plant material is then blown off and raked up to leave a clean and playable surface.  Once all of the tees are aerified we will then apply a granular fertilizer to promote turf growth and the aerification holes should be healed up in about 10 days.

Bunkers Complete!

The bunker addition project on holes 4, 14, 16 and 18 is 100% complete and the sod is healing and growing in nicely.  Some leftover sod from the project was used to patch up some thin areas where we had some turf loss due to traffic and freezing temperatures during the winter months.



#4




#14




#16




#18



It's all coming together.

Sand has been installed into the new bunkers on #4, #14 and #16 and sod has been installed on #4 and #14.  Monday we should have the final shaping done and sand installed on #18, that only leaves us with installing the sod on #16 and #18 which should be completed on Wednesday.  The type of grass being installed is Tifgreen hybrid bermudagrass overseeded with perennial ryegrass.

Sod being installed at #4

Sod being installed at #4

Sod being installed at #14

Sod being installed at #14

#4 Nearing completion

#4 Complete

Open 'em Up!

We are currently going through and aerating collars, the goal is to open up the soil just enough to allow oxygen to enter the soil and improve water infiltration.  We are using a 16-hole 1/4 inch tine block setup to create the maximum amount of holes while having very little surface disruption so play will not be affected.  Once collars are complete we will then start on tees.

Calhouns Crossing

A reminder to all members and their guests that Calhouns Crossing behind #8 green is for walkers only, carts may not cross this bridge.  Last week the bridge was damaged by a golf cart trying to drive across it to get to #9 tee box.  The bridge is currently being repaired and will get a new coat of stain.

Final Touches

Irrigation and drainage installation on all four new bunkers is complete!  The new fairway bunker on #4 was back filled with sand today and is ready to be grassed in.  The rest of the bunkers will be edged out and back filled with sand by Wednesday, once that is complete we will begin sodding in around the bunkers and any other areas of disturbance.  Our goal is to be 100% complete by Tuesday or Wednesday of next week just in time for the Put Up Or Shut Up Tournament and the Sun Country Pro-President Golf Tournament presented by Club Car.

Drainage Being Installed At #16

Beginning To Edge #4

Applying Pre-emergent To Prevent Weeds And Grass To Grow Up Through The Sand

Sand Being Installed At #4

Raking Out Sand At #4

Bunkers, Bunkers, Bunkers!

As of today all four of the new bunkers have their general shapes and contours.  After meeting with architect Kevin Ramsey from the Ronald Fream Design Group this morning he was very pleased with the way the bunkers were turning out.  He made some subtle changes to some of the high points of the slopes and informed us we were good to go!  So far this week we have installed drainage sumps on #4 and #14, drain tile and irrigation have also been installed in the bunker on #4.  Irrigation and drainage should be complete for all 4 bunkers by Thursday, once this is complete we can begin to cut out the edges of the bunkers, backfilling with sand and installing the sod.

Drainage Sump #14

Drainage Sump #14 Backfilled with 2-4 inch Rock

Drain tile being installed at #4

#4 Drainage Complete

Bunker irrigation being installed at #4

New Bunkers

New bunkers are currently being built on holes #4, #14, #16 and #18.  These new bunkers should help give the course a current feel while maintaining a classic style much like the existing bunkers.  The rough grade of the bunkers is almost complete and should be finished Monday morning.  Drianage, sand, irrigation and sod will be installed this week.  I will keep everyone updated as we work through the final stages of this project.



#18 Rough Grade



#4 Being Shaped

#14 Being Shaped

#18 Being Shaped

#16 Rough Grade

New Blog

Welcome!  This blog was created to furthur show the membership daily operations, projects and information on the golf course.  Here we will be posting daily activites and pictures of the golf course so that you are able to stay up to date on what is happening wherever you are.  I hope you enjoy this new addition to El Paso Country Club.