Lots of action this week!

Added a picture of Dugan to end the week well...

Wow!  We started off the week a little nervous about the irrigation system.  It seems like we found the break, repaired it and the week has just gotten better every day!

Tuesday, we did the Chipco Choice application to tee complexes, fairways, and green surrounds.  The applicators slit the product in just below the turf canopy and the product will kill the mole crickets as they hatch from their eggs.  The great thing about this product is that it is guaranteed to deliver sufficient control in the treated areas until December 31. 

Thursday, we got a spray application on the greens containing some growth hormones for the grass, some fertilizer and a plant protectant from some of the problematic diseases that we might see at this time of the year.  We also had a wetting agent in the mix that helps us to use less water and keep it where we want it.  In addition to the spray application, we put out a granular fertilizer containing potassium, iron and manganese.  The potassium (K) is very important in our greens as it helps regulate water usage, assist in plant development and give the plant some extra strength in times of stress.  The other two elements are essential for color and pathogenic antagonism.  As I have discussed before, the manganese (Mn) has been scientifically proven to antagonize the causal agent associated with Take-All Patch.

On to the 4 greens that went without water for a long time.  I am very impressed with 3, 4, and 7 as to how they came through our irrigation-induced drought.  I am confident that in no stretch of time, they will look as good as the other 15 greens on the course.  As for 6...it was weak coming out of winter and this stretch did weaken it further.  However, I have looking at "grow-in" programs for Paspalum greens and am confident that within 8 weeks we will have near full coverage of the green again.  A combination of weekly fertilizer applications and light verti-cuttings will enhance the recovery.

Some of you will have noticed by now that we verti-cut the putting green on Wednesday and not the rest of the greens on the course.  I like to use the putting green as my test green for upcoming maintenance since we are without a nursery green.  We did a test run on the putting green because we were running our verti-cutters in a new fashion and wanted to see how aggressive the result would be as well as how the machine would handle it.  We gained some new insight and will be prepared to verti-cut the other 18 greens on the course Monday. 

I am attaching a few photos documenting tree shade on 4 and 6 greens and just how much tree removal will benefit the facility.

Why won't turf grow in the shade on #6?

Disregarding the hydraulic leak, notice the thinner turf in the foreground and how the whole green is covered in shade on #4.

FOUND IT!!!

After going without controllable water on the Front 9 since April 8, we finally found the leak in our hydraulic system. And it couldn't have come at a better time! This week we have the mole cricket control application going on, our second pre-emergent application to tees and green surrounds, and fairway fertilization. We really need to be able to run the water.


After the initial shock and frustration, I always try to find the good and bad in what would be called "character development" moments. I see this past week as a great opportunity for our success as a team. The maintenance team really put in a lot of effort to locate the valves to shut down running sprinklers and have a better understanding of the routing of control piping than we did. We also saw just how far we could push our greens before they started to show drought stress. Greens 3, 4, 6, and 7 went 11 days without a single irrigation cycle! However, it really shows when you compare them even to other greens on the front 9 that did get water. I am developing a plan to get them back into condition quickly.

As I mentioned earlier, we have alot of applications coming up. This is really a busy month and I can't wait to see the results of our work next month.

Thanks for your understanding of the recent irrigation dilemma and your support of our facility and maintenance team. We really appreciate all the kind words and compliments throughout this very stressful ordeal.

Water problems - Intended for Posting April 12, 2010

A quick note to explain what's going on the front 9. Sometime between last Thursday and Friday we lost the pressure in our 1/2" water line that keeps the heads down on tees and fairways for the front 9. Around the greens the heads use electricity to turn on as they are newer and were replaced during the greens renovation. The issue with the older, hydraulic system is that we can not put water in the main irrigation pipes to at least water greens while we look for the leak without every other head on the front 9 turning on thus using up all the available water and pressure to run the heads around the greens. Until we can find the leak, we are making getting water to the greens our highest priority. As such, some of the Bermudagrass on tees, fairways, and surrounds will likely go into summer dormancy. As rain and irrigation resume, they will come back to green and resume growth. Your assistance in keeping cart and foot traffic off these areas as much as possible is greatly appreciated. As we look for the leak, we are working on alternate temporary and permanent solutions including a whole new hydraulic line. Given this new challenge, we are doing all we can to still provide a great golf course and solve this problem.
Justin Wheeler, GCS. Gator Lakes Golf Course. (850) 200-7054