Hand Watering Hot Spots

The weather this spring has been great for golf. We have not had many rain days. Irrigation systems have been working at full capacity. The picture on the left shows me hand watering the back of 13 green at the East course. The reason we hand water is because some areas of the greens dry out before others. Most greens have dry areas or hot spots. This is due to inconsistent soil conditions, not even irrigation distribution, undulations in the green, exposed spots or shade areas etc. Irrigation systems usually delivery the same amount of water over the entire green with some variation. Because of this we either add too much water to get the dry spots or the opposite. It is much better to adequately water the majority of the green and hand water any dry spots. This will conserve water and avoid areas of the green being too wet. We do not want the greens to be consistently wet. This promotes poa annua, promotes disease, the greens will be susceptible to ball marks, foot printing and compaction, and will generally be slower. Thus the term firm and fast.
Dry conditions this early is a big concern. Large water users like golf courses must have a Permit to Take Water which is regulated by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. Water conditions are highly monitored throughout the area and when drought conditions occur and water tables and or creek levels decrease water restrictions will take place. It is important to note a few facts regarding golf courses and water. Golf courses only use water when and where necessary. If it rains we do not use water. All the water we use goes right back into the ground. Golf courses have implemented water conservation strategies of the last few years in order to help protect this valuable resource.
No matter how much we water with the irrigation system. Nothing is better than natural rainfall.
Let's hope we get some rain - at least at night!
Until next time...
David

The Poa has Started Seeding

The poa or annual bluegrass has just started seeding at Victoria Park East. This picture is from my blog last year (May 27, 2011). I don't want to repeat the exact same post, however poa annua is such an important aspect of golf course greens I think we should review it. Poa Annua or annual bluegrass is an invasive turf species that invades golf course greens, tees, and fairways. It is very aggressive and once it is established it is hard to control. It is an annual vs perennial which means the plant will grow for one year, produce seed, and die off. The white seedheads are very visible especially this time of year and make the greens look blotchy. The seed heads also affect putting which is very undesirable. It will establish in putting greens where ever there is some damage to the turf such as ball marks, wear from mowers, turf loss from disease or insects etc. The seed heads will last a few weeks and will probably affect putting quality. For more information check out my blog from May 27,2011. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Until next time...

The Valley Finally Opens!

Peter Morgan of the Victoria Park Valley Grounds crew making last minute repairs before the golf course opened on Saturday. There was a tremendous amount of work done the last few days before we opened.  I would like to thank all staff from both the Valley, the East course and contractors who all worked together to make it happen. One hundred and fiftey golfers came to play on Saturday and all the comments were very positive.

The grounds staff will continue to make repairs and improvements throughout the season. Although is has been quite dry this is the perfect time to overseed or sod areas on your home lawn. Soil temperatures need to be at least 10 degrees C for seed to germinate. Soil temperature will reach this when air temperatures are consistantly around 15 to 20 degrees. With the mild temperatures forecasted this week we should reach these temperatures. Good luck and feel free to contact me with your questions.
Until next time ...
David

Conditions at Victoria Park East

Tee times cancelled at Victoria Park East! The golf course has been open for almost six weeks with mostly great weather. Most of us realized we were not going to escape this spring without another dose of old man winter. Rest assured the snow will be gone by tomorrow. People always ask me if this weather can hurt the grass. The answer is no it wont. In fact the conditions were very dry. The precipiation in any form was welcome.
Until next time..
David

Valley Updates

With one week left the staff are working extremely hard for the anticipated golf course opening of April 28th. The picture on the left shows driving range netting being installed. The range will also open on April 28th. The turf conditions are looking good. We have been mowing regularly. We have also been watering. The spring has been quite dry. Hopefully not a sign of the summer ahead. I don't really want to think about drought conditions and water restrictions in April.

Golf Course Superintendent Jason Sewell is topdressing the tee on Hole # 1 - Lakes course.
Topdressing the tees with a sand/peat mixture will help level out the surface, prevent the turf from becoming too thatchy, allow us to lower the height of cut without scalping, and help cover up any rocks in the topsoil underneath.

Until Next Time...
David

Victoria Park Valley is Looking Good?

I am back with my weekly blog to discuss the "turf side" of things at Victoria Park East and the development updates for Victoria Park Valley.
As you would expect with such a mild winter the golf courses overwintered extremely well. We are experiencing early summer conditions in late winter! The picture on the left shows assistant superintendent John Watson mowing # 4 green on the Valley nine.
Our planned opening date for the Valley will be at the end of April. I will keep you posted - promise.

The crew kept busy most of the winter. They spent about 6 weeks tree trimming and clearing brush at the Valley. Some tree work was also done on Hole # 18 at the East course. The main purpose of this was to make the course more playable. With so many trees on some holes we want to make sure golfers will find their golf balls and can easily chip out. There were some holes where tree work was done to improve sunlight and air circulation.

Victoria Park East - The golf course fully opened for play March 16. Since then we have mowed the greens at least 6 times and the conditions are awesome for this time of year. We have been a bit overwhelmed with the nice weather and the amount of golfers. With the more seasonable weather this week the crew will have a chance to get caught up on their course opening duties. This includes cleaning up branches and debris, edging and working up the bunkers, and installing all the course accessories (ball washers, bunker rakes etc.) I want to thank all of you for coming out to play and for your patience getting the course ready.
Until next time

Finally Successful Seeding at the Valley

The fall is the perfect time to seed turfgrass. We have finally had great success with seeding difficult washouts and other areas that didn't take. The fall seed window is traditionally from August 15 to October 1. In my experience we seem to have more success after Labour day. The last four to five weeks has been just perfect with timely rains and moderate temperatures. The picture on the left is the driving range at Victoria Park Valley seeded three weeks ago. The picture below is the driving range today. Unbelievable catch! Limited germination will occur after October 20 depending on the temperature. See can stay dormant in the soil and germinate in spring. Good luck.