BERMUDAGRASS IN WINTER

The past week has brought low temperatures to the eastern United States that have not been experienced in decades.  This cold front described as a  "polar vortex" has brought overnight lows in Moore County into the single digits.  When we experience low temperatures like these we worry about injury to our Bermuda Grass.  This low temperature injury is known as "winterkill" and it is different from "spring dead spot" which  is caused by certain root fungi during the fall and spring.  The severity of "spring dead spot" is influenced by winter weather while "winterkill" is totally the result of severe winter weather. In the upper transition zone (Kentucky,Virginia, Oklahoma) "winterkill" is reported as a once every five year occurrence.  In the Sandhills of North Carolina it is seldom experienced.  However our new "ultradwarf" Bermuda grass varieties are thought to be more susceptible to cold temperature injury and this is the first time we have seen temperatures this low since we began converting our bentgrass greens in the Carolinas to "ultradwarf" Bermuda. It should be noted that our traditional hybrid Bermuda grasees used in the fairways can suffer "winterkill" but they are thought to be hardier and less susceptible to injury than the "ultradwarf" bermuda grass used on our two new greens.



winterkill in a bermudagrass fairway



spring dead spot in a bermudagrass fairway

University research has been done on ways to protect "ultradwarf" Bermuda greens from "winterkill".  The consensus recommendation is that our first line of defense is the placement of geotextile covers over the"ultradwarf" grass. There are numerous options available in different fabrics from different manufacturers. These covers are usually custom cut and sewn for each green.  Greens in the shade and greens facing north are more susceptible to injury so sometimes these greens are covered when others are not.  The rule of thumb for covering is you should cover when the weather forecast predicts lows of 25 degrees F or lower for two or more consecutive nights along with daily highs of less than 50 degrees F. For our two new Bermuda grass greens we bought covers manufactured in Canada and and sold under the trade name  "Evergreen".

Historically, covering greens in the South to prevent winter injury dates back to the 1920's.  As southern greenkeepers struggled to find turf for use on their greens they found common bermudagrass to be the only grass which would survive the summer.  However getting that common Bermuda to survive the winter was difficult.  These early greenkeepers would establish a winter green of poa annua, ryegrass, or redtop in front of their summer green and then cover the summer green with pine straw for the winter.  (USGA Green Section Record Volume 1 No. 12 December 16,1921.)

Because of the intense cold we experienced here this week we decided  to try an old practice and add a pine straw blanket on top of our geotextile covers.  Other golf courses throughout the south have done this also. This was far easier for us than most golf courses since we only have two Bermuda greens.  The process of placing covers on the greens for cold weather and removing these covers when it becomes warmer is labor intensive.  For 18 greens the typical labor force is 4-6 people for 4-6 hours. Often it is windy because we are installing covers as a windy cold front moves in. At left is a picture showing our chipping green with its geotextile cover and pine straw being removed.

We do no not have any way of providing additional protection in these cold temperatures for our Bermuda fairways. We took steps in the fall to prepare the turf for winter. We limited nitrogen fertilizer applications, we applied potassium and we raised our height of cut. Factors which can contribute to fairway Bermuda injury in the winter are shade, traffic, poor drainage and moisture deficiency leading to winter dessication.  We would like to think that we have done all that we can do to protect our turf for winter.  As the turf comes out of dormancy this spring we will monitor our golf course and do everything we can to have healthy turf this spring.

BUNKERS, SAND, AND RAKES

Bunkers on a golf course can cause both pleasure and pain. When bunkers are properly designed and properly placed, they can transform a dull and boring golf hole into a challenging and beautiful golf hole. When they are poorly built they can be expensive to maintain and difficult to play out of.  We must remember however that they are  hazards.  Donald Ross once said; " There is no such thing as a misplaced bunker. Regardless of where the bunker may be, it is the business of the player to avoid it."




At Forest Creek we have different bunker styles throughout the golf courses.  The South golf course has both formal bunkers  and waste bunkers.  These formal bunkers were built with internal drainage and were filled with a sand blended for golf course bunkers in Lilesville, N.C. called the Bonsal Bunker Blend.  The bunkers on the North Golf course have a rougher and more natural feel and are all played as waste bunkers. Most of these bunkers on the North were carved out of the original sand in the places where they are located.  Where the sand is not original, it is native sand hauled from other places on the golf course site. Some have internal drainage and many do not.

Unfortunately  the quality of bunkers on golf courses is a subject of too much debate. Bunkers are judged on their design, their location, their drainage, the type of sand they contain, and the manner in which they are maintained.  Sand particle size and shape is analyzed. Sand depth and softness is measured. Drainage is emphasized so that play will never be interrupted.  Sand purity is sought with sand free of silt, clay, organic matter and rocks. Gravel in these bunkers occurs naturally and also surfaces from drain lines. Some golfers prefer that the sand be maintained in a firm condition while other golfers want softer sand. Golfers want sand of a uniform depth.


Golf architects dictate the style of bunkering. Some prefer high flashed sand while others want the sand to be flat with grassy banks coming down to the sand. Different styles require different maintenance practices. The management of a golf course must decide on the intensity of the bunker maintenance they desire. Will bunkers be raked every day? Will three days a week be sufficient? Will mechanical rakes be used or will the bunkers be hand raked?  When the bunkers fail to drain should they be pumped?  When there is gravel in a bunker must it be removed?  All these decisions effect how much bunker maintenance will cost.



The USGA Green Section reports; "As the Green Section agronomists travel the country and visit courses of all budget levels, the most common complaints from golfers involve bunkers. Depth of sand, "fried-egg" lies, lack of consistency, and even varying moisture levels are all sources of dissatisfaction. Many golfers believe they are entitled to a certain quality of lie in a bunker and that anything less is a sign of poor maintenance or bad sand, and usually both.  Unlike the other hazards on the course, bunkers now have to be "fair"." (USGA Green Section Record July-August 2008)  It has also been reported by the USGA Green Section; "American golfers have developed an unreasonable expectation for nothing less than a perfect lie in a bunker and equally unreasonable demandas for absolute consistency of playing conditions between bunkers. Bunkers are hazards to be avoided, yet many mid-to-high-end courses in the United States spend as much or more money to maintain bunkers than their putting greens." (USGA Green Section Record September 2010)  Obviously, since intensive bunker maintenance is expensive, golf courses must decide how much of the budget should be allocated to bunker maintenance and how important is a perfect lie in a bunker.

Another question about bunkers involves the placement of rakes. Where and in what direction they are placed is the question.  The USGA recommends placing rakes outside the bunker and parallel to the line of play, preferably along the outer edge of the bunker, so that it will reduce the overall chance of the rake coming into play, while also eliminating the rake's possible influence on a ball within the bunker.  It is also recommended that a low side (or sides if multiple rakes are needed for a large bunker) be selected. Climbing in and out of  the high sides of bunker causes major damage to the bunker face and surrounding sod.  Rake placement (in or out of the bunker) effects golf maintenance efficiency because the rakes must be moved to perform mowing or raking.  At different times of the year the place to put the rakes for efficiency can change.

When buying sand for golf course bunkers there are many options now available.  There is a pure white sand from Spruce Pine N.C. that is a byproduct of mica mining.  This sand is used at Augusta National and at many golf course throughout the Carolinas.  In the Sandhills of North Carolina where there are many commercial sand mining operations we have several different sbunker sand options.  We now have "cracked " sand available to us from sand pits in Hoffman N.C. A "cracking" machine is moved around to various sand pits to do this work. This sand is used because it will stay up on steep slopes.  Because it is angular and not round it creates a steeper angle of repose.  Put simply, it will not slide as easily down the slope.  We used this sand in the bunkers at the new chipping green. When purchasing sand the cost of shipping is a large part of the price. Local sand is always less expensive.

Golf course bunkers are much more than a sandy hazard to be avoided.  They are constructed to look natural and drain quickly.  The sand within them can be natural or a product of mining and engineering processes.  They are expected to be fair and nearly perfect. They are expensive to maintain and are a major element of golf course maintenance budgets.  At Forest Creek we have developed standards and guidelines for maintenance practices.  There is a specific section which deals with bunkers. We do not always achieve the standards which are outlined there but we are always working on the bunkers in an effort to meet those guidelines. This winter we have been working on drainage issues and will begin another project to remove gravel.  We will be working on the bunker on 17 South to eliminate the bunker faces which have fallen and will be adding our new cracked sand.

FALL AND WINTER PROJECTS

Fall weather creates the opportunity for the golf course maintenance staff to take on special projects to improve the golf courses.  For the last several months we have been concentrating on  maintaining the golf courses.  Cooler weather has slowed the growth of the grasses on the golf courses and we no longer have mowing grass as our dominant activity.  We now have time fix all the troublesome areas on the golf courses with drainage and new construction. This is our chance to do the things which will make the golf courses better next year.

During this past year we were able to plant a herb garden outside the kitchen.  We also worked on bunker drainage and rock removal from the bunkers.  We created a new chipping green area with Miniverde Ultradwarf Bermuda.  We converted another green in a residential area to Champion Ultradwarf Bermuda. We removed asphalt cart paths which had been compromised by tree roots and replaced the asphalt with sand.  We eliminated seven out of play wastebunkers. We leveled tees.

repairing cart paths

herb garden

new chipping green

leveling tee on 2 South

 

 new champion green just after sprigging

 

Already this fall we have several projects underway.  We enlarged and renovated the putting green on Wellington Drive.  We regraded and enlarged the  back tee on 18 South and resodded it with Zeon Zoysia. We have undertaken a program to level and improve drainage on the left driving range tee.  We have begun drainage improvements in the bunkers on the North

 

 

drainage 9 North

 

drainage 9 North

 

renovated tee 18 south

renovated putting green on Wellington

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We have many other projects planned, including a new access path to the back of the driving range and enhancements to that "back of the range" practice area.  We plan to continue removing asphalt cart paths and improving the sand paths with more sand and drainage. We want to remove tress which are causing agronomic problems.  Repairs to our cart bridges with new decking and railings is in the planning stage.  We will run out of winter before we run out of projects.

 

COLORING FAIRWAYS

One of the trends in  the southeastern United States among Bermuda grass golf courses is the coloring of dormant turf with a turf colorant instead of overseeding with ryegrass. This trend began with the coloring of Bermuda grass greens as they were going dormant. Instead of overseeding them with bentgrass or poa trivialis, a colorant was applied. This trend has been carried over from its use on greens with success. This coloring is now common on Bermuda grass fairways and tees.  It is an undeniable fact that ryegrass overseed competes with the Bermuda grass into which it has been overseeded. This creates a weakened Bermuda grass plant at transition time and the Bermuda grass will then spend the summer recovering from this competition. Another issue with overseeding is that it needs to happen in October when our weather and playing conditions are usually excellent. It is necessary to water heavily during overseed establishment which then creates unsatisfactory wet playing conditions. Cart traffic must then be restricted to cart paths during the establishment of the overseed.  This is never a popular decision.

This year at Forest Creek we decided to not overseed either golf course.  We have also decided  to color the fairways, tees, and  approaches on the South Golf course.  We are using Endurant turf colorant from Geoponics. This is a high quality product designed to be used on turf.  The golf course industry has responded to this trend  of coloring turf by developing better products for this practice..  These products are formulated to adhere to the grass plant while causing no injury to the plant. They are considered to be perfectly safe for both the plant and the golfer.  We applied the Endurant colorant to the front nine on Wednesday and the back nine on Thursday. The ladies golf group played the first round of golf on this newly colored turf on Thursday and the comments were very positive.  We anticipate that we will do at least two more applications throughout the dormant season to maintain a satisfactory color.

This process has been studied at the university level and the USGA has several articles which examine this process.
"Instant overseeding: coming to a fairway near you", by Patrick O'Brien, USGA Green Section Record Vol. 50 (14), July 6,2012
"Switching from traditional overseeding to liquid overseeding", by Todd Lowe, USGA Green Section Record Vol. 51 (22), November 1, 2013

7 Fairway South after coloring

8 Green and Approach after coloring

THE CHANGING SEASONS

One of the joys of being a "greenskeeper" is experiencing your profession through and with the changing seasons on the golf course. The tasks we perform will vary throughout the year and we gladly anticipate the changing weather as a part of our job.  The jobs that "Old Tom Morris" performed at Saint Andrews varied throughout his seasons. The modern farmer focuses his effort on his crop by preparing the soil and planting in the spring and harvesting his crop in the fall. The modern golf course superintendent changes  his cultural practices throughout the year based on the seasons and the changing weather. In many ways the profession of greenskeeping links the game of golf to  the land where the game is played.  A farmer is linked to his land the same way a golf course superintendent is linked to his golf course.

15 North

At Forest Creek our activities and applications have changed throughout September and October as we wind down our growing season and prepare for fall and winter. We apply different herbicides at different times of the year for different weeds based upon their time of germination. In the fall we target poa annua but in the spring we target crabgrass and goosegrass. The height at which we cut our grasses will vary with the seasons.  We raise the height of cut for bentgrass in the summer to relieve stress on this cool season grass and then lower the height of cut in the fall when the weather cools down. Bermuda grass is a warm season grass so we raise the height of the Bermuda in the fall getting ready for freezing temperatures and possible winter injury. To avoid the potential for winter cold temperature injury to the Bermuda grass we apply potassium which promotes winter hardiness.
The likelihood of bentgrass suffering fungal diseases diminishes with cold temperatures and rises with warm temperatures.  The frequency of our fungicide applications to the greens is highest in the summer and lowest in the winter. We do not usually apply fungicides to the Bermuda grass but we will treat for "spring dead spot" in the Bermuda grass in both fall and winter.This is a devastating disease which is difficult to control.  We base our spray timing on when the soil temperature reaches 55 degrees. We almost always welcome a change in the weather and the seasons.



3 South

Most of these cultural practices have been going on at Forest Creek this fall. We have raised the height of cut of the Bermuda grass fairways  from 0.45 inches to 0.55 inches and our rough from 1.75 inches to 2.0 inches. The height of cut of the greens was lowered from .135 inches to .105 inches gradually through September.  We have applied one pound of potassium per thousand square feet to the tees,  fairways, and rough along with a chelated iron supplement to enhance the green color of the turf. We have applied tebuconazole to the south golf course and propoconazole to the north golf course for "spring dead spot" control.

16 South

Historically at Forest Creek we have always overseeded our golf courses with ryegrass in the fall and our cultural practices would switch to maintaining this cool season turf at this time.  This year, the decision was made not to overseed for agronomic reasons.  The continual competition of the ryegrass and the Bermuda grass is hard on the Bermuda.and skipping overseeding will give the Bermuda grass an entire growing season with no competition.  We have overseeded the clubhouse grounds, practice areas and par three tees.

Old Tom Morris

While the modern superintendent has many more tools available to him than "Old Tom Morris" had available to him, we share a common bond and heritage.  We both have cared for a piece of land where the game of golf is played and the quality of the turfgrass on that piece of land makes the game of golf a better game.  "Old Tom Morris " is considered the founder of the profession of greenskeeping.  He managed the Old Course at Saint Andrews from 1864 to 1903 and is credited with the first efforts to improve golf course conditions by topdressing and adding compost to greens.  He was also the first greenkeeper to perform bunker maintenance and to irrigate turf.

Although Old Tom Morris never left Scotland, many men who trained under him came to America as golf professionals, greenskeepers and golf course designers. Old Tom Morris was a champion professional golfer as well as a clubmaker and a greens keeper.  In the early years in America these jobs were usually joined as well.  But as the job of greenskeeping became more involved and as it came to involve more modern scientific  agronomy, the jobs were gradually separated.  Most modern superintendents have college degrees in agronomy or horticulture.  Nevertheless, for all of us, no matter how we were educated or trained, we are linked to the land by the game of golf and the changing of the seasons.

Donald Ross in Pinehurst

Here in Pinehurst, we are linked to Scotland and Old Tom Morris by Donald Ross. Ross trained under Old Tom and made his mark in America as one of the greatest golf course architects in history. 
Donald Ross once said;  "a sandy loam is by far, the very best golfing soil."  That sandy loam is what makes Pinehurst so special for turf conditions.  It brought Donald Ross here and it brings all of us to Pinehurst and Forest Creek for golf.