Tuesday, September 24

Eureka!

We've struck water!  With the first 300 feet of our well a relative bust, I am happy to finally report that the extra 150 feet of digging has doubled our flow.  We now have a well that can comfortably pump 350 gallons per minute (gpm) and has a great rate of replenishment!  I am thrilled that our extra investment paid off and that we are one step closer to getting away from the creek and out from under the whims of the quarry and remove "dam building" from my resume.

While I am thrilled, I am not yet jumping up and down and "just a hollerin" quite yet.  While 350 gpm is a workable result, it is just below the bottom range of our desired 375-500.  Remember, we need a total of 750-1000 gpm to properly water the golf course.  Two wells at 350 puts us at 700 which is far better than an empty creek but not quite what we were hoping for.  Had the well ended up at 4-500, our road ahead would have been a "no-brainer" - dig another one and hook-em up.  Making 700 work will take just a bit more work.

The most important thing to remember is that this is only the critical first step towards fixing our irrigation woes.  Knowing how much water is underground is the most important factor to develop a plan of attack.  We will work with consultants, our pump specialists, and our irrigation supplier to get the right hardware and software in place to make a new water source for Highland Meadows.  It may not be the "slam dunk" we were hoping for, but at least we have a great look at an open jump shot.

Wednesday, September 4

My favorite subject

As happens towards the end of every August, I get peppered with questions about green speed.  There are two main ways people approach me - either 1. they walk up with a nervous smile and try to work green speed into an innocuous conversation because they are too polite to whine about it or 2. they look at me with an expression of pain as if they had just been kicked in the groin and say something to the effect of "what's with the greens?"  For the former, I've always found a little explanation usually leads to a common sense conclusion.  For the latter, I've learned that explanations (or excuses depending on how you look at it) are meaningless.  No matter what I say, the expression of doubt and discontent remains on their face.  I sense that as I walk away they are just thinking about what they would do different if THEY were superintendent.  The greens would be fast EVERYDAY.  (For the sake of fun, let's assume this post be addressed towards the latter - it's more interesting and gives me far more satisfaction - but please take my tone with a grain of salt)  The other thing I've learned is that there seem to be two prevailing myths regarding green speed that I would like to address:

1.  I constantly am changing the height of cut and skipping mowing perhaps to spite the membership

And

2.  I don't give a crap about green speed.

Let's start with #1 - Whenever the greens are a little slower, the first assumption that's made is that we "skipped cutting the greens".  (ON A PERSONAL NOTE - please say "mow" instead of "cut" the greens.  I don't know why that's like finger nails on a chalk board to me when people say "cut", but it is. Thank you)   Other than to make the height of cut (HOC) LOWER, I've not changed the HOC since April.  Our greens are mowed at around 1/8" (0.125 inches people!) all season.  Also, we have mowed EVERY DAY this season.  In years past with really harsh weather conditions, we have had occasion to skip a mowing and just roll the greens in order to manage plant health.  This year, that has not happened even once.  Instead, what people refuse to believe is that conditions have a great effect on green speed.  Let's look at the last couple of weeks, or what has been a bountiful "fall harvest" of bitching.  Warm temperatures, regular rains, and very high humidity have made it difficult to dry out the surfaces.  There were days last week where we would mow, the dew would re-set on the greens, roll, the dew would re-set again, and there would be visible dew until 2 in the afternoon!  A wet turf canopy is going to be a bit slower (ring the "common sense bell" here).  Also, as happens every year, late summer warmth and humidity seems to affect our growth rate.  I monitor clipping yields almost daily to watch the amount of grass going into the buckets of our greens mowers and there is always a definite rise in those conditions.  Obviously, the more they are growing, the tougher it is to maintain "lightning" green speeds.  Finally, (get the common sense bell ready again) the regular rains have kept the greens quite soft for much of the entire season.  Our sprinklers have been off most of the season (except for one ill-timed party on the patio) and Mother Nature has ruled the day in terms of moisture content.  If I can't manage the moisture, I can't manage firmness.  All of these things add up to a little slower greens at certain times of the year.

And #2 - I DO give a huge crap about green speed.  Everything we plan and do is designed to make our surfaces perform better and maintain a balance between plant health and excellent putting conditions day-in and day-out.  I AM AWARE THAT YOU LIKE THE GREENS FAST!!!!!!  I putt on our greens every day and use a stimpmeter frequently.  We sand topdress, lower the HOC, spray growth regulators, groom the turf canopy, roll, mow, occasionally double-cut and do everything in our power to make the greens as fast as we can in the current conditions.  Now we are a little handcuffed on some things because as I've lamented in the past - we are a heavy use facility, so traffic is high, and our surfaces are 50-90% poa annua.  I assure you that while the greens are less than 2% of the acreage I am responsible for maintaining, they occupy 95% of my time and worry.  I will say it again - I want the greens as fast and smooth and consistent as possible EVERY DAY and I worry about it EVERY DAY.

A final word about our stimpmeter readings.  I check green speed about 2-3 times per week depending on clipping yield and conditions.  Spring of this year, we were consistently 11+ feet on a normal morning.  Once the dew was gone, we would pick up 2-3 inches of roll above that.  Yesterday, (and yes I got a complaint yesterday) the greens were about 10" 8".  So we were at best about 6" slower than springtime.  When I took over at Highland Meadows, our average stimpmeter reading was between 9' 6" and 10 feet.  I introduced light sand topdressing, changed aerification techniques, introduced lightweight rolling, and got on a more regular grooming schedule WHILE lowering the HOC from 0.150" to our current 0.120".  My point is this - green speed is relative.  When I took over the grounds committee told me that our goal was 10-10.5 feet.  I have done quite a bit to exceed that. Now I'm not saying there's a day here or there where we are a little slower, but overall, we are doing pretty well. I seem to have spoiled you.

As we move into fall temperatures and conditions, I believe you will see an increase in ball roll.  Drier air, lower growth rates (cool nights) and non-stressful weather always lends itself to good ball roll.  My take home messages are this - I care about green speed.  I think about green speed almost every day. I tweak and change my practices every year to try and get more.  There will always be times that Mother Nature may dictate slower green speeds.  When it's like that, hit it harder.