Sod Project 11 Newport

The decision has been made to repair the salt water damage on 11 Newport. Turf problems have occurred due to salt water tidal flooding and the hole was under 5 feet of water during Hurricane Sandy. 

With the absence of shade due to selective tree removal and for maximum salt tolerance, Latitude 36 Bermudagrass  sod was selected.  We will reestablish the landing area to its original shape. Most of the cool season grass that has contaminated the fairway is being replaced. 

Until the sod is rooted and established, it will be kept very wet. 11 will be roped off to cart traffic.  I anticipate a quick establishment as we are entering prime Bermuda season. We will keep you posted of our progress. We are laying 15000 square feet of sod.

Deer Flies and Gnats

Now that we are close to summer and warm weather, the Brown Deer Fly and Gnats or No SeeUms are out in full force. The Biomist spray we have the County fog frequently is effective on mosquitoes ONLY. 

Since I am out in it every day I have found a non chemical solution. Cutter Lemon Eucalyptus Oil works effectively on these pests. You can find it in most stores. One caveat it needs reapplied frequently. 

Cart Signs and White Lines

The Board of Directors want better control of traffic and wear around the greens.  They have asked for this sign to be placed with a white line 30 or so yards from the greens.  Going forward, NO carts should be past the white line.

No carts should be off the path on PAR 3 holes.

USGA Visit

 A week ago Wednesday we had our annual visit by Darin Bevard, Mid Atlantuc Director of the USGA. Darin is the man in charge at next months U S Open at Merion Golf Club

We toured both golf courses and he confirmed we are on the right track with a lot of our programs and improvements. He recommended we continue our aggressive management of the poa annua on Newport. He likes our attempt at balancing nutrient levels in the greens on both courses. 

He was surprised at the recovery from Hurricane Sandy. Based on what he has seen our bermudagrass is behind schedule along with other courses due to the record cold April. 

He recommended we have an arborist come in and evaluate the sudden decline of the Loblolly Pines out on the marsh holes. My own opinion is if you look at all sides of the marsh there are pines dying on everyone's property. This is a deadly trio of salt mist, age and insect damage. Observe the pines in from the marsh. They are all fine. We are looking into alternative trees on 11 and 12.

We discussed ways to get more bang for our maintenance dollar. It was time well spent. 

Bermudagrass Fairway Update

A couple weeks ago when it was warmer, we scalped the bermudagrass fairways.  They greened up perfectly.  Then we had a cold spell with a couple nights in the upper 30s.  This caused some of the bermuda to turn purple!

Below you can see the new green tissue.

Some fairways have round dead spots.  This is Spring Dead Spot disease.  Currently there is NO reliable treatment or protocol for this disease.  We can grow these patches back together in warm weather.

There is some Large Patch disease in a couple spots.

There are a few flooded spots from Hurricane Sandy that we are watching for possible winterkill.

Overall, the bermudagrass seems to have come through winter and the hurricane in good shape.  We are waiting for some consistently warm, sunny days to jump start the fairways with fertilizer.  I expect them to be outstanding again this season.  The continued weather pattern has allowed some growth, but  we dont want to set progress back by mowing them during this cold streak of weather.

Poa Annua Control

The picture is pretty self explanatory.  The darker green turf is creeping bentgrass.  The lighter green is poa annua.  Poa annua reproduces from seed.  Much of the explosion of poa on Newport Bay can be traced to a couple things.  First we have committed to bermudagrass fairways.  In doing this, we spray the fairways clean in the winter with RoundUp.  We preemerge them with Barricade in September to prevent poa.  There is a huge seedbed in the greens from the previous years of non control.  The second contributor is we have worked very hard to attempt to balance all of our soil nutrients.  Together with the damp weather it is truly a perfect storm.

There are some new products on the market like Xonerate and experimental product from Korea-Poa Cure.  They show a lot of promise, but they are still in their infant stage of use and development.  The problem is there is a fair amount of pow, so for the time being, we try to control seed heads and stunt it with growth regulators to allow the bentgrass as much advantage as we can.

The problem in the spring of 2013 with growth regulators is it has been much below normal temperature wise.  This has caused the growth regulators to react very differently in the plant.  Last week we had three nights in the 30s with scattered frost.  The poa annua on the Newport greens has turned bronze.  The good thing is the poa is suppressed and the green is not as bumpy as it would be without regulation.

Knock Out Rose Trimming

Now is the time to prune your Knock Out Roses. Never prune more than half the original height