USGA GREEN SECTION TURF ADVISORY SERVICE REPORT MID OCEAN CLUB HAMILTON, BERMUDA

Transcription

1 USGA GREEN SECTION TURF ADVISORY SERVICE REPORT MID OCEAN CLUB HAMILTON, BERMUDA United States Golf Association Southeast Region Green Section P.O. Box 95 Griffin, Georgia Office: , Fax: Present during the visit performed on : Mr. Norman Furtado, Golf Course Superintendent Mr. Dennis Croumie, Assistant Superintendent Mr. Mike Foulger, Board member and Agronomy Committee Mr. Tim Thuell, General Manager Mr. Patrick O Brien, USGA Green Section Statement of Purpose: The purpose of the USGA Green Section is to assist subscribing courses in matters of agronomic management. All recommendations are offered free of bias, since the USGA has no connections or obligations to any manufacturer, supplier, or contractor. Additionally, since quick fixes seldom result in permanent improvement, some of the recommendations in this report may not be easy to implement and it could take more than a single season to produce the desired results.

2 Page 1 Opening Statement On behalf of the USGA Green Section, it was a pleasure to visit again at the Mid Ocean Club. The visit consisted of a morning half-day tour of the golf course. I appreciate all the hospitality provided to me by Mr. Furtado and Mr. Foulger. Membership Meeting 1. A Membership meeting was held at the new Turf Care Center. Approximately 30 members attended this event. Food and drinks were provided by Mr. Thuell and his staff for the members at this meeting. It was very professionally done and one of the best ever membership events that I have attended at a Turf Care Center. 2. This was the first ever membership meeting held by the Agronomy Committee at the Turf Care Center. 3. I spoke to the attendees about the Mr. Furtado and Mr. Croumie are two excellent agronomists and I commend their excellent work to improve the golf course. major capital improvements to the golf course over the past decade. I have been making visits to Mid Ocean since 1987 so I have a very intimate knowledge of the improvements made to my favorite golf course over the years. 4. The major capital improvements covered during the presentation included: a. Turf Care Center b. Tee leveling and regrassing c. Irrigation System and RO plant d. Bunker Renovation e. Conversion to TifEagle at putting greens f. Bridge projects g. Tree removal work 5. Numerous questions were asked by the attendees and overall I thought the meeting was very successful and informative. 6. I hope this meeting can occur more often in the future due to the success of this event.

3 Page 2 Putting Greens 1. The TifEagle performance over the past season was again excellent. Mr. Furtado and his staff do an outstanding job of managing the TifEagle with the resources available on Bermuda. They also keep up to date on the latest management trends with this variety as well. I am proud of their efforts. 2. TifEagle remains one of the three premier ultra dwarf bermudagrass varieties for putting greens, along with Champion and Mini Verde. The capital improvement to sprig the putting greens to TifEagle has been one of the best decisions ever by the membership. 3. No overseeding will again be done this winter to optimize playing conditions. Taller mowing at inch will be occurring soon to provide additional leaf tissue due to slower growth with the cooler weather over the next few months. All ultra dwarf varieties perform better without overseeding and your winter management program is well done. 4. The TifEagle plant health was excellent overall this past season. Bermudagrass decline, a root issue that overall is not well understood, occurs now at a few smaller areas at the #2 and #6 putting greens. The impacted area at the #6 green was resodded recently. Fortunately, this issue only happens now at a few areas and its overall impact is very minimal. 5. Salt burn to the TifEagle leaves occurred at the perimeter of the #3 green due to the high winds this past August from Hurricane Bill. The leaf damage recovery is happening now but it may take until next spring for the leaves to fully grow back. This green is always the most susceptible to salt spray due to its location adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean. The gypsum applications that are underway are a big plus and the best option to promote recovery, as well as periodic leaching efforts with extra irrigation to flush out the salts from the rootzone in this area. 6. Common bermudagrass contamination issues will soon reappear over the winter months at some green sites. It is impossible to kill out all the old common bermudagrass with regrassing projects and this issue will need attention annually and visually it will be readily seen the worst over the next few months due to the slower growth of the TifEagle. 7. Surface grooming operations of the TifEagle were again successful this past season due to light vertical mowing and sand topdressing programs done on alternating weekly intervals. Swirling grain issues were far less again this season due to these programs. Lateral plant growth is less and will get even better with some additional tips that I will provide. I am very optimistic that with some new grooming strategies in the future even more erect plant growth will come about in the future.

4 Page 3 8. Upper rootzone organic matter levels remain normal due to aggressive core aeration and sand topdressing programs done twice each summer. I am very pleased with this organic matter dilution program and see no reason to increase the frequency or make any changes. 9. Significantly lower nitrogen levels were applied this past season to the putting greens. Annual nitrogen levels were reduced by approximately 40% from 12 pounds to 7 to 8 pounds. This new fertility philosophy seemed to work out just fine as the plant density and plant health remained very good as well as turf color. The new low cut chipping areas around a few of the putting greens have been well received by the membership. 10. New lower cut chipping areas have been installed around a few green sites, such as #6. These new chipping areas were set up for the CB MacDonald tournament in September and were a big hit. Mowing occurs twice weekly at inch and this new program has added significantly to the mowing operation workload. It takes 2 days to mow these new chipping areas one time, a big operation. Some mower scalping has occurred to the common bermudagrass at these chipping areas, but over time the common bermudagrass will adapt to this lower mowing. The new electric hand mowers for the putting greens are exciting new technology. 11. A total of 8 new Jacobson Eclipse hand mowers have been purchased this year. This new electric reel technology is becoming more popular and this is the first summer that I am observing courses using this new technology. Some courses are reporting up to 160% more clipping yields without changing the height of cut due to faster reel frequencies. This may signal the end of non-electrically powered walking greensmower reels. The ability to alter the frequency of cut has existed for years now in Five-plex

5 Page 4 style mowers and I predict its emergence in the greensmower market could be very significant. I am happy that your staff has this new technology and they will continue to learn more about how to use it in the future. Recommendations 1. The staff will try to mow the new chipping areas one more time weekly next season to help reduce scalping provided the man hours are provided with enough labor. 2. Rotary powered brushes are becoming more popular on mowers to assist with surface grooming programs with the ultra dwarfs. Stationary brushes are good but it is trending to the power brushes, and especially the power brushes with counter rotation to that throws clippings and sand into the baskets and not into the reels. 3. Brushing operations are known now to optimize playability of ultra dwarfs. Brushes pull up the stolons (above ground stems) of the ultra dwarfs and lower the effective height of cut, which is a big plus. Brushes are also a great tool during the winter months with the slower TifEagle growth. 4. The Deere 220 B mower previously used on putting greens and now at tees could be used in the future for power brushing operations at putting greens. Deere brushes do counter rotate while the new Jacobsen brushes do forward rotation. This counter rotation is a big plus and perhaps the old Deere units have another valuable purpose. 5. Continue to add the gypsum periodically with the R/O water as the nutrients in the rootzone are stripped away faster than normal with this type of irrigation water. 6. I suggested that Mr. Furtado take a field trip sometime in the future to visit Mr. Rodney Lingle ( ), course superintendent at Memphis Country Club in Tennessee. Mr. Lingle is at the cutting edge for agronomic strategies for ultra dwarf putting greens, and especially with surface grooming operations, such as topdressing, light vertical mowing, and brushing, and he enjoys visitors who would like to view his programs. I send many superintendents his way and he treats everyone like a king. I think Mr. Furtado would really enjoy a day with Mr. Lingle and I hope the club funds this educational field trip. Fairways and Roughs 1. The common bermudagrass fairways at Mid Ocean Club have deep roots and perform well without irrigation. It is a natural phenomenon that works well on the native clay soils of Bermuda.

6 Page 5 2. Irrigation will never be provided due to the quantity of irrigation water needed over such a large turfgrass area, but again that is just fine as the links layouts play at their best under these firmer conditions without irrigation. 3. A very aggressive common bermudagrass type exists at the #14 fairway at a small area. Some have asked why this couldn t be transplanted to all fairway areas. It simply can t happen without irrigation as the sprigs and sod would need plenty of irrigation water that just doesn t exist. Also, propagation of enough sprigs to eventually plant over all fairways and roughs would take too long to ever happen. It is a nice idea but just something that could never happen with what is available. 4. For the first time ever, a spring pre emerge herbicide was applied by the staff. Ronstar herbicide was applied and timed with a rain event as these products need to dissolve in the upper rootzone for activation. The Ronstar worked well to suppress summer annual weeds, and especially the goosegrass. Goosegrass issues were far less, with most activity adjacent to cart paths that are the most soil compacted areas, and rocky areas with less soil at #10 and #11. This same occurrence happens at courses in the Carolinas and Georgia as well. 5. St. Augustine over the years has been reduced significantly in the rough areas. Wire weed populations also are significantly less due to herbicide programs. 6. Winter weed control programs remain the same this season. Barricade pre emerge and later this winter a follow up post emerge with the Revolver has significantly improved results for this program. It has made a big difference and very little Poa annua will be seen again this winter at fairways and roughs due to this program. 7. Earthworm casts are an issue but unfortunately chemicals for control don t exist anymore due to strict environmental regulations for Earthworm casts are a nuisance. Unfortunately, no remedies are available to help at this time with existing pesticides. chemical companies. It is a problem that won t go away for now. 8. Winter mowing height of cut will be elevated as usual to 0.75 inches to provide additional plant material with slower growth due to cooler weather. Height of cut will again be lowered to 0.50 inch next spring once normal growth resumes.

7 Page 6 Recommendations 1. Continue to apply the Trimec herbicide to gradually eliminate the St. Augustine from the rough turf. Also, keep up the TFC herbicide program for the wire weed. Drive herbicide also works well to set back any crab grass. The rough quality will continue to improve with these herbicide programs. 2. Shade issues exist at #7 and #8 tees as the bermudagrass just can t persist without 8 hours of sunlight at these teeing areas. The staff annually re-sods these tees in the spring after it dies in the winter. Tees 1. Tees are very small at Mid Ocean Club and especially at the Par 3 holes. Originally, only back teeing areas were in the course design. New middle and front sets of tees have been added over the years. The turfgrass on tees gets divots and beat up due to the small size of the teeing areas. 2. The tee laser grading program has been a big success. The staff has a new laser grader attachment for the Sand Pro bunker rake and they have made great use of this new tool. It is the only laser grader in Bermuda. So far approximately 10 sets of teeing areas have been laser graded, including the tees at #1, #3, #9, #12, #15 and the ladies tee at # Tifway bermudagrass was resodded at new laser graded sites, a big plus to replace the common bermudagrass. The Tifway bermudagrass sod was brought over from Port Royal from their new Tifway nursery used during the course renovation. Tifway is a big improvement over the common bermudagrass and it significantly helps to improve the teeing areas. 4. New shade tolerant turfgrasses, such as Diamond zoysia, and Celebration and TifGrand bermudagrass, are available now for shaded teeing areas. The problem is getting permission to allow these turfgrasses into Bermuda and it is a major process going through the government regulations. For now, I d continue to resod annually as the expense is so great to get approval from the government. Recommendations 1. A major priority in the future is to make the tees bigger and use the new laser grader to smooth and level the new tees. Replacing the common bermudagrass with Tifway bermudagrass, a superior turfgrass variety, also is a priority. 2. Another major priority during the tee renovation project is to align tees better in the direction of the target areas. Tees are now pointed in all

8 Page 7 directions and especially at the middle and front tees that were added over the years to the original design. 3. Laser grading will continue next summer. A big priority is to combine the two back tees at #10 and laser grade to make one bigger back teeing area. 4. The staff now has a good supply of Tifway bermudagrass to resod tees after laser grading work. The staff will verticut the existing Tifway sodded tees and this will provide enough sod for 2 to 3 teeing areas annually. They can only verticut and harvest once annually so the process will be slow. Another option is to secure more Tifway sod from Port Royal if possible to speed up the tee renovation project. Bunkers 1. Bunker sand was removed from the #3, #4, and #9 bunkers this season and replaced with new bunker sand. Weather impacts the bunker sand quality and depth and this renovation work is a big plus. 2. The #3 and #4 bunkers were also deepened this year. The old rocks underneath this bunker were chipped out by the staff and the entire area around the bunker resodded. 3. Plans are to deepen the bunker at #2 next and also fix the lip, reshape, and resod the entire area around this bunker. Bunker renovation work is always needed and deepening the excavation at some bunkers has improved these hazards. Trees 1. Tree removal programs over the years have been very successful and help to restore Mid Ocean Club to a links setting. Recommendations 1. Plan to take out the 3 casuarinas on the right side of the #4 hole soon. It is now a double penalty to hit into the Taking out the three casuarinas on the #4 hole would be a plus to improve the playability of this hole.

9 Page 8 fairway bunker and face the trees in front of this bunker as well. 2. Continue to trim and remove trees at the #2 and #15 holes next, and especially in the area to the right of the #2 green. 3. Continue to take out the pepper and turn these areas into turfgrass areas and especially around the outside perimeter areas of the course as time allows. 4. Some areas where the peppers are such high density are best left alone, such as the left side of the #6 hole. This task would be too monumental and not appropriate. Turfgrass Nursery 1. Plans are to set up a new turf nursery at the #11 hole by the ladies tee. The existing turf nursery at the driving range and behind the #10 green are very good but another sod nursery would be a plus without any sod on the island commercially available. These plans to add another nursery would be a big plus. Next USGA Visit I enjoyed this visit as I thought it was very productive. I look forward to visiting again next spring. I do hope that I can again visit twice annually as these meetings are very productive. Conclusion Thank you for your support of the Turfgrass Advisory Service. Your support of the USGA Green Section also provides assistance for turfgrass research. This vital research results in superior turfgrasses, the implementation of better management practices, and the effects of these practices on the environment. Please do not hesitate to contact my office if there are any questions concerning this report, the research efforts of the USGA, or any matter regarding the maintenance of your course. Sincerely, Patrick M. O Brien Southeast Director PMO: bep