3/1/2014 Turf Care. Standards. Jeff Hacior, Superintendent FORT MCMURRAY GOLF CLUB

Transcription

1 3/1/2014 Turf Care Standards Jeff Hacior, Superintendent FORT MCMURRAY GOLF CLUB

2 Fort McMurray Golf Club Turf Care Standards Manual The Turf Care Standards Manual for the Fort McMurray Golf Club (FMGC) is to be used as a guideline for all maintenance practices associated with the care, conditioning and upkeep of the golf course grounds and playing surfaces. This manual is a guideline used by the General Manager/Greens Committee, Board of Directors, Assistant Superintendents and the Superintendent as a tool to achieve the best annual playing conditions possible with respect to FMGC resources. The specifications outlined in this manual are designed to provide the best possible golf course playing conditions as allowed by the current FMGC budget, equipment and climatic conditions. Definition of the overall preferred goals and desired conditions of the golf course are approved by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors are elected to their position by the membership of FMGC, thus they represent the membership. The Golf Course Superintendent develops these standards with input from the General Manager and Greens Committee. It is our goal to adequately and professionally maintain the Fort McMurray Golf Club to provide an excellent experience for all shareholders, members and daily fee players. The players of FMGC reflect a wide range of golfing handicaps. We will maintain greens, tees, roughs, fairways and approaches at a moderate level of difficulty to assure an optimum level of enjoyment for all players. With respect to the variety of player skill levels, amount of play, budget and resources at FMGC, high standards of difficult tournament conditions are not achievable on a daily basis nor are they recommended based on sustaining long term turf health. The golfing season is defined by the time our turf starts to grow in the spring until it stops growing in the fall. (Last week in April thru Thanks giving, weather permitting) This manual can be updated or reviewed for changes with recommendations from the General Manager/Greens Committee. Annual review of this plan will take place based on agronomic needs determined by the Superintendent or a change in equipment. Changes will be based on management decisions concerning budget or a change in maintenance philosophy. Maintenance Standard Objectives The Maintenance Standard Manual is essentially the business plan for the Turf Care of FMGC. The objectives contained in this manual will address priorities, expectations and is a documented guideline of turf care practices. This manual also gives the FMGC a base to address suggestions for improvement and to create a measure of performance. 1

3 Additionally, the Maintenance Standard Manual should act as a communication tool from the General Manager/Greens Committee and Superintendent to the membership with the purpose of describing the objectives stated above. MISSION The Fort McMurray Golf Course Turf Care Department is committed to providing the best possible playing conditions on a daily basis while being responsible stewards of the financial and environmental resources that we have been entrusted with. VISION Working within budgetary requirements, it is our goal for FMGC to become one of the most enjoyable golfing clubs in the country. We want to be at the forefront of new maintenance technologies and practices while remaining at one with nature and the environment. We feel the FMGC is adding to the beauty of the land and The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo and we will do everything possible to remain environmentally responsible to protect our local ecosystem for future generations. The Turf Care Department will continually work to achieve these goals in order to provide a very unique golf experience. Golf Course Opening and Closing 1. The golf course will be opened as soon as the conditions will allow the course to be able to withstand the traffic. The cleanup of the golf course will be the highest priority followed by the preparation of the course for play. 2. During the season, tee times may be delayed or the course may be temporarily closed due to frost, excessive rain, or snow and storm damage. Any traffic on frozen or frosted turf will harm the roots and cell walls respectively causing turf damage or even death. The Superintendent or Sr. Assistant Superintendent will make this determination. 3. In the early spring, or after a heavy rainfall or leading up to a major tournament, power carts may be restricted to Cart Paths Only. This determination will be made by the Superintendent or Sr. Assistant Superintendent, taking into consideration the moisture content in the soil; cart traffic under these conditions can cause damage to the turf. 4. The golf course will be closed the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving. At this point the preparations will be made for winter and all course equipment will be brought in for storage. Other winter preparations include: Solid tine aeration on greens/tees to improve drainage. A heavy topdressing of sand to provide protection for the turf. Fertility applications as required. Fungicide applications to limit the incidence of winter diseases. Construction of winter fencing around all putting greens. Project work. 2

4 Putting Greens There are currently 19 greens on the golf course and they occupy approximately 3.5 acres. With respect to the variety of all player skill levels, amount of play, budget and resources at FMGC, tournament conditions are not achievable on a daily basis nor are they recommended based on sustaining long term turf health. The putting greens by far receive the most attention than any other area on the golf course. Below is a list of maintenance practices required to provide a quality putting surface. A smooth consistent ball roll from green to green is our main goal for our greens at FMGC. Constantly changing climatic conditions have a large impact on target green speeds thus daily consistency is the goal. During the peak season greens are mowed with Toro 3300 Tri-plex 11 blade mowers on a daily basis. At times greens may be double mowed. Mowing height of cut (HOC) during peak season is This HOC provides greens speeds which are sufficient for the majority of golfers. It also allows us to maximize the usable hole locations to help spread the wear over the entire green. Target greens speeds for peak season is and for specific tournaments. Green speeds are measured daily. Keep in mind that green speeds will very at times because of a constantly changing environmental conditions from mother-nature as well as cultural programs. Direction of cut changes daily. Prior to mowing, the greens are cleared of all debris to avoid damage to the mowing equipment or the turf. Clippings are collected and will dispersed in the rough and tree areas to decompose. Rolling 2-3 times per week. For specific tournaments greens are rolled daily every morning about a week leading up to and thru the tournament. Grooming, brushing or vertical mowing procedures are carried out when necessary to thin out the turf canopy as well as promote upright growth of the turf and stand the turf upright for a better quality cut. Unrepaired ball marks are repaired each morning. Light topdressing weekly or bi-weekly is applied to smooth out the surface. Irrigation, fertilizer and chemicals will be applied as needed to provide a healthy, uniform and consistent putting surface. Moisture reading are taken from each green daily. Greens may be aerated, sliced or spiked periodically as determined necessary by the Superintendent or Sr. Assistant Superintendent. Standards (Putting Greens) Greens speeds between for daily play for specific tournaments. Firm and smooth consistency from green to green. Hole locations are changed daily and are placed according to the rules of golf. 3

5 *Note: Consistency between greens surfaces is maintained as much as possible. However environment as well as necessary maintenance activities will have a negative impact and achieving these standards will be challenging. Course Setup Course set up is one of the most talked about and important jobs accomplished by the turf care department. Course set up involves the placing of the pin and tee blocks to provide a fair test of golf with a good variety of hole locations as well as setting up the course to reflect the design and vision of the Golf Course Architect. The Superintendent or the Sr. Assistant Superintendent will extensively train all setup employees for this duty. For normal play we currently follow a rule when changing pins. Six pins will be located toward the front third of the green, six in the middle third and six in the back third. Pin locations will also vary in their left, center and right position, in a similar fashion. Tee blocks follow the same rotation as pin placement. If the tee blocks are at the front of the tee box the pin placement will be in the back third of the green. Middle tee placement=middle pin placement and back tee placement, front green placement. This is followed so the golf course plays relatively close to the yardage displayed on the score card. Specific location of the pin an tee blocks will be made at the discretion of the employee completing the course set up task based on the condition of the turf, moisture level, stressed or diseased turf areas and proximity to old plugs on the green or worn tee areas. Pins will be placed no closer than 8 feet (1 pin length) from the edge of a green and in a place suitable for putting. The lip above the edge of the cup will be painted daily with white turf friendly paint. Tee blocks will be placed with a minimum of two yards of teeing area from the back of the tee box. Course set up will take place on a daily basis. Course set up employees are also in charge of scouting the course for potential problems, measuring green speeds using a stimp meter, replacing broken or missing course equipment and moving cart traffic ropes and stakes as a way of diverting traffic onto different areas of turf. Repair ball marks and topdress damaged turf areas. Standards (Course Setup) Pin locations are changed daily and are placed according to the Rules of Golf. Lip of the cup is painted daily with white paint. 4

6 Tees FMGC uses a three-tee system. The intent is to provide a reasonable challenge to all levels of players. The 18 tee complexes on the course occupy approximately 2 acres. The function of the teeing surface is to provide a stable platform for the players of FMGC to begin a golf hole. The teeing surface should be smooth firm and level. Tees are mowed 3-4 times per week with a Toro Tri-plex mower and are mowed at a height of.425. During specific tournaments or periods of excessive growth tee complexes will be mowed daily. Tee markers are rotated daily to spread utilization and wear. Mowing direction is changed daily for grain control and optimum cut. Divots are fill with sand and seed 3-4 times per week. Fertilizer is applied approximately every 3 weeks to insure turf recovery. Tee box yardage markers are trimmed once per week. Tees are sliced once per month. There are three sets of tees as well as a modified score card where different tee boxes are used to provide players of all different skill levels a great golfing experience. Players are encouraged to play tees that make their game more enjoyable and give them the best chance to be successful. Standards (Tees) HOC.425. Tee blocks are moved daily. Fairways There are approximately 26 acres of fairways which is the largest area of closely mown turf on the golf course. Improved playability can be achieved with the use of sound turf maintenance practices. Fairways are mowed 3 times per week at a height of.450 using a Toro Reelmaster lightweight fairway unit. For specific tournaments, fairways may be mowed every day leading up to and during the event. Vary the direction of mowing to promote better cut and consistency. Fertilizer is applied as needed, generally 2-3 times per year to promote healthy turf. Herbicides are applied to control weeds 1-2 times per year. Fungicides are applied prior to winter to prevent turf diseases. Aerify or slice 1-2 times per year, typically in the fall. Yardage markers and sprinkler heads are trimmed once per month for visibility and proper operation throughout the golf season. 5

7 Standards (Fairways) HOC.450 Sprinkler heads and yardage markers are trimmed once per moth Approaches and Collars Approaches and collars include all short mowed grass in the immediate area surrounding the putting surface and leading up to the green. These areas are maintained to give the golfers the ability to play a bump and run shot sot they will be able to run the ball onto the green if they choose to do so. Approaches are mowed 3-4 times per week with a Toro Tri-plex mower and are mowed at a height of.425. During specific tournaments or periods of excessive growth approaches will be mowed daily. Light topdressing weekly or bi-weekly is applied to smooth out the surface in conjunction with greens topdressing. Irrigation, fertilizer and chemicals will be applied as needed to provide a healthy, uniform and consistent putting surface. Cart signs with an arrow are placed at the beginning of the approach area to signal carts to return to the cart path. Standards (Approaches and Collars) HOC at.425. Mowed 3-4 times per week. Roughs FMGC typically has two categories of rough which makes up approximately 95 acres. They include the primary/surrounds rough which makes up the rough-grass playing surface. It is the large areas around and between fairways and the areas surrounding greens and tees. The second area consists of the long grass or native areas. These areas are found around ponds, streams, rivers and a few tee box areas. They are the areas that are left natural. For specific tournaments a third category called the intermediate rough is maintained. This area consists of one lap mowed around the entire perimeter if the fairway and possibly the green. The primary rough is maintained at 2 and is mowed with Toro 3500 Sidewinder and Toro 4500 Grounds Master. During specific tournaments the primary rough is left longer so the golf course is more challenging. All rough areas are mowed 2 times per week during the peak golfing season. 6

8 Operators are instructed to be courteous to golfers at all times and to idle the machine down and stop moving when golfers are in the vicinity. Machines are kept running on idle to reduce damage from turning the engine on and off for every golfer they encounter. Stressed and worn areas are aerated and or over-seeded as required. Some of these areas may require sod. Fertilized 1-2 times per year. Standards (Roughs) Primary rough is maintained at 2. Primary rough is mowed 2 times per week. Bunkers Bunkers are by far the most labour intensive areas on the course and next to greens require the most work. They also are a vital part of the design and playability of a golf course. Unlike popular belief, bunkers are defined by the rules of golf as hazards and shall be played as such, manicured daily conditions and consistency is not the goal. Trimming, edging and weeding will be carried out as required to produce a playable surface. Perfect conditions provide predictable circumstances making bunkers play more like a bail out area than a hazard to avoid. Bunkers are raked by hand or mechanically with a Toro 5040 Sand-pro bunker rake. During the peak season bunkers are raked every second day. Sand is maintained at a depth of 1-2 inches on the slopes to prevent plugging, and 3-4 inches on flat areas where the majority of the shots are taken from. Depths are checked periodically and additional sand is either added or moved from a location with too much sand. Rakes are left in the bunkers during regular daily play so there is less interference with mowing operations. During specific tournaments rakes will be placed outside the bunker along the edge in the rough. Edges are sodded, trimmed or edged as required. A 1-2 inch lip will be maintained to identify a clearly defined edge between the hazard and the surrounding turf. In the event of times of heavy rains, some bunkers may need to be pumped free of water to speed up the dying and draining process. Standards (Bunkers) Rake bunkers 3-4 times per week. Add sand as needed. *Note: The course is in need of a complete bunker overhaul but because of the current 10-Hole expansion reasons this major project has yet to be planned. We will maintain these bunkers to 7

9 the best of our ability until the Master Plan is complete and funds are allocated for a complete overhaul. It only makes sense to complete this bunker overhaul during the much talked about restoration, because the placement, shape and sizes of these hazards will likely be change. Driving Range The driving range tee is a combination of artificial driving range hitting mats and a grassed area which is approximately 20,000/sq.ft or 0.46 acres. The driving range tee will be set up and taken down by the pro-shop staff. Set up will be completed by moving the markers as a way to spread out the wear and divot patterns over the entire surface of the hitting area. Due to the amount of play and the limited size of the grassed area, artificial hitting mats will often be utilized. The grassed hitting area is maintained at a mowing height of to replicate the fairways at FMGC. The hitting area is mowed in conjunction with the fairways, 3 times per week. During specific tournaments the driving range hitting area will be mowed daily. The designated hitting area for the day is marked with the safety of the golfer in mind and helps control wear. A minimum of two paces will be used as the hitting ground each day and this will be marked using rope/markers. Artificial hitting mats will be utilized in the spring and the fall as well as periodically during the season to allow time for proper turf growth and recovery. Sunday evenings the range is closed at a specified time by the pro-shop so the driving range can be picked clean of golf balls so it can be mowed the following morning. In the event Monday is a holiday, the driving range will be picked clean Monday evening. The driving range is mowed once per week and takes place every Monday morning. In the event Monday is a holiday, the driving range will be mowed Tuesday. Mowing takes approximately 2.5 hours and it is necessary to keep the range closed until this work has been completed. The turf care staff on a consistent basis, will fill divots, topdress, fertilize and aerate the hitting area. The driving range may be closed at times to accomplish these tasks. Irrigation Irrigation Philosophy The Superintendent will follow the wettest spot philosophy of water application. Simply stated this means watering only enough to keep the wettest spots firm. This will result in some brown or dry spots during the peak summer months. It is recommended by the USGA Green Section to water in this fashion and is practiced by all environmentally sensible golf courses. This philosophy of irrigation with only enough water for the wettest spots will provide the best 8

10 possible playing conditions and help us grow deeply rooted healthy turfgrass, plus reduces our overall energy usage. Variety in textures and appearances should be the goal of our playing surface and not a monoculture of green. Unique bounces add an element of excitement to the game and with a perfect very predictable surface that element is eliminated from the game of golf. A soft cushy over watered surface creates a one-dimensional aerial game and eliminates the ground game option in shot making, which golf was founded on. Over watering will create conditions for increased compaction, shallow rooting and disease outbreaks, all of which causes an increase in chemical inputs driving up the cost of maintenance and player inconvenience. A bit of brown turf on fairways and roughs should be expected and desired not only to increase the enjoyment in shot making options but also to create points of reference when hitting a shot. Irrigation Water Application Actual irrigation amounts are determined on a daily basis by monitoring each hole individually. The Superintendent or Assistant Superintendents will make daily adjustments to specific irrigation areas and individual heads accordingly. Isolated dry areas of LDS (localized dry spots) on the greens and tees will require constant attention and may even require some hand watering. Proper water management is very critical to the health of the turfgrass and is a very time consuming process. Irrigation System The irrigation system consists of approximately 396 heads and was installed when the course was built and Due to the limited amount of sprinkler heads, complete coverage and irrigation efficiency of turf areas is a challenge to say the least. A typical 18 hole golf course built today will consist of approximately 1000 heads. The piping system is made of PVC and is exposed to extreme freeze and thaw cycles thus many leaks and failures may occur at any time. In 2006 the irrigation control system was upgraded. This consisted of new wired valve in head sprinklers along with satellite boxes and a computer controlled operating system. The piping system was not upgraded at this time. The goal is to have the irrigation system charged as soon as possible. Historically the irrigation system is charged around the first week of May after the ground has thawed from winter and is blown out and all water removed the first week of October. With the exception of the pump station, all irrigation repairs and maintenance is carried out by the Turf Care department. Water Supply The Fort McMurray Golf Club water supply comes from the Athabasca River. Water is transferred from the Athabasca River via underground line across the #11 fairway and is emptied into the holding pond on #11. The pump station is located along the pond edge and supplies the course with water from a wet well inside the building. At times when the ice backs 9

11 up from spring break up on the Athabasca River a temporary diversion license is obtained from Alberta Environment to transfer water from Little Fisheries creek. Water Features A non-mowed buffer strip will be maintained on the banks of all water features including ponds creeks and rivers. The buffer strip acts as a natural filter reducing the amount of nutrients entering the pond. On Course Washrooms/Waste Containers There are currently four washroom locations throughout the golf course. Washroom locations are located between #4 green/#5tee, #10 tee, #13 tee and #16 tee. With the exception of the #10 tee washroom which runs off the clubhouse water supply and is equipped with a septic field system, the remaining three on course washroom facility s water supply comes from the irrigation system and waste is collected in a 3000L holding tank which is emptied as needed. Because these washroom facilities rely on the irrigation system for water supply, they are only operational when the irrigation system is working. In the spring and fall temporary portable washrooms are used. Also for major tournaments such as the Boreal Open temporary washrooms are used because the irrigation system is turned off during play to avoid any major irrigation breaks during competition. All washrooms are cleaned once daily in conjunction with the clubhouse cleaning service. There are numerous waste collection locations around the clubhouse and the log cabin. Also each tee box as well as the driving range are equipped with waste collection containers. All waste is emptied daily and at this time all bottles and cans are sorted for recycling. Syncrude Boreal Open Often times one wonders why the golf course doesn t look the way it does on a daily basis for regular play as it does the week of the Syncrude Boreal Open. Here is a look at what goes into the week of the Boreal Open: days leading up to the tournament power carts are restricted to cart path only volunteers take time out of their schedules to travel up 63 and lend a hand. These volunteers consist of former turf care employees, friends and colleagues from other golf clubs and equipment/fertilizer representatives. All current Turf Care employees during tournament week work split shifts beginning at 3:45am until approximately 9am when the morning tasks are competed then return for the evening shift which begins approximately 5pm and finishing as the last groups are coming of the course. As well all current Turf Care employees are on call for inclement weather throughout tournament week. 10

12 There are no days off for the 20 or so turf care employees the week leading up to as well as the week of the tournament. Numerous pieces of equipment is delivered and lent out to us at no extra cost from OakCreek Golf and Turf, Martin Equipment (John Deer) and sometimes other golf clubs. Greens are mowed with walk behind mowers 2x daily. Greens are rolled daily the week leading up to tournament week and rolled morning and evening during tournament week. Fairways, tees, aprons/collars and intermediate cut rough is cut daily the week leading up to the event and the week during. All greenside bunkers are hand raked daily during the event, all remaining bunkers are raked daily with a Toro bunker rake. A light top dressing of sand is applied to greens weekly the 3 weeks leading up to tournament week. Primary rough is maintained up till the Sunday leading into tournament week. The rough is then left to grow for tournament week. Greens are watered by hand with hoses during tournament week to only apply water where it is directly required. All greens, tees and aprons are cleared from clippings with a backpack blower after mowing and rolling complete. Play is reduced on the course to 156 golfers Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and then further reduced to players for Saturday and Sunday. Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated; it satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time rewarding and maddening - and it is without a doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented. - Arnold Palmer 11