Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/96024
TL1301-proof 11/22/12 9:38 AM Page 1 BOARDROOM YARN BY DAVID L. DOHERTY TESTING GREENS WHEN THEY ARE HEALTHY IS A MUST Fifteen years ago most greens testing was done on stressed greens, because as an industry we've always been reactive instead of proactive when it comes to the turf care of our golf greens. We'd wait for the greens to stress before trying to find out where they were deficient, and in what areas they were deficient… mostly on the chemical side of the equation. Back then I'd be asked if the physical properties of a green were causing the turf problems. Without knowing the physical properties before the turf began to stress, it was in many cases very hard to give an answer. If we had been able to quantify the physical properties when the greens were healthy it would have been a much more useful answer when we tested the greens in a stressed condition, and we'd be much more comfortable with our answer. Fifteen years later we're starting to be proactive. In January 2012, two members of the ISTRC staff and I visited the U.S. Gulf Coast area armed with two camera snakes and multiple probes with enlarged tips to locate drain tile clean outs and drains and to check the condition of drain tiles. Before our journey began each of the four courses we were to visit submitted COMING EVENTS Check out the large number of high quality upcoming events available for your participation... Washington Turf and Landscape Show Meydenbauer Center, Bellevue, Washington December 17-19, 2012 www.wwgcsa.org Total BC CEC credits available: unknown at this time SportsTurf Managers Association Annual Conference Daytona Beach, Florida January 15-19, 2013 Whistler - Cont'd From Facing Page bluegrass and the club had its challenges coming out of winter over the past 3 years. Having worked at mountain golf courses much of my career, I knew exactly what they were talking about. So the decision was made to sod to bentgrass and a project plan was put in motion. The Club did an excellent job of marketing the plan citing the new grass would offer a much smoother putting surface and offer more resistance to the harsh Whistler winter weather. Golfers were reassured that, "Mr. Palmer's green complexes will not be altered at all as our guests love the rolling slope here at the Whistler Golf Club" If you're thinking that sodding 18 greens plus three practice greens is a big job, samples for physical property testing, and with the physical property reports in hand the meetings with course superintendents, general managers and other course officials were very productive. We worked out an aerification and venting program based on science and each individual course's needs. In each instance we located clean outs and outfalls enabling us to inject oxygen into the root zones. About three years before our current visit we had performed physical property analysis on the greens at one of the courses. By having access to the 2010 physical properties and comparing them to the 2012 results we were able to see the changes and make recommendations based entirely on science. The course superintendent, in complete agreement with the recommendations, started on a new program immediately, involving more than just a change in www.stma.org/2013-conference Total BC CEC credits available: unknown at this time Canadian Golf Superintendents Conference and Trade Show Toronto, On January 25-29, 2013 golfsupers.com/toronto2013 Total BC CEC credits available: not yet processed BC Recreation and Parks Association 36th Annual Spring Training Guildford Sheraton, Surrey, BC February 20-21, 2013 More information is available by contacting: Programs when it happens at a mountain golf course you have to multiply the 'fun factor' by ten. Timing is critical and weather can be either a hindrance or a hindrance making it necessary to think extremely far ahead. Firstly, a choice had to be made of turf type – Whistler's decision was the improved bentgrass called 007 custom grown by Bos Sod Farms of Abbotsford, BC. Work on the golf course started in March with snow removal from the greens. It was an awesome spring ski and snowboard season in Whistler but neither Dave nor Stu got to experience it. In fact, the snow was one of those aforementioned hindrances forcing the crew to clear the greens six times before the white stuff stopped falling. the displacement of organic matter this coming year. It was a most gratifying trip because of the opportunity to work alongside the staffs of the different courses and share our knowledge, as we learned first-hand the issues faced everyday by not only the grounds crew but also the challenges faced by management. By being proactive, by quantifying physical properties when our greens are healthy and doing well, we can do a much better job of identifying the changes in our greens when they are stressed, allowing us to address the situation in the most economically way, based on science. Dave Doherty is CEO and founder of the International Sports Turf Research Center, Inc. (ISTRC) and holds three patents regarding the testing of sand and soil-based greens. He can be reached at (913) 706-6635 or via email: daveistrc@hotmail.com. and Initiatives Coordinator Phone: 604-629-0965 ext. 229 Email: parksandrec@bcrpa.bc.ca Total BC CEC credits available: currently being processed WCTA 50th Anniversary Conference and Trade Show Penticton Convention Centre, Penticton, BC March 3-5, 2013 www.wcta-online.com/coming-events/wcta-showconference Total BC CEC credits available: not yet processed Something to think about here is that cart paths had to be cleared as well before staff could even get to the greens. The old sod was stripped in early April and the new sod was laid April 10 through the 14th with the crew getting 5 greens done per day. Just like that, new greens! With the course planned to open May 18, as much time as possible was needed before play began and at high end resorts courses such as the Whistler Golf Club, temporaries are not acceptable. "It is a very exciting year for us. Our new greens project has gone very well and we're sure our guests will love the new greens this season" said Alan Kristmanson, General Manager just before the course opened. "Our maintenance crew has worked very hard getting the greens ready for play and with the great forecast over the next two weeks the greens and golf course will be in excellent condition for this early in the season", he added. The project was extremely well documented and videos / photos of all three phases of the renovation can be found at blog.whistlergolf.com (2011/09/16) Congratulations to Dave, Stu, the Whistler GC crew and everyone involved for a job well done. Many will realize that completion of the sod laying was really just the start of the project but we'll leave that article for Dave or Stu to write! WESTERN CANADA TURFGRASS ASSOCIATION 41