Mechanical Damage

Most damage to a golf course is caused from things you would not expect.  Mechanical damage is one of the biggest problems and we strive to keep the damage minimal.  It is impossible to prevent completely and accidents do happen.

You might notice some brown lines on our #2 Fairway up near the Green.  This was caused by a hydraulic leak on one of our Fairway mowers.  Luckily our operator noticed the leak right away which prevented much more damage. Our mechanic was able to fix the problem the same day, but  unfortunately some damage was done.  The fluid burns and kills the grass so we will have a little blemish until the grass grows in over it.







The biggest problem lately has been the mis-application of fertilizer a few weeks ago.  We are glad to see most of the overlaps did not result in any turf loss, but a few greens did get damaged.  We experienced a rare problem called "Etiolated Tiller Syndrome" (ETS) in those overlaps which can cause turf loss in high traffic areas.  Our #8, 10, 12, 14, and Practice Greens have a few trouble areas.  It seems the effects of the fertilizer are finally starting to stop, the ETS is going away, and we can start addressing those problem areas on those Greens.

Unfortunately a continued problem which hurts us most is golfers taking divots on our Greens.  At least once a week we have to repair a divot on our Greens.  If you know of anyone, or see anyone taking a divot on a Green please notify the Pro Shop.  This is an act of vandalism and it would be nice to see this damage go away.







Damage to turf can come in a number of ways, but damage from machines and people always seems to be the biggest problem.

Staffing

With colleges entering summer break, we are finally fully staffed. We take great pride in looking professional while enjoying our job here at Patriots Glen National Golf Club. We also keep our equipment nice and clean while Eddie keeps it all running.

Bring out the brushes

Our verticutter breaking after 4 holes earlier this year has really left us in a bind.  We finally got word that there is no fixing it, the machine is wore out from old age.  This presented a big problem for our Greens.  The variety of Bentgrass on our Greens is very thatchy and with all of the laid down grass it has been hard to get Green speeds up.

With any problem, there is a solution.  Today we started standing the laid down grass blades upright using brushes.  We first mowed the Green with an old walk mower fitted with a brush out front.  It isn't fancy but it gets the job done.  We were able to remove three times the amount of grass from the Green than from normal mowing.

Next we put sand down on top of the Green and used our roller with brushes to push the sand down in between the blades of grass now standing upright.  In the photo you can see what the Green looks like with the topdressing on the left and what it looks like after brushing on the right.

Then we use a light irrigation cycle to push the sand even deeper into the canopy of the Grass.  The result you can see is a very good looking, much faster Green.