Bunker Restoration

The crew arrived Tuesday morning and gave a simultaneous sigh when they saw their job description for the day.
Mariano: Bunkers
John:       Bunkers
Christof:  Aeration
Martin :   Bunkers
Neal:      Ventrac Machine- Bunkers
Rene:      Bunkers
Andreas: Bunkers
Carlos:    Bunkers
....
We received 3.5" of rain in a very short period of time early Tuesday causing all of our 80 bunkers to wash out. Even with the liners, which do an excellent job holding the sand in place they were no match for the downpour we received.

All day Tuesday and Wednesday the crew shoveled the sand back in place, repaired any torn liner, and replaced sand that happened to spill out. We will spin the bunkers with the machine on Thursday to smooth out any imperfections.
   

The surge of water coming through the course must have been amazing to see.

This latest rainfall brings the total to 19.1" of precip since June 6th. On a good note, the rain re-filled 16 irrigation pond back to the top level after syringing all last week during those scorching temperatures.

We took advantage of a free Tuesday to needle tine all of the greens. The heat wave subsided and I used this opportunity to open up channels allowing much cooler air to enter and begin drying out the saturated root-zone.

The Heat is On

Just a quick reminder:

Throughout this week, temperatures are expected to reach 100 degrees and will be certainly taxing on the turf as well as those of us dragging hose. We will always do our best to syringe a particular green and then move out of the way as quickly as possible. PLEASE DO NOT hit approach shots while the staff is watering as they are concentrated on the task at hand and usually will not hear FORE over the sound of the hose.

Cooling the turf canopy is vital to its survival and with temps in this range, is all we are trying to accomplish.

Over-watering can be even more damaging than under-watering and create what is known as wet-wilt. When the surface of the turf is overly wet and then combined with high heat, the saturated soil will remain hotter for much longer periods and begin to destroy the root system.

At first glance you might think this green needs water NOW! but the opposite is true, as high heat and wet soils caused this damage. (2005. Mid-Atlantic Region)

Cats and Dogs

Tonight's deluge now brings the total rainfall over the last 31 days to 14.1".  It seems that just as we slowly begin drying out, another torrential rainfall hits the area. Having sand based greens gives us an advantage with good drainage but once the root-zone is saturated removing excess moisture becomes more difficult. Lower humidity throughout the course of a day plays an important role in helping to reduce wetness, but the for last week or so,  over-night/ morning humidity rates have held steady at 90%+. This essentially holds all the moisture in place and doesn't allow for any significant drying.

Bring the squeegees, Quick!

The new water hazard on 18!

30 Minutes after the rain stopped.

You will notice small slits on the greens especially in low lying areas as we attempt to introduce vital oxygen into the root-zone and facilitate drying. As we head into the teeth of summer this process will continue often as water-logged soil temperatures can remain significantly higher than air temps and stress cool-season grasses.

Each morning we will attach the sub-air machines and attempt to remove any excess water through the drain pipes.