It's summer in Southwest Florida and that means it's "cultural practice season" for area golf courses. Before detailing what we have, and will be doing at Olde Florida this summer, I think it's important to reflect on the past winter.
The strong El Niño weather pattern we experienced last winter created the most challenging period to grow turfgrass I've experienced in my 35 years in South Florida. Essentially it was the “perfect storm”! In December, January and early February our golf play was at its peak, which creates physical stress and wear on turfgrass. This is also the time when our days are the shortest, the angle of the sun is at its lowest and we had the cloudiest period in over 83 years. If that were not enough, we experienced below average temperatures and above average rainfall. All of these things individually slow the growth of warm season turfgrass and cause decline. Undoubtedly, if my team had not completed essential cultural practices over the last 30 years, we would NOT have fared as well as we did.
Click HERE for more information on last winters strong El Niño weather pattern and the challenges it created.
The work we will perform this summer will be similar to most years. However, after last winters challenges we are going to be a little more aggressive in our cultural practices as well as complete a few special projects.
Every summer we schedule extended closures so my staff can perform the vital tasks of aerification, vertical mowing and topdressing. These are essential to insure the turfgrass remains as healthy as possible and the golf course is in the best possible condition for years to come.
These tasks are performed in the summer when our play is the slowest, but equally important it’s the time of year when our warm season bermudagrasss is growing at it’s peak. As explained above, ironically, when our play is at its peak, the turfgrass is growing the least.
In basic terms, for turfgrass to thrive it needs sunlight, water, nutrients and air. All are critical, but the one we try to influence the most in the summer is air (in the soil). A well drained rootzone is critical for turfgrass. Aerification, vertical mowing and topdressing all help to dilute the natural occurring organic matter beneath the surface. This helps to increasing air in the soil, water infiltration rate and ultimately turfgrass rooting.
The picture below was taken in mid-May. It is a 6” below ground slice of 16 green. The red arrow is pointing to a single root that is growing from the plant on the surface through a sand channel. A root growing to this depth, on a green being cut at 1/10th of an inch, demonstrates the value of aerification and sand in promoting a well drained, oxygenated soil.
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| Root in Sand Channel, 16 Green, May 2024 |
This summer we will complete a similar quantity and aggressiveness of our cultural practices on all areas of the golf course, as well as increase the aerification and topdressing on our 32-year old greens.
In addition to traditional core aeration on the greens, we will again hire a contractor to perform two separate “Drill and Fill” processes. The Drill and Fill machines have a series of 1” bits that drill to a depth of 10” and then fill the channel with bagged, dried sand. A total of 126 tons or 252,000 pounds of sand was used on the first process completed May 28 - May 31.
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| Drill and Fill, Practice Green, May 28, 2024 |
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| Conventional Core Aeration, Practice Green, May 29, 2024 |
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| Topdressing 6 Fairway, May 28, 2024 |
As we do every summer, we will complete over 1,000 feet of subsurface drainage. We have already installed 200’ on #12 approach.
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| Drainage Project on Hole 12, June 10, 2024 |
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| Drainage Project on Hole 12, June 10, 2024 |
Other projects include removing a few trees to the left (south side) of hole 17. Since opening the golf course 31 years ago the elevated canopy of the pine tress has significantly decreased sunlight on 17 green. We will also remove some undergrowth in this area which will increase surface airflow.
In summary, when you manage a living, breathing organism subjected to numerous environmental stresses year round, every day can bring new challenges. My staff and I work all 365 days each year to give the 112 acres of turfgrass we manage the best opportunity to thrive.