Trials on the Putting Green

On the practice putting green a series of trials are being conducted using a plant growth regulator (Trimmit) and various fertilizer strategies to enhance the creeping bentgrass and regulate the Annual Bluegrass. Annual bluegrass is not the ideal grass for this region because it is suspectible to many plant pathogens, displays poor playability in the spring because of seedhead production and it is not heat tolerant. The Annual Bluegrass in these plots will exhibit stress when the weather heats up.

Our goal is to develop a long term strategy to reduce the populations of annual bluegrass and enhance the playability and sustainability of the putting surfaces. We will continue with updates throughout the summer with our trials.

Thank-you,

Pat O'Brien

Grounds Superintendent

 

Spring Rough

With the early spring the rough has been very challenging to say the least. The inner seeding of the rough with Tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass is paying off with a more consistent rough that will be able to sustain the hot and humid summers of Cincinnati. The photo in this post shows that we try to maintain the rough height between 2.25 and 2.5 inches. This can fluctuate based upon weather conditions, moisture content and certain micro climates on the golf course. The rough is typically mowed 2-3 times weekly this time of year.

 

Thank-you,

Pat O'Brien

Grounds Superintendent

Practice Facility

The practice facility is now open on the grass tee primarily on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the month of April and the majority of May. Tuesday through Thursday all practicing will occur on the new driving range mats, including the use of drivers.  (Unless bag stands are set up on the turf).

I have been asked a few questions on the proper etiquette on divot removal  on the grass tee. Below are a few pictures of divot patterns that are exhibited at HP. Ideally there are two divot patterns that allow for increased recuperation and the most efficient use of turf, they are: “scattered” and “lineal” divot patterns. The lineal divot pattern is a series of divots connected in a lineal fashion with a minimum of 2-3” of turf between each strip. This is the most ideal pattern allowing for a faster recovery time and the most efficient use of the hitting area. The creeping bentgrass left between the divots will grow horizontally, decreasing the amount of time for recovery.



Lineal Divot Pattern-Please Use

The scattered pattern is random, similar to the lineal pattern discussed above, it also has a minimum of 2-3” between each divot. Although the scattered pattern allows for a faster recovery time it is a less efficient use of space in the hitting area

Scattered Divot Pattern- OK

The third pattern is the concentrated divot pattern. This divot pattern does not allow for efficient recovery because there is no turf left in this large patch. All the recovery must be through the germination of seed, which can take 7-20 days depending on the weather conditions and the amount of traffic on the tee. This technique should be avoided.

Concentrated Divot Pattern-DO NOT USE

Thank-you,

Pat O'Brien
Grounds Superintendent

Golf Course Update

I wanted to pass along a quick update before the official opening day (4/6/12) on the latest on the golf course and grounds at Hyde Park. Overall, the golf course is progressing quite well, the Zoysia grass is well ahead of schedule and the greens are almost 100% healed from the recent aerification.  

As you can note in the picture in this post, the Zoysia grass that was laid on the approaches on #2, 13 and 17 last fall are lagging behind the established Zoysia grass. This is very typical, even with the warmer temperatures, being a warm season grass it will need warmer temperatures and increased fertility to increase the density. An herbicide will be applied once we are convinced the warm temperatures are here to stay.

The second photo in this posting is the south side of the parking lot. We are currently reshaping this area to add additional plantings along the entire side.

For any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact us at grounds@hydeparkcc.com or 513.871.1680

Thank-you,

Pat O’Brien

Grounds Superintedent