DUNWOODY COUNTRY CLUB • GOLF
Verticutting is “vertical mowing” that cuts the grass vertically and helps promote more upright growth. This is extremely important with Bermudagrass putting surfaces as it grows aggressively, es- pecially down slopes, if left unchecked. Therefore, uphill putts are even slower as you are putting “against the grain.” We try and in- corporate a light verticutting in conjunction with our topdressings during the Spring, Summer and Fall months to help give channels for the sand to work into. During our aerification closure we will be conducting a heavy verticut on the greens followed by a hollow tine aerification with half inch holes. The aerification will be the removal of a half inch hole that is backfilled with sand. This is also an important part of managing thatch levels and incorporating topdressing sand in Bermudgrass. The tees will receive our normal practice of verticutting, aerifica- tion, and a heavy topdressing while the fairways will be aerified in two directions. The roughs will be treated normally as we scalp those areas down slightly and allow the grass to tighten up. After a successful application last year, we will once again be using the Dryject service on our greens this summer. This process utiliz- es the water and pressure from our irrigation system to inject sand into the greens surface. We will be injecting the sand at a rate of 550 pounds per square foot which equates to almost one and half tons of sand injected on a normal size green. It is a much more efficient way of getting a large amount of sand into the soil profile, and the aftereffects are much less than a traditional aerification. You will see still sand holes, but they will be smaller and more elon- gated. The surface will be somewhat soft for the next 24 to 48 hours, but then it firms up substantially with all the added sand. So, our greens aerification will be completed at the beginning of our course closure and will be mostly healed by the time we com- plete the Dryject at the end of the closure. The combination of these two processes will allow us to incorporate a large amount of sand into the soil profile. A link to this process can be found here: https://youtu.be/hVZZVHJ--8k. As you can see below, we were able to move this date up from last year so that we will not need to close a second time in July like last year.
As we are in the middle of summer, we are also at the most im- portant time of year for maintenance and cultivation of the golf course. Bermudgrass is an aggressively stoloniferous C4 plant which means it grows laterally across the top of the ground with its peak growing conditions this time of the year when the sunlight is longest and ground temperature is the highest. Three practices that we focus on to help with the playability of the Bermudagrass and not let it get out of hand during these summer months are: topdressing, verticutting and aerification. Our plan for topdressing is approximately every two months in the winter, monthly during the spring and fall and twice monthly in the summer months. This corresponds to the normal growth rate of the grass, and this process needs to be completed when we are closed for efficiency. Therefore, we are limited to Mondays when there are no outings or outings early enough that our staff can fin- ish after their completion. This equates to about 10 to 12 topdress- ings for the calendar year based upon weather and availability. The sand serves multiple needs by filling imperfections in the greens left by ball marks and low areas. This helps keep the sur- face as smooth as possible which ultimately increases ball roll as a golf ball loses speed every time it moves up and down or left and right. The second sand benefit is by working into the turf canopy and diluting the thatch layer. Thatch is comprised of decaying leaves and stems that can become very soft and problematic if left unchecked. Bermudagrass is inherently an aggressive thatch pro- ducer. Therefore, to dilute this area and allow water and oxygen to move through to the root zone, you must keep sand incorporated into the area to keep channels open. The sand not only allows for air/water exchange, but it also helps give the surface a firmer base.
Our aerfication/Dryject schedule for July is: Greens: Heavy verticut/aerification
July 10th – 11th
Dryject
July 17th
Tees:
Verticut/aerify/topdress
July 12th – 16th July 10th – 16th July 10th – 16th
Fairways: Aerify/topdress
Rough:
Light scalping
Thank you for your continued support of our ongoing agronomic programs. Trent J Inman, CGCS Golf Course Superintendent P 770.394.0831 | E tinman@dunwoodycc.org
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