Fairway "scarring"

As many of you have seen if you played the last week or so, the fairways have some scarring as many have put it. What you are seeing unfortunately is the result of a fungus commonly called "dollar spot." If you read my earlier post about the color's on our greens, you'll remember I briefly talked about different varieties of grasses and the traits they have been cultivated for. One of the traits the bentgrass on our greens exhibits is a resistance to dollar spot fungus. It definitely still gets the disease, but not nearly as bad as the bentgrass on our fairways. Greens are A4 bentgrass, one of the newest varieties when our course was built. The fairways are a blend of two different bentgrass called "Princeville" and "Putter." Neither one of these two grasses has great fungus resistance, but may have had other desirable qualities at the time. They are not terrible grasses, just different.

Prior to top dressing fairways three weeks ago, we did not see much dollar spot. It has since been fairly wet yet cool enough with short daylight hours to stop the turf from growing much. Over the last couple of years we have been able to grow out of this late season fungus from the heavy organic fertilization we do at the time of aerification. This year we have not been able to do that yet. We plan on spraying some Iron and possibly a small amount of fertilizer to help us heal up.

Below are several pictures of the problem in question:

Colors on our greens

Question:
Why do our greens have different colors in them if they are only one kind of grass? Specifically, the red or purple patches that we see on the greens right now.

Answer:
Although our greens are 100% of one type of bentgrass (A4 creeping bentgrass), this grass was breed from several different varieties. The turfgrass breeders (yes there are people who do that), look at existing grasses and try to single out the genes in them for specific characteristics. They may pull a gene from a grass that exhibits resistance to a specific fungus, or one the has good drought tolerance, or maybe one that survives well under extremely low mowing heights. The red and purple colors that you see are patches of grass starting to go dormant and are revealing more of one type of "parent" grass than another.


View of #1 green


Close up with my radio antenna showing a spot

Audubon Update

As you may know, Fieldstone is working towards our "Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary" status. We began this last winter and believe we will finish this winter. There are 6 different categories to achieve prior to being awarded certification. They include; Chemical Use Reduction and Safety, Water Conservation, Environmental Planning, Wildlife and Habitat Management, Water Quality Management, and Outreach and Education. Of those, we have been certified in the first three, have sent in the required paper work and documentation for two more and are almost finished with the last category. This is all documented in our shop and below are pictures of the Audubon display we have.


bulletin board with certifications

certificate from completing one of the categories

Limb on 16

The only severe damage Fieldstone had from IDA remnants and the following Nor'easter as of Saturday morning was this limb across the cart path on 16. The pictures below show how we roped and coned the area off for safety until we can get equipment in there Monday or Tuesday to bring down the limb and clean up the other branches that have been damaged.


View from 16 tee prior to roping area off

View from 17 fairway side showing safety cones marking the tree.

View from 16 tee after roping off the cart path and creating a new path to go around the tree/limb

from behind 16 green

bunkers on 16

Here are pictures updating the #16 bunker project. We have removed all the fescue surrounding these and replaced with bluegrass.

Guys "pulling" the old fescue up with a hoe since we can't get a sod cutter on the slopes


Another crew cleaning up and hauling away the fescue

Laying the sod. The right side and bunker behind the green are finished

firewood

During frosty mornings again this year Fieldstone is splitting firewood to sell. We are selling firewood for $75/cord. Anyone who has bought in the past knows we will work with you on price if you can only handle a trunk load or small amount. Unfortunately, we do NOT deliver. Please call the maintenance shop to arrange pick up at 254-4569 and ask for Brad.


Leobardo stacking wood. A cord of wood is
4' high x 4' wide x 8' long



Victor splitting the wood