Golfers always have an opinion on things in golf, wether it be PGA Tour news, equipment, or golf course architecture. However, most players know very little about golf course maintenance and the work superintendents do. Superintendents play a huge part in how the architecture of a golf course plays out. So in our first Superintendent Talk we are joined by Steven Chernosky (The Golf Club at Texas A&M), Wesley Curtis (Westwood Golf Club), and Tim Huber (Carlton Woods-Creekside).
What is the biggest challenge you face at your course and how do approach this challenge?
Steven Chernosky: The biggest challenge we face is the quality of our irrigation water. The water is high in salts so we combat this by injecting acid into the irrigation system as well as utilize a sulfur burner.
Wesley Curtis: Heavy clay soils. The heavy clay soils dry out fast, stay wet after a rain, and the shrink and swell wreaks havoc on our irrigation and drain lines. To conquer this challenge we have begun to aerify and topdress heavily throughout the roughs and fairways. The membership does not like the constant aerification of roughs and fairways, even though they understand the long term goal. We have other challenges on the golf course, however, this challenge is not quickly fixed, and presents us with issues on a regular basis.
Tim Huber: One of the biggest challenges we face is the labor to complete all of the various task daily and weekly around the course. General rotational mowing and course set up requires a lot of man power. In addition, there are always special course projects, club events, or weather related occurrences that can put additional strain on the labor that is available. Superintendents and assistant superintendents are very creative on working through this, but communication is key, it always makes it easier when the golf staff and membership understand what we are dealing with and limitations that may apply.
A lot of golfers are aware of golf courses sanding the greens, "spray painting" the greens, or aerating but they don't quite understand what they do for the greens. So what would you tell the player (who usually complains about them) that wants to know why you do these things?
Steven Chernosky: I try and put everything that we do into medical terms when talking to golfers. Biweekly verticutting and topdressing is sort of a minor visit to the doctor where aerification is a major surgery and without these practices, the turf would die a slow death.
Wesley Curtis: I try to relate everything to something that they are familiar with. For example, core aerification on greens is like changing the oil in your car. If you do not change the oil in your car, your car will begin to deteriorate very quickly. The same thing happens to greens if you do not introduce new sand to your greens profile, the quality of putting surface will deteriorate. “Why don’t you spike, dry-ject, hydro-ject, or solid tine to force the sand into the profile?” was the best response I have had. That is like pouring the new oil on top of your old oil and expecting your car to last a long time. We must remove organic material, like old oil, from the profile in order to keep the greens profile performing efficiently.
Tim Huber: Putting greens are the scrutinized part of the golf course golfers also spend the most time on them. Putting surfaces have improved immensely over the last few decades mainly because of turf cultivars and the way putting greens are managed. Topdressing is instrumental in maintaining a smooth firm surface. As putting greens age, organic matter accumulates from old plant material. This organic matter is like top soil, is holds al lot of water and is spongy at the top and compacted down low. Topdressing frequently, incorporates sand into the organic matter as it accumulates, allowing excess water to drain and less compaction to occur. Aerification is key to remove organic matter as well, but also alleviates compaction and allows oxygen to get to the root system. Spraying greens is a must to have a quality surface. Growth regulators, fertilizers, and occasional pesticide applications are . Remember putting greens undergo a lot of stress, and are 100 percent man-made, you will never see a putting green just randomly growing in the wild….they require a lot of attention to stay healthy and up to a golfers expectations.
What is the most annoying thing players do on the course that makes your job a little harder?
Steven Chernosky: Not repairing ball marks is one of the things that drives me up the wall. It takes 5 seconds at the most to repair a ballmark, but one that is left unrepaired can be seen for up to two weeks or more, depending upon growing conditions.
Wesley Curtis: When members cut the corner on the cart path, and leave a trail. Most of the turns or curves on our cart path have a one-tire width trail next to them. It is unsightly, compacted, and usually the grass is weak or not visible. We end up having an annoying amount of rope and stakes on the cart path, or re-sodding these areas every spring.
Tim Huber: Usually cart traffic related damage is the hardest to fix. It could be from driving carts through low wet areas or traffic funneling through one area the wears out turf and requires a lot of time and labor to repair. Golfers should avoid low areas after wet weather, hotspots (dry/wilting turf) during periods of dry weather. It always good when driving a golf cart to avoid driving in the same tire tracks as someone else.
Say you get an extra $50,000 in the budget. How do you use that money to improve the course?
Steven Chernosky: This is a tough one and I would usually lean towards adding labor but I would have to go with using it to battle our water/native soil quality issues. Whether it be adding more fertigation or implementing more soil amendment applications to combat the salt issues we face, I'm not sure how else would be better to utilize an increase of that amount.
Wesley Curtis: Erosion control and pond dredging. Over the years our ponds have sluffed off, leaving a shallow shelf for algae and other pond weeds to grow on. By having this extra money, we could install erosion control on the banks, and dredge out what has already sluffed into the pond. By completing this project we could save money on pond chemicals and labor to remove algae and weeds.
Tim Huber: A difficult question because a lot of things come to mind, however, increasing some payroll with a golf course maintenance department would most always help. From retaining staff to attracting potentially better employees it is sure to help. Operationally speaking spending more money on sand and fertilizer would the easiest noticeable improvement for golfers to see.
Summer is definitely here as you can tell by the 90+ degree temperatures. So what are some things you do in the summer that you normally wouldn't do the rest of the year on the course?
Steven Chernosky: We spend more time handwatering to supplement the irrigation as well as keep our trouble spots in check without "overwatering" other areas that may not need the extra water.
Wesley Curtis: The use of wetting agents, and a lot of hand watering. We utilize wetting agents on greens, tees, approaches, and our “hot spots.” By using these in the summer months, we reduce the amount of hand watering, and get the most efficiency out of our irrigation water.
Tim Huber: Hand watering turf is extremely beneficial to a golf course operation and the turf. Less disease better playability and using less water in general are all benefits. Labor requirements go up a large amount for operations that hand water, but the costs can almost always be offset if the club pays for water or can reduce damage from devastating fungus outbreaks. If you have a bermudagrass golf course summer is the time of year that the turf is at its peak growth rate. Controlling greens speeds and rough density can be challenging. Most courses will spray higher rates of growth regulator this time of year to help slow down the intense speed at which southern grasses grow. Conversely if a course has bentgrass greens in the south the summers are extremely difficult to get through because the turf wants to “shut down” in high temperatures. These courses are likely to have large fans around greens complexes to move air across the turf and have a very well trained staff that are experts in watering needs throughout the day.
