Tournament Volunteers

As of late, we have begun to receive some questions in regard to volunteering for the 2014 Waste Management Phoenix Open. As crazy as this may seem, we are less than 5 months from starting to build out the small city that plays host to the world's greatest players.
Please feel free explore our blog and if you have any questions regarding the volunteer or application process click here. We look forward to hearing from everyone and are excited to begin our long range preparations for the 2014 event. Please check back often for course and tournament updates. Until next time....

#16 - 2013 WMPO from high in the sky.

TPC Scottsdales agronomy team has been working on continued improvements to the stadium courses drainage system.  In an effort to manage salts and bicarbonates left by effluent water and to maintain firm playing conditions in fairways, new drainage is being added to improve the few sites that have unsatisfactory water movement.  As temperatures in the valley of the sun continue to rise and irrigation inputs are increased in order to hydrate an increasingly stressed plant, any areas that have poor water movement will build up salts and bicarbonates over time resulting in weakened turf. 

The process begins with shooting the grade of the land to ensure that adequate fall was achieved to move water to nearby drain basins. After laying out the site of the drain lines a sodcutter is used to remove turf that will be laid back in place once the drain is complete. 

As seen in the picture above a black layer has formed in an area of the new trench line, which will hopefully be remedied with the proper drainage.  All existing soil will be removed and replaced with a coarse sand with large particle sizes that allows water to move through the profile quickly.  Calcite Calcium is also applied in drain lines to aid in moving any salt buildup through the soil profile.

Flat pipe is used to carry water in the drain lines and is installed in a weaving pattern in order to catch and move a greater amount of water throught the line.

 

 

Once the drainage has been properly installed a very low impact project is complete that will aid in salt management and maintain the integrity of the playing surface for years to come.  The finished product is very low impact to golfers and is completed before the first group of the day arrives.

A Little Bit Goes A Long Way

In our May post, we discussed some of the mechanical means that are being used to start the annual transition process of the cool season turf, back to our bermudagrass base. While all of these cultural events are greatly important, so is the use of water.

Micro-Irrigation Set-up

Water use and application play a very important role in successful transition, especially when you consider the water quality that many of us are using here in the desert southwest. Water quality is a whole different topic, and will be discussed in a different post.

As the summer draws nearer, our ET rates start to skyrocket. As early as mid-April, we are experiencing ET rates around 0.25" or higher. While running nightly irrigation helps keep our cool season grass in decent shape, we must also think about the bermudagrass that lies beneath the current crop. Fine textured soils complicate deep watering at times. We want to be responsible users of our resources and don't want excess runoff or large wet areas that will effect the guests.

With that, we have begun to use a micro irrigation system that is low flow and can be used in site specific applications. This enables us to get water to infiltrate the soil profile that is somewhat heavy in nature. Basically infiltration is equal to the precip rate of the emitters. Depending on the severity of profile dryness, each setup can be run between 1-8 hours. Each system is plumbed with a wetting agent canister that can be filled with a tablet and used to help break surface tension and increase the initial infiltration rate.

These systems are also being used in areas where salt levels are high. The system is run to solubilize salts in the profile (with the assistance of calcium carbonate) and help flush them below the root zone or help get the salts into solution and into subsurface drainage. In this scenario, each area can be run for up to 24 hours.

These are going to be a valuable tool to assist us in increasing the uniformity of our transition back to the bermudagrass base. Balancing soil moisture is a key factor in having success when "rotating crops". Looking forward, these micro-irrigation systems are also going to be a great tool during the establishment of overseed in the fall.

Micro-irrigation in place on bunker face

March Aerification

With the Waste Management Phoenix Open behind us, it’s time to focus on the next big obstacle: transition. While much of what determines a successful transition is dependant on the climate and weather, there are several key cultural practices the Agronomy staff at TPC Scottsdale perform in order to help facilitate a smoother transition. In addition to increased light verti-cutting and topdressing, aerification is an important part of the transition process. This week the Agronomy staff at TPC Scottsdale began the first of four scheduled fairway aerifications on the Stadium course.

Walk Aerifying Fairways

The process as a whole is quite involved, requiring at least ten equipment operators and 4-5 days to complete. To minimize impact to our guests and damage to the turf, all fairways are aerified with 4 John Deere 800 walk aerifiers. This gives us the opportunity to get a tighter hole spacing with less damage to the turf than what is possible with a larger, heavier aerifier. The machines are set up with coring tines and adjusted to pull a plug at maximum depth, which is right around 3.5".

The plugs are then cleaned up with 3 core sweepers that pick up the vast majority of plugs. The few remaining plugs are then picked up by a hand crew or blown off the fairway and the fairway is mowed, leaving the surface ready for play. A wetting agent followed by a heavy water cycle is then applied to re-hydrate the soil.

Although this practice is time and labor intensive, it is vital to the health of both the overseed stand and Bermudagrass base. Aerifying plays a big role in relieving the compaction left by both cart and foot traffic, as well as providing an avenue for water infiltration and salt leeching. The aerification holes allow the Bermuda base area to fill in and become competitive with the healthy overseed stand. We are already starting to see prominent Bermuda leaf tissue in the dew patterns early in the morning. It is our job to make sure that this process continues, and one way that is achieved is through repetitive aerification and verticutting. Current soil temperatures and climactic conditions are more favorable for the overseed stand, therefore we are trying to do all we can to give the Bermuda base the upper hand while still providing great overseeded conditions for the guest.

International Exposure

The Agronomy Department at TPC Scottsdale takes pride in assisting students advance thier knowledgebase and career by through hands on golf course experience. As the interns time with us winds down, we would like to share a few things about each one of these students.

Yudi Cheng & Ying zi Tang (Michigan State Program)
Cindi and Joy as they were known to the staff, are part of Michigan State's Chinese Turf Program (http://www.turf.msu.edu/yusong-mu). Prior to thier arrival here, they spent about 6 months with Dale Hahn at TPC Summerlin where they assisted in daily maintenance and were a part of the staff that hosted the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Both of these ladies were an intgral part of our staff in preparing for the Waste Management Phoenix Open and in our day to day operation. Cindi is preparing her term paper on Greens Overseed Establishment and Maintenance, and Joy is focusing her topic around Golf Course Overseeding-Preparation, Establishment, and Tournament Conditioning. Both of these ladies were always full of questions and we appreciate all of thier hard work.

Cindi (left) and Joy (right) taking in the action during the WMPO.

Jason Brooks, Simon Rees, Matt Allen (Ohio State Program)
Jason Brooks joined us from the UK where he has served in the role of Assistant Head Greenkeeper at Torquay Golf Club in South Devon where he has worked for the last 8 years. Jason was in search for new challenges and wanted to see how we do things on this side of the Pond. Jason has worked 3 British Opens through BIGGA (http://www.bigga.org.uk/) support teams that are organized to help the Head Greenskeeper during that event and another championship at Wentworth. His prior expereinces were a great help to us and his witty sense of humor was always appreciated.
Simon Reese like the Chinese students, had also been in the States prior to his arrival here in Scottsdale. Simon spent 6 months at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, MD where the AT&T National is hosted. Simon is from the western suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. Simon was instrumental in our preparatory efforts for the tournament and has started to persue his next move which will either back to Austrailia or to the UK for continued education.
Matt Allen also was interning in the States prior to joining our team. Matt is from Whitby, Porirua, New Zealand. He spent his 6 months prior at a stint with Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia. Matt has secured employment with Royal Sydney in Australia upon his departure.

Jason (on tractor) and Brian tweaking bunkers prior to WMPO.

 

Brian Kealy & Nick O'Rourke (TPC Network)
Brian is a graduate of the University of Maryland Turf Program. We seasonally employed Brian to help grow is knowledgebase and become familiar with overseed in the southwest. He worked very hard in his time with us and has since relocated back to the Washington DC area where he is working with Stephen Britton at TPC Potomac as an AIT.
Nick joined our staff from TPC Boston. Like Brian, he was looking to continue to gain experience during the cold winter months in New England. Nick, although new to the turf world, was a great assest to the staff and his eye for detail and consistency was always appreciated. Nick will be moving back to TPC Boston to be the AIT for Tom Brodeur. He will also be continuing his turfgrass education with Penn State.

Intern Staff slingin' sand on greens.

Thinking transition at TPC Scottsdale

Transition time has begun….almost.  As temperatures in the valley begin to warm and day length increases, the Agronomy staff at TPC Scottsdale has begun to think abouthe impendingt  transition. The base layer of bermuda is beginning to awaken from dormancy and cultural practices have begun to aid with the looming transition.  On the Stadium Course, staff members are needle tining greens to provide increased oxygen levels, improve water infiltration and begin to serve as an outlet for healthy bermudagrass growth and function.

English intern Jason Brooks needle tining greens

 Water management is essential to the health of newly forming bermuda plants as too much water results in a lack of oxygen and lack of adequate moisture will result in drying out and dessication.  Bermuda requires a large amount of sunlight to thrive, at least six to eight hours per day, and frequent needle tining in the spring can aid in opening of the canopy of cool season grass, allowing sunlight to become available to the underlayer of bermuda.  Sometimes luck in terms of favorable weather conditions can be just as important as well planned cultural practices in the success of transition. 

Greens Surface after aerification

Greens surface after aerification and mow, ready for play

Needle tining is a good option for us because it has little to no impact on the putting surface for everyday play.  Greens are mowed at normal height directly after being aerified and holes left by the aerifier or any imperfections are not visible to the eye.  This practice will be done as needed, anywhere from four to five times throughout the spring. As we move deeper into the season, core aerification will be monthy through June. In July, aerification is taken to a different level. Greens will be aerified 3 times with 5/8" tines while the course is in its closure period.