It's been a mere sixteen days since #14 green was renovated and inter-seeded, (fourteen days on #16) and in my professional opinion, the results have been spectacular in that short of time. In fact those two greens were cut for the first time Wednesday.
Speaking of mowing the temporary greens are being cut at "Tri City Height" with a regular greens mower. Greens inter-seeded/renovated are also being cut with this mower to guard against new seedling mortality caused by mowing. All greens are being cut one day and rolled only the next day to aid recovery in areas thinned by the loss of annual bluegrasses. Green speeds are no part of my maintenance goals as our focus must be on putting green health. Excessive fertility, mowing heights of cut and high moisture levels required for seed germination has put a temporary hold on that. I've been told the inner "birdie" circle has been popular.
By the way we stimped the temporary green and it was rolling 8'. Not bad for a section of fairway turf. For your information, temporary surfaces are being mowed, rolled and topdressed on a regular maintenance schedule.
The photo above shows some of the success we've seen to date with our renovation efforts. Look closely and you will see seed germination in the deep verticut channels (looking from bottom to top) and the success we had with the aerifier pockets. (moving from lower right to the 2 o'clock position in the photo.) Our timing for this type of work is perfect as the vast majority of new growth is bentgrass over the weaker annual bluegrass plant that failed again miserably under this summers record heat and drought.
Speaking of aerification, I overheard two members commenting on the aerification. Please do not confuse our renovation as an aerification event! While we used our greens aerifier to open up the greens for inter-seeding, it was done at an extremely shallow depth for seeding and did nothing to remove the layer of organic matter in the greens profile, not to mention the deeper hard pan layer that impedes internal drainage.
We will be touching up a few more greens next week and addressing thin areas which are common for newly renovated stands. I'm fearful the large section of turf on fifteen that was trampled underfoot during the weeks long worth of tournament play may have to be replaced by sod. I'll know more in the next few days.
Speaking of the next few days, greens renovated will be syringed with short 3 minute pulses of water, typically one revolution of the sprinkler head as needed, more on sunny windy drier days. Please pardon the interruption, but the sprinklers will turn off for the most part as you reach the green.
Thank you for your patience and understanding. _Mk
