Molding The Future

turf

This time last year we had snow on the ground, instead, warm weather in the high 60’s, low 70’s this year. The variation in weather is an example of what we deal with annually when we maintain the turf. Temperature is a key factor between growing healthy thriving turf, to doing what you can to keep it alive. That is how much of a role Mother Nature has in affecting how easy or how tough our jobs can be. I want to take a little time to explain what we have done to begin paving the path toward the successful future of our club.

This is the start of my fifth year with The Rim. Of course, you could probably guess what the first item on my list of important procedures ‐ aerification. Anytime we can get oxygen into the soil profile, we increase the breakdown of thatch. Better yet, adding sand into the open holes mixes with the thatch to create a healthy soil profile. The third dimension to this process is building a soil profile, which we have been lacking for many years. There is no getting into the decomposed granite; our only choice is building our own soil through repetitive punching and topdressing to build a new profile on top of the existing granite.

Water adjustments and savings have been another player in our quest for healthy turf. When you don’t need to put the plant under as much drought stress or, like years ago re‐seed everything in the fall, you give the turf a season to build up healthy carbohydrates and much needed energy for the next summer. Three seasons ago we attacked the irrigation system and made changes in all facets from computer programming to field adjustments to effectively save water.  Since this major revamp we have undergone the driest monsoon in many years, but still we were able to maintain the driving range and golf course under healthy conditions. The turf will continue to become healthier each year.

Our Integrated Plant Management Program incorporates the use of degree day modeling, insect trapping, and effective scouting to properly time our applications and successfully control pests that compromise the health of the turf.  I have mentioned how our climate is one of the more difficult climates in the state and this solution has given us the ability to avoid the devastation we had in years past when we did not control for any of these pests. This is our road map to healthy and successful turf management.

Integrated Plant Management is not just controlling insects or disease with chemistry, but rather a well‐rounded approach that takes into account cultural practices that are required to promote healthy turf. Raising the height of cut is a good example of an integrated approach to healthy turf. The longer turf has the advantage toward weed competition and withstanding some disease and insect pressure. A larger plant can create and store more energy for the tough times like summer. Grass is just like us. When you are weak the pathogens can take over and when you are healthy you have the strength to fight off illness. Nutrition, water and sunlight are the basics for healthy turf. The items listed above are all designed to make the basics readily available.

We are keeping the basics in mind as we plan for the future. The most common saying I have heard over the past two years throughout my trade is, “we need to do more with less”. The actions we took three and four years ago are starting to payoff and make that statement a reality. Continuing to bring fresh ideas and new management strategies into our daily operations will increase our future and the sustainability of The Rim Golf Club.

I am always open to comments and concerns that anyone may have about the golf course or our maintenance staff.

If you have any questions or comments please contact me.

 

Justin Ruiz, CGCS

Justinr@therimgolfclub.org

Watering The Rim Golf Club

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Applying water to the golf course is the most important practice we perform every season. With limited storage, it is imperative that we make sure every drop is used properly. To ensure optimum efficiency when scheduling our irrigation events, we use evapotranspiration (ET).

ET is the combination of evaporation from the soil surface and the transpiration from the turf plant. The ET is the amount of water used by the plant in a 24 hour period accounting for wind, humidity, temperature and solar radiation. Our goal is to replace the amount water used in a single day.

The height of cut also makes a difference in the rate at which water is used by the plant. The lower the cut the more evaporation loss from water applied. As the height of cut increases, the evaporation portion of the plant water use decreases. Transpiration from the plant increases as the plant gets bigger. The relationship between the two values is not equal. That is why the larger plants will use less water. We expect to see some savings with the new height of cut in the fairways.

The way many people apply water today is by using time intervals. Watering 5 to twenty minutes per station per night is common practice. Our computer uses ET so we can water to the second, replacing the water used that day. The computer’s database contains information about each head’s makeup. Gallons per minute, area covered, arc pattern in degrees and spacing with other heads to calculate a specific precipitation rate for that designated head. This information was what we were working on three years ago to make sure the computer could accurately make watering decisions using the ET. Each night the run time is changed to meet the plant’s water usage and throughout the year adds up to a sizeable amount of savings due to the accuracy of water application.

The central control system that we use is by far, one of the most important and most powerful tools in our arsenal. Minor inconsistencies in programming can lead to major watering inefficiencies. Incorrect adjustments in the field that are not corrected in the computer can also contribute to poor use of water. There is no doubt, each year we are close on the amount of water needed to maintain the turf and the amount of water in our storage lakes, but with the efforts made over the past three years, we have lessened the our historic water shortages.

Water is our most precious resource. Making sure to apply it in the most efficient way is important to the sustainability of our club. Superintendents still make use of time interval irrigation, but calculating the actual plant water use and replenishing that water, is the most accurate application method available today. When you are out on the course enjoying the summer weather, you can appreciate the science behind the way we use our water.

If you have any questions about ET or how we apply water to the golf course please feel free to contact me.

Justin C. Ruiz, CGCS

jruiz@therimgolfclub.org

Did you Know Vol. 1

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Did you know that the mowing equipment we use to cut greens is adjusted to thousandths of an inch?

Yes, the mowing equipment used on the greens is adjusted with a tool called an accugauge.  This tool measures the distance from the bedknife to the bottom of the rollers in thousandths of an inch.  For example the greens are currently cut at 120/1000".  In the past, to get the greens speeds fast for tournament play, the greens have been cut as low as 80/1000".

When the mechanics set the greens mowers up, they have many variables that apply to their adjustments.  They must maintain a 5 degree angle on the face of the bed knife for the mower to properly stand the leaf blade upright for cutting.  The must obtain the proper clearance between bedknife and reel at .002" to allow for heat expansion under operation.  And finally they must maintain a parallel relationship between the reel and the rollers to ensure an even cut across the width of the mower and to avoid uneven wear of the reel causing a cone shape.

With that being said it is imparitive that the mowers are checked daily for adjustment.  Quality of cut and proper height of cut can be compromised by loading and unloading the mower or even a small particle of sand can cause havoc on the cutting integrity.



Now, with the importance of proper adjustments made daily to the mowing equipment also affects the turf as well.  Turf when mowed with a sharp mower is much more healthy.  The plant has a better opportunity to heal and a better ability to sustain the damage caused by mowing.  As for a dull mower, it will leave the leaf blade shreaded.  The plant uses energy made from essential nutrients to repair the damage.  All grasses prefers the production of leaves over roots.  So in the case of dull mower damage the plant will expend it's energy trying to produce more top growth to ensure the efficient production of energy made from photosynthesis. "Shoots before Roots"



What does that mean?



The plant will then use more resources to make this process happen.  The plant will require more water, more fertilizer and more plant protectants to outgrow any stress that the plant is under.



So, back to the important role of our equipment managers.  These guys are critical in the overall health of the golf course.  In turn the health of the golf course will dictate nutrient and water needs.  We rely on their precise and persistent adjustments made everyday to the mowing equipment.



Probably a little more than you needed to know about mowing equipment, but none the less it is an integral part of our golf course maintenance.



If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.



Justin C. Ruiz, CGCS

jruiz@therimgolfclub.org

Spring IPM

turf

The winter months are slipping away quickly and we are only two weeks from begining our IPM program.  Starting March 1st we begin our degree day counting.  Degree day modeling is the backbone of our integrated plant management program.  Trapping has also become a good method for us to compare to the degree day models.

Two years ago, we began to create our IPM program to fight back from the loss in 2007.  We began trapping Billbugs to help understand our population and started tracking growing degree days and used degree day models to help anticipate insect development.  We have had significant success from our program over the past two season on insect and disease control.

If we can take a second to reflect, the golf course three years ago had reduced playing conditions.  Rough was pocketed and thin throughout.  Bunker faces were in need of sod work and tee surrounds, were nearly gone.  Insect management was a large part of restoring the rough around the greens and the south facing slopes.  Our disease and insect management has done a great job protecting the fairways and ensuring course quality year round.

This year will be a successful year in pest management.

If you have any questions about how we monitor insects or scout for disease please contact me.

Justin C. Ruiz, CGCS

justinr@therimgolfclub.org

Spring Aerification

turf

Spring is the time for us as Turfgrass Managers, to start thinking of the new season that will be upon us in just a few short months. It is an important time to prepare the turf for the stresses of the summer heat, and relentless pest pressure. To prepare the turf, we use a combination of cultural practices including the most important one, core aerification.

The turf grows in a unique environment, getting nutrients and life support from the soil. An ideal soil system is 50% insoluble material, while the other 50% is made up of 25% water, and 25% oxygen. If you noticed, I mentioned “ideal.” Over the winter months the soil has become saturated with water, and since the insoluble material cannot be displaced, oxygen is pushed from the soil system, leaving the turf in a less than desirable situation.

With that being said, as turf managers, we make the decision to core aerify the turf. The goal is to balance the soil’s three part system, while also removing unwanted thatch, created by the natural attrition of the shoots, roots, and stems. The process also enhances nutrient uptake, while beginning the root driving process. We remove about 10% of the turf’s surface. To offset thatch buildup, removal of 20% of the surface per year is recommended by the USGA. That gives us the reasoning behind the need of twice per year. Click here for the recommendations of the USGA.



Core aerification is a disruptive process. Playing conditions will be affected for up to four weeks, depending upon weather. An application of fertilizer, one week before aerification day, will get the plant growing rapidly. Expect reduced green speeds coming into aerification. The day of aerification, after we have filled the holes completely with sand, we will apply another application of fertilizer. The purpose of increased fertility during this process is to speed up the healing process and give the plant the nutrition it needs to grow roots.

During the spring, we will aerify greens, tees, fairways, and approaches. The tees that were damaged by the dethatching process last fall will be addressed at this time. After we pull plugs on the damaged tee surfaces, we will spread an 80/20 mixture of Kentucky Bluegrass and Perennial Ryegrass. This mixture approximately matches the mixture growing on the course today. Depending on weather, the tees will need an extra cycle or two of irrigation to promote germination. We will also move the tee markers accordingly, to eliminate traffic on these selected tees, while they germinate and fill in.

I have been asked many times over the winter if skipping the aerification process last fall will cause problems. My answer to that question has been, skipping the process once, will not cause major problems, because of our use of the hydroject, and planet air. If the process is skipped repeatedly, then problems begin to occur that are not easily corrected. My analogy to help understand this answer is; if you are healthy and you eat French-fries once, it will not majorly affect you. If you begin eating French-fries at every meal, then you are looking at combating major health issues, even after you get back to your healthy diet.



2010 Aerification dates

• April 12th, 2010 Green Aerification


• April 26th, 2010 Fairway Aerification


• August 23rd, 2010 Fairway Aerification


• September 20th, 2010 Green Aerification

If you have any questions, pleas feel free to contact me.



Justin C. Ruiz, CGCS

justinr@therimgolfclub.org

December Green Committee Report

turf

Course Condition

The Rim Country has received some snow. With the cold weather the snow has been reluctant to melt. The ground has been frozen most of the day and the grass has undergone dormancy. We are seeing the benefits of our late fall fertilizer application with keeping some color through the winter months.

Projects Completed

This last month has been slow. Snow restricted crew access to the course for a few days. We have kept the projects more manageable with our small crew. We have finished fire-wise on #5 and the hill on #8.
I am sure you have also notice we have given a majority of the native its annual trimming. We have completed the hand work around trees, tees, and steep slopes to make way for a tractor mounted Brush Hog that will make quick work of the flat open areas.

Projects in Process

The projects that we have on our plate at this moment are fire-wise and pro-shop landscape. We have started the ornamental grass plant trimming behind 18 green and will continue this through the parking lot. This will take first priority now that we have completed #8 fire-wise. We will have a couple staff members continue fire-wise along #11, but it will be slow moving until we finish the trimming at the pro-shop area. We usually do fire-wise in the morning hours while we wait for frost. The late morning is mainly course set up. Now, we will start at the pro-shop then move to course clean up. We will concentrate on fire-wise in the afternoon if we feel there will be members present around the pro-shop area as to not bother everyone with the noise and flying debris.

We are also working on goose clean-up. It has been a frustrating winter so far with the geese. We use Chloe to chase them off, but they know when we are done for the day and return before dark. Lane has come back in the late afternoons to scare them off, but we still have had little success. If you would like to see more about the geese clickhere.

ElK

We have experienced tremendous damage in the past month due to elk. With the recent storm when we lost a few trees we had numerous breaks in the fence. This allowed many elk to gain access to the property. We recently hired the cowboys to round up the elk that were on the property and they successfully removed two. I know that number does not match the amount of elk damage we are getting. The elk travel onto the property at night and leave in the morning when there is an opening. Since the cowboys showed up in the late morning, the majority of the elk had already exited.

We have also been having trouble with a couple of our gates. Boards have mysteriously been removed or popped off and elk have gained access that way. We walk the fence once a month and if we see the remnants of elk we will walk it that day. Our most recent issue was the gate near the main entrance. The portion of the fence on the left as you drive in has been slowly sliding down the hill. This caused a gap near the gate that we have been blocking with boards. Recently that gate had boards popped off of it and left a large opening for the elk. With that being said we have straightened the fence and fixed the gate and we will see if most of the elk left the property in the morning or if we have some residents. Since the fence has been mended we will be ready for another visit from the cowboys, if indeed there are still elk on property.

Projects Planned

Future winter projects that we are looking at are as follows:
- Pro-shop trimming.
- Fire-wise.
- Walk path repair.

Ballmark and Divot Repair Party

If you missed our first party we are having another 3:00pm on January 15, 2010. We had a great time for the first party. We completed the entire repair in a little over an hour. “Many hands make light work.” – John Heywood. We will all meet at Mr. and Mrs. Paczkowski’s house on #5 after the repair is completed. If you need the flyer that was sent out or have any questions please contact me.

Side Notes

I was asked to write a case study explaining our water conservation efforts at The Rim. The case study has been posted on the Environmental Institute for Golf web site. You can view the entire case study here.

I have recently been asked to be on the cover of Golf Course Industry Magazine. The Editor had many questions about our divot and ball mark repair party and wanted to feature it along with other superintendents doing things a little different than normal maintenance. This will be coming out this month. Read more.

I have also begun the search for this season’s intern positions. You can view the blog post about our internship program here.

With the use of Twitter, I have been able to keep up with other superintendents across America to gain some insight on how they are dealing with issues on their courses. One of the superintendents is starting a series of posts on his blog called “What we do in the Winter”. I am going to take a similar approach and do a series of posts on what we do on the course. I will try to capture the nuts and bolts that define our work. If you would like to follow along, click here.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Dan or me.

Justin C. Ruiz, CGCS

justinr@therimgolfclub.org

928.951.3421

Dan Devere, CGCS
ddever@chaparralpines.org
928-951-3272

Internship/Assistant in Training: The Rim Golf Club

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Internship/Assistant in Training: The Rim Golf Club

Golf Course Superintendent
Justin C. Ruiz, CGCS

Description:
The Rim Golf Club is surrounded by the largest stand of ponderosa pines in America. Each hole has a view of either the surrounding Granite Dells Mountains or the Mogollon Rim. The Rim was Weiskopf and Morrish's finally collaboration. Greens are Providence Bentgrass. Fairways, Approaches, Tees and Rough are all Kentucky Bluegrass/Perennial Ryegrass. The course yields many elevation changes through each hole with relatively subtle greens.

Qualifications:
Some golf course experience is preferred but not required. Going to school to become a golf course superintendent is a must. Must be able to work long hours. Must have the drive and passion to move forward in your career (advancement may be available).

You can look us up at:

www.therimgolfclub.com www.therimgolfclub.blogspot.com www.twitter.com/justinruizcgcs www.cactusandpine.org www.turfhugger.com www.linkedin.com/in/justincruiz

A little about our internship opportunity:

I am looking for individuals that want to learn the importance of Integrated Plant Management. Our insect and disease pressure is above average during the months of July and August. Learning to scout and properly identify insects and disease is a definite at our location. Calibration of any product applied to the golf course will be the assistant in training’s responsibility.

I am open with budgeting and the decision making process. I will allow the intern to manage the crew for one week during the program to get the full experience of scheduling, and managing. You will learn that respect is earned not forced and when you are finished with this program you will be ready for an assistant position in the industry.

I do not try to bog our assistant in training down with general maintenance although learning how each piece of equipment is operated will be done. You will be expected to manage projects with my direction and follow through with quality control. Expectations are high at our club and this is not a position for a person that is on the fence about becoming a superintendent but rather a person that wants to strive to become better than the rest. I am a passionate superintendent and would like to see the same in our applicants.

The Rim Golf Club Internship Program

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Each year at The Rim Golf Club we advertise for interns. On my way to becoming a superintendent I too did an internship. I graduated from Oregon State University and did my internship at Waverley Country Club in Oregon. An internship’s purpose is to close the gap between academic skills and in the field experience. I feel like I can teach students things that I was not taught during my internship and schooling. The Rim Golf Club is a great place to learn with many issues that are uncommon to the average facility.

Our past interns have included Adam Troyer, from Ohio State University. He went on from our facility to become and assistant superintendent at New Albany Country Club. William Bosland, from New Mexico State University, went on to become an intern at the #1 course in America, Pine Valley. He is now an assistant superintendent at the Olympic Club in California. Eric Scharf from State University New York Delhi, he became our second assistant superintendent and now resides at Desert Mountain in Scottsdale. Matt Ruth from North Carolina was hired onto our crew for a while and then took an assistant position in Virginia. Andrew Fortin was our most recent intern from Walla Walla Community College. He has proven his work ethic and is considering coming back to be my assistant next season. These are a few great interns that have worked with me over the past three years and have gone on to become successful in the industry.


We are going to advertise for interns for this next season. They have a great opportunity to learn about water management, Integrated Plant Management and personnel management on a high maintenance property. These young individuals are the future of our industry and are eager to learn and work hard. They are highly motivated students and are great crew members.

I usually advertise nationally and then select certain schools to send a more descriptive notification too. I usually target Oregon State University, my Alma mater. We also send information out to Walla Walla Community College, because of our recent networking with Andrew Fortin, and University of Arizona.

The benefits of having interns during the season are having knowledgeable crew members that have the common goal of becoming a manager in the industry. In most cases they have been trained on a majority of the equipment and have the “eye for detail”. These individuals are always well motivated and are here to impress. They help keep the quality of the golf course elevated during the season.

If you would like to know more about our internship program or have any questions regarding our interns please feel free to contact me.

Justin Ruiz, CGCS

justinr@therimgolfclub.org

Water Savings Hard Data

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The water issues at The Rim have been a common topic each summer for many years. There has been some changes in the where we have gotten water in the past and how we get it now. In the past there were well on site that used to supply us with some water and now we rely on the sanitary department for our water. These past years have left the range and the rough of the golf course thin and in some areas dead from lack of water.

The past two years have been different. We have been able to make it through the summer with the range in tact and the golf course healthy. We did a large reassignment in the computer to get the computer and the field on the same page with water usage. We also made hundreds of head adjustments along the perimeter to correct alignment so all the water being applied is being used efficiently with as little over spray as possible.

The next step was balancing the irrigation system. Many people like to say they do this each winter by reseting their system and adjusting from that point on but unfortunately that is only part of the balancing process. The way we make adjustments from that point on is a major portion of the balancing. This is where we have succeeded in saving water and being more efficient.

This chart shows the average water use from 1999-2008 and our last year to date water usage. You can see the extra use during monsoon season because of the lack of monsoon moisture. If we had a normal monsoon season you would see even more savings.

The average water usage for the past nine years has shown our savings over all. We have tried to keep the course firm and dry with some off color areas. The soil media that supports the grass is made up of mostly organic matter (thatch). Growing grass in thatch is very difficult. There is not much between too dry and wet. Our aerification process and additional sand topdressing will begin to alleviate this issue.

2009 is on track to be the smallest amount of water received from the sanitary district. Not only did we have the lack of rain but, we are also looking at the population of Payson being much smaller. Less people using water, equals less reuse for the courses.

We are on the right track to keep saving water and begin to have consecutive years of healthy grass. This will help the turf stand get thicker and healthier. Over time with sound cultural practices and proper irrigation management the course will get better year after year and produce better and better playing conditions.

I have mentioned quite a bit about our water management process and I will be presenting our practices at the GCSAA show in 2010. We are always trying new ways to save even more water. Our next procedure that I will present to the greens committee will be the idea of removing some turf to help save even more water. Essentially this is our BMP program. A combination of practices to save water.

If anyone has questions about our processes or anything about irrigation please contact me.

justinr@therimgolfclub.org

Course Work

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The three years that I have been at The Rim Golf Club I have dealt with many challenges. The first major challenge that has plagued the golf course has been water. The second was disease and insect pressure and as we peeled away these issues, we are now dealing with bunker contamination and drive off path deterioration.

The water problem has been addressed in earlier posts and how we have dealt with that issue. I will have much more information in a near future post to show the hard data on water savings over the past few years. I am completing my presentation for a BMP plan for water conservation for The Rim which will potentially give us a guideline to continue to save more water each season.

The disease and insect pressure has been discussed in detail as well. Two years ago we created an IPM plan for outlining a combination of approaches to monitor, and control insect and disease pressure. Not only have we been successful in our efforts but we continue to grow our IPM plan and eventually introduce more biological control and begin to move away from synthetic pesticides.

To make a long story short we have made large advancements in what I have always deemed the core of golf course management. Playability and presentation. These two attributes go hand in hand by complimenting one and other. When I first got to the property both were suffering and the course was in a downward spiral with the grass being under every kind of pressure you could imagine. Heat and drought stress, insect and disease pressure and excessive thatch. We have been able to reduce some of the stresses through water management and preventative plant protection applications.

So that brings us to now a sigh of relief when we talk about getting to the drive off's and the bunkers. Our efforts can be better directed to getting these areas better. We have finished the bunker work which has given us consistent depths across each bunker for better playability. We are looking at better ways to get sustainable cart exits from the turf.

The root of the problem in our bunkers was the lack of lining when the bunkers were reconstructed. We have revealed that all the renovated bunkers are not completely lined. They were lined on only faces or the steepest part of the bunker which helps that area hold sand during the rain, but this does not aid in keeping rocks from surfacing from the underlying decomposed granite.

We are trying to get the Nolte sand cleaner into the bunkers when we stop water around the bunkers. The machine is relatively effective in removing rocks off of the top 2-3 inches. The inevitable truth is that the rock will continue to come back from underneath. This process will at least give us some temporary playability. We will also try to couple this with back pack blowing the rocks off of the surface into a pile and removing with a shovel. Both processes are both a temporary fixes until the bunkers are ultimately renovated and lined properly.

The Drive offs around the course are definitely a tough fix. We have tried many ways to get the paths to hold up to cart traffic but they have all failed and the paths have gradually gotten worse. I am looking into a soil stabilizer or mixing cement into the top few inches of the granite to see if we can get better stability.

We are trying what we can for the issues on our course. That is what makes this job interesting and fun. Problem solving is rewarding when you can figure out the solution. So far we have done a great job with insects and water. We will find the solution to the bunkers and the drive offs. We just haven't discovered the best fix.