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Edgewood Course Improvements
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| Edgewood Greens, Why they are the way they are. |
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Edgewood's greens are very consistant in green speed from green to green. They all run within a 10% variation of speed, which is very deceiving because of the various slopes and breaks on the greens. We rank on the Medium scale of speed, which is where we wish to maintain them. Much faster and the golf ball starts to roll off some of the more severe greens at certain pin placements, this results in higher scores, unhappy golfers and slower play. Fast, fast greens may please a minority of the golfers, but involve a much higher degree of maintenance and risk with the poa annua greens we have. If it were just a matter of money and budget to get faster greens, we would speed them up a bit. The risk of losing greens for the season just to keep up with greens speed at the course down the road, is a road well traveled by many out of work Golf Course Superintendants. I prefer to maintain a Medium speed green with a firmer surface and a green color that putts true and fair. That is my goal and we are working hard to attain this now that aeration is done and the growing season is here. We will start a regular regime of grooming, topdressing etc to attain this goal. We are under a program to introduce bentgrasses into the greens. This is not an overnite process, and could take 5 years to accomplish. Bentgrass greens at Edgewood and golfers complaining of greens that are too fast and unfair is my dream. Our biggest problem is consistency from day to day. Weather has a major impact on our greens, mostly due to the poa annua, which under humid weather is limp and sticky, resulting in more drag on the putts and slower greens. Heavy dew in the mornings results in a poor cut for the greens, and also leads to slower greens. This is why we often mow again later in the day, but this is not always possible with our busy golf schedule at Edgewood. Once a golfer is used to Edgewood's greens and relates that to the weather conditions, I believe it is easy to get used to adjusting to the greens. Remember to take into account the humidity, and the time of day. If anyone has any questions, you can contact any member of the greens committee, or email me at Mwlindberg@msn.com I try to check mail fairly often. ThanksMark Lindberg |
May 8-9. The greens at Edgewood will be aerated. This is done to relieve compaction, remove thatch, improve drainage and provide for the transfer of gases to and from the root zone. We will be using 1/2" hollow tines 4" lone, along with a slicer that will reach a depth of 7". Greens will be topdressed, overseeded and rolled, and should recover very quickly. It is not important to fill all the holes with sand. Air pockets are also needed in the greens. Extended dragging of sand on the greens to fill all the holes results in more damage and slower recovery. We prefer to topdress a few days later with a light application of sand to smooth over the putting surface.
It is the first day of March, but it looks and feels more like mid-April to me. The condition of the course looks very good, considering the open winter we have had. The mild conditions have been a great factor. With the rain last week, the course is already "greening up". We are in the process of painting the ball washers, benches, tee markers, etc., getting ready for what appears to be an early start again this season.
There are two projects for course improvement this spring.
The first project is to add a water fountain back in the pond by #18 green, along with a smaller fountain in front of Ladies #10 tee. Hopefully, if budget allows, a fountain in the pond along #12 fairway. These fountains serve two purposes, they add beauty to the course and they improve the quality of the water for the irrigation.
The second project, not yet approved, is to finish off the dike on hole #16. We plan to remove this dike and match the landscape to hole #15. This will create surface drainage and therefore, improve play. The present dike serves no benefit of holding back water. The dike system that was on #15 fairway failed and was removed. It is very difficult to mow and maintain as is, and is a safety issue with the steep banks.
Hope to see you all at the banquet, or on the course before then.
Mark
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