usga visit summary july 2009

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United States Golf AssociationGreen Section - Southwest Region

USGA GREEN SECTION

TURF ADVISORY SERVICE VISIT REPORT

PASATIEMPO GOLF CLUB

Santa Cruz, California

July 15, 2009

Present:

Mr. Bob Freeman, Green ChairmanMr. Jay Walkinshaw, General ManagerMr. Paul Chojnacky, SuperintendentMr. Jacob Gardner, NCGA InternMr. Phill Cahoon, USGA InternMr. Patrick Gross, USGA



Pasatiempo Golf ClubJuly 15, 2009

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INTRODUCTION

The following report summarizes the discussions and recommendations made during theTurf Advisory Service visit on July 15, 2009.

It was a pleasure to return to Pasatiempo Golf Club and discuss golf course maintenanceissues on behalf of the USGA Green Section. The focus of the visit was to review generalcourse conditions and offer suggestions for long-range and short-term improvement.Specific topics covered in this report include:

Addressing water use restrictions

Putting green management programs

Fairways

Other topics

Please contact our office if you should have any questions concerning this report,or if we can contribute in other ways to your turf management operations.

ADDRESSING WATER USE RESTRICTIONS

Regional perspective - Many courses throughout California are suffering the effectsof mandatory water cutbacks. Los Angeles and San Diego imposed a 15% mandatoryreduction in July with restrictions on days and times that golf courses can irrigate.

Variances to the ordinance have been allowed on a case-by-case basis if the golf coursesagree to an additional 5% cutback. The most severe situation so far this year is theCity of Santa Cruz, where a 28% mandatory cutback has been imposed.Courses throughout California are incorporating many different programs to deal with thewater shortage, including:

Eliminating irrigation in the rough and practice range facilities.

Reducing water applications to the fairways.

Installing wells to provide a supplement to the water supply.(Unfortunately, most of these wells are either poor quality wateror do not have the capacity to provide a significant amount of waterto meet irrigation needs.)

Expanding water storage capabilities.




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Investigating options for constructing on-site water reclamation facilities.

Converting fairways and rough to drought tolerant turf species.

Irrigation system replacement – Given the pressure of dealing with a restricted watersupply, the timing is perfect for finalizing plans for the replacement of the irrigationsystem. Furthermore, the new system can be accurately designed accordingto provisions of the turf reduction plan. Based on the experience of other coursesin California that have recently installed new systems, it has been possible to increaseirrigation efficiency by 15% - 20%. Evaluations are underway to test various brands andmodels of sprinklers to see which would be the best fit at Pasatiempo. In addition toyour on-site testing, the following comments were offered during the visit regardingplanning for the new system:

Test different nozzles in both the Toro and Rainbird sprinklers.In particular, good results have been observed with the FCI brassnozzles available from Underhill.

Perform catch can tests to evaluate sprinkler coverage and distributionuniformity. Equipment for conducting catch can tests is available from:

The Toolkit CompanyP.O. Box 10822Bakersfield CA 93389Phone: (661) 587-9854Website: http://www.tkwateraudit.com

Eliminating irrigation in the rough has been a prudent program to reduce water use by

28% while preserving playing quality on the tees, greens, and fairways.




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Perform an independent test of sprinklers and nozzles at the Center for

Irrigation Technology. The results of the test will be useful fordetermining the most accurate sprinkler spacing. More information isavailable at www.cati.csufresno.

It was good to hear that plans include the use of subsurface dripirrigation on many of the steep bunker slopes. This technology hasbeen very successful at Corral de Tierra Country Club and the CaliforniaGolf Club.

Include multiple quick coupler valves throughout the property that willbe indispensable for spot watering and assisting with the establishment

of native grass areas.

Turf reduction plan – Preliminary plans were reviewed during the visit to reduce theamount of irrigated turf from 105 acres to 70 acres. The plan does an excellent jobof reducing turf in out of play areas without severely affecting the middle to highhandicap golfer. The proposed non-irrigated grass areas will blend with the nativehillsides and provide a very beautiful appearance. From a practical standpoint, the watersaved by not irrigating the rough will save money, and a portion of the water can be usedto keep tees, greens, and fairways in good condition. Overall, this is an excellent planand is sure to benefit Pasatiempo from both a practical and aesthetic standpoint.

Hole No. 5 is an example of a proposed native grass area that will provide an attractive appearance and

reduce water use without impacting the middle to high handicap golfer.

http://www.cati.csufresno/






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PUTTING GREEN MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS

Turf health and playing quality – The greens displayed smooth, fast puttingconditions and good surface quality on the day of the visit. The vertical mowing and lightsand topdressing program has done an outstanding job of improving surface firmness.Root growth continues to be shallow; however, the root tissue was healthy andfunctional. Current programs for mowing, fertility, cultivation, and topdressing havestruck an acceptable balance for sustaining healthy turf growth while providing fast greenspeeds.

Expansion areas – The new sod installed on some of the putting green expansionareas (e.g., No. 1 green) continues to display a mottled appearance. This is typicalof Poa annua sod, and the visual impact is expected to fade over the next one to twoyears as the turf adapts to the new environment and additional aeration and topdressingtreatments are performed.

Moisture management – As we discussed during the visit, the use of a portablemoisture probe can aid in making daily irrigation decisions and assist with waterconservation efforts. A small but growing number of superintendents areusing moisture probes, such as the TDR300, from Spectrum Technologies to monitorvolumetric soil water content. By taking readings every day over a period of severalweeks, it is possible to determine critical moisture levels on various sections of thecourse, and more accurately determine when and where irrigation is necessary.

Despite shallow root growth (as noted by the dotted line), the greens continue to be healthy, firm and fast.




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It is also a useful tool for training irrigators on proper hand watering techniques

and identifying problems with the irrigation system with regard to the over applicationor under application of water. Further information on the TDR300 moisture probeis available at www.specmeters.com

FAIRWAYS

Incorporating fine fescue into the fairways – The experiment to incorporate fineleaf fescue varieties into No. 14 fairway was moderately successful. Fine fescue varietiesare very slow to establish and it may take several years of interseeding beforepopulations become visible. Once established, these grasses are more drought tolerantand provide excellent playing quality typical of a links style golf course. The maindrawback is the lack of traffic tolerance. Article regarding the establishment andmanagement of fine fescue on fairways are attached with this report as a furtherreference.

Suspending fairway topdressing – It was reported that applications of sandtopdressing to the fairways would be cancelled this year due to budgetary concerns.

Although this is understandable, it is recommended to resume sand applications as soon

as possible to avoid cancelling the benefits achieved over the past five years.

OTHER TOPICS

Alternative for plastic water bottles – Alternatives to offering drinking waterin plastic bottles was briefly discussed during the visit. Many courses throughout thecountry made the change to bottled water due to sanitation concerns and the outcomeof a wrongful death lawsuit in Arizona regarding a contaminated water cooler at a golf

The use of a portable moisture probe can help with making daily irrigation decisions and training the staff on proper

hand watering techniques.

http://www.specmeters.com/

http://www.specmeters.com/




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Distribution:

o+r: Mr. Paul Chojnacky, Superintendentcc: Mr. Jay Walkinshaw, General Manager

Reprints/enclosures:

Fine Fescue Roughs and Fairways (GSR – July 2009)Fine Fescues on Golf CoursesThe Role of the Green Chairman (GSR – July 2009)

usga visit summary july 2009

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