Irrigation Repair

Last week we found an irrigation leak by #9 tee.  Unfortunately, the leak turned out to be under the cart path.  This meant we needed to rent a concrete saw to remove part of the asphalt to be able to dig up the leak. 

Nick cutting out a section of cart path.

After removing the section of cart path, we were able to get down to the leak.  The culprit was a 6" T fitting that was servicing one head.  A 6" line meant a lot of water needed to be drained off. 

We removed enough material on either side of the T to cut out the old pipe and replace with new pipe and fittings.  6" fittings can get pretty expensive to replace and are no fun to deal with.  We spent the entire day cleaning out around the pipe, and removing the existing fittings and replacing with new.

6" line servicing one sprinkler head on a 1.5" line

 
We were able to get the water turned back on around 4:30 p.m.  It was a long day of repairs, but I would much rather be dealing with it in April then July!  After we replaced all of the dirt, we filled the rest of the hole with gravel so carts could return to the path.  This week we will replace the asphalt we removed with a patch.

Hole filled with gravel

Greens Aerification

On Sunday, April 1 we began the process of aerifying our greens.  It is a process that we complete once in the Spring and once in the Fall.  This year, we finished up on Tuesday, April 3, and had the course open for play on Wednesday.  It is a time consuming process that involves many steps to return the greens back to normal.

#8 Green

We begin by the actual aerification of the green.  We use a Toro Procore 648 with 1/2 inch tines.  This is a top of the line machine that makes the process much faster.  A windrow attachment brings the plugs into the center to allow for easier removal.  It takes about twenty minutes to complete a green.

The next step is picking up all of the cores.  We use a combination of a core harvester and lots of shovels.  It takes five to six hours to collect the cores. 

#11 Green topdressed with sand

We then topdress all the greens with sand.  This step takes the longest because the amount of sand used.  Three to four loads of a topdresser are used per green.  The sand then has to dry before a drag mat is used to work the sand into the holes.  Some of the excess sand is blown off the green with a buffalo blower. 

After the sand has been drug in, we can then begin rolling the green to help smooth them back out.  We use a machine that vibrates the ground as it goes along to help shake some of the excess sand into the holes.  At the same time, the rollers smooth out the surface.

After rolling is complete, we begin applying two different kinds of fertilizers.  This is the last step to complete aerification.  After the fertilizer is applied, we water the greens to soak in the sand and fertilizer. 

The greens will take some time to return back to normal.  Generally with good growing conditions, they will be back to normal in under two weeks.  Aerification is an essential cultural practice to promote root growth and drainage, and to relieve compaction.  We must aerify now to help produce good greens in the hottest part of the summer.