Overseeding Trial on Short Game Area

This fall we decided to do an overseeding trial on the short game area. We overseeded with Perennial Ryegrass Monday December 21st, and at this time you can see new seedlings coming up through the base Bermudagrass. The overseed can be seen on the top of the 1st picture and on the left on the 2nd picture.

Overseeding with Ryegrass is more common in Northern Florida and Arizona where the base Bermudagrass goes completely dormant, and the Ryegrass is used for both playability purposes and also to provide a green color to the golf course.

In SW Florida, Ryegrass is used to help provide more density during the winter months when Bermudagrass doesn't grow too well because of lower air and soil temperatures. Although not that common, a few clubs do overseed each fall in SW Florida.

We will evaluate both playability and member feedback on this trial to determine if it has a future here at Mediterra.

At this time please avoid hitting in this area to allow the seedlings time to mature. Hopefully we will have this area open prior to the Welcome Back Tournament on the 8th.

If any questions arise about overseeding, don't hesitate to contact the Golf Course Operations Department.

Thanks,

Aaron Ohloff

Golf Course FAQs

Here are some common questions I get asked frequently by members and guests;

What are the black posts next to fairways?

The black posts located on the edge of all fairways except par three holes are the locations we ask you exit the golf hole directly to the cart paths. These posts were recommended by the membership to aid in controlling the amount of golf cart traffic near the greens.


Why is there sand on the greens sometimes?

We “topdress” our greens periodically with sand to ensure smoothness of the green surface, decrease grain, and maintain very fast green speeds this time of year. Without this process the greens become uneven and inconsistent due to ball marks, foot traffic and machine traffic.


Do we need to fill our divots on the tees?

For the sake of member convenience and maintaining pace of play, it is not necessary to fill your tee divots. Our golf course operations team fills tee divots every morning as they prepare the course for play. Although, to speed up divot recovery, we do ask that you please fill your divots in the fairways.


Is there seed in the divot sand?

Hybrid bermudagrass such as we have at Mediterra is vegitatively propagated, meaning it is not grown by seed but by cuttings, or sprigs. The seeds produced by hybrid bermudagrass are sterile due to an odd number of chromosomes within the genetic makeup of the plant. Therefore, bermudagrass has a characteristic, which will heal itself from the bottom and laterally from the sides of the divot. This is also the reason why we ask that you do not replace your divot but simply fill it with sand. Most Northern turfgrass species are grown by seed and the divot sand in those regions usually will contain seed required to “regrow” the divot.

Scott Whorrall

Blog Update

With the official turnover of the club to the Members here at Mediterra, our blog postings are going to significantly increase. We find this as a great means of communication between the Maintenance department and each member here at Mediterra. We plan on posting very relevant topics on this site that will help better inform and educate those who follow our blog.

I wanted to start by talking about the USGA Regional Updates that were posted. These are updates that our Regional USGA Agronomists post on a frequent basis that discuss things that are happening currently on golf courses throughout Florida. Our Agronomists here in Floria are John Foy and Todd Lowe. Both individuals post very helpful information that they gather throughout their visits in Florida.

One important topic is El Nino. This weather pattern is supposedly in effect this winter, and John Foy's update about El Nino is very informative about what we may expect. El Nino calls for cooler and wetter conditions that normal in SW Florida during the winter months.

Bermudagrass thrives under warm temperatures and full sunlight. El Nino brings exact opposite conditions of cool, cloudy, and more moisture. These conditions are not favorable for optimum bermudagrass growth, and can encourage disease development.

We have had a couple incidences of disease outbreak on the greens already this fall with the above normal rainfall we've experience over the past couple weeks. The disease is a leaf spot disease that will spread rapidly in moist conditions, but is fairly easy to control with fungicides. The disease is rarely threatening to the turfgrass plant, but does not look good aesthetically. Typical recovery time is determined by growth rate of the grass, but normally 4-7 days all evidence of the disease will be gone.

Please take the time to read John Foy's entire update, it is very informative about what we may experience this winter with El Nino.

USGA Regional Update

By John H. Foy, Director December 3, 2009

The Florida winter golf season is underway. While increased play is now occurring, rounds and membership levels are still down at many courses compared to just two years ago. The national recession may have bottomed out, but many courses and clubs throughout the state continue to deal with very challenging times. Hopefully, there will be progressive improvement as we move through the winter season.

With reduced revenues, cuts in operating budgets and capital expenditures have been mandated at essentially all facilities. However, based on Turf Advisory Service visits over the past three to four weeks, appropriate and good quality course conditioning for daily play is being provided. Many courses are operating with reduced staff, and this has required reductions in grooming and manicuring practices of perimeter areas and hazards. So far, this change has not been noticed by most golfers.

In the central and northern part of the state, elimination or reductions in large acreage winter overseeding programs also has been a common cost saving measure. Large acreage overseeding is not an economic, agronomic, or environmentally sustainable course management practice. As bermudagrass enters into a semi- to fully-dormant stage, which is the normal response to colder temperatures, quality conditioning can still be provided over the next three to four months. Aggressive and ongoing traffic management must be employed during the time when active turf growth is not occurring, and recovery from wear damage cannot occur, regardless of inputs. While we still have a ways to go, golfers are beginning to understand and accept that green color is not a critical factor in course conditioning and quality.

Unfortunately, however, unrealistic demands and expectations for fast to very fast putting green speeds have been a concern at some courses. In Florida, slow, soft, and wet putting green conditions in the fall was a legitimate concern when establishing a winter overseeding cover on Tifdwarf bermudagrass putting greens. This concern was compounded by the fact that putting greens at northern golf courses were in superb condition and were used as a basis of comparison for golfers returning to their Florida courses. Today with ultradwarf bermudagrass cultivars now being the base turf on putting greens at the majority of Florida courses, winter overseeding is no longer necessary, and thus it is possible to routinely provide a smooth and true ball roll along with putting speeds in the range of 9.5 to 10.5 ft. This is certainly appropriate conditioning for the vast majority of golfers. There are always a few golfers who tend to be the most vocal and always demanding faster putting speeds. With more frequent double cutting or cutting and rolling, faster putting speeds can be maintained. Along with the necessary equipment, additional labor hours and time must be available to routinely conduct these practices, although, this incurs additional cost.

While the ultradwarf bermudagrass cultivars can tolerate extremely low heights of cut, during the late summer and fall, sufficient leaf surface area must be present for sustained growth, photosynthesis, carbohydrate production, and storage. This is critically important for properly preparing the base turf to survive the late fall, winter, and spring months. Maintaining slightly elevated heights of cut during the fall is necessary, and once cooler temperatures prevail, putting speeds will increase. If turf health and coverage is compromised or sacrificed early on, producing a full recovery during the winter is not possible.

Over the past two to three weeks, putting green disease outbreaks have been another concern in the central to southern part of the state. Going back to October, rainfall has been well below average, however, the persistence of warm and humid conditions, along with reduced sunlight intensity, resulted in moderate to severe outbreaks of leaf spot disease on putting greens, tees, and fairway areas. While not necessarily desirable, continuation or implementation of fungicide treatments is advised. Extreme care also needs to be exercised with nitrogen fertilization and supplemental irrigation so as not to further favor disease development. If a disease problem is suspected, submit samples to the University of Florida’s Rapid Turfgrass Diagnostic Service. For more information on this tool, access their website at http://turfpath.ifas.ufl.edu/.

Source: John Foy, jfoy@usga.org or 772-546-2620.

USGA Regional Update

By John Foy, Director September 23, 2009

Throughout Florida it still feels like summer even though the calendar says fall has arrived. Especially in the central to southern part of the state, hot and humid conditions persist, and afternoon thunderstorms are still boiling up on a fairly regular basis. September 10th is the time when peak Atlantic hurricane activity typically occurs, but, so far, the tropics have been quiet. While we certainly can’t let our guard down, hopefully we can make it through another season without a direct hit.

Earlier in the summer the Climate Prediction Center noted the development of an El Nino effect in the equatorial Pacific, affecting Florida weather patterns thousands of miles away. In particular, upper level westerly winds disrupt and redirect tropical waves and low pressure systems coming across the Atlantic Ocean from Africa, which, in turn, reduces storms and hurricanes forming and hitting the peninsula. Based on the predictive models, further strengthening of the El Nino effect will occur and is expected to last at least through the upcoming winter months. When a strong El Nino was in place during the winter in the past, Florida and the lower Southeast experienced below average cool temperatures and above average rainfall.

Without pronounced environmental extremes, most people have a limited appreciation of the major negative impact on general turf health and course conditioning that occurs from a prolonged period of cool and wet weather. The El Nino winter of 1997/1998 stands out and is remembered because of the problems experienced at golf courses throughout the state and the tremendous number of SOS calls received in our office. On top of cool and damp conditions, increased cloud cover further exacerbated the reduced sunlight of short winter days such that one golf course superintendent so aptly described the situation as "trying to grow grass in a closet". This situation is not conducive to bermudagrass growth and also caused problems with establishing and maintaining a dense and healthy overseeding cover on putting surfaces, tees, and fairways.

While the accuracy of long range weather forecasts still leaves a lot to be desired, given past experiences and the possibility of a moderate to strong El Nino being in place this winter, the importance of good fall preparations and having the base turf in as healthy a condition as possible is critical. A key component is a good fertilization program to maintain sufficient levels of available nutrients in the soil to support balanced and sustained growth while environmental conditions remain favorable. Unfortunately, at many courses around Florida, the current economic recession has required budget cutbacks, but course fertilization is an area that should not be compromised. There are no magic elixirs or substitutes for the basic macro- and micronutrients needed to support plant growth.

Especially with putting greens, sufficient leaf surface area is necessary for photosynthesis and, in turn, carbohydrate production and storage. There are no chemical treatments that can replace carbohydrates after they become depleted in the late fall, winter, and early spring. While there will always be pressure from low handicap golfers for fast to very fast putting speeds, maintaining slightly elevated heights of cut for the next two to three months is especially important to make sure the turf is adequately prepared to survive the winter. This is true regardless of whether or not the putting surfaces are overseeded.