Covid Practice Plans (Green Building -- please tell me I'm not nuts!)

[DShepley]

38 minutes ago, dugue4 said:

Just read the whole thread and it has me wanting to do it.  Now to figure out how to get 2 mowers for under 500 bucks…

That's probably the hardest part...

[DLiver]

It is really impressive how good that green is. I guess it takes quite a bit of time and a ton attention to get there. Well done!!

[berndgeurts]

2 hours ago, DLiver said:

It is really impressive how good that green is. I guess it takes quite a bit of time and a ton attention to get there. Well done!!

Now imagine you're a team of 8 greenkeepers having to take care of 18 holes. And golfers expecting pristine fairways and greens day in and out. Daunting job they are doing pretty well.

[JAMH03]

This is great! I'm aware that the OP is s from 2020 I'm just going to say what I think then read the rest of posts to see what's happened. 

#1 Exciting!!!

#2 You said.

So....today was raining and I had art class with my daughters; while they coloured away, I got busy designing my first crack at the putting green. Apart from the mower I just brought home, I also have a 9hp rear tine roto-tiller, a sub compact Kubota with a loader bucket and backhoe and a 48" yard roller to use as construction tools. I expect that with what I have on hand, I can build this for decently low input costs.

Count your blessings they're immense!

#3 Rule of thumb it's a good idea to get shewhomustbeobeyed something whenever you get something that seems to work pretty good.

So maybe consider ornamental flowering trees or something might be appreciated.

#4 looking at the pic



Looks damn good not sure what all needs to be drawn but that's looks like great work.

Curious how much pitch/slope/tilt you're going for? I'm not sure but I'm thinking 3º might be close to some sort of industry standard. That'd be worth looking into. Clearly people who do this for a living know these things so maybe doing a consult could answer some of these types of questions?

#5



Looks like that may be way to close to the driveway and possible fence line and most especially the trees.

Trees and turf are not best friends. Give em' some room.

Plus you'd really like to be able to practice chips pitches from different angles, if you catch a wedge clean you need to build some margin for error in. 5-10 yards is probably pushing it. I don't know how much room you need on the fence side but I know you need some. 

Beyond that when and if your babies start to play they'll need it too.

That location needs more breathing room and I understand that will impact the longest shots you can play in.

Think about it like this... how much time do you want to spend dealing with leaves so you get the pleasure of mowing your lawn 5-6 days a week?

Should you do it or not? That's a personal choice and your situation is so ideal you've got to do something!

If someone else were maintaining it I'd do bent grass and very critical but if it were me. I'd try to get some kind of astro turf. I just don't think I'd do grass though... reason being that it's going to need attention nearly everyday.

As far as dragging a hitting mat or platform to where you want it? Maybe consider a cut up a range mat and move that from place to play like they do some places in Scotland.

Can't wait to hear how this turned out and what you learned!

[DShepley]

On 8/8/2021 at 4:36 PM, JAMH03 said:

This is great! I'm aware that the OP is s from 2020 I'm just going to say what I think then read the rest of posts to see what's happened. 

#1 Exciting!!!

#2 You said.

So....today was raining and I had art class with my daughters; while they coloured away, I got busy designing my first crack at the putting green. Apart from the mower I just brought home, I also have a 9hp rear tine roto-tiller, a sub compact Kubota with a loader bucket and backhoe and a 48" yard roller to use as construction tools. I expect that with what I have on hand, I can build this for decently low input costs.

Count your blessings they're immense!

#3 Rule of thumb it's a good idea to get shewhomustbeobeyed something whenever you get something that seems to work pretty good.

So maybe consider ornamental flowering trees or something might be appreciated.

#4 looking at the pic



Looks damn good not sure what all needs to be drawn but that's looks like great work.

Curious how much pitch/slope/tilt you're going for? I'm not sure but I'm thinking 3º might be close to some sort of industry standard. That'd be worth looking into. Clearly people who do this for a living know these things so maybe doing a consult could answer some of these types of questions?

#5



Looks like that may be way to close to the driveway and possible fence line and most especially the trees.

Trees and turf are not best friends. Give em' some room.

Plus you'd really like to be able to practice chips pitches from different angles, if you catch a wedge clean you need to build some margin for error in. 5-10 yards is probably pushing it. I don't know how much room you need on the fence side but I know you need some. 

Beyond that when and if your babies start to play they'll need it too.

That location needs more breathing room and I understand that will impact the longest shots you can play in.

Think about it like this... how much time do you want to spend dealing with leaves so you get the pleasure of mowing your lawn 5-6 days a week?

Should you do it or not? That's a personal choice and your situation is so ideal you've got to do something!

If someone else were maintaining it I'd do bent grass and very critical but if it were me. I'd try to get some kind of astro turf. I just don't think I'd do grass though... reason being that it's going to need attention nearly everyday.

As far as dragging a hitting mat or platform to where you want it? Maybe consider a cut up a range mat and move that from place to play like they do some places in Scotland.

Can't wait to hear how this turned out and what you learned!

Did you give up on reading the posts?

[JAMH03]

On 8/10/2021 at 10:05 AM, DShepley said:

Did you give up on reading the posts?

No not at all had pages and pages and pages to go thru to catch up. 

DShepley I've been trying to find the right words as to why this thread is so meaningful and important. But suffice it to say you've contributed to dream golf done and I'm both really proud and thankful of your efforts. 

[DShepley]

Big lawn cutting day yesterday. It never gets old.

IMG_20210814_203935_018.webp

[DLiver]

Man that looks fantastic!

[DShepley]

I haven't posted many updates here for a while.  This past weekend, I back-lapped my reel and touched up the face on my bed knife.  My mower had been cutting poorly because of the amount of topdressing I had been doing and the bed knife edge had dulled.  It's cutting much better now though the grass is spongey in spots which leads to some bumpy patches and a bit of scalping where the mower pushes deeper into the grass.  I'll have to catch up with my superintendent friend to figure out how to deal with that though ideally I would have a verticutter to thin things out from time to time....(something for the wish list I suppose).  Rain has been generous and at the right times and I haven't turned a hose on the green since early June!  Disease pressure has also been very minimal...all in all, a pretty easy year to grow grass and I can't seem to keep up with the rest of the lawn which still needs to be cut twice per week, (I don't, and that is crazy for this time of year when it is usually burned off)!  Next week the girls go back to school and I can resume my routine of pitching and putting around while I wait for the school bus.  Fall golf, it's my absolute favourite!  Beyond that, I should get prepared for a core aeration at the end of fall and a generous application of sand.  Here is a photo from this afternoon after I double cut and went out for some practice, (the humidity and heat wave finally broke today as the past two weeks have been an absolute crock pot!)

 

[TexasTurf]

8 hours ago, DShepley said:

I haven't posted many updates here for a while.  This past weekend, I back-lapped my reel and touched up the face on my bed knife.  My mower had been cutting poorly because of the amount of topdressing I had been doing and the bed knife edge had dulled.  It's cutting much better now though the grass is spongey in spots which leads to some bumpy patches and a bit of scalping where the mower pushes deeper into the grass.  I'll have to catch up with my superintendent friend to figure out how to deal with that though ideally I would have a verticutter to thin things out from time to time....(something for the wish list I suppose).  Rain has been generous and at the right times and I haven't turned a hose on the green since early June!  Disease pressure has also been very minimal...all in all, a pretty easy year to grow grass and I can't seem to keep up with the rest of the lawn which still needs to be cut twice per week, (I don't, and that is crazy for this time of year when it is usually burned off)!  Next week the girls go back to school and I can resume my routine of pitching and putting around while I wait for the school bus.  Fall golf, it's my absolute favourite!  Beyond that, I should get prepared for a core aeration at the end of fall and a generous application of sand.  Here is a photo from this afternoon after I double cut and went out for some practice, (the humidity and heat wave finally broke today as the past two weeks have been an absolute crock pot!)

 

 

The only way to smooth out the bumpy spots is to keep scalping it down and topdressing. It will take a few years. Think of the scalping as progress, there is no way to avoid it.

[DShepley]

5 hours ago, TexasTurf said:

 

The only way to smooth out the bumpy spots is to keep scalping it down and topdressing. It will take a few years. Think of the scalping as progress, there is no way to avoid it.

Yes. The maddening part is that it wasn't scalping in those spots until a month ago.

[DShepley]

Anyone know what kind of animal leaves tracks like this?

 

[sprcoop]

My first guess is snake and second would be alien.

[berndgeurts]

Bunny? The Goat? A Tiger?

Edited September 16, 2021 by berndgeurts

[DShepley]

14 minutes ago, sprcoop said:

My first guess is snake and second would be alien.

My first thought was a snake as well but the overnight temp was pretty cold. I wouldn't think they would be out in that.

[vmann]

2 hours ago, DShepley said:

My first thought was a snake as well but the overnight temp was pretty cold. I wouldn't think they would be out in that.

A human walking heel to toe.

[DShepley]

36 minutes ago, vmann said:

A human walking heel to toe.

The circle pattern was only about 3" in diameter and a footprint would have left a solid mark.

 

[DShepley]

Beauty day for amateur greenskeeping! New stripes on the approach and collar, fresh hole locations and I lowered the cut height back down to 0.125".  I was having some set up issues with my mower and had raised the cut height through August as we had a few weeks of very hot and humid weather.

[Nels55]

8 hours ago, DShepley said:

My first thought was a snake as well but the overnight temp was pretty cold. I wouldn't think they would be out in that.

Snakes leave an S pattern, this looks like it would have to be two snakes doing a synchronized routine across the green... 

[dugue4]

Any new updates?

[DLiver]

Turtle

[DShepley]

On 10/1/2021 at 8:02 PM, dugue4 said:

Any new updates?

Just some pretty nice fall days.  Today I sprayed urea before the rain to give things a boost of nitrogen and managed to cut the approach between raindrops.  Also...we installed a new perimeter fence around the vegetable garden and our small orchard, (in the background).  I also gave things a pretty healthy top Friday night in anticipation of the rain today.  It's this time of year that I get the most use out of the green while I wait for my daughters to get off of the school bus.  

I need to take some time to edge my bunker...it's looking a bit ratty lately.

[dwing]

Great job, looks beautiful!   What did you use for fungicide program thru the summer?  I have small 900sq' green I seeded late (Sept 10) due to weather setbacks (several major downpours during prep) , but, it actually has taken off quite well and filling in nicely. I'm looking for advice for what I should apply as we approach winter. I'm located in central NY.  

[DShepley]

On 10/4/2021 at 10:50 AM, dwing said:

Great job, looks beautiful!   What did you use for fungicide program thru the summer?  I have small 900sq' green I seeded late (Sept 10) due to weather setbacks (several major downpours during prep) , but, it actually has taken off quite well and filling in nicely. I'm looking for advice for what I should apply as we approach winter. I'm located in central NY.  

You could do a quick Google search, or try www.thelawnforum.com for some advice.  I'm pretty limited in Canada to what I can use and you will have way more options.

[DShepley]

Unrelated to my golf green,...I managed to sneak up north to Muskoka for a quick fall golf trip with three buddies.  Muskoka has some outstanding golf and the colours were incredible!

 

Round 1 - North Granite Ridge (Port Sydney)  I have a love / hate relationship with this course...it's really pretty but also very narrow (we played forward a deck and it was much more enjoyable)

 

Round 2 and the star of the trip ... The Muskoka Bay Club (Gravenhurst) -- Golf Digest has this rated as #10 in Canada and it is incredible!

 

Round 3 - Deerhurst Highlands (Huntsville) - A very fun course with a great selection of Par 3s.  Some quirky greens where Thomas McBroom took undulations a bit too far though...

 

[berndgeurts]

Wow, Just wow

[DShepley]

Okay.  Now for a green update.  For the past 3 - 4 weeks I have been really worried about my green.  It wasn't growing well and was developing lots of small brown patches and areas of thin grass.  I wasn't sure if I was dealing with a disease problem, pest problem or something else.  We have had lots of rain, so I didn't think it was drought related.  I decided a good course of action would be to feed a decent amount of nitrogen, so started a weekly spray of Urea at a rate of 1/4lb actual N per 1000sq ft three weeks ago.  I mowed the green early Monday morning before I went to Muskoka and let it grow out until this afternoon when I double cut it waiting for the kids to get off of the school bus.  I'm quite happy to say that the blitz is paying off but this cooler weather certainly helps as well.

[2bGood]

I love following this thread. I have to admit I just focus on on the pictures and I can't believe how much your green complex has grown. This shot blew me away - nice work! 

 

[DShepley]

2 minutes ago, 2bGood said:

I love following this thread. I have to admit I just focus on on the pictures and I can't believe how much your green complex has grown. This shot blew me away - nice work! 

 

HA!  Well.....I work on a slightly different budget than the Muskoka Bay Club so......

[2bGood]

1 minute ago, DShepley said:

HA!  Well.....I work on a slightly different budget than the Muskoka Bay Club so......

Joking aside, your green looks amazing. It has been so cool to watch this thread from the start.