GREENS

POND WEEDS AND 5 FAIRWAY

Long before the construction of the new pond at 4 began in 2004, I remember having a conversation with the architect about the depth of the proposed pond to make sure it would be deep it enough that weeds would not be a problem. We also discussed the slopes of the sides being steep enough that weed growth along the edges would be minimal. Very simply if the pond is deep enough, and the sides are steep, aquatic weeds will not establish other than around the shallow edges. Sure enough Thomas McBroom design did address these concerns.

However, once the equipment was on site and excavation began we quickly found two huge problems. The first being the soil in the area which was very high in sand and stone. This type of material is not stable enough to incorporate steep pond banks. The second problem was the high water table. Once we were about 2 feet deep we hit ground water, which had not been expected. So we faced two possible outcomes 1) do nothing and deal with the issues of weeds when it becomes a problem, or 2) approve a change order and go over budget on getting de-watering equipment, bringing in heavy soil to line the sides and possibly using a artificial liner. As you can imagine this second option was prohibitive. In the first few seasons plants were growing but were young and not well established. But like a toddler, you know it's only a matter of time before they grow up and become a teenager who takes up an entire couch! We have been manually removing Bull rushes from both ponds and we are currently investigating what options we might be able to implement to remove the weeds through the center of 4 pond. One last thing, a fountain will not control the weed problem.

4 Pond before construction Notice the excessive water in the base during to excavation

At the 150 yard post in the 5th fairway we have an area about six foot square which is painted as ground under repair. We cut the sod out of this area earlier in the season and seeded it to a new dwarf blue grass cultivar. Even though we have bent grass throughout most of our fairways we are beginning to investigate turf types that may replace bent grass in the future. Although bent is ideally suited for the fairways, there is a cost to keeping it healthy as it is susceptible to diseases such as dollar spot. With the new laws in place we need to show a reduction in pest control product uses year after year. And it is possible that in the future some or all of these products will be eliminated. Testing these new turf types now will give us experience in managing them, and allow members to hit off this turf before we ever make a possible change in the turf types we maintain on the golf course. This area will take about 4 or 5 weeks to fill in.