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

[Chip Duffer]

As they say... 

 

Life is good, drink it up!

[DShepley]

Tonight I lowered the height of cut of the green to a hair under 0.25" and I raised the height of cut of the collar and approach to 0.875" after the scalp at 0.75" last week.  The cutworm damage is healing, (slower than I would like), and some of the seed I spread over the past couple weeks is trying it's best to germinate.  The weather for the past week has been cool, overcast and damp and if it cooperates on the weekend, the green and approach will both get another round of topdressing.  I'll be looking to lower the height of cut again next week to get closer to putting height.  The cut height now works pretty well for chipping and pitching, but I am hesitant to hit any longer shots in since the grass is new and doesn't have a very thick thatch layer yet.

[DShepley]

Today it occurred to me, (not sure why it took so long), that the bare spots from the cutworm damage could possibly be repaired like ball marks to help speed the process of filling in.  I fixed a bunch and it looks better but it will take a month of Sundays to complete.  Here is a before and after picture of one area as well as a video to show how I went about things.  The seat cushion was to rest my knees on so I didn't wear holes in the grass.

 

Before

 

After repair

The process

 

[DShepley]

The benefit of working from home is a quick nip out for some practice after a lunch time mow.  Cut height is now around 7/32" and I am able to putt though it is still slow because I'm not at final height.  Topdressing yesterday helped and I have decided just to continue lowering the height and to let the cutworm damage grow in slowly over time.  Probably an overseed in the spring.  Bad news is that there is a frost warning tonight...

[dannykos]

Been loving watching this thread - amazing work. Just had a thought about the size of the hole/cup you're using.

 

Have you given any thought to using a smaller than standard hole size? I remember playing at Prince's (here in the UK) - and on their practice green they had one hole that was barely wider than a ball, to help hone those 3-4 footers.

Edited September 18, 2020 by dannykos

[DShepley]

2 hours ago, dannykos said:

Been loving watching this thread - amazing work. Just had a thought about the size of the hole/cup you're using.

 

Have you given any thought to using a smaller than standard hole size? I remember playing at Prince's (here in the UK) - and on their practice green they had one hole that was barely wider than a ball, to help hone those 3-4 footers.

I have 3 standard size cups that are the 4" practice green depth.  I thought about a small hole, but you can do the same thing by placing tees in the ground.

[DShepley]

Beauty night here tonight and not many of them left for this season.  We have had a couple early frost events, (check out the corn in the background, and the dead crabgrass to the left of the green), and the sweetcorn across the road was shipped to the canner earlier this week, as evident by the husks littering the ditch.  Fall is awesome!  Today was lawn day and everything is cut and equipment put away.  I like to admire my work afterwards while I enjoy a pint and have introduced myself to several good local craft beers in the process.  Some lessons learned in this adventure are that I need to have a plan for dew worms, (either through cultural practice or last resort by spraying), and a more robust insecticide plan for next year in case I have cutworm again.  All things considered, I think I have done well for only having seed in the ground for 4 months and knowing zero about turf grass.  The plan for the spring, because I think I am too late for this year in Ontario, is to over-seed the spots where the grass isn't growing or is damaged from cutworm, and run the height back up to about 3/8" while the seed germinates and grows in.  In the meantime, I am running at about 7/32" which is just barely puttable, though chipping is fun and I think that is the threshold for this season.  Thanks for following along in my madness!

[stryper]

Awesome job, it’s been a lotta fun following your progress...can’t wait to see what next spring brings for you!!!

[cardoustie]

Thx for sharing Shep

[naval2006]

2 hours ago, DShepley said:

Beauty night here tonight and not many of them left for this season.  We have had a couple early frost events, (check out the corn in the background, and the dead crabgrass to the left of the green), and the sweetcorn across the road was shipped to the canner earlier this week, as evident by the husks littering the ditch.  Fall is awesome!  Today was lawn day and everything is cut and equipment put away.  I like to admire my work afterwards while I enjoy a pint and have introduced myself to several good local craft beers in the process.  Some lessons learned in this adventure are that I need to have a plan for dew worms, (either through cultural practice or last resort by spraying), and a more robust insecticide plan for next year in case I have cutworm again.  All things considered, I think I have done well for only having seed in the ground for 4 months and knowing zero about turf grass.  The plan for the spring, because I think I am too late for this year in Ontario, is to over-seed the spots where the grass isn't growing or is damaged from cutworm, and run the height back up to about 3/8" while the seed germinates and grows in.  In the meantime, I am running at about 7/32" which is just barely puttable, though chipping is fun and I think that is the threshold for this season.  Thanks for following along in my madness!

Farming and golf. Can’t ask for more. I love your thread, mate. 

[DShepley]

3 minutes ago, naval2006 said:

Farming and golf. Can’t ask for more. I love your thread, mate. 

I don't farm....unless you count the chickens and tomatoes...I just live in the middle of it and wouldn't trade it for anything!

 

[DShepley]

So...I finally managed to discourage the dew worms from leaving castings on the green and today I went out and spread some seed in the bare spots.  Hopefully it will germinate in the coming days in the absence of casting mounds that squish down and smother the seed.  I love the fall, here are a couple photos I took today and one that shows the bare spots from the cutworm and casting damage.

 

[DShepley]

We had a bit of rain this evening so after chipping around for about forty minutes, I decided to hit a few bunker shots from the wet sand.  My green doesn't seem like such a crazy idea anymore.

[Jota_Jota]

I've spent my whole morning right through lunch reading this thread. What a great project--well done!--and it was fascinating to be able to follow along 

[DShepley]

2 hours ago, Jota_Jota said:

I've spent my whole morning right through lunch reading this thread. What a great project--well done!--and it was fascinating to be able to follow along 

Thanks,  I've learned a lot in the process and I'm finally able to use the green a bit.

[Canada8888]

Amazing.  Thank you for posting. What a great story.

[DShepley]

22 hours ago, Canada8888 said:

Amazing.  Thank you for posting. What a great story.

It's been fun.  I dropped the cut height again yesterday and after I cut the green and approach I went out for some chipping practice.  Eventually I will get around to topdressing the approach so I can start to level it out and cut it shorter than the current 0.875".  The green at the moment is at about 0.187" though I do have some bare spots from the cutworms, (looks like a littering of ball marks), that need to grow in, so if they don't grow in suitably, I will raise the cut height in the spring and seed them.  There is seed there now but we got a lot of rain and I can't tell if it washed out, I'll know in a couple days if I see some germination.

 

I'm only now able to use the green, and once it is ready for a decent putting speed I will use it quite a bit more.  It seems a bit crazy though the amount of time I spend maintaining something that doesn't get a whole lot of use, (yet).  I do however enjoy my time out there and catch myself looking at it all the time.

  

[kb7]

I am dreading winter as I am sure you are too @DShepley, as I doubt I'll get too see many updates on the green. I wish I was half as ambitious as you with this kind of project. Can't imagine the wealth of knowledge you've accumulated through the process as I am a smarter person after keeping up with the progress. 

[DShepley]

15 minutes ago, kb7 said:

I am dreading winter as I am sure you are too @DShepley, as I doubt I'll get too see many updates on the green. I wish I was half as ambitious as you with this kind of project. Can't imagine the wealth of knowledge you've accumulated through the process as I am a smarter person after keeping up with the progress. 

It'll be a long 6 months!  I have learned a lot and have a much greater respect for the pros who do this for a living.  Every time I see my course super, I tell him "Man...this amateur greenskeeping is hard!"  I expect I'll learn more through winter and into spring.  Fungicide, pesticide and fertilizer plans are key and I'm getting dialed in there.  The next thing I have to teach myself is some mower maintenance.  I'll need to backlap my reels and winterize the mowers.

[DShepley]

Another great fall day and after double cutting the green got a chance to practice some putting and chipping while waiting for my daughters to get off of the school bus.  I also changed hole locations today.  Still not down to final height, but the rough spots are growing in well and it won't be long getting up to speed in the spring.

 

Also a video and since I'm between putters at the moment, this one is with the old two ball.  (The Rife will be back in the bag as I discovered tonight that my issue isn't alignment but rather active hands starting the putter back rather than shoulders).  The course I am a member at doesn't have a great practice green and I love to practice chipping and putting so....when faced with this scenario, crazy people build their own practice area!

 

 

 

Edited October 16, 2020 by DShepley

[Chip Duffer]

DShepley, your green and approach is better than many courses. The course I've been playing lately has several greens that are not nearly as nice and don't roll as well as yours. 

 

Well done!! It is very nice now, but that is going to be awesome next year!!!

 

[DShepley]

Another nice fall day today!  I had a friend drop by and we made up a 9 hole pitch and putt course dragging the fiberbuilt pad around the yard to various spots.  The longest was 75 yards and the shortest being a from the greenside bunker.  Here are some videos to show the green in use.

 

The 30 yard driveway pitch

 

My friend Stew from the same spot.

 

The 45 yard 'Road Hole'...easily the day's favourite!!

 

Things to note....I need to ditch the 'roll it inside' takeaway....and, I need to be better than 3 for 9 in up and downs from 75 yards and in.  The good news is that I build my own short game facility so........

Edited October 17, 2020 by DShepley

[Chip Duffer]

THAT is what all the care and effort is about!!

 

So glad you shared the vids of you sharing your masterpiece and playing it the way it was intended! I think that is what all of us who follow this thread were hoping for you. So happy for you to see it at this level of accomplishment and returning the investment of time and effort in the pleasure of playing it.

[DShepley]

Today I read through this thread from the beginning as a look back on my spring / summer.  A couple things stood out....First, I thought that the Covid Social Distancing would only be a month or so.....well...today marks month 7 of working from home with no immediate end in view! (remember way back when we were just going to have everyone stay home for 2 weeks and be done with it.....?).  Second, I was incredibly optimistic in my view about how this was going to go and this is good because it led to the success, but man....this was a lot to pull off and looking at timeline in the spring, I sure got a lot of work finished in a short period of time.  Third...I'm not crazy, (OK, maybe a little bit), but I have learned a tremendous amount about grass, how hard it is to maintain at under 1/4" and how almost every insect, worm, drop of dew, is a battle to be fought.....Massive respect for all the pros out there who give us amazing conditions to play on!  Below are two pictures, the first after a mock up where I cut the existing grass down in the shape of the green before construction and the second the view on this wonderful fall day.  Some of my best work really and it makes me very proud of myself.

 

April 30th

 

Oct 20th

 

[mikpga]

Love the passion...

 

Find a local superintendent who can guide you through...

 

A lot to consider...

[DShepley]

November 7th and 20 degrees C in my part of the world.  Looks like a couple more days to enjoy this beauty.  Perhaps a top dressing tomorrow as well.

[DShepley]

Happy Master's Week!  Last year there was 4" of snow in my yard.  This year, I cut my entire lawn, putting green and approach and spent an hour chipping and putting in short sleeves while waiting for my daughters to get off of the school bus.  If you had told me any of those things in January I would have admitted you to the loony bin!  What a crazy year.  If there is anything my sanity needed, it is The Masters in November!  Cheers!

[dcrocketman]

What is your plan for snow mold treatment ?

[DShepley]

Well......it's not like I didn't know it was coming.  Sad day indeed.  The temp is supposed to climb up to 13C by Friday and then stay between 4-6C as daytime highs until Dec 1st.  Today however, we have a snow squall warning with 4-8 inches of lake effect snow possible over the next day.

 

[Chip Duffer]

Mr. DShepley, that is both sad and Glorious at the same time.

 

This season has been better because you shared your journey from the seed of wonder that became inspired such that it grew into a successful first season as course architect, engineer and greens keeper. 

 

I thank you Sir for sharing your passion with us and from afar offer a toast your achievement.    Well done!

Edited November 18, 2020 by Twin2L