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JBSA News
NEWS | July 27, 2007

Going green: Mother Nature holds the key for better greens at Randolph Oaks

By David DeKunder Wingspread staff writer

If Mother Nature cooperates, golfers will be playing on better quality greens at Randolph Oaks Golf Course by this fall. 

Throughout the summer, workers have been fixing up bare and weak areas on the course's greens to better serve their customers. 

Troy Gann, 12th Services Division director of golf, said workers have gone in and put tif dwarf Bermuda grass in the weak spots on the greens and are in the process of smoothing those spots over. 

"We are trying to get the greens 100 percent filled," he said. "The greens are not fully matured. We have already patched them over; however, once you have sodded the grass in, you have to allow the grass to grow and top dress it with sand." 

Top dressing is a process in which sand is placed on top of the green to improve the smoothness of the surface and cover the imperfections of the green. When the process is completed, it helps firm up the turf and increase the speed on the putting green. 

Top dressing begins after the completion of the aerification process. Aerification is when holes are punched in the greens so that unwanted organic matters - accumulated salts and excessive moisture - can be flushed away. Punching these holes permits the roots of living grasses to go down into the soil and provide the grass with the water, oxygen and nutrients needed for it's growth. 

Unfortunately, Randolph Oaks had to cancel a scheduled aerification and delay an over-seeding of its greens last fall, said Mr. Gann. This decision was made because the golf course had several tournaments already scheduled late last year and any over-seeding and aerification would have affected the condition of the course during those tournaments. 

While aerification and top dressing are beneficial to the long term maintenance of a course, it has some short-term negative impacts that affect the play of the greens, Mr. Gann said. Holes punched in the greens can slow down the speed of a putt and sand on the greens can affect the speed and direction of a shot. 

The delay in the aerification process and the heavy use during tournament play caused the greens to compact, which locked out the water and air needed for its growth, Mr. Gann said. This lack of air and water to the roots caused the bare and weak patches to appear on the greens, he added. 

Mr. Gann said the delay in the over-seeding process left the winter grasses spotty and the recent rains have affected the growth of the summer grass because it increased the survival of diseases, algae and funguses that are harmful to the grass's growth. 

For the summer grass to grow, it needs warmer temperatures and sunlight. While the temperatures have been right, the sunlight has been limited because of the rainy conditions, Mr. Gann said. 

"The sunlight speeds up the growth of the grass," Mr. Gann said. "Overcast conditions are not conducive for the growth of Bermuda grass." 

Depending on the weather and if the club can maintain its regular aerification schedule, Mr. Gann said the greens should be fully grown by the end of October. 

"We just need the cooperation of Mother Nature," he said. 

For the last three years, the golf club has worked on improving its greens. In 2004, the greens on the backside holes were redone and the frontside greens were completed in 2005. 

Besides the greens, the golf club has been busy with other projects aimed at improving the appearance, scenery and playing experience of the course. 

Workers recently completed drainage projects that eliminated the problem of standing water on parts of the course and installed a sod nursery, which will allow workers to have access to any sod if there are growth problems on the greens. 

Mr. Gann said the golf club will also continue to update its equipment to better maintain the course. The club recently purchased a new fairway mower and is in the process of getting a new sod roller, which will help in smoothing over the greens during the top dressing process. 

The course improvements are part of a 10-year master plan to make Randolph Oaks a first-rate golf course, Mr. Gann said. 

"We want our golf course to be a premiere course that can compete with other golf courses in the area," he said. "We want to have a nice venue for our military personnel to come and play at."