Cultural
Rainfall impact on sodium leaching at Denver Country Club
In the July 13, 2011 Super Journal report, "Rainfall impact on sodium leaching at Denver Country Club" (1.3 MB pdf document), we show the dramatic and positive impact that spring rainfall can have on reducing soil sodium and salinity.
In short, we saw that a 2.5 inch rainfall, which occurred over a 36 hour period during the spring of 2011, resulted in a 41% reduction in sodium, and a 19% reduction in overall soil salts.
In addition to causing general stress to turf and potential issues with soil physical properties, high sodium and high salts are also associated with rapid blight, a disease caused by Labyrinthula terrestris. In years when winter and spring rainfall is low, it may therefore be necessary to leach greens with good quality domestic water in order to avoid reaching the maximum levels of 110 ppm sodium that can result in rapid blight infestation.
Project title: Rainfall impact on sodium leaching at Denver Country Club
Principal investigator: Doug Brooks, Denver Country Club and Larry Stowell, Ph.D., CPAg, PACE Turf LLC
Further reading:
- PACE Turf Super Journal Report, "Rainfall impact on sodium leaching at Denver Country Club" (1.3 MB pdf document) posted 7/13/11
- Spreadsheet for calculating sodium hazard of irrigation water (18 KB Excel spreadsheet)
- Video: sodium accumulation
- PACE Super Journal report: Evaluating the sodium hazard in your irrigation water
Video: Kikuyugrass aeration and topdressing
In this video, we illustrate the aeration and topdressing process that was developed by Brian Archbold, El Niguel Country Club, for management of kikuyugrass fairways. Brian has been using this process consistently for 5 years with good results. He switches to solid tines for aeration if he feels that the process will result in too many complaints from unhappy golfers. Brian aerates fairways in May, August and September. The process involves the following steps:
- Heavy irrigation several days prior to aeration to insure that the soil is receptive to aeration
- Core aeration using 1.25 inch diameter tines to a depty of 6 - 8 inches
- Application of 12 tons of sand per acre
- Flail vertical mow to break up cores and incorporate sand
- Drag to further break up cores and incorporate sand
- Mow to complete the process
Superintendent collaboration in action: The kikuyugrass excellence summit
PACE Turf member Kevin Hutchins at Mission Viejo Country Club in Mission Viejo, California sponsored the first Kikuyugrass Excellence Summit in February, 2010, with a mission to improve kikuyugrass performance by enhancing communication among kikuyugrass superintendents and sharing their expert knowledge of kikuyugrass management. More than 25 golf course superintendents who currently manage kikuyugrass met to discuss all aspects of kikuyugrass management as a fine turf type for golf courses. The group has agreed to have periodic meetings in the future to further share ideas and test results.
Three documents were prepared for the Summit:
- Kikuyugrass Summit Mission Statement (44 KB pdf)
- Kikuyugrass Management Survey Results (156 KB pdf)
- Kikuyugrass Summit 2010 February 1, 2010 - Summary by Pat Gross USGA (131 KB pdf)
- Kikuyugrass Primer by James Baird, UC Riverside (78 KB pdf)
- Invasive species database listing for kikuyugrass
PACE Turf has setup a Kikuyugrass Working Group Forum that can be read by the public, but with posting in the forum restricted to PACE Turf members. Information updates will be posted in the forum and research results will be posted in Super Journal and other scientific and trade publications.
List of Attendees
| Name | JobTitle | Company |
| Bill Houlihan | Superintendent | Black Gold Golf Club |
| Brian Archbold | Superintendent | El Niguel Country Club |
| David Michael | Superintendent | Friendly Hills Country Club |
| Juan Maldonado | Superintendent | Glendora Country Club |
| Dennis Fowler | Superintendent | La Jolla Country Club |
| Sean Cincotta | Superintendent | Laguna Woods Golf Course |
| Matt Deuel | Superintendent | Las Posas Country Club |
| Arnie Peredia | Superintendent | Los Coyotes Country Club |
| Jose Prieto | Superintendent | Los Serranos Country Club |
| Bruce Duenow | Superintendent | Los Verdes Country Club |
| Robert Gluck | Superintendent | Mesa Verde Country Club |
| Kevin Hutchins | Superintendent | Mission Viejo Country Club |
| Ron Benedict | Superintendent | Newport Beach Country Club |
| Larry Stowell | Scientist | Pace Turf |
| Wendy Gelernter | Scientist | Pace Turf |
| Pat Gradoville | Superintendent | Palos Verdes Golf Club |
| Jim Pitman | Superintendent | Rolling Hills Country Club |
| Gus Nelson | Superintendent | San Clemente Golf Course |
| Rich Liddle | Superintendent | San Gabriel Country Club |
| David Zahrte | Superintendent | Santa Ana Country Club |
| Kurt Desiderio | Superintendent | Saticoy Country Club |
| Mike Wolpoff | Superintendent | Sea Cliff Country Club |
| Ken Graves | Superintendent | South Hills Country Club |
| Candice Combs | Superintendent | Torrey Pines Golf Course |
| Jim Baird | Extension Specialist | UC Riverside |
| Pat Gross | Director | USGA |
| Tim Wren | Superintendent | Yorba Linda Country Club |
