Traffic Management

 

We continue to see more and more rounds played as golf is now the most popular pastime.  I've never seen so many people on the golf course, especially now during the "off season".  As a consequence we are seeing some problems with wear and tear in high traffic areas.  For example, on #9 green we have some thinning of the turf in the front left corner where everyone is entering and exiting.  

To try and alleviate the stress on this area we put up a short set of ropes to try and encourage folks to take a slightly less direct route.  Unfortunately many people do not understand what these ropes are for since I've observed many players stepping over them, essentially defeating the purpose entirely.  Please do not step over the ropes.  Please help us by taking a few extra steps to walk around these ropes and give that turf a little break from all the foot traffic.  These ropes will not stay there forever.  Once we see the turf recover a little, we will remove them.  More than likely we will be placing them in a new area where we are seeing a traffic problem. Once spring arrives and the grass starts growing we will no longer need them.  

  

TMP (Tree Management Plan) - New Update

We recently marked the trees which are scheduled to be removed this coming "off season", and there has been a few questions regarding this tree next to the 7th tee.  It's true that this tree wasn't slated for removal in the last version of the TMP, but it is scheduled to be removed in our latest version of the plan which was updated in August 2018.  If you would like to review the most updated version of the TMP, please click HERE.  One thing you'll notice about the updated version is that it is visually very different from the old version.  Now, the hole-by-hole pages are in color and are overlays of an actual aerial picture.  It is much easier to visualize in this format.  

So why are we removing the tree on 7 tee?  It's pretty simple, the tree shades 2 different putting greens (6&16), 2 different sets of teeing grounds (7&17), and a primary traffic area.  It always looks messy in this area since the tree is constantly shedding debris, and the grass around the tree is always in terrible condition since you really can't grow anything under a fir tree, especially in a high traffic area.  We have been very successful in the past  removing cart paths and the intent is to remove the path here on 7 tee.  For us to successfully manage turf in a high traffic area without a cart path, we need good growing conditions and space for traffic to spread out.  This tree is really just a juvenile since it's only about 150 years old.  It will eventually be twice as big, and the problems that come with it will be doubled.  

I took these pictures just the other day and I think they clearly show just how unsatisfactory this area of the golf course looks given the poor turf quality and the old, broken, worn out cart path.   I'm excited to get this area in a condition that is consistent with our standards.

Golf on Sand

 THE "FINE" TURF AT TACOMA IS REALLY A BEAUTIFUL SWARD OF PERENNIAL POA ANNUA.   WHAT IS THE "FINE" TURF?  THE FINE TURF IS EVERYTHING BUT THE ROUGH TURF OR "ROUGHS".  SO I'M TALKING ABOUT GREENS, TEES, APPROACHES, COLLARS, AND FAIRWAYS.  AS YOU CAN SEE BY THE PICTURE BELOW WHICH SHOWS THE 12TH GREEN AND THE 16TH TEEING GROUNDS, IT'S HARD TO DEFINE WHERE THE FAIRWAYS OR TEES START AND STOP SINCE IT'S ALL MOWED TOGETHER AT ONE MOWING HEIGHT WITH THE SAME MACHINE.  

FOR THIS REASON, WE NO LONGER HAVE MAINTENANCE STANDARDS THAT ARE DIFFERENT FOR FAIRWAYS, TEES, APPROACHES, ETC.  WE SIMPLY TREAT ALL FINE TURF THE SAME AND WE HAVE A LOT OF FINE TURF.  40 ACRES IN FACT. SO THIS TIME OF YEAR WE ARE TOPDRESSING A LOT.  TOPDRESSING 40 ACRES IS A SERIOUS UNDERTAKING.

HERE'S HOW THE 18TH HOLE LOOKED YESTERDAY AS WE BEGAN TOPDRESSING FAIRWAYS WHICH WE  DO EACH SPRING AND FALL.  OVER THE NEXT WEEK WE WILL BROADCAST OVER 800 TONS OF SAND OVER THE FINE TURF.  AS WE DO THAT WE WILL ALSO BE AERATING THE SWARD WITH A 5/8" SOLID TINE.   YES I KNOW GOLFERS HATE THIS PROCESS BUT THIS TOPDRESSING THING IS SO IMPORTANT TO GOOD GOLF SINCE GOLF REALLY IS MEANT TO BE PLAYED UPON SAND.  TACOMA WAS BUILT ON A PRAIRIE WITH GRAVELLY SOIL SO THE DRAINAGE IS EXCELLENT BUT THE TOPSOIL IS NOT SANDY.  IN FACT THE HISTORY BOOKS SAY THAT THE MEMBERS TOPSOILED THE FAIRWAYS IN 1923 AT THE COST OF $75,000 (MORE THAN A MILLION DOLLARS IN TODAY'S DOLLAR).  WHATEVER IT WAS THEY USED AS TOPSOIL, IT WAS NOT SAND AND IT WAS VERY HEAVY AND RICH.  THIS TOPSOILING PROJECT WHICH TOOK PLACE OVER 80 YEARS AGO RESULTED IN A PLAYING SURFACE THAT WAS FREE OF ROCKS AND COULD SUPPORT TURFGRASS.  BUT, SINCE IT WAS NOT SANDY, OVER TIME THE PLAYING FIELD BECAME THATCHY AND DIDN'T REALLY HAVE THE FIRMNESS THAT A GOLFER DESIRES.  I STARTED HERE AS SUPERINTENDENT IN 1999 WHICH WAS ABOUT THE SAME TIME THAT FAIRWAY TOPDRESSING BECAME FEASIBLE AND WE STARTED A FAIRWAY TOPDRESSING PROGRAM. 

THAT WAS 15 YEARS AGO AND LOOK WHAT WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED.  IN THE PICTURE ABOVE YOU SEE A SOIL PROFILE TAKEN FROM THE MIDDLE OF 5 FAIRWAY.  SINCE 1999 WE HAVE ACCUMULATED APPROXIMATELY 3" OF SAND OVER ALL THE FINE TURF AREAS.  I FIND THIS AMAZING.  WHEN WE STARTED THIS FAIRWAY TOPDRESSING THING, WE KNEW IT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL BUT I'M NOT SURE ANYONE KNEW IT WOULD MAKE THE GOLF COURSE AS GOOD AS IT IS TODAY IN REGARD TO FIRMNESS AND PLAYABILITY.  MAKE NOTE THAT IN THE PICTURE ABOVE YOU SEE A SAND CHANNEL THAT IS ALMOST 6"DEEP.  THAT IS THE RESULT OF USING THE VERTIDRAIN OR DEEP TINE AERATOR.  ONLY RECENTLY HAVE WE HAD A VERTIDRAIN AND MAKING DEEP SAND CHANNELS LIKE YOU SEE HERE HAS REALLY IMPROVED THE DRAINAGE WHICH WAS ALREADY EXCELLENT.  THE COURSE ALWAYS HAD GOOD POSITIVE DRAINAGE BECAUSE OF THE GRAVELY SOIL BELOW THE TOPSOIL BUT THE RICH TOPSOIL MADE THE DRAINAGE SLOWER THAN DESIRED.  THE VERTIDRAIN HAS INCREASED THE SPEED OF DRAINAGE.  THIS IS A HUGE POSITIVE CONSIDERING WE HAVE NO CART PATHS.  WHEN WE DECIDED TO MOW THE FINE TURF FROM TEE TO GREEN AND THEN STARTED TOPDRESSING ALL OF IT, WE HAVE LITERALLY ELIMINATED ALL THE PROBLEMATIC WET AREAS DUE TO CART TRAFFIC COMPACTION. 

THIS PHOTO SHOWS A SOIL PROFILE TAKEN FROM 13 FAIRWAY.  HOLES 13-15 WERE RECENTLY CONSTRUCTED (1989) AND THEY WERE BUILT UPON LAND THAT WAS "SAND CAPPPED" MEANING THERE WAS A LAYER OF SAND PLACED OVER THE SOIL BEFORE SEEDING.  SO NOW WITH THE TOPDRESSING PROGAM IN PLACE, WE HAVE MORE THAN 6 INCHES OF SAND TO PLAY GOLF UPON IN THAT AREA OF THE PROPERTY.  THAT IS HIGHLY DESIRABLE.  

 YOU CAN SEE HERE I'VE TAKEN A SOIL PROFILE FROM AN AREA THAT WAS ROUGHS BEFORE WE STARTED MOWING FINE TURF TEE TO GREEN.  IT HAS ONLY BEEN TOPDRESSED MAYBE 4 TIMES.  CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENCE.

 YOU CAN SEE THAT THE SURFACE IS PRETTY THATCHY AND HAS JUST A LITTLE SAND IN IT.  YOU CAN ALSO SEE THAT MY SAMPLE HIT A RECENTLY PUNCHED AERIFICATION HOLE THAT IS FULL OF SAND.  BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, THESE AREAS WILL ALSO HAVE SEVERAL INCHES OF SAND BUILT UP AND THAT MEANS THAT TACOMA'S SURFACES WILL ACTUALLY GET BETTER BECAUSE THERE WILL BE MORE ACREAGE OF SANDY GROUND AND LIKE I SAID, GOLF WAS MEANT TO BE PLAYED ON SAND.

Be Cart Smart: 5 - 6 & 10 - 11

This is the first post in a series where we'll be looking at where you should be driving when you take a power cart at Tacoma.  Golf courses built during the "golden era" of golf architecture, like the course at Tacoma, were built without the consideration of power cart traffic or cart path construction since during that time period in the early 1920's,  no one thought about driving while playing golf, and golf carts had yet to be invented.  As a result, many of the designs from that period have an unmistakable charm, but they simply aren't very cart-friendly.  This often creates issues with turf quality where carts converge around greens and tees. 

 Tacoma C&GC is fortunate to have a course which was built upon free draining soil where the need for continuous cart paths has never been deemed necessary.  However, throughout the years, cart paths were built around greens and tees where cart traffic was concentrated.  Today we have come full circle and are trying to eliminate those cart paths.  In order for this to work, you need a method of dealing with the compaction that results from traffic, and good growing conditions so that some acceptable level of turf quality exists in the traffic areas.  We deal with the compaction by using aerification machines and punching holes in these areas several times a year.  In addition, we follow up the punching with sand topdressing.  Sand topdressing modifies the soil in these areas so that further compaction is minimized. Next we do a lot of overseeding in these areas to introduce new plants which increases density of the turf stand. Lastly, we improve growing conditions by thinning trees to increase sunlight and air flow.  All of this effort is working and to date, each area where we have removed a path, the turf quality has remained satisfactory. Now we have the problem that folks are unsure where to drive their carts.  Hence the need for this series of tutorials where I'll be teaching you how to "be cart smart".  Over the next few months, I will try and communicate the best places to drive your power cart in each situation that you might find at Tacoma.  

HOW TO "BE CART SMART"

First, there's a couple general rules that apply to almost every situation you'll find on the course.

First rule.......stay at least 30 yards from the greens.

Okay that guideline is pretty much a universal rule on all golf courses.  At Tacoma it is almost always possible to keep a good distance from the greens.  Next rule............

Don't be a trailblazer.  

Don't follow in the same tracks as everyone else.  Take a slightly different path whenever possible.  In one word......SCATTER.

This helps distribute the wear patterns over a larger area.

Next, and final general rule...............keep your eyes open.

Okay that seems obvious as driving with your eyes closed would be very dangerous, but what I really mean is look for anything and everything.  Be attentive to soft looking areas and stay clear of them.  Observe signage or ropes that are there with the intent to guide you.  I know, you've heard all this before, and right now you're probably about ready to stop reading this blog, but please don't. Now we're going to get down to specifics.  Now we're going to talk about individual areas on the course where you might not know where you're supposed to drive because it's not so obvious. 

 As discussed in the last post, once 9 tee is completely renovated, you should be taking your power cart to the left of the 9th tee in order to minimize traffic through the area  left of the 8th green which is the shortest route to the 9th tee, and the logical route that should be reserved  for those that are walking.  Keep in mind when I'm talking about being "cart smart", I'm talking only about those folks driving power carts.  So what about going from 5 green to 6 tee through this new area?

To put it simply, just take the shortest route since it will help distribute traffic over a larger area.  As you can see in the diagram above, you have several options.  The white colored path is how you might go if your headed to the restroom, the white tee, or the green tee on #6.  The blue colored path shows a direct route to the blue tees on #6.  If your playing the black tees you might take the direct route depicted by the black colored path.  Now obviously if someone is teeing off on #9 you should not cut in front of them but drive around so you would probably take a route similar to the white colored path.  Okay that's pretty logical but with the recent renovation of the tee on #11, it may not seem obvious where to drive your cart so check out the following images below.  The first image here shows how the new 10th green and 11th tee complex is configured.

The next image below shows where you should drive if you're playing the black tees.

Now the next image below has a blue colored path so yes this is the route you would take if playing the blue tees.

Logically the next image depicts the route for those playing the white tees. 

Lastly, here is the route you should take if you're playing the green tees.

Notice all the routes are slightly different which means wear and compaction is distributed over a larger area.  By the way, the red "P" is where you would park to play your ball on  the 10th green and  then where you'd park to tee off on the 11th.  

Okay that's enough for now.  I hope this has been helpful.  More "be cart smart" tutorials will be coming shortly.  Please don't hesitate to contact me with questions or concerns about this issue.

9 Tee Renovation

Above you see an aerial diagram of the complex at 5 and 8 green including the 9th tee.  It's one of those areas that wasn't completely finished during the renovation of the course last year.  This week we will begin the process of completing the work to this area per the Master Plan.

The pinkish reddish area in this diagram shows the area of the teeing ground  that will be lifted and regraded. The end result will be an area that is flatter throughout, providing more tee-able areas, and making the cross over from 5 green to 6 tee more gradual.  In addition, the cart path will be removed similar to what we've done on several of the other teeing grounds and green complexes.   We also will be changing the mowing patterns here to increase the amount of short turf. 

When finished, the area will look like the above diagram.  This area is challenging to manage since traffic from two holes converge and cross each-other.  Because of the concentrated traffic, I think this area will really benefit from being changed over to short fairway turf.  Ever since we began removing cart paths and aggressively managing traffic areas, we find that the areas that are roughs don't hold up as well as those areas that are short turf.  

With that being said, from this time forward we would like to see all POWER CARTS  follow the path depicted above when leaving the 8th green.  This will reduce the total amount of traffic converging between the 5th and 8th green and help that area stay healthy and thus more enjoyable to play from.  The roughs on the left of 9 tee will now see more traffic than ever before, but again we only want to see POWER CARTS take that route since it's an area that's not in play,so if it gets matted down, it will only be a cosmetic issue and not compromising playability.