Chasing the Numbers - Green Speeds / Smoothness

Grounds Foreman Jake Hamilton taking a greens speed measurement
on #17 green. July 30, 2022

As I may have mentioned in my introductory bio, I love numbers and data points. It's all well and good to feel, "Yeah, greens were pretty good this year", but when I can back it up with the facts provided in the table below that screams, "YEAH, greens were great this year!"

The table below summarizes 204 measurements of greens speed and smoothness taken in the 152 days between March 1 - July 31. We measure one to two greens everyday (other than downpour days) and record these measurements. 

Our target speed is between 10' - 10' 6" and a minimum smoothness of 8. This seems to be an adequate speed for our greens and our clientele. Any slower and putts do not hold lines like they should, any faster and things can get a bit ridiculous, especially for higher handicap golfers. Of course contrary to what seems to be popular golfer belief, we do not simply set the greens speed with a dial on the wall of the maintenance shop each morning. 😉

Of course weather/growing conditions will affect our ability to meet our target, but also grass type, labour availability, event schedules and other factors all play in to what we can provide each day. The column 'Missed Days' in the table below refers to days where we did not reach our target speed of 10' and there was not significant precipitation on these days that would have affected the greens speed. Our ultimate goal is to have this column equal zero. As you can see we are doing quite well with only a handful of days each month that we are falling short. None in July!!!

OV Grounds Greens Speed / Smoothness
Month	AVG Speed	AVG Smoothness	Missed Days	Days >10' 6"
March	10' 1"	8.1	2	5
April	10' 5"	8.3	4	14
May	10' 5"	8.4	3	12
June	10' 6"	8.2	3	14
July	10' 6"	8.5	0	12
204 Measurements over 152 days

For those wanting faster greens, in an effort to ensure we make the 10' goal we end up over sometimes. Since April we have been faster than 10' 6" over 1/3 and almost half of each month.

We take daily smoothness readings using the bobble test method. This test method does not require an expensive tool and has been scientifically tested to be the most useful way of testing. It's downside is that it does have some subjectivity to it, but as a Grounds Team we have decided to be fairly critical. The rating scale is between 1-10 but for all intents and purposes we generally live between 7-10. None of us have been brave enough to post the first "10" of the season but there have been a few days in July where we certainly could have been. The video below speaks about greens speeds, smoothness and the different ways to measure smoothness. Skip ahead to 7:45 for specific discussion on the bobble test method.

I have been asked about posting this daily greens speed so it is available for members and guests. This off season we will be looking into ways to post this information on a daily basis. 

I look forward to following up with more numbers later this season and then again this time next year to update and compare our progress. Rest assured we will continually tweak our programs and operations with the constant goal to provide the best greens possible, no matter what time of year.

 

#7 Green Tree Removal

We removed the tree to the front right of #7 green this morning. While the tree was not showing signs that it would fail soon, the health of the tree was declining. This coupled with the fact that it detracted from the playability of the hole, led us to the removal decision.

During our spring course tour with Alex Hay and Tim Lobb of Lobb & Partners (our golf course architectural consultants) they noted that removing the tree would improve the playability of the golf hole allowing more shots into what is already a tough green site.

Phase 2 of this project will come in the off season when we expose the natural feature that is the bedrock mound below the tree. We will also fill in the short grass depression behind the tree approximately 50%. Filling this feature in partially will create an easier to mow slope and also a slope that may allow for putting to the green from this short grass area. 

Before

After

Hazardous Tree Management - Arbutus Tree #5

As part of our hazardous tree management program, we monitor all trees on the property and assign levels of safety concern to trees that may need attention. The arbutus tree on #5 has been on this list for some time but due to the fact that it is leaning away from where players would be, it has been left alone. It's time has come though as the rot inside the tree has become too much. 

Providing a professional opinion on the tree from a golf perspective, Alex Hay of Lobb and Partners Golf Course Architects (the firm retained to consult on all Golf BC properties) had the following comments:

Unfortunately from time to time on golf courses we have to consider tree removal, not only for the playability of the course itself, but also for the health of other trees and the vegetation around them. Tree removal is never a decision we take lightly.  

 On a recent walk around as part of our golf course review, the Arbutus tree on the left side of the 5^th hole came into question. The tree was of poor health becoming a safety concern, and had also become big enough to impose itself on the playing line. Removing the tree has freed up space slightly to the left and will allow us to plant Oak trees that will frame the hole better, whilst protecting the 6^th hole from errant 5^th hole tee shots. The improved playing corridor will give those golfers, that hit the ball with left to right shape, a better chance of finding the fairway from the tee. 

As mentioned above, we will replant 3 trees slightly to the left of the current arbutus location. These trees will be planted this fall to allow for easier establishment. The removal of the arbutus will allow us to use the left half of the 5th tee that has been avoided due to the tree being in the tee line. 

Before

After

It is more notable in person, but the oak tree that was behind the arbutus still provides good protection / screen from drives headed left while not penalizing a left to right ball flight drive that will easily land in play on #5 fairway.

Olympic View's Unique Bunker Maintenance Program

 

In an effort to elevate our bunker maintenance program at Olympic View for the 2022 season, we have employed some non traditional tactics. Typically, bunkers are not an enjoyed part of golf course maintenance. They are labour intensive, always in need of attention and generally just not as fun as growing and maintaining turfgrass. As year round Team Members move to more skilled and experience required tasks during the season, often bunkers can be left to new Team Members that may not have the attention to detail or skills to consistently turn out exceptional bunker quality.

While raking some sand around may seem like a simple task, there is actually a fair bit to it:

• maintain sand shape as related to bunker floor shape
• moving sand to fill washouts or high play areas
• keeping weeds at bay
• different raking techniques for different sand moistures
• repairing damaged bunker liner
• topping up sand as required
• trimming turf areas and edges around bunkers where large mowers can not reach

Rake Technique

Over the past two seasons we have been using the "Aussie method" of raking bunkers. This features smooth side walls and tooth raked floor. This technique not only provides a nice aesthetic appeal, it also helps to reduce golf ball plugging in the more compact faces and helps to roll the ball down into the more playable floor of the bunker. This also affords us some efficiency as we do not need to rake the sides of the bunker every day. We generally rake the the sides completely only twice per week and can simply touch up used bunker face sections throughout the week.

Getting it Done

As mentioned above, despite the skills and experience required to provide nice bunkers, the task often gets left to inexperienced Team Members during the playing season. Enter the "2022 OV Bunker Draft"! We made a list off all of our bunkers and "drafted" them for ownership between 5 of our core Team Members including myself. 

OV Grounds Team members on Bunker Draft day in February

The goal of this program is to put our best Team Members on the task, hopefully producing the best possible results. Each of us also "owns" our bunkers, learns the specific maintenance each bunker needs and keeps up on small maintenance items like weeding and shaping that can become much bigger tasks if left unchecked. We also get a little healthy competition within the Team regarding who has the best looking bunkers on the course. 

Draft Board in Progress

For general raking days, Team Members will take a rake with them on whatever task they may be doing on the course and simply pick up their 5-6 bunkers as they complete their morning task. This is a great added efficiency for us as opposed to sending a separate Team Member around the course just to rake bunkers. Currently each Team Member rakes their bunker every day they are at work. This means we rake all bunkers a minimum of 5x/week. In addition, we often add an extra Team Member on weekends that will rake all bunkers, taking our rake frequency to 6-7 days/week.

Of course we only rake these bunkers once per day and with how busy the course is, our bunkers can see a lot of traffic. We have ensured that there are an appropriate amount of bunker rakes on the course and raking a bunker as you leave it will only make the course better for the player behind you. We appreciate the help!

Power Carts Off Paths

New Cart Guidance Posts

As the weather finally starts to warm and the course is drying out, we will be allowing carts off paths as of today. Please expect that if we see significant rains (potentially Sun/Mon) we may go back to paths temporarily. 

We have added the black/gold posts on the course to indicate when you should leave the path after the tee, and when you should return to the path before the green. There are some additional notifications that will come through the GPS screen to help guide you as well. If you leave the path before, or return after the posts, you may pass through the GPS lock out area and have to reverse out.

Thank you for you assistance in managing the wear & tear on our busy course.

 

Spring Greens Aeration? Not this time.

 It's that time of year again. The sun comes out, the grass starts to green up and even grow a little bit! Golfers and golf course maintenance teams alike get excited for the coming season. 

We've been fortunate to receive numerous comments lately on how nicely the greens are rolling and we most definitely appreciate the good feedback! Usually around now is when the disappointment comes for golfers though. The Grounds Team rolls out the aerator, punches holes, perhaps removes cores and dumps a bunch of sand on the greens. In effect taking the good momentum we had going and placing it on the shelf for a few weeks. 

This year we are happy to report that we will be able to avoid this disappointment. There will be no major greens aeration this spring - lets keep these greens rolling nice! As much as we know this may be appreciated, I am sure the questions are quick to follow - how we are able to do this and will this create problems down the road? The short answer is no, not in the immediate future. For a longer answer let's dig into some science.

In late January of 2021 and 2022, we took core samples across numerous greens on the course with the goal of collecting both a baseline organic matter level, and also the change, or lack thereof, in organic matter percentage over last season. 

(A little sidebar on what is organic matter for those who may be wondering. Organic matter in a putting green is both the living and dead/decaying leaf and root tissue. During growth, the plant sheds old tissue and creates new. While organic matter has benefits in our sand based root zone including holding moisture, nutrients and creating resiliency, too much of a good thing can be bad. Excessive levels of organic matter can make greens spongy, soft, more susceptible to disease and a whole host of other undesirable putting green characteristics. Let's avoid those ok? Practices like aeration and topdressing are used to keep organic matter at acceptable levels.)

Back to the testing. We took 5 samples from each green and cut the cores in 2 cm increments. The like depths are grouped together and sent off to a lab in Ohio where they measure the dried sample weight, place the sample in an oven and burn all the organic matter to ash. The weight is again measured and the difference can be calculated to the percentage of organic matter that was in the sample. 

While this is not a new testing technique, it has become more adopted by turfgrass managers around the globe, especially the ones that enjoy science and numbers like myself. While we have three depths of measurement, the 0-2cm measurement is the important one. This is where the golf ball meets and interacts with the turfgrass surface, where the rubber meets the road you could say.

Image courtesy Dr. Micah Woods, Asian Turfgrass Center, Thailand.

Great, so we have some numbers, next question. What's the magic number? Well, there isn't really one. Here is where the science of green keeping blends with the art. The art is how are the greens playing? How do they receive a ball? What does the ball mark look like? Are you seeing scalping from mowers? Holding excessive moisture? We observe these and other indicators throughout the year, pair those observations with our organic matter numbers and then design a greens maintenance program to increase, decrease or perhaps just maintain organic matter levels. Based on the information we have tested for and observed over the past year, at this time we do not need to aerate greens. We are content with the current organic matter levels.

To avoid rambling on too long, I'm going to break this into two or three posts to further delve into what is involved in greens maintenance programs designed to increase, decrease or maintain organic matter levels. 

To close off today though, I will answer one last question. Does this mean we will never have to aerate greens again? No, I'm not going to say that. We will continue to learn the greens at Olympic View, monitor how they play, test organic matter levels and make calculated decisions with the goal of having optimum playing conditions for as many days per year as possible.

Irrigation System Upgrades

Many of you may have seen the expansive hole dug on #11 over the past week. This project is a continuation of the ongoing irrigation isolation valve replacement program here at Olympic View. 

Isolation valves allow us to turn off the water to sections of the golf course to perform necessary repairs. The original valves installed are over 30 years old on what would usually be a 20 year lifespan. When these valves fail, we can either not shut water off to an area to perform repairs or, if they fail closed, we can not get irrigation water to certain areas. We aim to replace 9 valves this season which will take us to 70% of all valves being replaced over the past 5 years. 

On #11 we replaced 3 valves which feed #11 tee, #11 green and half of #10. This required a substantial hole as you can see in the image below of the old valves / piping.

The replacement valves are a significant upgrade and will provide a functional lifespan of over 50 years! They are also installed with higher quality ductile iron fittings as opposed to glued PVC fittings. We were able to eliminate some noticeable bows in the piping with the new install. This was the main reason the hole became so large.  

You can expect any further holes this season to much smaller as the remaining valves are only one valve per hole. Due to supply chain issues the majority of the valves are 14-16 weeks away which will lead us to installing them in the fall.

Thank you for your patience on the course as we continue to upgrade our infrastructure with the goal of providing improved course conditions.