Lake Bank Edges

You may have noticed the appearance of the lake bank edges throughout the golf course. We are allowing the edges to grow for a few reasons. As some of you may know, Toll Golf currently has a few Audubon international sanctioned clubs in various locations. Here at Jupiter CC we are in the early stages of Audubon and are trying to do our part in keeping the golf course nice while still being mindful of the natural habitats that surround us.

By allowing the lake edges to grow it allows for erosion control, potential habitat space, and best of all it provides a barrier between the lake and the golf course to prevent leaching of unwanted nutrients into the lake. Now, the team in GCM will keep a controlled edge on the lake banks with herbicides and the occasional trim to make sure things don't get out of control. With the laws changing in Florida and the potential for fertilizer restrictions, I believe we are headed in the right direction when it comes to being "Environmentally Friendly".

Sunrises Over Jupiter Country Club

This photo was taken over the 4th hole in early October. If only all the mornings were this pleasant!!

Fire Ant Application

Last week, after three weeks of rough weather, the skies finally cleared.  With the beautiful Florida weather returning, the maintenance team was able to get out and apply a granular insecticide on all of the fairways and approaches.  The product used was called TopChoice.  This insecticide is produced by Bayer and is an extremely safe and effective product.  

Heading out on the tractor with a Lely 1250 spreader attachment

 With TopChoice being a granular, we had our first opportunity to use the Lely spreader.  This spreader attaches to the back of a tractor and is driven by the tractor's PTO.  The Lely has a 1000 pound capacity and can throw fertilizer up to 60 feet.

The small particle size of TopChoice makes it an excellent option for fire ant control.  It is able to work its way into the canopy of the grass quickly and allows for an almost unnoticeable application.

It was a smooth application which took two afternoons to complete. Over the next couple weeks we should be able to see a decline in ant mounds around the course.  

Final Aerification of the year.

Our final aerification of the year was set to take place on September 9th and 10th.  With only two days allotted we decided to focus on the greens.  Due to the inclement weather we had to extend aerification by a day, which allowed us to complete everything that needed to be done in order for the greens to be healthy going into season.

The first step in the process was to veritcut all the greens.  We have done this same process the past two aerifications as well.  This time it was decided that we would verticut twice in the same direction in order to clear well defined channels in the turf's canopy.  The spacing between verticutter blades was closed down to 1/2" from 1" in our previous aerifications.  The verticutters were not set as deep this go around because cores were also pulled from the greens.

Verticutter blades set a 1/2" spacings

After verticutting we aerified the greens using a Toro Procore 648.  This aerification we decided to use a smaller tine and pull cores rather than just punching holes with a wider tine.  The greens were first topdressed with sterile topdressing sand.  We used 1/4" side eject tines mounted to the quad blocks of the 648.  Taking cores allowed us to pull thatch from deeper areas of the green than verticutting alone.  It also allows for more air and water flow through the green.

Three passes completed on #18 green.

The cores were then broken up using a steel drag mat.  This allows the soil and sand to break away from the grass and thatch.  A blower was then used to remove the grass and thatch from the putting surface, leaving only the sand and soil.

After blowing away debris we used a 2 ton roller to ensure there were no ruts in the greens from topdressing or aerifying.  When the roller was finished on each green a bunker rake fitted with a drag brush was used to work the sand into the surface of the green.  This process was done daily for the 4 days following aerification.

2 ton roller smoothing and firming #7 green.

Our final aerification, although wet, was very successful.  With these management practices the agronomy team here at Jupiter CC feel that the greens are in great shape and we are excited to keep them that way come season.

Tropical Signalgrass!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With the exceptionally warm months coming to an end here a Jupiter CC, we have continued our aggressive attack on Tropical Signalgrass.  Tropical Signalgrass is a very aggressive weed that if not controlled can overtake large areas of turf very quickly. Below is a close-up of a healthy area of signalgrass in a fairway.

Due to signalgrass' aggressive nature, the products we use tend to tinge, or "burn," the surrounding bermudagrass for a short time.  Above is a picture of a sprayed patch of signalgrass after approximately 3 days.  As you can see the patch has completely browned out, as well as the surrounding turf.

After a little over a week you can see that the surrounding bermudagrass has re-strengthened and is growing back into the area that was once populated by signalgrass.

Bunker Washouts

This is a topic of controversy for most Golf Clubs that reside in tropical climate of the country. We are talking about bunker washouts. Golf course design has evolved from the days of Tom Morris to be much more pleasing tothe eye in the modern world today. We have gone for more of an aesthetic look in the modern world instead of natural winding golf holes carved out of the existing land. In doing this the demand has been put on the designers to come up with interesting and creative ways to show flashes of sand and/or severe slopes. The side effects of doing so, results in tough maintenance practices on the agronomy team.

Below you will find some pictures that were taken recently during the end of May and beginning of June. Some included below are of the newly renovated bunkers on #18. See if you can spot the differences.



Minimal wash in this renovated bunker on #18




The washouts in this bunker are a result of all the water from the top of the hill behind the bunker rushing in at once.




Lake Bunker!
Build up of fines in the sand have prevented this bunker from properly draining.




Renovated bunker with no wash after a 1.5" rain. Bunker liner and fresh sand allowed for proper drainage.




Renovated bunker on #18 as well. This one faired o.k. Once again, a result of design, allowing the water to run into the bunker instead of away.




Here we have one of our renovated bunkers that took on the rain with great success. Notice the dead grass clippings, or chaff as we like to call it. That is the highest point in which the water rose before draining off.




This is a result of a comprimising design. Notice the grass slid down into the bunker from all the rain. This happens when water is channeled from the top of the bunker slope down into the bunker.




Bunker #18 left of green. This picture was taken 3 days after a 1.5' rain. The cause of the water standing in the bunker after 3 days is a result of fine dirt and silt build up in the bunker sand profile. Over time the build increased to a point were it created a partial seal over top of the drainage pipe.



Jupiter CC Wildlife

        Jupiter Country Club is home to a variety of wild animals. Since we are neighbors to Riverbend Nature Preserve, we often have visitors looking for a change of scenery. Below you will find a few snapshots of those exact visitors. They are often seen early in the morning between the hours of 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. before the sun is up and the heat kicks in to high gear.

       Seeing the abundance of wildlife in the community gives a sense that we are doing our part to preserve and protect the resources around Jupiter Country Club. Continuing this trend should benefit not only you, The Member, but the natural occurring wildlife that calls Jupiter Country Club home.

Get outside and enjoy!


Alligator getting some sun on #15.



This doe was spotted early one Saturday morning behind #17 green.



The same doe from #17 with her button buck brother. They were just on the other side of the fence in Riverbend Park.




Curious doe on the other side of the bushes left of #17 green.




Baby armadillo trying not to damage the turf.




We have a reservation for 4 at 8 a.m.This group of armadillos was spotted on #9. These were all babies.You can't see her, but mom was just inside the bushes keeping close tabs on her young. FACT: Armadillos give birth to 4 identical young. They can also delay birth in times of stress to ensure they have a strong litter of young.




While beautiful, these pesky Sandhill Cranes can cause quite the problem to a golf course.




Wascally Wabbit!
 These native rabbits are in abundance throughout the golf course. If you ever see a hole at the base of bush or tree, you can bet a rabbit is or has lived in there at some point.



Aerification May 2013

The agronomy staff at Jupiter CC has implemented a process called Aerification. This process is done 3 times a year during the summer months to enhance turf quality. It is a complex process that involves specialty equipment as you will see in the pictures and videos below.


The photo above shows #3 tee box during an aggresive verticut. This tee, along with the rest of the tees, was verticut 2 directions up and back in the same direction. Essentially it was verticut 4 times. You can see the team member in the picture starting his second direction.




A close up of a verticut tee on it's first direction.




Above is #4 black tee after a 5/8" side eject coring tine. The dirt and thatch pulled up from the ground was dragged in with a steel drag mat and the thatch was blown off with a blower. The dirt from the cores was distributed back into the canopy of the turf and acted as a topdressing which provided a smoother teeing surface. You can see the team member walking the aerifier in the background.



Here you can see the pile of thatch that was pulled from the fairway and greens. Notice the walkie talkie in the foreground. It was placed in front to give the pile some scale.



The above referenced picture shows #1 green after it has been verticut 2 directions up and back, The depth of the verticutter was set at an 1/8" into the canopy of the turf to remove excessive thatch build up. This practice will allow for a denser, firmer putting surface.

  

This is a video of a machine called a triplex verticutter which was used for the tees and the greens. If you look closely you will see the thatch that is being ejected into the basket of the machine.

Here we have a video of our tractor slicer. This was used on the roughs and the fairways. It works by putting large slices into the ground and disrupting any compacted soil. The fairways were sliced 2 directions and the rough only 1 direction. This one machine covered 125 acres in just under 2 weeks.

North Tee Landscape Improvements

End of season the maintenance staff completed a lanscape feature to the walk-up area of the north driving range.  Below are a few pictures of the process, and finsihed product.

 The process began with removing sod.  The entire area was walked over with a sod cutter.  This process cuts underneath the turf's canopy and roots to allow easy removal of the turf.  Above is a picture of staff members clearing out sod, exposing the soil below.

Maintenance Team Members had to move three irrigation heads to the edge of the landscape bed in order to have adequate water supplying the new plant material.

Maintenance Team members also removed about 4,500 sq. ft. of sod to accomadate all the new plant material.

9 ligustrum trees were planted, at equal spacing, in the center of the landscape area.  The rest of the area was accented by a mix of Red Fountaingrass, Dwarf Fakahatchee, and Firecracker.





Above is the finished product. Once the plant material matures it will fill the space in beautifully and give the range tee a nice enhancement.



Above is a panorama shot of the completed project.

Below is an up-close shot of the project.

Needle Tining

The video above is another form of aerifying.  This particular process we are doing is called pencil/needle tining.  As you can see from the video there is very little disruption to the green’s surface.

The reason for doing this is to create air and water movement through the soil and canopy of the turf.  It also allows for the release of gases that build up over time in the soil.  The turf is like any living thing, it needs air and water to its vital working parts just like you and I.

Aerifying with needle tines is something we like to do every 6 weeks or on an as needed basis.  With the amount of rolling we do during winter it is essential that we relieve the putting surface of any potential compaction.

The arrows to the right illustrate that the end result of needle tining at a depth of 2 inches with a 2.5 inch spacing does not affect the playability of the putting surface. 

Bunker Improvements #18

Ricardo and Hunter shelling out the bunker in preparation for the bunker liner.

A bunker that is completely shelled out of all old sand and is ready for liner to be installed.

Bunker liner being installed throughout the entire bunker.

Sand being added by Raul, Andres, and Nick. The sand was placed in the bunker by a delivery unit called an MH-400 or Material Handler.

Finished product. This project took about 1 1/2 days with roughly 4 guys working on this one bunker.