Wayne's World Summer 2023 Pt. 2
Here is an update here from the Greens Department. On the 13th hole, we are creating a putting green sod nursery. That ultimately will be 25,000 sq. ft. of POA annua putting green sod. This will be used for the proposed 2025 Todd Eckenrode plan. Resetting original green footprints, Adding some new pin areas and green complexes.
Initially, we were going to sod bentgrass at the nursery, then aerate it and drag our existing green plugs into it. This would take place three to four times a year over the next two years. Trying to create a mixture of grasses as we have now on the greens. But even with this aggressive work plan, the turf would still be predominantly bentgrass. So, areas newly sodded during the project would have a different look and characteristics than the surrounding turf. This would remain like this for five-plus years until the POA took over, as it always does in this coastal climate.
I was looking for golf courses that might be removing greens for major remodels—hoping to acquire their POA annua putting green turf during my inquiries and searches. My seed supplier told me that a sod company in Abbotsford, British Colombia, has produced POA annua sod for a few years on sand compatible with USGA construction. This sod is produced using putting green material from golf courses in the area, making it a bentgrass and POA annua mix. It has been used for greens at various locations—most notably the greens reconstruction at Chambers Bay in Vancouver to covert from fescue.
I spoke to the Superintendent, and his response was favorable. During their greens renovation after four months, he was able to take the height down to create a very nice putting surface.
I then contacted the owner of the sod farm and inquired about the product and the feasibility of shipping it to our location. His response was no problem and was in tune with California agriculture requirements and that the sod is shipped in refrigerated boxes on trucks. Then, after all this, the material is about .70 cents a square foot cheaper than bent delivered from the desert. This will be turf that will blend in quicker with the existing greens, plus a 14,000 dollar savings. This is the reason the sod farm on 13 has been put on hold until this fall. Below is a link to the sod farm and weather graphs.
https://weatherspark.com/y/1002/Average-Weather-in-Abbotsford-Canada-Year-Round
https://weatherspark.com/y/1443/Average-Weather-in-Santa-Barbara-California-United-States-Year-Round
Wayne Mills
