12 green

Over the past few weeks we have been dealing with a mystery turf issue. I have been waiting until I had more information before I mentioned it on the blog. I sent off samples to Oregon State University and Rutgers University in an effort to get past the mystery. Neither Oregon State or Rutgers found any typical turf pathogens for commonly occurring turf diseases. Oregon State came back with a diagnosis of phytoplasma (which is like a bacteria but different?) Apparently, a vector (such as a leaf hopper) with piercing-sucking mouth parts spreads the phytoplasma to different areas. Since there are no fungicides that are labeled for phytoplasma, I was advised to keep the turf healthy and keep stress low. The Rutgers samples went out the week after the Oregon State samples. Rutgers called the issue white leaf and agreed with Oregon State about it being caused by phytoplasma. Rutgers had no way to test for phytoplasma, but felt confident about the Oregon State diagnosis. I have been in an email loop with some of the best turf experts in the industry in order to come up with the best plan of attack for moving forward. Maintaining adequate fertility, reducing stress, over seeding (in the worst areas), and reducing the vector populations were recommendations I received.

"white leaf" ?

On Thursday, I went to an Oregon Golf Course Superintendents meeting and shared the information I had with the rest of the group. There were a couple of Superintendents from other courses that were having similar turf issues. On Friday morning, I received a follow up email from Oregon State. The original diagnosis was further evaluated in the lab and was found to be a false positive for phytoplasma. So as of Friday morning, I was back to square one.

mystery turf issue

The not so good news is, the turf issue can be found on each green. Greens 1 and 2 are the worst. The better news is most people will not notice the issue on most greens. You have to look closely to distinguish the issue from Poa annua seed heads on most greens. The vast majority of the areas do not cause ball roll issues and are only aesthetic. There are however a few areas that have suffered some die back and may cause the ball to hop here and there. Most of the areas with die back are beginning to fill in with bentgrass. The bentgrass seems to be resistant to the issue. As far as I can tell, the issue is not being spread by mowers or equipment. The good news is, the greens are rolling nicely (except for the odd spot here and there) and are still very enjoyable to putt on. I will be maintaining adequate fertility and keeping stress as low as possible until we get past this mystery turf issue.

7 green

The Rhododendron Festival is in full swing this weekend in Florence. If you need a break from the festival action, come squeeze in a round at Sandpines. There are still tees times available for both Saturday and Sunday.

Our preferred divot pattern on the driving range tee

I was really happy to see our preferred divot pattern being utilized on the driving range tee this week. I believe Aaron from the golf shop is mostly responsible. He mentioned as an added benefit, using this technique is easier on his wrists while practicing because there is less resistance after impacting the ball. Thanks Aaron, I appreciate your effort in helping to preserve the usable hitting area on the range tee.

Jerry slicing a fairway

This week, fairways were sliced. They were all done except for hole 12, which will be completed soon. The tees were fertilized. Core piles from aeration were spread out. The lower tier of the driving range tee was seeded and top dressed. In addition, greens, tees, collars, approaches, fairways, and rough were all mowed at the normal frequency for this time of year. Hole locations were changed multiple times, and bunker were raked.

Curlew hanging out near 18 tees

I thought I would include a picture of the curlew that have been hanging out at Sandpines for the last month. They stop by about this time each year. They have a distinctive long curved beak. They will be leaving soon, so if you want to catch a glimpse of them in person, now is the time.

Sandpines has received .08 inches of precipitation in the last 20 days. According to Jerry Waite, the assistant superintendent at Sandpines, this is definitely one of the driest stretches of spring weather he has witnessed. He has been at Sandpines since 1992, which is the year before the course opened.

With all the dry weather in the area its no surprise there have been a few brush fires around the Florence area. Last Sunday, there was a brush fire next to the tees on hole 8. It was sunny and about 85 degrees with a little east wind. Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue responded quickly, and they had the fire out in short order. I was able to help with our irrigation cart, which is equipped with a hose reel and about 125 feet of hose. I would like to thank those that helped put out the fire, especially since the group was largely made up of volunteers. They were outfitted in all their fire gear while digging a fire line in the heat. Nice job guys, I really appreciate your service to the community. The firemen suspected a discarded cigarette butt was likely the cause of the fire.

This tree had its lower limbs singed

Rhododendron blooming on hole 6

The rhododendrons are blooming in Florence. They are really beautiful this time of year. The greens are healing up nicely from aeration. The weather has been excellent for golf. The extended forecast is looking great as well. With warmer temperatures on the way in the valley, its a great time to play a round at Sandpines.

Close up of a rhododendron on hole 6

The greens, collars, approaches, tees, fairways, and rough were all mowed this week. Greens and approaches were also fertilized. The hole locations were changed. Bunkers were raked. Tee aeration and cleanup were performed on holes 1-10 and 12. Our goal was to finish tee aeration this week, but we had a few equipment issues that prevented us from completing the process. Greens were hand watered and minor adjustments and repairs were made to the irrigation system.