Welcome to The Briars Golf Club’s Maintenance Department

"We as a team continually strive to improve our course everyday in order that you the golfer, will enjoy this great facility as much as we enjoy keeping it green"

-2010 Maintenance Staff

We arrive early each day and head out onto the course ahead of the wave of golfers. Our crew members endeavor to minimize interference with your enjoyment of the game.  At times this is impossible and for this we apologize but certain operations must be performed at optimum times to maintain the best playing field possible. 

With this in mind we would like to utilize this area of the website to keep you informed of the maintenance operations which may affect your enjoyment on a particular day at The Briars Golf Club, and how it will affect the course.  We would also like to offer you the opportunity to contact us if you have any questions you would like answered.  Please e-mail me Paul White, Course Superintendent at briarsg@bellnet.ca

Golf Course Conditions #1 Priority

Both the Management Team and Board of Directors realize the primary reason people come to The Briars Golf Club is to play golf.  With this in mind course conditions are our #1 priority and primary focus to ensure that both our Members and Guests are satisfied and remain loyal to the club.

Have We Gone To Far? ... The Grass is Talking to You, Are You Listening?

By David Smith

Why are so many golf courses having problems with moss?  Why do the putting greens heal slowly from pitch marks?  Why are the greens thin and shallow rooted?  Why does a pitch shot to a green gouge out a chunk of grass versus leaving more of a bruise or dent?  While golf is not played on color, why are greens off-color and look well, hungry?  Why does Poa Annua seem to encroach all to fast into new greens?  While the answers to most of these questions are complex, there still may be a simple common denominator - specifically, a lack of fertilizer, low cutting heights and too much water.

If you were to compare how golf course were maintained years ago to how they are maintained today, you would discover that two things are clear.  Except for the initial grow-in of new greens, golf courses generally are using less fertilizer today than in the past, a lot less and the cutting heights of greens has been reduced continually throughout this same period.

Putting greens today are having problems with moss, algae, and pitch marks that are slow to heal.  It is true that there are many factors contributing to all of these problems, but most center around close mowing, low fertility, and too much water.  Today's emphasis on green speed doesn't allow much wiggle room with putting green mowing heights; however many courses have begun to raise the cutting heights just slightly while at the same time they continue to improve upon the fertility of their greens as an area more widely accepted by most golfers.

With today's emphasis on green speed, the simplest way to achieve fast greens is to reduce mowing height, limit the use of fertilizer, apply growth regulators, top dress and roll.  Un fortunately, in gauging how much to fertilize greens, Superintendents sometimes forget the obvious:  That is, clipping removal removes nutrients that would otherwise be recycled and the lower that you cut your greens, the more damage that is caused to the plant and the longer it takes for it to recover. 

What is the bottom line?

1.      Based on your current fertility program and the amount of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet that you apply while taking into consideration that 40-60% is removed in the clippings are you applying enough nitrogen to your greens.

2.      Remember the old textbook ratios of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium that suggests
3-1-2 or 4-1-2, how close are you coming?  The grass's basic fertility needs seldom change.

3.      How do your greens look?  Do they have moss problems?  Close mowing and lack of fertility contribute to moss invasion.  Higher mowing heights and more fertilizer contribute to moss reduction.

4.      Do your greens lack colour?  A nice colour indicates healthy grass versus more yellow-green chlorotic-looking grass that needs nitrogen.

5.      Are your greens slow to recover from traffic, pitch marks, or disease blemishes?  This too may be a sign that fertility levels are too low as well as your cutting heights may be getting to low to sustain a healthy plant that is able to recover quickly.

6.      Plant health - current research continues to show a link between plant health and less disease.

7.      Do your greens look hungry?  The grass is talking to you.  Maybe its time to work a little more fertilizer into you program and raise the cut height just slightly.

In summary, it is not suggested to return to the days when greens were cut at 1/4 inch and fertilized at 12-18 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet per year.  What is being suggested is that you look at the grass, it is talking to you, be a good listener.

Frost Delays

How can a footprint be a killer?

When it's a footprint made on a putting surface that's covered with frost.  It's hard to believe that simply walking across a golf green covered with frost can cause so much damage, but the proof will be there in a few days as the turf grass dies and leaves a trail of brown footprints.  That's why most courses will delay starting times until the frost has melted.  And it's also why golfers who appreciate a quality putting surface will be patient during frost delays.

Why does frost cause problems?

Greens are fragile.  The putting surface , or green, is an extremely fragile environment that must be managed carefully and professionally.  Remember that every green is a collection of millions of individual grass plants, each of which is a delicate living thing.  Obviously, Mother Nature never meant for these plants to be maintained at 3/16 or even 1/8 of an inch for prolonged periods.  This stress makes greens constantly vulnerable to attacks from insects, disease, heat, drought, cold and frost.

Frost is essentially frozen dew.  It can form when the temperature (or wind chill) is near or below the freezing point.  The ice crystals that form on the outside of the plant can also harden or even freeze the cell structure of the plant.  When frosted, the normally resilient plant cells become brittle and are easily crushed.  When the cell membranes are damaged, the plant loses its ability to function normally.  It's not much different than cracking an egg.  Once the shell is broken, you can't put it back together.

The Proof is in the prints

Although you won't see any immediate damage if you walk on frosted turf, the proof will emerge within 48 to 72 hours as the leaves die and turn brown.  And, since just one foursome can leave several hundred footprints on each green, the damage can be very extensive.

Thanks for understanding

The damage isn't just unsightly -- putting quality will also be reduced until repairs are made.  Those repairs are expensive and, in some cases, the green may have to be kept out of play for days or weeks until the new turf grass is established.  A short delay while the frost melts can preserve the quality of the greens, prevent needless repairs and may even save you a few strokes the next time you play.