Fescue Needs Thinning Cancel The title field is required!

1. Grote Richard R

   
   7/21/2013 8:07 AM

   We have nearly 60 acres of native area surrounding our fairways and greens. Being that the course is 16 years old many of these areas are so thick that once the ball even rolls into the edge it is gone forever. We have been mowing these areas down in the fall (twice) once with a bush hog then followed with the rough mower set a 5.5in". Pre-emergent weed control begins in March followed by a continuing program of post control through-out the season.
   
   Our goal, beginning this fall is to begin to thin some of these areas so a player can at least find the ball and have a chance to knock it back in play. We are currently looking at roundup and reseeding with mowing at least twice in the fall or begin mowing again in the spring through the month of May to help thin out the "jungle"
   
   We are located in southwest Ohio.
   
   Thanks for any ideas.
   
   Rick Grote

   
   
   
   
2. David Brandenburg

   

   3 posts
   
   7/21/2013 11:07 AM

   Good luck, some courses are spending a lot of time and money trying to provide native but playable areas.
   
   Dr. Tom Voight from the Univeristy of Illinois may have information for you on which species work best for aesthictis, weed control and playability. You could contact him or google is work. I know he has had articles in Golf Course Management.
   
   A lot of it comes down to your soils and environment. Ample moisture and thin native areas do not get along.

   
   
   
   
3. Andy Jorgensen

   

   1 posts
   
   7/21/2013 2:07 PM

   What if you maintained 10-15' in from the edge in key ares, such as landing areas and around greens, with a bi-weekly schedule of mowing at 5-6"? This would provide a bit more playable area where it matters most, without losing the "native" look and appearance throughout the course.

   
   
   
   
4. Clay Putnam

   

   33 posts
   
   7/21/2013 2:07 PM

   Rick,
   
   Stay away from creeping reds and chewing fescues when selecting your seed. They get super dense and it doesn't take long. If you can do it, stop all irrigation in the native areas once it is grown in.
   
   Good luck with your "low maintenance" areas.

   
   
   
   
5. Schlagetter David B

   
   7/22/2013 8:07 AM

   Can you burn these areas?
   
   Dave Schlagetter

   
   
   
   
6. Ross Miller

   

   0 posts
   
   7/22/2013 9:07 AM

   Rick,
   
   Depending upon weather you have Fines, or Talls, or a mixture of both, a very simple and inexpensive solution to this is to apply rock salt to these areas. The rock salt will kill fescue that it touches, thinning and making these areas much more playable. I have seen this done at several high-end properties in the Mid-Atlantic, and in the Northeast. Just be mindful of drain basins, drainage areas, etc., so that the product does not leach into normal playable rough.
   
   We have done this in 20' swaths along regular rough, and it has proved quite beneficial, as we encountered the same issue...that along with irrigation adjustments to take all irrigation that may be hitting these natives away. That will also obviously help thin the areas.
   
   If you have any questions, feel free to drop me a line or email. Best of luck!
   
   Regards,
   
   Ross Miller
   Golf Course Superintendent, Championship Course
   Trump National Golf Club, Washington DC
   419-410-7326 (Mobile)
   rmiller@trumpnational.com

   
   
   
   
7. Lisa Wick

   

   1 posts
   
   7/22/2013 3:07 PM

   I happened to see this thread on the home page. Steve McDonald talked about this in a webcast he taught for us this past spring Today's Turf is Fescue. You can listen to it On Demand when you enroll here:
   
   http://www.gcsaa.org/Education/Webcasts ... escue.aspx
   
   These events are available for points and for no fee.
   
   Lisa Wick

   
   Lisa Wick, sr. manager, e-Learning Programs
   
   
8. Jack Tripp

   

   3 posts
   
   7/22/2013 3:07 PM

   A good dose of dicamba will thin fescues. Start out at 6 oz/a (Sterling Blue)and dial up the rate until you get the thinning you want. Besides it will keep out about half of the weeds you want to get rid of.
   
   Jack Tripp
   La Crosse Country
   Onalaska, WI

   
   
   
   
9. Clay Putnam

   

   33 posts
   
   7/22/2013 7:07 PM

   David Schlagetter said: Can you burn these areas?
   
   Dave Schlagetter

   
   
   Dave,
   
   I tried burning once. Colossal failure.

   
   
   
   
10. Jeffrey Joedicke

    

    0 posts
    
    7/28/2013 11:07 AM

    Clay Putnam, CGCS said:

    David Schlagetter said: Can you burn these areas?
    
    Dave Schlagetter

    
    
    Dave,
    
    I tried burning once. Colossal failure.

    
    
    
    What happened when you tried to burn?

    
    
    
    
11. Clay Putnam

    

    33 posts
    
    7/28/2013 12:07 PM

    Jeffrey Joedicke said:

    Clay Putnam, CGCS said:

    David Schlagetter said: Can you burn these areas?
    
    Dave Schlagetter

    
    
    Dave,
    
    I tried burning once. Colossal failure.

    
    
    
    What happened when you tried to burn?

    
    
    The first issue was the wind changed directions on us at one point and we almost burned down one of the restrooms on the course. As for the grass, a lot of the fescue could not handle the burn and died. We were left with every "bastard" grass under the sun.

    
    
    
    
12. Wydra David A

    
    7/31/2013 12:07 PM

    Have you considered using a PGR like Primo Maxx or Embark? Seems like you could play with some different rates to get the desired effect. We've got a lot of tall grass areas here and like the visuals of the long wispy seedhead. They aren't intended for play. If you want to be able to find your ball, mow it down. We get complaints about lost balls all of the time. Its one of those situations where the members want their cake and they want to eat it too.