Turf

Summer 2014 17 With wanting to put fewer inputs in the environment, what's your threshold on fairways and will you do a cultural practice instead of spraying fungicide or try to grow your turf out of a disease? I have always been a big believer in allowing nature to best correct any issues that may arise from fungal diseases. Having worked at clubs with both large and small budgets, you learn to manage the situations for what they are. Just because you have a very small outbreak of Fusarium on a fairway, does that mean you will spray all your fairways? Or is it a case of removing dew or cutting a branch that isn't allowing sunlight to that part of the fairway. Don't get me wrong I do use and will continue to use fungicides, but not before ever avenue is explored. Cultural practices such as water management and spot fertilizing help control the outbreak of disease. Verticutting, vertidraining and dusting are also extremely crucial in main- taining disease-free turf surfaces. I don't run fungicide pro- grams as such on the greens, but if I know that it's going to be really hot or very wet I change the program accordingly. I told Dan part of my IPM plan at the Plateau Club in Seattle. I like to pick fungicides with fewer active ingre- dients. I asked Dan if he picks a fungicide with a lower active ingredient. Yes. Having worked on golf courses that are environmen- tally sensitive because of their location to the ocean and large waterways, I have always felt that although a fungicide may best cure the disease issue it also may have a detrimental effect on the environment. Careful consideration is made. I'm always looking for new ways or tools to add to my program. What other tools do you have in your IPM program? Having recently had an outbreak of fungal disease on selected fairways, a verticutting program was put in place to ensure that new growth was stimulated to help quicken recovery from the scaring left behind. Spot fertilizing and hand/isolated watering has helped with healing. Branch lifting on trees has helped with air movement and sunlight. The turf is becoming denser, requiring less water and helping to produce a better playing surface. Typhoon Nari took out many trees a month after I start- ed, which was a massive help in reducing shade and root encroachment. Do you do any mechanical removal of weeds? With a staff of 60 for 18 holes, most weeds are removed by hand. Everything from fairways, green surrounds to tees are 95 percent weeded by hand—the many joys of having a large staff. Moving away from the topic of IPM, what are your management practices for bunkers weekly and month- ly? The bunkers at Da Nang Golf Club are outstanding. Bunkers are machine- and hand-raked four times per week. The faces are smoothed with brooms four times per week as well. They are all so weeded once per month— depending on the weather. Dan also gave me a history lesson on another type of bunker he manages on his golf course. It's a Vietnam War bunker located by a green that overlooks the ocean. Apart from it being the only bunker on the course where you get a free drop from, it was utilized in the Vietnam War. With North and South Vietnam at war with each other—Da Nang is located right smack bang in the middle. It is hard to work out who fought out of that bunker. I'm guessing it was the Vietnamese, because anyone over 6 feet would struggle to get in there. WT This Vietnam War bunker overlooks the South China Sea at Da Nang. The bunkers at Da Nang, shown above and below on multiple holes, are one of the course's best features.

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