# Backyard Par 3



## Tlox (Aug 13, 2020)

New to the forum and inspired by the knowledge and amazing work on here, I'm taking on a backyard par 3. I poured a 5x5 pad for a driving range mat in the spring to hit some balls and that morphed into putting in a green. It will be 83 yards to the center of the green when finished.

Where it currently stands:

Killed off the grass and rototilled


Scraped off the top 6"



Drainage



28 tons of sand and 16 yards of topsoil



Should finish getting the sand soil mix and graded tomorrow. Going with penncross bent. Some irrigation next week and we shall see how it goes.


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## Stuofsci02 (Sep 9, 2018)

Wow.. Serious project.. Looking forward to the results.!


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## DbShep (Aug 10, 2020)

I built and seeded a green this spring. It's a very rewarding process. Is that a Kubota BX23? I get a lot of use out of mine. Here is a photo I took while having a beer and admiring my green last night. I would be at putting height by now if I wasn't locked in a battle with cutworms, (they have cost me a couple weeks). What kind of mower do you have for your green?

I also posted a pretty detailed thread on golfwrx https://forums.golfwrx.com/discussion/1825924/covid-practice-plans-green-building-please-tell-me-im-not-nuts/p1 showing my process. It may help you avoid some problems that I ran into.

Here is a photo I took last night while having a beer, watering my green and admiring the freshly cut green.


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## DbShep (Aug 10, 2020)

One tip for irrigation. Set up zones that you can water independent of each other through the germination process. I seeded at the end of May and one issue I had was not the sun drying out the surface, but the wind. One side of the green was more exposed than the other and tended to dry out quicker. With a zone irrigation I was able to keep that side damp without having to water the spots that didn't need it. I learned this lesson a little late which gave weeds a chance to establish in that spot before the bentgrass was able to establish. I'm on top of it now after lots of hand picking. Also, watch for, and treat for damping off. It is really easy to over-water once the green has passed germination which can lead to damping off, (the grass blades will turn brown and look greasy when they are wet). Another handy tip is to have a quick connect that you can hook up a hose to with a regular spray nozzle. This will allow you to hand water spots that you may need to re-seed through the grow in.


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## Tlox (Aug 13, 2020)

Bx23 indeed... i am always amazed at how the little diesel in there sips fuel.

For a mower I just picked up a Jacobsen 526a from a local course. Runs perfect for $500. Its my first reel mower. The rest of the lawn is a KBG blend and I cut that with a scag. Its just under 2 acres with what I have to cut.

I am putting in a 4 zone system with a rainbird 400 sst 400i and Hunter PGP heads.

Great tips on the watering, your green looks amazing, its what im aspiring for! I'll check out the thread on golfers too... thanks for the input, always great to learn from experience


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## Tlox (Aug 13, 2020)

This is looking from the tee box towards where the green is going in. Pic taken this spring.


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## HoosierLawnGnome (Sep 28, 2017)

Yay another greens project!

I started irrigation using my system, but ive since.moved to hand watering and a temporary hose setup with timers.

You hauled a lot of dirt and sand in!

Which bentgrass?
Eta i see you're going with pencross :thumbup:

I'm at a week from seed down. One of my greens washed out, the other two are solid.


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## DbShep (Aug 10, 2020)

Tlox said:


> Bx23 indeed... i am always amazed at how the little diesel in there sips fuel.
> 
> For a mower I just picked up a Jacobsen 526a from a local course. Runs perfect for $500. Its my first reel mower. The rest of the lawn is a KBG blend and I cut that with a scag. Its just under 2 acres with what I have to cut.
> 
> ...


I cut a little over an acre with a mid mount mower on the Kubota. I only have to put fuel in about once per month. My previous 23HP John Deere gas mower seemed to use $15 in fuel a week!


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## DbShep (Aug 10, 2020)

HoosierLawnGnome said:


> Yay another greens project!
> 
> I started irrigation using my system, but ive since.moved to hand watering and a temporary hose setup with timers.
> 
> ...


Looks great! I have a bunch of spots I can hit in from 60 yards and less. I could back up to 80 yards if I play from the other side of my wife's vegetable garden. I have a fibrebuilt hitting strip that I plan on building into a stance board made from plywood. I'll surface it with outdoor carpet and put handles on it so I can move it around the yard. Are you going to build a greenside bunker?


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## Aggrorider1 (Jun 18, 2019)

So jealous of all this greens going in


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## Tlox (Aug 13, 2020)

Few updates.

Finished up the sand soil mix and rolled it


4 zone irrigation system put in



Seeded with peat moss topping


Here we are this morning 8 days after seeding. Germinated in less than 5 days.


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## HoosierLawnGnome (Sep 28, 2017)

That's coming in really well! What rate of seed did you use?


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## Tlox (Aug 13, 2020)

I seeded at 3lb/1000sf. It always seems like I need about 1.5 - 2x the rate for new turf establishment. Hoping its not overdone but so far so good.


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## Tlox (Aug 13, 2020)

Had an issue with one of the front roller brackets so had to wait for the new bracket to come in. Lapped the mower and it cuts paper really nicely now. Should get the first mow on it tonight at 0.5" This is how it looked this morning.


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## HoosierLawnGnome (Sep 28, 2017)

That's nice and thick!


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## Tlox (Aug 13, 2020)

Its doing really well. The 80 degree and sunny days and cool, low humidity nights is putting it into overdrive.

This was my first foray into an irrigation system as well. Sooooo nice to just have everything automatically watered on a schedule. I feel spoiled now


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## HoosierLawnGnome (Sep 28, 2017)

Tlox said:


> Its doing really well. The 80 degree and sunny days and cool, low humidity nights is putting it into overdrive.
> 
> This was my first foray into an irrigation system as well. Sooooo nice to just have everything automatically watered on a schedule. I feel spoiled now


Totally agree on irrigation. It's a must have game changer for serious lawn nuts


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## DbShep (Aug 10, 2020)

Looking good. I just spread some seed on my green in areas that were damaged by cutworm. Hoping it germinates this week in the nice weather.


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## Tlox (Aug 13, 2020)

First cut in the books .5". Needs some more rolling but it should smooth out nicely. Going to seed the rough in PRG and KBG blend tomorrow.


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## Tlox (Aug 13, 2020)

Any thoughts on what is going on here? I was thinking it could be damping off because this is the general area the sprinklers intersect at but now I'm not so sure. It started showing up about 3 days ago,I treated with azoxy and iprodione 2 days ago. Nitrogen related?


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## DbShep (Aug 10, 2020)

How much are you watering? Are you able to take a sample plug to see what the root zone looks like? If so, make sure that the root zone isn't too wet, if it is too wet, back the water off. If the root zone is too dry, you can get some leaf wilt.

If the root zone is too wet, back the water off and going forward, make sure that the leaf blades have time to dry before you apply more water. Long periods of wetness and heat breed disease.

If the root zone is too dry, your soil could be hydrophobic from being rolled tight. This happened to me when I started my green due to the green surface being rolled tightly and a prolonged dry weather spell. I had a solid tine aeration done and then started applying a wetting agent.

Are you collecting your clippings? If you aren't, you should be at this point to minimize the chance of spreading disease, (if this is a disease). As well, wait until the grass is dry to mow it so you have less chance of spreading disease via the mower.

Dew--If there is a heavy dew period in the mornings, either sweep the dew with a roller, drag a hose across it, or syringe to clear the dew off the blade. The leaf will emit some moisture that contains sugars and this combined with the dew feed bacteria and fungi.

Basically, do anything you can to help the grass blade dry off as quickly as possible in the morning. Prolonged wet will create issues and these issues are more easily noticed when the grass is cut very short.

You won't be able to cure the damage that is done, but your fungicide application should prevent further decline. Did you water in your fungicide? You might try a round that you water in, (to help if there is root zone disease), and a round that you allow to dry on the leaf blades.


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## Tlox (Aug 13, 2020)

I have reduced watering to one time a day at 4pm. There are 4 zones at each corner of the green and those run for 10 minutes each. I roll or squegee the green each morning before heading off to work. I didnt water in the fungicide per se but it did rain about 8 hours after I applied.

I'll pull a core tonight and take a look at what that looks like. I have not been collecting clippings, the mower didn't have a bin with it and I've been frugally looking for one (unsuccessfully). Probably time to just spend the $ on a bin.

As far as fertilizer, I applied starter fert at the recommended rate at seed down about 3 weeks ago and gave it a half dose of fert 5 days ago. Not sure if its deficient?


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## HoosierLawnGnome (Sep 28, 2017)

Maybe chlorosis? Maybe too much dihydrogen oxide?

ETA: Until you get a catcher you could just blow the clippings off the surface, would probably help it stay dry anyways


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## Stuofsci02 (Sep 9, 2018)

HoosierLawnGnome said:


> Maybe too much dihydrogen oxide?


This sounds serious.... :lol:


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## HoosierLawnGnome (Sep 28, 2017)

Stuofsci02 said:


> HoosierLawnGnome said:
> 
> 
> > Maybe too much dihydrogen oxide?
> ...


Maybe the result of too much ethyl alcohol applied to the spreader engine before configuration of the automatic dihydrogen oxide dispenser???


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## Stuofsci02 (Sep 9, 2018)

HoosierLawnGnome said:


> Stuofsci02 said:
> 
> 
> > HoosierLawnGnome said:
> ...


Perhaps, but if so I wasn't invited... :x


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## HoosierLawnGnome (Sep 28, 2017)

Stuofsci02 said:


> HoosierLawnGnome said:
> 
> 
> > Stuofsci02 said:
> ...


Me neither!! 😱


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## Tlox (Aug 13, 2020)

Lol... it was a Woodford Reserve type of evening....


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## DbShep (Aug 10, 2020)

How are things looking now, did the blight slow down?


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## Tlox (Aug 13, 2020)

Looking much better now. 1 week post fungicide, hit it with some liquid fert 4 days ago. It still has a few small bad spots but looks like its recovering. Might try a little chelated iron as well this week.


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## DbShep (Aug 10, 2020)

How is your green coming along?


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## Tlox (Aug 13, 2020)

DbShep said:


> How is your green coming along?



Been a while since I've circled back here, the rising sun angle is getting me anxious for the snow to melt and the grass to wake up. This is what the green looked like the 3rd week of October. Have a little bit of sand leveling I am going to do to it in May, aerate and overseed but it came in really well last fall.


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## Wiley (Dec 2, 2019)

That's a beautiful landscape!


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## DbShep (Aug 10, 2020)

Tlox said:


> DbShep said:
> 
> 
> > How is your green coming along?
> ...


If you are thinking about a core aeration, I'd skip it. You shouldn't have enough thatch build up yet to need one and it may introduce weeds as it gives the seeds a hole to germinate in. It would be better to keep a frequent program of light sand top dressing and it will level up nicely before you know it. My green is currently under about 12" of snow though we are into some mild weather with a chance of rain. I put a snow mold treatment down before winter so I'm crossing my fingers it comes through the season well and can't wait to get back out there tending grass!

These pictures were from Nov 9th of my green. This season I'm going to modify my watering system, top dress and overseed the green to help the weak spots fill in. I'm also going to treat the approach for weeds, and top dress it with hopes to maintain it at around 0.5". I ran into problems with cutworm through my grow in and later in the year struggled with dew worms. I'm planning a preventative program to avoid troubles and will be spoon feeding nitrogen every couple weeks as well.


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## Tlox (Aug 13, 2020)

Wiley said:


> That's a beautiful landscape!


Thank you!


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## Tlox (Aug 13, 2020)

Good point about the aeration. The tea seed oil fertilizer I used last fall worked really well to eliminate the worm castings. The effectiveness lasted about 4 weeks.

Your green looks fantastic, we're under about a foot of snow here as well but mild temps are creeping in. What type of bentgrass did you seed with again? I went with Penncross but am thinking about overseeding 007 into it


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## DbShep (Aug 10, 2020)

If you can find it for an overseed, use 777. It had the best Ntep rating. Mine is 50% MacDonald and 50% Flagstick. I had to buy a 25lb pail and probably have 20lbs left still so I'll keep using it for overseeding unless it looks like it will give me problems. The blend I originally ordered had 777 as well as the other two I mentioned but my supplier couldn't source it in time for my seeding. I ended up getting a hold of some liquid Sevin and a diluted spray of it worked well for about a month at a time to control the dew worms. I'll only use it when it gets bad, otherwise I just quickly brush the green before I cut. I mostly use the green while I wait for my girls to get off of the school bus so I wait until afternoon to cut it when it is dry. I get a better cut that way I find.


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## Tlox (Aug 13, 2020)

Searching for 777 seed seems like it's a challenge to source, and finding it in anything under 25 lbs impossible.


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## Tlox (Aug 13, 2020)

A few rounds of topdressing and spike aerated and overseeded with 777 bentgrass to start phasing out the penncross. Also Did a bunch of sand leveling on the apron and approach and seeded that with PRG. Cutting at .3 at the moment and will bring the approach down to .75 over the next few weeks.


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