{"id":13330,"date":"2022-03-23T12:58:01","date_gmt":"2022-03-23T16:58:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aquatrolscompany.com\/managing-moisture-in-the-socal-desert\/"},"modified":"2022-03-23T12:58:01","modified_gmt":"2022-03-23T16:58:01","slug":"managing-moisture-in-the-socal-desert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aquatrolscompany.com\/en-in\/managing-moisture-in-the-socal-desert\/","title":{"rendered":"Managing Moisture in the SoCal Desert"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
By Pat Jones<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ironwood CC superintendent Nathan Glaser has a sophisticated irrigation system and can move water anywhere, but he relies on Zipline<\/em>\u00ae<\/sup> to keep it where it needs to be for a full 28 days<\/em>.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Nate Glaser left 1,000 acres\nof Minnesota corn and soybeans behind when he decided to pursue golf instead of\nstaying on the family farm. He traded those green midwestern fields for the\nchallenges of maintaining championship golf conditions in the daunting\nCalifornia desert. For the last decade, he\u2019s been caring for the fabulous\nIronwood CC in the golf-rich Palm Springs area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not surprisingly, his\nagronomic world revolves around water management. Each of the region\u2019s typical\nwater sources (Colorado River, effluent or groundwater) has a particular set of\nissues because of dissolved solids, salts, and heavy metals. Glaser considers\nhimself lucky to be on groundwater at Ironwood but it\u2019s hardly free: operating\ngiant well pumps and moving water up a mountain is not cheap or easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe course is built on the\nside of a mountain and it\u2019s all bedrock under us, so our well pumps are offsite\ndown the hill. We pump up to retention ponds on the golf course.\u201d He\u2019s\nfortunate to have a newer Rain Bird system that he can run from his phone to\nhandle the constantly shifting process of water management. \u201cIt\u2019s so\nconvenient. You can monitor everything no matter where you are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But no matter how\nsophisticated the delivery of the water might be, the issue is always the same:\n\u201cThere\u2019s no rain so learning to manage the water and the byproducts of not\nhaving natural rainfall \u2013 like mineral buildup \u2013 is critical.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thus, consistent distribution\nof water is always top of mind for Glaser, and he values the help he gets from\nAquatrols. \u201cI\u2019ve always been a fan of Aquatrols. I\u2019ve used their products most\nof my career. I really liked Revolution\u00ae<\/sup><\/strong> and relied on it for years.\u201d However, he was ready to\ntry something new, and when Zipline came along he fell in love. \u201cI think it has\na longer-lasting effect,\u201d says Glaser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
His big focus is on keeping\nconditions excellent through the spring when temperatures start to rise. \u201cOur\nmembership is incredibly busy on the course until about the first of May until\neveryone goes back home up north. We really struggle to keep ryegrass green\ninto March and April when we\u2019re in triple digits. Keeping a cool-season plant\nalive when it\u2019s 109 and you\u2019re growing it on rock and gravel is not easy.\nThat\u2019s why Zipline is such an effective tool for us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His Zipline program includes\ngreens, tees, fairways, and approaches. He particularly relies on monthly apps\n(\u201ca nice heavy dose\u201d) in spring to deal with rising heat. He says the visual\nevidence of healthier, greener turf is amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Glaser comfortably gets a\nfull 28 days from Zipline to combat LDS on his MiniVerde putting surfaces. \u201cThe\nspecies is a thatch producer so we\u2019re always battling organic matter in the top\ninch or so. I think Zipline really helps fight the hydrophobia from that\norganic level.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like many desert supers, he\ncombines Zipline with serious cultural practices to keep his thatch layer under\ncontrol. \u201cWe go at it a bunch of different ways: we do very, very frequent\nlight topdressing and then even more topdressing when we do pull cores. We also\nuse DryJect. Overall, I try to remove 30% (of the organic) a year, which is\npretty aggressive, but MiniVerde produces 7 times more thatch than TifDwarf.\nWe\u2019ve learned that it\u2019s very, very important to watch those organic levels in\nthat top inch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He likes Zipline\u2019s\nperformance but its longevity is what really stands out for him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think that it\u2019s as good as\nanything, but it lasts longer.\u201d In addition to his regular greens program, he\napplies Zipline on his fairways regularly. He simply adds it into the tank with\nhis liquid foliar program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He focuses on tees during\nspring warm-up. \u201cWe\u2019ll spray Zipline on tees mid-March until full transition.\nWe\u2019re battling the ryegrass die-off through transition. Guys that are really\ngood at that transition \u2013 their members don\u2019t even realize it\u2019s happening.\nEventually, your ryegrass is dead and your Bermuda grass is there and if you do\nit right it happens very gently.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
What\u2019s the key to good water\nmanagement for Glaser? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJust being diligent with\nirrigation adjustments from season to season. There\u2019s no being \u2018done.\u2019 Those\nadjustments change seasonally so you just have to constantly be on it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why does he value the options\nAquatrols gives him? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI like their products and\nthey work really well. As a superintendent, you go with what you feel your best\noption is and they are definitely my best option.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Pat Jones Ironwood CC superintendent Nathan Glaser has a sophisticated irrigation system and can move water anywhere, but he relies on Zipline\u00ae to keep it where it needs to be for a full 28 days. Nate Glaser left 1,000 acres of Minnesota corn and soybeans behind when he decided to pursue golf instead of […]<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/aquatrolscompany.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/nate-glaser-1-1024x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/aquatrolscompany.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/managing-moisture-in-the-desert-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/aquatrolscompany.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_3301.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n