Calling agronomists - do saltwater and turf mix?

[Jeffrey Prest]

While taking in the amazing island green at Jack Nicklaus' Punta Mita design (http://www.fourseasons.com/puntamita/golf.html) it got me wondering how much of a problem it is, if at all, to protect a green against seawater in stormy weather.

As the 7th at Pebble shows, it obviously can be done but does it call for a very different kind of green maintenance, or is saltwater not the threat to turf that it might seem?

[Pat Brockwell]

Researchers have found that seashore paspalum, once established, can be irrigated with seawater and survive.  It does not tolerate hard freezing winter climates, though.  It has been able to tolerate greens height mowing as well, what little I've seen myself looks pretty grainy and maybe a bit coarse for greens, but breeders are no doubt working on improving the line.  It shows great promise for use with saline water sources like effluent.

[Jason Connor]

I'm not an agronomist.  And I was on the "M" side of Texas A&M.

But I remember when I used to play Manakiki (Ross course outside of Cleveland) regularly they had some greens killed due to salt water.  The story I heard:

There are huge salt deposits under Lake Erie and the surrounding lands.  Seems there was a salt deposit beneath one of the retainage ponds.  Eventually the thin layer of earth between the bottom of the pond and the top of the sand deposit wore away.  Suddenly they had a salt water irrigation pond!  And of course they didn't realize it until they'd killed plenty of grass and they had some greens that had to be re-sodded.

I guess with many things, it's a matter of concentration about how much saltwater turf can take.

[Steve Okula]

I can't say what species of grass that is from the photos, but probably it's either hybrid bermudagrass or seashore paspalum, given it's in Mexico. My first guess is bermuda, since the course opened in '99, meaning it was sown in '98, and there wasn't that much paspalum being planted back then.

Paspalum, once established, will tolerate quite a lot of salt spray. The new varieties will provide first-rate, fast and true putting surfaces. It has the tremendous advantage of being one, single variety that can be used to grass the entire course, so it eliminates any cross-contamination, like with bermuda when a 419 fairway variety invades  dwarf variety greens. On the down-side, paspalum is a finicky feeder, and the nutrient balance must be kept just exaclty so. It is also more prone to diseases than bermuda.

But bermuda is tough, too, and resists salt better than most other turfgrasses.

Bentgrass and Poa, found in northern climes like Cleveland, are highly susceptible to salt damage.

The main concern with salt affected sites like that is that you keep them flushed as much as possible with fresh water. Don't let the salts build up in the root zone, they need to be kept passing through. It helps a lot if you've got some light sandy soils underneath.

There are other tricks like calcium and gypsum application, to displace the sodium, and acid injections and sulfur burners, to lower the pH and counter harmful bicarbonates.

Dr.'s Duncan and Carrow (forgot the first names) out of the University of Georgia, are the world's leading authorities on salt affected turfgrass sites and seashore paspalum. Anyone interested could try googling their information to learn more.

[Ian Larson]

Its not really a problem Jeffrey....

Managing water high in sodium, whether its in Jack's island green on the coast or if it is with high sodium in well water, is fairly simple. Every situation will differ.

In Punta Mita's case they are dealing with sodium in the water source, sodium in the fog that may hang out over the green and sodium in rainstorms or sea mist. That green is getting hit with salt from every direction.

The basic principle is moving the sodium off of the plants foliage down into the soil profile and away from the roots. The bigger issue is the increased levels of sodium on the soil colloid in the soil profile. That is managed by using calcium or a calcium source like gypsum. Usually a soil test will be taken to track the amount of sodium built up on the soil colloid. A proportionate amount of calcium will be recommended to be applied and washed into the soil. Because of the  ionic charges of calcium and sodium, calcium will knock the sodium cation off the soil colloid replacing it with the calcium. The sodium is then flushed through the system and away from the plant. In a region like the carribean, rainstorms are always around. The rainstorm is a natural flush. So in Punta Mita's case Im sure they will do a gypsum application before a good storm comes through. Naturally flushing the greens soil profile.

In a area like Southern California salt management is slightly different because we dont get the natural flushes from rainstorms due to the lack of rainstorms most of the year. So here the salt will build up on the greens canopy and in the soil. So we have to "create" a rain event.

In my case I am close to the ocean and normally get a marine layer thats rich in sodium. And my water source is high in sodium. So when I irrigate, I irrigate with salt water, which may seem scary. But its really not as long as its managed right.

My simulated rain event is once a month usually on a Sunday night. I will go out with about ten to twenty lbs. of gypsum per 1000 square feet on the greens. On my greens I installed a valve on the drainline after it exits the green. When I flush I close the valve. Then I turn on the greens sprinkler heads until the greens cavity is completely filled and water is running off the green. That usually takes about 3 to four hours of water. When the green has reached field capacity I open the valve. It is exactly like filling the bathtub then pulling the plug.

The weight of the water rushing down through the greens profile into the drainline creates a suction effect just like the bathtub drain does. This suction is the green creating a vacum and drawing oxygen down into the profile oxygenating the soil (aerification). At the same time the gypsum has been washed into the soil knocking the sodium off of the soil colloid.

The final result is a dramatic change in sodium levels, the grass is temporarily protected from sodium and the green got a huge shot of oxygen for the roots. The last thing I will do is connect the Sub Air unit to the greens drain system with the valve closed again. That creates another vacum in the soil profile drawing in more oxygen and pulling out all of the excess water thats trapped in the profile and unavailable to the plant into the drainlines. This dries out the green again making it healthier and firmer for the golf ball.

Hope that helps and sorry for the thesis.........

[Voytek Wilczak]

Its not really a problem Jeffrey....

Managing water high in sodium, whether its in Jack's island green on the coast or if it is with high sodium in well water, is fairly simple. Every situation will differ.

In Punta Mita's case they are dealing with sodium in the water source, sodium in the fog that may hang out over the green and sodium in rainstorms or sea mist. That green is getting hit with salt from every direction.

The basic principle is moving the sodium off of the plants foliage down into the soil profile and away from the roots. The bigger issue is the increased levels of sodium on the soil colloid in the soil profile. That is managed by using calcium or a calcium source like gypsum. Usually a soil test will be taken to track the amount of sodium built up on the soil colloid. A proportionate amount of calcium will be recommended to be applied and washed into the soil. Because of the  ionic charges of calcium and sodium, calcium will knock the sodium cation off the soil colloid replacing it with the calcium. The sodium is then flushed through the system and away from the plant. In a region like the carribean, rainstorms are always around. The rainstorm is a natural flush. So in Punta Mita's case Im sure they will do a gypsum application before a good storm comes through. Naturally flushing the greens soil profile.

In a area like Southern California salt management is slightly different because we dont get the natural flushes from rainstorms due to the lack of rainstorms most of the year. So here the salt will build up on the greens canopy and in the soil. So we have to "create" a rain event.

In my case I am close to the ocean and normally get a marine layer thats rich in sodium. And my water source is high in sodium. So when I irrigate, I irrigate with salt water, which may seem scary. But its really not as long as its managed right.

My simulated rain event is once a month usually on a Sunday night. I will go out with about ten to twenty lbs. of gypsum per 1000 square feet on the greens. On my greens I installed a valve on the drainline after it exits the green. When I flush I close the valve. Then I turn on the greens sprinkler heads until the greens cavity is completely filled and water is running off the green. That usually takes about 3 to four hours of water. When the green has reached field capacity I open the valve. It is exactly like filling the bathtub then pulling the plug.

The weight of the water rushing down through the greens profile into the drainline creates a suction effect just like the bathtub drain does. This suction is the green creating a vacum and drawing oxygen down into the profile oxygenating the soil (aerification). At the same time the gypsum has been washed into the soil knocking the sodium off of the soil colloid.

The final result is a dramatic change in sodium levels, the grass is temporarily protected from sodium and the green got a huge shot of oxygen for the roots. The last thing I will do is connect the Sub Air unit to the greens drain system with the valve closed again. That creates another vacum in the soil profile drawing in more oxygen and pulling out all of the excess water thats trapped in the profile and unavailable to the plant into the drainlines. This dries out the green again making it healthier and firmer for the golf ball.

Hope that helps and sorry for the thesis.........

AFAIK that's exactly what they did with the sodium-rich soil at Liberty National in NJ. They fed it calcium.

The grass looks good.

[Peter Wagner]

Punta Mita has 19 holes.

I played Punta Mita about 2 years ago and I can't remember the hole number (#3?).  Jack designed and constructed two holes but just one is played.  In the event this island green were to be unusable they have an entire hole as a spare.

The shot to the island is tough.  About 180-ish into a trade wind.  I hit 5-wood to the fringe and I thought I was a hero.  Now getting to the hole is sort of interesting.  They have a very small amphibious 6-wheeled car/boat.  You leave your clubs, grab your putter and climb into this tiny car/boat.  This happy Mexican guys drives you across so you can finish the hole.  It's pretty cool.  If the tide is wrong you mark your ball,  hit your shot but then come back after your round to finish the hole.

The green quality of this hole was surprisingly good.

Best,
Peter

[Bill_McBride]

I went down to Puerto Penasco, Mexico, last winter to play Forrest Richardson's terrific course, Las Palomas.  It's at the top of the Sea of Cortez, the body of water between Baja California and the mainland of Mexico.

The turf was all paspalum and was irrigated with salt water from the lagoons in the flat central part of the course.

There were a few turf issues, trouble spots, apparently caused by a lack of fresh water that is required for a periodic flushing of the turf.  Most of the turf was in very good condition and I hope they have solved the flushing problem.