Weather and unforeseen conditions can/will change the schedule.
-Sod areas in fairways and approaches
-Spray roughs for clover
-Spray Fescue areas for weeds
-Continue mowing Fescue areas
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Thursday, May 22, 2014
May 22, 2014 News and Notes
-We are doing a light grooming on the front nine fairways today. It's similar to verticutting but not as aggressive. On Friday we will do the back nine fairways then repeat in a different direction on Monday and Tuesday of next week. Some "bronzing" of the turf may be noticed but it will quickly grow out. The grooming process will help us eliminate surface irregularities, promote vertical growth and stand-up individual plant blades making for a denser more consistent stand of turf.
-Have begun preparing areas in fairways for sod. We have sod arriving both Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. Our goal is to wrap up any "projects" before June so we can focus on turf survival throughout the heat and humidity of summer.
-Have been fielding questions on Poa annua recently. The wet Fall of 2013 coupled with the harsh winter we just had has made Poa a very happy plant. At this point the Poa has just gone through the seed head portion of it's life cycle and will be changing to a lime green color. This is when we are really hitting it with plant growth regulators to promote the growth of bentgrass in these areas. Once hot weather arrives the Poa will begin to check out. There are certainly some areas of concern in collars where we may not have enough bentgrass already in place to grow into the areas that will be vacated by the Poa plants. Rest assured these areas will be monitored closely to ensure there will be good turf coverage.
-The sod on green edges is doing excellent. The height of cut is being slowly lowered to match the green surfaces. A moderate application of topdressing sand was applied yesterday to help smooth out these new areas.
-Have begun preparing areas in fairways for sod. We have sod arriving both Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. Our goal is to wrap up any "projects" before June so we can focus on turf survival throughout the heat and humidity of summer.
-Have been fielding questions on Poa annua recently. The wet Fall of 2013 coupled with the harsh winter we just had has made Poa a very happy plant. At this point the Poa has just gone through the seed head portion of it's life cycle and will be changing to a lime green color. This is when we are really hitting it with plant growth regulators to promote the growth of bentgrass in these areas. Once hot weather arrives the Poa will begin to check out. There are certainly some areas of concern in collars where we may not have enough bentgrass already in place to grow into the areas that will be vacated by the Poa plants. Rest assured these areas will be monitored closely to ensure there will be good turf coverage.
-The sod on green edges is doing excellent. The height of cut is being slowly lowered to match the green surfaces. A moderate application of topdressing sand was applied yesterday to help smooth out these new areas.
Monday, May 19, 2014
Weekly Schedule for May 19-25, 2014
Weather and unforeseen conditions can/will change the schedule.
-Verticut, brush and topdress greens on Monday
-Continue mowing and spraying Fescue areas
-Prep areas in fairways and approaches for sod
-Verticut, brush and topdress greens on Monday
-Continue mowing and spraying Fescue areas
-Prep areas in fairways and approaches for sod
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Update on our Fine Fescue Areas
Would like to update everyone on the work we are doing in our Fine Fescue areas throughout the course. Last Fall I posted the plan we would undertake to rid these areas of weeds and undesirable species and ensure the Fine Fescue grass is our predominant species.
Fine Fescue Post from September 2013
Fine Fescue is the thin, wispy turf where a golf ball may be found easily and looks like this.
So far this year we have applied a pre-emergent herbicide for grassy weeds plus two post-emergent herbicides. One for grassy weeds and the other for broadleaf weeds. Currently we are starting the process of mowing these areas again and following-up with additional post-emergent herbicides for both grassy and broadleaf weeds. This is a rather long, time consuming process and will take several weeks.
These herbicide applications have been very effective in removing the undesirable species causing some areas to turn brown where Fine Fescue was not established. Our weather pattern is 4-5 weeks behind in terms of the amount of heat we would normally have by May 15th thus causing further delay in the growth of the Fine Fescue. Some of these brown areas have Fine Fescue growing through them such as this area between #2 and #10.
Look closely and the desirable Fine Fescue can be seen growing up through the brown leaf material. Not all of the brown areas will fill in with Fine Fescue when the warmer weather arrives. Those areas without adequate turf coverage will be seeded in the Fall.
Fine Fescue Post from September 2013
Fine Fescue is the thin, wispy turf where a golf ball may be found easily and looks like this.
So far this year we have applied a pre-emergent herbicide for grassy weeds plus two post-emergent herbicides. One for grassy weeds and the other for broadleaf weeds. Currently we are starting the process of mowing these areas again and following-up with additional post-emergent herbicides for both grassy and broadleaf weeds. This is a rather long, time consuming process and will take several weeks.
These herbicide applications have been very effective in removing the undesirable species causing some areas to turn brown where Fine Fescue was not established. Our weather pattern is 4-5 weeks behind in terms of the amount of heat we would normally have by May 15th thus causing further delay in the growth of the Fine Fescue. Some of these brown areas have Fine Fescue growing through them such as this area between #2 and #10.
Look closely and the desirable Fine Fescue can be seen growing up through the brown leaf material. Not all of the brown areas will fill in with Fine Fescue when the warmer weather arrives. Those areas without adequate turf coverage will be seeded in the Fall.
Weekly Schedule for May 12-18, 2014
Weather and unforeseen conditions can/will change the schedule.
-Finish sodding green edges on #6 and #17 on Tuesday
-Continue mowing Fescue areas then following up with spraying for weeds
-Begin prepping and possibly sodding areas in approaches and fairways
-Growth regulator application to fairways for poa annua control
-Finish sodding green edges on #6 and #17 on Tuesday
-Continue mowing Fescue areas then following up with spraying for weeds
-Begin prepping and possibly sodding areas in approaches and fairways
-Growth regulator application to fairways for poa annua control
 |
| New friend for Pinki on #10 fairway |
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Weekly Schedule for May 5-11, 2014
Weather and unforeseen conditions can/will change the schedule.
-Focus on repairing areas on greens
-Herbicide application to cut bamboo on #2
-Herbicide application to broadleaf weeds in rough
-Focus on repairing areas on greens
-Herbicide application to cut bamboo on #2
-Herbicide application to broadleaf weeds in rough
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Update on Repair of Green Edges
Over the past three years we have reduced the amount of poor turf on our green edges from 40% to less then 15%. This is still unacceptable and we are working to improve on this measurement. Efforts to increase sunlight and air flow on #3 green will certainly help this area which is particularly bad.
Currently we are cutting out the poor areas on greens #3, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #12, #14 and #17 to a depth of 4 inches.
Previously when this was done we used straight sand then added our own amendments. This time we are purchasing the greens mix with the amendments already pre-blended. By doing this we will have a firmer base with the proper amount of infiltration rate to match the rest of the green.
The harsh winter has delayed the availability of greens height Bentgrass sod. Yesterday's rain storm has further delayed the cutting of the sod at the sod farms. The earliest we expect to have sod is Tuesday. In the meantime we hope to have everything prepped and ready to go by then.
Currently we are cutting out the poor areas on greens #3, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #12, #14 and #17 to a depth of 4 inches.
Previously when this was done we used straight sand then added our own amendments. This time we are purchasing the greens mix with the amendments already pre-blended. By doing this we will have a firmer base with the proper amount of infiltration rate to match the rest of the green.
The harsh winter has delayed the availability of greens height Bentgrass sod. Yesterday's rain storm has further delayed the cutting of the sod at the sod farms. The earliest we expect to have sod is Tuesday. In the meantime we hope to have everything prepped and ready to go by then.
Storm Update-May 1, 2014
We received 5.75 inches of rain over the past 36 hours. Besides bunkers the course has held up well. There was standing water on #8 green so this morning we are taking a hose to wash the silt off. Our goal is to get greenside bunkers repaired first before moving on to fairway bunkers.
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