Summer Arrivals and Construction Departures

Seemingly out of nowhere we have arrived in our first hot and dry stretch of the season. Closing in on three weeks without meaningful rain and a couple of 30 degree plus days have irrigation programs running overnight, supplemental watering of select areas on tees and fairways, and hand watering spots that are drying out. We applied a lot of water to the fairways following a wetting agent application over the course of this week. As is the case with increased irrigation requirements, comes repairs. A flood on 9 fairway on Tuesday was caused by a mainline break. The crew made quick work of the repair and had the area re-pressurized that day.

The greens have been performing very well. Our usual hand watering program to the greens is in full force. Through visual inspection, core samples, and Volumetric Water Content readings, we are diligent in monitoring and applying water only to the areas of the green that need it. For the most part, only 5-10% of the actual putting surface will require water to maintain adequate plant health on any given day. However, as dry conditions persist (as well as the 300 rounds a day) we will occasionally run a ‘soak’ cycle on the greens to ensure we do not push things too far, and so we can give the turf surrounding the greens a drink. This past Wednesday with 30+ Degree weather and breezy conditions we saw some wilting spots on the greens that were in need of addressing.

 We will perform a solid tine aeration to the greens next week. These practices are essential investments to the long term health and sustainability of the greens over the course of the season. This practice is minimally invasive and will not affect

To this point I am very happy in all aspects of the greens. I feel they are quite healthy, with high plant density and roots. Ball roll is smooth, and speeds are fast.

The construction portion of Phase 2 of the Master Plan has been completed as Turf Masters has installed the sand in the bunkers they have construction on 1,9, and 18. As we are currently working on with the bunkers completed in house last fall, we will be monitoring and making adjustments to fine tune adequate and consistent sand depth and defining the area where the turf meets the sand line. Staying on top of mowing the bunker faces remains a priority. With our high school contingent of staff arriving next week, the added labor will be a major plus to our day to day course maintenance practices.

3 Tee is coming along nicely. The turf is very healthy, and we are on schedule with bringing the height of cut down to the eventual height of the rest of the tees on the course. Patience is needed as rushing this process will cause a loss in turf density beyond what will allow us to open the tee. I will post an update on the progress in a couple weeks as we approach club championship season.