A Warmer Course Update

After a very busy week, I have found some time to give an update on what happened over the last week and what is coming in the week ahead.  Thankfully we had some incredibly nice weather to enjoy while we were working around the course.

Topdressing greens prior to aeration is very helpful.  So are
sunny days.

Monday and Tuesday we aerated greens and the process went very well.  The warm temps have really sped up the healing process, but we are still a little ways away from having greens back to normal.  This process can take anywhere from 10 days with perfect weather and 17 to 21 days with lousy weather.  So far so good, lets hope we can keep some of these great temps around.

The material handler on the left saved hours of time and traffic
on the course mobilizing sand.

We over seeded the damaged areas on greens and will promote recovery efforts in these areas until they heal.  You may see small sections of covers over these areas from time to time, so please do not walk on the covers since we have seedlings trying to establish themselves below.  Greens will remain open while we are promoting recovery.

These covers are incredible for recovery.

Stump holes are being filled and seeded and will need some time for establishment.  What has been remarkable is the existing turf's response to the added sunlight.  While we have observed this before in many other areas of the course, it is just neat seeing nature work to improve an area just by restoring the balance of trees and turf.

You will see us mowing fairways more in the afternoon over the next month or so because of the amount of earthworm casting we are seeing on fairways.  When we mow fairways wet, the castings smear and turn grass into a muddy mess.  We can avoid this by mowing in the late morning/afternoon when everything is dry.  The results are fantastic and allows our operators to mow without baskets saving a lot of time.  We have also been able to get all surfaces mowed this past week and with that have officially started mowing season.

Growing, green grass... Finally!  Can't wait to
see the after pic of #7 this time next year!

Only 20 or so years overdue is the beginning of the course restroom project.  Both of the old structures were demolished and removed this past week.  Site locations have been staked and excavation work will start shortly.  This is great news for everyone except for the burrowing animals, squirrels and woodpeckers that claimed residence in the old ones.

Justin and Brennen had the honor of demolition

The front lawn/front entrance/asphalt/curbing/irrigation/landscape project is coming along nicely and will look amazing when it is done.  My staff has started to install the irrigation system and with some nice weather, will be able to complete work soon.

Panoramic of the front lawn

The cement crew only needed 2 days to lay curbing and it looks sharp.

If you have not made reservations for the informational meeting on Tuesday, May 13 at 6:00 PM with our golf course architect, Bruce Hepner, please contact Molly in the Country Club office.  This will be an excellent opportunity for you to meet Bruce and see his vision and passion for the project ahead.  We are expecting a large turnout and we hope you can join us and stay for dinner after.