#6 tee

Unfortunately there is a large ash tree and pine tree that must go. We have been dealing with many issues on #6 tee with growth, disease,etc. Not to mention that the ash tree roots are pulling the irrigation control almost out of the ground. In order to save this irrigation control the tree had to come out. By removing the ash tree it will also help with necessary sunlight for the tee to be healthy. If you recall in the past 5 years the tee has had many issues with growth and disease because it does not have enough sunlight. Here is a few pictures of the tree removal.

poa annua seed heads

With are unusual temperature over the past few weeks it has led to many seed heads on our greens. Since this past Monday we have been very aggressive in our cultural practices as well as a special spray that will aid in eradicating the seed heads. They should be gone by the first of next week, and are greens are still very smooth rolling at a 12.3 today.

Mow, Mow, Mow

Going into this weekend temps have been as high as 88 F. This has been a tremendous help to the fairways and rough but it is also time to start on are normal mowing schedule. Currently we are mowing fairways, tees, and collars 2 times per week, rough around the greens 2 times per week, rough around the tees 1 time per week, and are exterior roughs 4 to 5 times per week. With talking care of this and keeping our greens firm and fast there is hardly anytime for projects.

Spraying for weeds already?

Yep that is right! With the warm weather that has helped us with growing the fairways this past week has also led to us having to spot spray weeds in the fairways. We have 23 acres of fairways and of that there is maybe a 1/4 acre total of unwanted weeds. Here is a few pictures of the crew spraying for the weeds.

Green, growth, and rain

The recent heat wave has definitely helped with turf color and growth. Not only that but we took on almost a 1/2" of rain the past few days. There has been a big contrast in color the past few weeks going from almost dormant fairways to this week mowing them a few times. We will be fertilizing all fairways and green surrounds this Monday to help with the growth even more. The grass will definitely respond with the warmth and fertilizer and we should expect to see less ground under repair in the fairways.

Prizm gauge

We have had a prizm gauge that measures the height of the cut and quality of cut for quite some time. This is a standard practice of measurement that ensures what we set are heights of cut at, shows itself after a mow. Take a look at the video and if you ever want to see the device in person let us know.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl6heSoLuB8&sns=em

Still Speedy

The greens have not been mowed and only rolled the past 5 days. The greens are still very smooth and have slowed down to 12.5 on the stimp. The recent heat has helped in slowing them down a little bit as well as the irrigation that has been needed. We will continue are bi weekly topdressing program, which will keep the firmness and speeds desired for the next few months.

A fresh breath of air

It is almost that time again, aerifaction. Please take the time to watch the video. Good information as to why we aerify our greens.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va98sIUEjFw&sns=em

Mother nature

If you don't believe in El Nino you should! Not only does it give us some much needed rain it also warms the temperature up. We have had record highs this week, and I keep telling everybody as soon as there is a change in pressure it will bring on the rains. Next Thursday and Friday are forecast for rain. Its pretty crazy what weather can do especially when it come to the turf and trees on our course. The grass is responding to the abnormal weather which is a good sign and we hope for mild temps until spring. The trees and plants are already starting to blossom which is almost 2 months earlier than last year.

Topdressing greens and its benefits

Topdressing is a light layer of sand that is applied to the top of the green surface. There are several benefits to doing this. Increased drainage, reduces thatch, scalping, truer roll, and increased green speeds. This past Monday we topdressed as well as verticut our greens. The added benefit of verticutting and dragging in the sand serves its purpose. The greens speak for themselves. You all see what a difference it makes and it has been a standard for the past two years here. We will continue to topdress the greens at a minimum of every 2 weeks going as far as October.

BRELN!

BRELN = Building relationships and enriching lives. The golf department this past Monday had some issues getting this broken cart back to the clubhouse. So with our resources and man power we got this cart on the back of a workman bed and towed it back in. If we can help we will, and that also goes for any members carts that get stuck too!

Long week

It has been a very long week with the main line fix on #18. There was a few bumps in the road but the break has been fixed. We will be watering tonight for the first time all week. Driving back to the shop......

Open for practice

We are very excited to announce that our new practice area located between #5 and #9 is now open! You will find that there is an array of shots from pitching, chipping, and a bunker. The greens is rolling around 10 feet and is nice and firm.