As noted in our Twitter feed we will be applying a wetting agent to some of our fairways this morning. A wetting agent is a soil "conditioner" that aids in the penetration of water into the soil profile, therefore making the water "plant available". Localized Dry Spot (LDS) is a condition that is very prominent in turfgrass soils. This condition happens when the sand or soil particles repell water to a point that the turfgrass wilts and could eventually go dormant or die. Applying these wetting agents helps to maintain a healthy amount of moisture in the profile. To apply these products we try to be sure that the soil is moist so that the product can move into the ground evenly. We also are required to water in the product as it does us no good sitting on top of the turfgrass. So with this I will remind our members that throughout this morning we will be running the occasional fairway and approach sprinklers. You may find that some of our fairways are a little softer than normal today. We will do our best to have this task completed in a timely manner. As always we appreciate our members understanding as we work towards making HCC the best conditioned golf course possible.
Last fall we utilized a “new to us” method of revitilization for our practice tee. Our contractor TDS, fraize mowed the surface of the tee to remove organic matter as well at to aid in leveling. The tee was then aerified and seeded to a new variety of creeping rye grass. We chose this type of turf grass as research shows rapid recovery and a low growth habit. We were able to get some great growth in the fall, but the tee is still not ready for traffic and full use. The plan is to utilize the mats until growth has filled in some of the voids etc. We will then begin to slowly set up hitting areas on the grass tee. For a while we will alternate between grass and the mats with a 50/50 ratio of use. Once the grass tee is established and is in adequate recovery mode, the practice areas will be back to normal. As always our membership’s patience is appreciated as we try to improve these areas for use.
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