It looks like the heat is going to break for us this week (after today). Last week was a challenge trying to get regular May tasks done with the pressure of 35 degree days upon us. The Grounds Dept. spent a great deal of time watering sod that we installed the previous week and also adding sand to our green side bunkers. This week we are going to get back to some cultural practices. We will be topdressing greens on Tuesday and following up with a brush and some light water. We will also be putting the finishing touches on the green side bunkers. The rough has been a popular (or unpopular) topic lately....it is growing very quickly and the seed heads have been very persistent. This is a deadly combination when trying to manage up to 50 acres of rough. We have been mowing and adjusting mowers regularly, it is definitely a challenge to keep up to though. We will be continuing some seeding and sodding in some areas of the rough this week. If the forecast hold true, we will see some seasonal temperatures by mid-week.
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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