HIGHLAND CC GROUNDS

We will be using our Deep Tine aerifier on our greens this spring. This process is even more prudent in a year like this one. The weather that we have experienced this season (record breaking saturation) requires us to do more than our normal spring solid tine aeration. The pore space in our greens profile are clogged with water. We need to create deep channels (6-8" deep) for air and sand to get into. This will allow our greens to maintain the health and consistency that we aim for throughout the season. The process will be the same as years previous. First we will heavily topdress the green, then run the Deep Tine aerifier over the green, followed up by a brushing in of the sand. The final step is a rolling with our greens roller to smooth out the surface. We will be starting this process on Sunday May 8th at 4pm. At this point the greens that we are working on will be closed and the pins will be located in the approach. This will be continued on Monday May 9th, to be completed ...

I don't need to mention that the weather has been challenging (to say the least). This "season" has been marred with terrible weather for both golf and golf course maintenance. Currently we are in our second week of opening and we have only been able to allow carts out for one morning (they were pulled by noon...because of more rain). The wrath of this weather has been felt across the province and we are definitely not alone. Numerous golf courses in our area have been closed because of flooding, etc. When it comes to golf course maintenance this weather is tough as well. Our program for spring maintenance is at least 2 weeks behind where we would like to and should be. Simply because of the saturated soil conditions we have not been able to negotiate around the golf course with equipment, barely even carts or utility vehicles. Some of the tasks and jobs that we are behind on are: - Bunker work (shifting sand, edging, general maintenance) - Mowing and rolling (limited on...

It has now been two weeks since we removed the covers off of our greens. As mentioned before the greens wintered very well. We have since had both good and bad weather (typical) to continue spring preparations for opening on Monday (the 18th). Greens have been rolled, mowed and verti-cut numerous times. Last week we took advantage of the good weather and put out a good topdressing of sand on greens. Timing was good with the rain on Saturday to work the sand into the canopy. Tees, collars, approaches and fairways have been mowed a couple of times (removes the brown tips that dormancy creates). We have been rather fortunate that all of the playable areas are in good shape, especially considering the very long and harsh winter that we experienced here in London. Last week we were able to get out on the fairways with the Superject and create some air channels for our clay soils to "breathe". Our irrigation system was pressurized at the end of last week. This is always nice to...

The sunny days this past week began to warm up the air and soil temperatures under the covers...therefore we removed them to avoid any disease related issues. All of our greens wintered well and are looking healthy and happy...