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Golf Course Update

It has been over a month since my last post...and it has been a busy one! The warm fall season has provided some great weather for playing golf and also for maintaining the golf course. Above seasonal temps and timely rains have kept us hopping with just simply mowing the golf course. Leaf drop has started slowly but surely and we are now in full swing of our blowing and mulching ritual.
Cultural work has progressed very well in conjunction with the warmer temperatures. Every area of the golf course has been aerified with the exception of the rough which we will attempt if the weather continues to cooperate.
Greens:
Core aeration was completed during the course closure last week and we are very happy with the results, as this was our first time performing this integral practice this late in the season. Once the cores were cleaned from the surface, the greens were topdressed to fill in the holes . We will be continuing to topdress until all imperfections are eliminated. Next up for the greens is our deep verticutting. We will be performing this the week of October 28th. Again, this is a another method in which we remove organic matter and create more channels for sand fall into the canopy.
Tees:
Tees have been deep verticut twice since labour day and topdressing has followed each event. This practice is vital to maintaining minimal thatch levels in our tees. During the course closure the tees were also topdressed and solid tine aerified. We will continue to verticut and topdress the tees well into the fall.
Fairways:
This fall the fairways have been getting a lot of attention. Fairways are always difficult to work on because of the vast size and scale of the work. This fall's warmer temperatures have allowed us to perform both core aerifying and deep verticutting. These are both very laborious jobs in regard to clean up, but the forecast has worked in our favour.

Capital Projects:
This fall we will be installing extensions on our cart paths in close proximity to our greens and tees. This project will allow us to get the carts to the drier areas of the golf course and reduce wear and tear near greens and tees. The contractor will be starting the work this week. We will do our best to keep the disruption to play to a minimum.
We will also be starting phase 2 of our drainage plan this fall. The contractor will be installing both collectors and slit drainage on #1, #4 and #18. This is possibly the biggest phase of the project due to the long runs and amount of area to be drained on #18.
These projects are both part of our infrastructure plan to improve the golf course playability and to provide more access to the golf course in times of poor weather.

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