Update...

I think that the season of 2014 will be known as the "catch up" season. At this point in the season we are still a bit behind. Herbicide applications used to control Broadleaf weeds that are typically done in early June, are just being applied this week. Clover has really "blossomed" with all of this wet weather, but we will have good control shortly. We will be slicing/solid tining our fairways in the coming weeks as the weather and golf schedule allow. This will help to relieve any added compaction from traffic (mowing and general wear and tear) on the fairways. Soils will typically compact in a shorter period of time when wet conditions persist.
As always our topdressing and venting programs will continue on greens as needed. We will be applying a light dusting of sand to our greens following the Senior Ryder Cup on Monday evening (July 14th). The sand will then be dragged in with our Cocoa Matt, knocking it down into the canopy.

Just a quick reminder about ball marks on our greens. With softer conditions during and after these rain events that we have been experiencing, ball marks are deeper and more pronounced. This makes an unrepaired or improperly repaired ball mark even more of an issue. As a courtesy to your fellow members and with respect to golf course conditions, please remember fix your ballmark and at least one other. Below is the proper way to fix a ball mark....

The right way to fix a ball mark

Step 1:
Use a pronged ball mark
repair tool, knife,
key or tee.

Step 2:
Insert the repair tool at the
edges of the mark; not the
middle of the depression.

Step 3:
Bring the edges together
with a gentle twisting motion,
but don't lift the center. Try not to
tear the grass.

Step 4:
Smooth the surface with
a club or your foot. Repeat
steps until the surface is one
you would want to putt over.

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The Practice Range Tee

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.

Venting Greens...

This week we will be venting our greens with needle tines. These tines make a hole that is less than an 1/8th of inch. With our greens being completely saturated from the incredible amount of rain that we have recieved this season, there is no room for air movement in the soil. We need to create very small channels for air movement to the root zone. When roots don't have air, they die. This has not been evident yet, but with the warmer temperatures of July upon us soon, trouble could be lurking. This will be a very non-disruptive process to our members and play. We are going to vent all of our greens over then next few days early in the morning as to not disrupt play. The process is simple, we vent the green using the aerifier and needle tines, roll them smooth and then mow the green. The holes virtually dissapear and are of no effect to roll. I realize that the word aerifier starts to scare people, but this is necessary and again is very clean and non-disruptive. Check out the pic...

Spring Greens Aeration...a week later!

A week has passed since our annual spring greens aeration. We have had a mixed bag of weather, hot, dry, cold, wet and even frost! These conditions make it challenging to aid in healing, but with the more recent consistent warm temperatures we are seeing solid recovery. We were fortunate to have decent weather to complete the process on time, allowing us to fill all the holes created by the 1/2” hollow tines. As there are some minor depressions within some of the holes we will be beginning our bi-weekly topdressing program early next week. Our team is mowing and rolling our greens daily, while slowly lowering our height of cut to our summer norm. We all know that spring cultural practices are not popular among golfers, but these all important tasks are the building blocks for high performance greens conditions throughout the heart of the golf season. Check out this video produced by the USGA on Aerations effect on putting...

HIGHLAND CC GROUNDS

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