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Golf Course Update...

The challenge continues....We were fortunate enough to have a few great days of weather...but that has ended quite abruptly! Cold, rain and now SNOW have hindered our progress on preparing the golf course for play. During the 4 day warm stretch we were able to mow greens, roll greens, mow collars/approaches, mow fairways, open the Practice Range, rake bunkers, pressurize the irrigation system, fertilize greens, continue clean up and grind all remaining stumps from our winter tree management plan. Productivity was at a high and our staff has really put forth a great effort.

The other very important task that we have been addressing is winter injury. The extent of damage is varying. Our staff has worked continuously at plugging, seeding and repairing as much damage as we can. What we need now is mother nature to step up, warm up and provide some more sunshine to help things grow. As our members begin to play the golf course (once the snow melts) you will see the work being done to expedite the recovery process. We have utilized older damaged (greens) covers and made cut to fit covers for smaller areas of greens (to insulate the plugs and seed). This will create a greenhouse effect  on the areas and help aid in recovery.

The 10th green sustained the most damage, it is sporadic, but is under repair. We feel that a temporary green should be used to eliminate traffic on these tender areas while they recover. Our hope is to have the green back in play ASAP.

Cultural Reminder:
Greens Aeration:
Sunday, May 3rd 4pm-Greens Aeration will begin.
Monday, May 4th-Greens Aeration will continue.

During this process pins will be cut into the approaches to allow the work to be completed in a timely and efficient manner. As the greens are completed they will be re-opened. As always our goal is to have all greens opened back up on Monday night.        

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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.

Cultural Greens Maintenance...

With the cooler temperatures this week, we will be performing some all important greens maintenance procedures. Monday evening (after the outside event) we will be doing a light grooming on both our greens and collars. This task will help to reduce the amount of lateral growth, therefore standing up the plants (for a better cut) and smoothing out the surfaces. Following the grooming we will be dry mowing all areas tonight to help clean up the debris. Tuesday morning we will be applying our biweekly light topdressing prior to play. Once the sand has dried, we will use our cocoa matt to drag the sand into both the canopy and the shallow grooming channels created by tonight's procedure. These practices in conjunction help to create a smooth, firm and healthy surface to putt on.

Greens Cultural Management Practices Schedule

The fall is a great time to perform a number of necessary cultural practices. Our goal is to amend the upper portion of the greens surface with enough sand to help insulate the crown through the winter as well as removing and diluting organic matter. Below you will find a schedule of cultural practices that we aim to complete before the covers go on and the snow flies!!! Wednesday, Sept. 30th- Light topdressing followed by a Cocoa matt Tuesday, Wednesday October 13/14-Course Closure full core aeration with heavy topdressing. October 19th- Light topdressing followed by a Cocoa matt October 26th- Light topdressing followed by a Cocoa matt November 2nd- Light topdressing followed by a Cocoa matt November 9th- Deep Verticut, followed by a sufficient topdressing. November 16th- Post Course Closure, Heavy topdressing followed by Deep tine aeration. Of course this is all in hope that the weather cooperates...happy fall!