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Golf Course Update....

It has been a busy couple of weeks here at HCC. Spring weather has appeared, disappeared and reappeared!!!! Temperatures nearing 30C followed by temperatures nearing 0C has all of us scratching our heads! Nevertheless we have forged on with our spring preparations for the golf course.
As part of our tree management plan we have planted some new trees in strategic areas to increase the enjoyment of the golf course while not interfering with agronomics and playability. We have also sodded and seeded the areas remaining after the stumps were removed as part of this program.
Our team is now into full swing with our typical mowing routines. The rough is growing at an alarming rate as it typically does in the spring at HCC. Our operators are working at full efficiency and have a goal of mowing the entire golf course 2X/week. Both of our first cuts being around the fairways and around the greens are also into our routine.
We have been working on our overseeding program in the rough as well. Using a Shade mixture of high quality seed we have slit seeded all of the typically thin areas under the trees and shaded high traffic areas. Using a Sun mixture we have hit all of the areas around greens, cart paths and general trouble areas to increase the population of desirable grasses.
The recovery in our winter damaged areas on greens are slowly coming along. We will continue to hand topdress (with green sand) the areas to help bridge the grasses and aid in ball roll.
It is this time of year that we experience the Poa Annua seed head flowering on the greens. This occurrence typically slows down green speed and creates a bumpy roll. Our mowing heights are still up a bit to aid in recovery, but we are rolling daily to help with increased ball roll. As the seed head stops and recovery increases, green speeds that we are used to at HCC will follow.
This week we are working away at broadleaf weed control.  We have started on our bunker and green surrounds, then moving into the large rough areas. We will also be spraying within the bunkers to control grasses and weeds that typically grow around the inside edge and in the large sand faces.

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