The week ahead is looking like a nice warm up for HCC. There is a potential of us removing our greens covers in the near future. Our typical criteria for removal is a consistent forecast of above 5-6 C as a high and above 0C as a low. "Consistent" is the focus here, the current forecast follows this criteria to say the least. One of the major reasons for us removing covers this spring is plant protection from fungus. Every fall prior to covering and snow cover we apply a very high quality winter fungicide with the anticipation that it will last 4 months. This has always worked very well for us, in a cold, snow covered winter. Last fall we experienced a warm, snow free 6-8 weeks after our covers were installed. Couple those conditions with the very unseasonal warm thaws that we had this winter, the degradation of our fungicide is heightened. The longevity of the product is compromised under such conditions. Once we remove the covers, we will allow the greens to dry out and firm up (with a roll) to the point that they can take an application with our sprayer. Due to the weight of the sprayer filled with water and product, we will apply the product in a number of smaller, lighter tanks. This will ensure a disease free turf stand, ready for the season. We will be leaving the covers out on the golf course in close proximity to the greens in case the temperatures begin to drop dramatically, therefore requiring re covering.
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.
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