Dusting Greens

We have continued to lightly topdress, or dust, greens. This is another tool we use to keep our greens healthy. The benefits range from fighting algae to reducing temperatures. The light dusting also helps keep the greens rolling smooth and will actually speed the greens up about .5' on the stimpmeter the day of dusting. 

This is what the green looks like right after the dusting. As the day goes on, the sand starts to work its way into the canopy and is less visible. It is still benefiting the greens, but it is just less visible. 

Growth Regulators

Some of you have asked how the grass never got out of control over the last two weeks with all of the rain. The reason is a Plant Growth Regulator (PGR) we spray on our tees, collars, approaches, and fairways called Primo Maxx. This is another one of our tools we use for better turf. This chemical makes the plant put all of its energy into growing horizontally instead of vertically. It pretty much shuts down the vertical growth of the grass allowing it to really tighten up and fill divots faster. We spray it every 14-21 days depending on weather. With this product applied, we can afford to only mow our short cut bermudagrass once a week and will not have to worry about scalping or getting bombarded with an enormous amount of clippings. Without the PGR, we would have to mow at least twice a week and in some cases, three times. Along with the PGR we also add a humic acid product called Propel which acts as a liquid aerification to the soil. This is a new product for us this year and we are extremely happy with the results so far. 

So next time we get a lot of rain, just know we have chemicals working for us so our short cut bermudagrass will not get out of control. We can't guarantee the same for the rough, so I suggest you hit it straight. See you out here soon. 

Moving Some Air

You may have noticed we have turned on our fans on the greens. This week we got over 3.5" of rain with more forecasted over the next 5 days. We decided to turn on our fans to help dry the greens down and cut down on the disease pressure. We continue to preventatively spray fungicides, but our fans are another big tool we can use in these situations. 

If you haven't been out in a while, the entire course is in excellent condition right now. The fairways are lush and the greens are rolling very good and consistent now. We are even allowing carts off of the paths. Hope to see you out here soon. 

Repairing bunkers

Last night we got 1.5" of hard rain. This puts us just over 3" for the week. With the hard rain, our bunker edges washed in a lot of areas. 

We are concentrating all of our labor today on fixing these edges. It is a time and labor intensive process, so we will be behind some golfers all day. Sorry for the poor bunker conditions today, but when you are dealing with Mother Nature, you have to play the hand she deals you. 

Spiking Greens

This winter we repaired an old piece of equipment that we are starting to use now. Tomorrow morning we will be spiking our greens. We use a Toro Sandpro with a spiking attachment instead of the rake attachment. This is a very good tool for our greens during the summer. This allows us to open the top half inch of the green without disrupting play.

If the greens get wet or sealed off, this will allow them to dry a little better or take in water a little easier. After the wet period we have just been through, we have noticed a little algae on some of the greens. Hopefully using this spiker along with our light topdressing will help alleviate this algae. 

Congratulations

Congratulations to Captain Creech and the red team on their victory this year. After playing to a tie on Saturday's four ball matches, the red team pulled ahead in Sundays individual matches and won 64 to 50. Everyone seemed to have a great time. Thanks for all of the positive comments on the course conditions. 

2013 Red and White

This weekend we have our 2013 Red and White. Chuck Hill is captaining the white team while Cliff Creech is heading up the red team. We set up the course very fair. I wanted to add a picture of our range tee as it was set up before any players got there. This is what right looks like. Great job guys. 

Pond Levels

If you have been on the course over the last week or so, you've probably noticed the pond levels on #13 and #15 being way down. This is being done intentionally. The drain lines for these greens exit into the ponds. They are under water if the ponds are full. We have found over the last 2 years that these greens perform better if the water level is below the outfall of these drain lines. This allows any water to exit the pipes but it also allows all of the gasses that build up in the lines to exit the pipes. This is very important to the greens health in the summer. Unfortunately we do not have a better way to run the drain lines where they won't be in the ponds. This was a bad design during construction and unfortunately we have to pay the price now. We feel having half full ponds is better than having half living greens. 

Thanks for your understanding.