First off, I would like to thank everyone for the noticeable improvement in the bunker maintenance. the chipping bunker has been neatly maintained by everyone over the course of the last week.
The golf course is really starting to come together over the last week. I have completed most of the spring projects and now we are in a good stretch that will allow us to work on some more maintenance work.
Last week we started to edge the fairway bunkers 1,9,11,12 have all been completed. The greens staff have been doing their part in periodically checking the depths of the sand in the bunkers our goal is to maintain 2 inches of sand on the faces and 4 inches of sand on the bottoms of the bunkers. There are a few bunkers that we have not changed the sand, we will work on this towards the fall.
We have also completed remarking the sprinkler heads on the course. The new numbers were needed.
I am sure that you have noticed the new fescue is starting to germinate nicely. There are a few areas that are lagging behind we may have to overseed a few spots if I do not see some growth soon. I am sure that you wondering about all the weeds in the seeded areas. This is not intentional by any means the problem is that the new seedlings at this time will most likely die if I were to spray a weed killer. I have a new herbicide that can be sprayed over the top once the seedlings mature a little more. This product has a very low use rate and is much safer then the "normal " herbicides. Additionally, this product will also remove undesirable grasses from fescue. I hope that you are starting to see the results from the herbicides applications that have been made in the existing fescue. Some areas on the course are quite beautiful. I also sprayed along the creeks and pond edges last week with an aquatic approved herbicide. I am just starting to see the weeds wilting as of today.
We started to needle tine the greens today. I have already completed 1,9-18 plus the chipping greens. The greens were rolled 2 times after each green was completed. It is always amazing too see the water from by hand held hose just going into the soil profile. As of yesterday when I was hand watering the greens the water beading off the dry spots and run too the low areas.
I have been lowering the greens mowers slightly with each topdressing. Currently the mowing height is at 1/10 of an inch. This year, I changed the rolling schedule, the greens are now rolled Wednesday, Fridays and Saturdays instead of twice a week. I am fighting with the speed a little this spring in that I have been maintaining a solid 10.5 feet on the stimpmeter but can not seen to get them much faster. I am working on a plan to try to speed them up to at least 11 each day with the exceptions of Mondays and Tuesday. Starting next week, I will be spraying some silicon which is a fertilizer that helps the plants "stand up" and become a little more stiff. This should help a little and then I will reevaluate the plan after that. I am sure that you have noticed the nice green color this year. My nutrition foundation is working for me and also agaist me here.
Over all we have made some good progress we will keep striving to provide you with a great golf course and I hope that you will be able to enjoy a round this week
Thank you and have a great day
Neil