We have basically completed the aeration of the front nine greens with the exception of 9. This week we will be continuing to work our way to the back nine.
I would anticipate this schedule;
27th 9 green
28th putting greens, 18 and 13
29th 10 and 11
30th12
October 4,5,6 completedthe rest on the back nine.
The benefits of aeration I have stated numerous times, last week I took a few pictures of some plugs from 6 greens.in the first picture you can see the aeration hole at the end of the pen and within the channel is a new white, healthy root. it is also hard to find a root that long outside the channel. Additionally the fall is the time of the year the the turf grass plants develop roots and store carbohydrates for winter survival. In the lower picture you can see a new root developing. I applied a organic based fertilizer right after we aerified the front nine greens to encourage this process. The back nine greens were treated with this same fertilizer 3 weeks ago.
The fescue is really starting to develop into a nice stand. I have noticed a few broad leaf weeds that I have been hand pulling but I will also treat the new stand next year with an aggressive herbicide program to keep the stand clean. We are off to a great start with very little undesirable grasses.
We are also making some progress in the areas in the fairways that we over seeded. You may have noticed that I have been moving stakes around to keep cart traffic moving around in order for these areas to recover.
Today we are going to start the reconstruction of the green bunker on hole 15. The rains this year have undermined the sod and we plan on removing all the sod, adding soil and then resodding the backside.
Enjoy the great week ahead