Our preparations for the men's invitational this weekend came to a halt this morning with the rain moving in but we are in a good place with the course right now. As always these heavy rain events tend to lead to bunker washouts which will need to be addressed but if the forecast is correct the rest of the week looks great. I hope that we have a good turnout I know there are a few spots left to fill we certainly would love to have more in the invite.
As far as the state of the golf course, the course is really in great shape this year. I am sure that you have noticed that the fescue is stunning right now. All of our hard work is starting to pay off. There are a few areas that do have some weeds and we are basically hand spraying these out. Outside the cart path we still have some work to do and plan on additional spray application in the fall.
All the summer help is now working full time. I am able to accomplish a lot of detail work now that we have the additional weekday staff. Sprinkler heads will all be cleaned and remarked by next week. We are also working on edging the bunkers on the course. We have completed all greenside bunkers and will start working on the fairway bunkers next week.
Monday and tuesday next week we will solid tine all the greens along with a nice application of topdressing sand. I will also start to solid tine a few areas in the fairways next week. Planning ahead for the hot weather is important to the health of the turf. I have greatly reduced our irrigation this year when its not raining. There are some areas that have been wilting rather quickly getting a few holes in these areas will allow for much improved air and water into the soil profile.
One thing that has come up this year is our rough is difficult and thick. With the addition to our new rough mower we have actually been mowing the rough much lower in all areas. Around the greens and tees even more so. The new machine has almost 2 times the power of our small mowers which allows for a much truer upright cut with much less excess clippings left over. We also have been mowing the rough at least twice a week in many areas the quality of the rough has improved dramatically even at a much lower height of cut.
This weekend we also treat our big oak in front of 11 green with an IV injection of fertilizer. I have noticed a decline in the health of the tree this year and we continue to monitor the health this year. I do not think it is dire yet but the tree is very old and will need some attention and pruning to prolong its life.
I hope that everyone is enjoying the golf course this year and look forward to seeing you soon.
Neil
As far as the state of the golf course, the course is really in great shape this year. I am sure that you have noticed that the fescue is stunning right now. All of our hard work is starting to pay off. There are a few areas that do have some weeds and we are basically hand spraying these out. Outside the cart path we still have some work to do and plan on additional spray application in the fall. All the summer help is now working full time. I am able to accomplish a lot of detail work now that we have the additional weekday staff. Sprinkler heads will all be cleaned and remarked by next week. We are also working on edging the bunkers on the course. We have completed all greenside bunkers and will start working on the fairway bunkers next week.
Monday and tuesday next week we will solid tine all the greens along with a nice application of topdressing sand. I will also start to solid tine a few areas in the fairways next week. Planning ahead for the hot weather is important to the health of the turf. I have greatly reduced our irrigation this year when its not raining. There are some areas that have been wilting rather quickly getting a few holes in these areas will allow for much improved air and water into the soil profile.
One thing that has come up this year is our rough is difficult and thick. With the addition to our new rough mower we have actually been mowing the rough much lower in all areas. Around the greens and tees even more so. The new machine has almost 2 times the power of our small mowers which allows for a much truer upright cut with much less excess clippings left over. We also have been mowing the rough at least twice a week in many areas the quality of the rough has improved dramatically even at a much lower height of cut. This weekend we also treat our big oak in front of 11 green with an IV injection of fertilizer. I have noticed a decline in the health of the tree this year and we continue to monitor the health this year. I do not think it is dire yet but the tree is very old and will need some attention and pruning to prolong its life.
I hope that everyone is enjoying the golf course this year and look forward to seeing you soon.
Neil