90 degrees.............maybe

Our plan is to go 90 degrees Friday April 1, weather permitting. Right now the weather does not look good. It is currently raining and radar has a fair amount of light stuff coming. SO, it will be a game time decision tomorrow . Please check here or with the proshop for the conditions. Thanks!

Sod being laid, 9 and 10 almost done!

Sod arrived this morning and we have been working on 10 getting it down! We have also been doing some more prep work on 9. I hope to have 10 finished and nine nearly finished by the end of the day tomorrow and 9 completed Friday. !
Here are some pctures of our progress on 10.

90 Degrees

Weather permitting we will change out cart path policy to 90 degrees on Friday April 1st.
Holes 11 and 16 will remain "cart path only" at least until May 1 when the Greens Committee and I wil reevaluate those holes.

We currently hope to move too the grass tee on the diving range on April 15. That is dependent on the growth patterns of the turf. As of now I believe we will be fine by the 15th.

Thank you and have a great round!

Weekly Topdressing

Thursday we began our weekly topdressing program!
Every week we topdress the greens very lightly, then brush, or sometimes water in, the sand.
Topdressing frequently is important for several reasons. Incorporating the sand in to the turf canopy not only helps keep the putting surface smooth the sand particles help keep the canopy looser to aid in water and air  passing through. Also, the sand helps to control the build up of thatch. The sand particles also help to hold the leaf blades more up right causing less grain and faster ball roll.
Here are some pictures of the process.

as you can see we spread the sand very lightly.

Then we brush it is so the sand is incorporated into the canopy.

A few things

Yesterday (Monday) we spread fertilizer on the greens. This fertilizer is a package of micro nutrients that will begin to build up the supply the turf needs to grow. This will green up the turf and make it heartier but it will not increase its growth. For a few days you may see some dark dots on the turf. This is the iron "melting" on the leaf blades, it is just a "smear" and will wash off in a couple of days.

We are waiting for the new sod to arrive so we can finish #10. Also when the new sod arrives we will be doing a little work on the cart entrances/exits on #9. We will lay new sod then cover the sod with a product to protect the turf from the excessive ware. I have not used this product before and really do not know anyone personally who has. We will not be able to play off the area so even if it works in this application the use will be limited. I am confident that it will enhance this area! Thanks again to the MGA for helping us with this project.

I believe we will go "90 degrees" with the carts the first week of April. I will keep everyone posted on this.
Thanks and have a great day.

Almost complete!

The work on Ten is almost complete! We are now re-grading the area of low spots near the trees and will be adding new sod early next week. Here are a few pictures!



#10 drainage at work!

Here are a couple of pictures of our drainage at work! THese were taken at 12:30 this afternoon while the rain took a break.



#10 coming along nicely!

Progress has been good this week. We have completed 1 "herring bone" and are nearly complete with the second. I hope to be finished with the entire project within two more weeks. That is if do not have anymore set backs. The rain last week really slowed us.

First "herring bone" complete

middle "herring bone" beginning to be dug.

middle "herring bone" trenching complete

view of middle "herring bone" from fwy.

Greens are Growing!

As everyone has seen our Greens are growing and mostly green! They have also slowed down considerably. We have begun to mow irregularly, and will begin lowering the height of cut very slowly and we will begin low levels of fertility soon. We do not yet want to treat the turf as if it is spring, as a cold front is always likely this time of year and we do not want to cause any damage. Here is some is some information from research done on Bermuda Grass and Spring Root decline.

SPRING ROOT DECLINE

This phenomenon was documented by Dr. James Beard at Texas A&M in the early 1980s.  Using a rhizotron which allowed for visually studying roots, one year he documented that the bermudagrasses “dropped” their roots in the spring.  After making observations for a few more years it was confirmed that this phenomenon does not occur every year, but only in response to a particular sequence of weather events.  Spring Root Decline is most likely to occur when there are 1) very cold temperatures which cause total bermudagrass dormancy, followed by 2) a very rapid warm-up which incites rapid shoot growth.  The roots die back because the demand for energy created by the sudden surge of shoot growth rapidly depletes the carbohydrate reserves and so the roots die back to the crown.  The plants do initiate new root growth but it occurs at the crown rather than at the terminal end of the existing roots and so the potential for desiccation is great during this time.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1 –Water very frequently to maintain soil moisture near the surface.  This could require watering daily, and be especially aware of the drier air which follows a cold front. We always monitor our soil moisture and act accordingly.

2- Fungicide.  A broad-based preventative fungicide is a good idea given the possibility of stress. We have already applied our first of two spring fungicide treatments. These plus one in the fall are the only planned fungicide treatments for the year. that is a vast difference than our old Bentgrass Greens.

3 – Mowing.  If you do lower the height of cut, we advise that you do so very carefully so as not to cause any scuffing or damage to the existing mat.  If the surface is disturbed, it could take a long time to recover should the temperatures fall again, which is likely.  Verticutting is likewise not recommended at this time for the same reason. We have begun an irregular mowing schedule that is very slowly reducing the height of cut (hoc) so we do not cause any mechanical damage or expose the turf unnecessarily to possible cold temperatures.

4 - Protect the turf from frost.  Mornings with light frost we will gently irrigate to "wash" the frost off as soon as possible after formation. We also spray a wetting agent on the turf that helps to prevent the formation of frost. However, a forecast for a heavy frost or freeze may require us to cover the greens even thought the temps are not truly severe. This will be determined on a case by case occurrence as there are so many variables to consider.

Thanks, and if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me at jjasonbaker@sbcglobal.net or simply comment below. 

Jason