Thursday, September 6, 2012

Course Update 9/6/12

Good Afternoon,

Several members of the crew showing off two of our new aeration tools. Advances in aeration equipment and tools over the last several years have greatly aided superintendents in making aeration procedures as painless as possible for golfers.

Thank you for visiting the blog! It has been almost 6 weeks since my last post, and  I would like to begin by apologizing for the long lapse in updates. I will be returning to weekly posts effective immediately - so please continue to come back on a regular basis.

Newly installed components in the North Pump Station
The drought continues. In August we received just one significant rain event bringing our rainfall total for the month to 2.75". In addition, we entered Stage 3 restrictions on our EAA wells, resulting in a 35% reduction to our water allocation. However, all things considered, we are in much better shape than last year for the following reasons: 1) We received above average rainfall in July, 2) Major improvements to our North Course pump station, and 3) Updates, repairs, and modifications to our irrigation systems on both courses. As I mentioned in the September newsletter, fall is probably the most crucial time of the year when discussing drought stress and recovery (CLICK HERE FOR SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER) . September and October will be the last two months that we will be able to improve areas that are severely drought stressed. In order to make progress we will need not only rain, but help from golfers. Please continue to pair up, follow cart signs, and make an extra effort to avoid driving in areas that appear to be stressed.

In addition to battling the drought,, we have been very busy maintaining and improving all areas of the club. The list below describes a few of the things that we have been working on:
  • Greens - Overall the greens on both courses have remained healthy throughout the summer. The combination of frequent vertical mowing, light topdressing, weekly spraying, and monthly aeration has definitely helped us achieve our goal of providing consistent putting surfaces. We will be core aerating both courses at least one more time this year. These final aerations will consist of small holes spaced closely together. Currently the North is scheduled for 9/10 and the South for 10/8.  
  • Tees - On August 16th we resurfaced the main tee boxes on #9, #12, and #15 on the South Course. The sod is taking longer to establish than planned, however we are confident that these improvements will definitely improve playing conditions in the future. Currently we are planning to open #12 this weekend, and #15 and #9 in the next two weeks. The rest of the tees on both courses will be fertilized early next week.

Asst. Supt. Mike McCarty preparing 15 Tee for sod. 
  • Fairways - All fairways continue to be mowed at 1/2" and are mowed 3 times per week. We will be fertilizing fairways this coming Monday and Tuesday. Unfortunately, we will be restricting carts to paths only on the South Course on Tuesday, in order to prevent burn from the fertilizer.
  • Roughs - All roughs continue to be mowed at 2". In play areas will be fertilized next week along with tees, and fairways. The roughs on the South Course are handling the drought much better than the North due to superior irrigation and less concentrated cart traffic.
  • Club Grounds and Tennis - In addition to performing routine maintenance on all club grounds, Gary Tupa and his staff have made tremendous progress over the last few months improving the grounds around the tennis center. Currently, he is working to install a cart parking area, and finish landscaping several areas. Please check back for more information.
Gary cooking chicken for the crew last Friday at the shop. We took the food and the crew to the park for an afternoon of softball, food, and cold drinks.

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