Hello All,

I just wanted to give everyone an update as to what was going on at the golf course.  Mother Nature has finally brought summer around which is great for all the pool goers but unfortunately makes for managing turf a little tough.   With the hot and humid weather and add in over 5” of rain in the month of June, soil profiles have had little time to dry out.   With the excessive heat on the way, our soil temperatures will creep close to 90 Degrees.  Add in the over saturated soil profile, and more rain forecasted, we are forced to take action.  Wet soil combined with high soil temperatures is basically a petri dish ready to wreak havoc.  Possibilities with this combination are numerous detrimental diseases that can kill turf in a number of days.  Also, we have the possibility of “wet wilt,” which is basically when the water in the soil actually boils and kills the plants root system causing thinning or even large spots of complete turf loss.

With that said, we are Needle Tining greens today.  Needle tining is an aerification but not like what many consider.  This is an 8mm SOLID tine that goes down about 3-4 inches.  We are not pulling a core, there is no sweeping or shoveling of plugs, and we are not topdressing with sand.   We aerify the green and then roll after to smooth out small tufts of grass sticking up.  I putted on 18 after we aerified and I promise that the ball roll was not affected.  This process is a necessity for managing our greens through summer and will only help in providing a great and enjoyable putting surface throughout the year.  I apologize for any inconvenience and please contact me with any questions or concerns.

See everyone out on the links!        

                         

Sincerely,

Scott Cornwell

Golf Course Superintendent

Spring is Near

Hello all, just wanted to say hello and I hope this finds everyone thawed out and ready to play some golf.  This is just an update as to what is going on at the course these days.  As some of you might have already seen, we have been hard at work clearing out some wooded, brush areas on the course.  We have cleared out the underbrush on the right hill on #10 again and hope to manage the weeds better this year trying to promote grass growth.  Also, we have cleared out a substantial amount of trees and underbrush up the hill on the right of #11.  Aesthetically, it looks much better from the tee and will also aid in viewing wayward shots.  Eventually plan on overseeding with tall fescue and presenting a playable surface.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aerification hole compared to a nickle

Aerification hole compared to a golf tee

Aerified vs Non Aerified

Also, over the past two days, we have sent out our aerifier on greens and with a 8mm solid "needle tine" Aerification is a necessary practice that allows for oxygen and other nutrients to enter the soil and promote root growth and a healthy plant.  Also trying to relieve compaction and dry the greens out after a heavy snow and rain event we've had in the last week.  I have never done such an early aerification, but will probably continue in the future.  With the capabilities of our aerifier, I plan on needle tining througout the year, but with smaller 5mm solid tines.  Of course, this does not replace our necessary coring aerifications in April and August.  I promise that this process has or will not affect the playability of our greens but will help provide an even better playing surface for years to come.  Please call or email with any comments or questions.