Information For The Membership

The last few days of very warm weather (overnight as well), high humidity, high dew point and the recent fertilizer applications have seen vigorous turf growth especially on the greens. More than I would prefer in terms of trying to keep greens speeds up. Missing one day of rolling or double cutting seems to set us back dramatically at times like this. I played Saturday afternoon and by the time I walked off the 18th green at 8:30 I was dismayed with the condition of the greens. They were very slow and bumpy. Thus my decision to cut and roll Sunday morning and double cut in the afternoon. Needless to say the greens were better Sunday. The last few days have further reinforced the requirements for 7 days/week double cutting (environmental conditions permitting) and the the use of PGR's (plant growth regulators) for 2012.

The mowing benefits are obvious. The use of PGR's will help restrict vertical leaf growth and possibly lead to small reductions in fertilizer use. Another issue we are dealing with is soft greens. The high thatch levels can result in hydrophobic patches on the greens and tees. Those are the purplish brown spots you may have noticed. We are using wetting agents and penetrants while hand watering to help deal with this problem. We also have to water more than we would like when it is this warm. Thus the softer conditions. Without going into too much detail it is my expectation that our current program of turf care should reduce future occurrences of hydrophobic conditions. Notice I did not say eliminate. Dry areas are a problem all golf courses must contend with from time to time.

On The Course This Week:

• Investigate as to the reason there is standing water in 2 areas in the rough on #17. There is no known irrigation line near these spots.
• Repair small blemishes next to some greens. Involves very minor sod work.
• Install a quick coupler valve at the 3rd tee for hand watering access.
• Continued course conditioning as required.

Note:
We will begin pumping out the water in the ponds after the Member Guest events in anticipation of pond reconstruction. The LREP start is almost upon us. Look for information from the Capital Strategies Committee to be available very soon.


Wade