On The Course This Week

Aside from continual rough mowing and regular turf care we will be undertaking some projects this week that relate to the LPGA tournament and work that was discussed earlier this season. It looks like we have a run of nice weather coming up that will help get these tasks completed and also dry up the course after a steady rain late Saturday afternoon.

• Sodding of #12 tee golds will be completed on Tuesday with Penncross creeping bentgrass delivered from Eagle Lake Turf in Strathmore.

• Repairing the worn out areas on the 2 chipping greens with Dominant Extreme creeping bentgrass.
• Resodding the road that crosses holes #1 and #9 with Kentucky Bluegrass mowed at 3/4" from Eagle Lake. I first saw this sod at the Calgary Golf and Country Club last season and it is the best bluegrass sod I've seen in Alberta. It should be easier to bring this sod to our desired mowing heights rather than sod delivered at 1.5" to 2".

• Dave Quinn is beginning work on a promised paving stone path from the asphalt beside 11 green and through the trees leading to the forward tee on #12. 

In addition:

• Approaches will be treated with a preventive fungicide we use every September. Greens and tees were completed late last week.
• Greens will be verticut and lightly topdressed on Wednesday. They will be cleaned up and rolled in time for Men's League.
• Mowing heights are being increased on greens and fairways to prepare for winter. Increased leaf blade length and density translates into increased root mass in the fall.
• The parking lots were swept last week but we will be blowing them periodically with our own equipment to keep them a little cleaner than usual.

One last comment. The result of mowing heavy rough quickly is a lot of grass clippings. These clippings are being tracked everywhere especially with the heavy dew we are seeing each morning. We've been using our blowers and sweepers to help reduce the clippings. Conditions will improve over time as we sweep the course for leaves during the fall season.

Wade