Anybody that has been out on the course this week (which is many considering the great weather) knows that Turf Care is currently core aerating the fairways. This process is very disruptive, messy and time consuming. The disruption is obvious. Two or three fairways covered in cores and several different cleanup procedures occurring all at once. Until the cores dry there is the matter of mud sticking to equipment, golf cart tires and the bottom of your shoes. Why so much mud? I'm going to be blunt here and it tells of the frustration we are experiencing during this procedure. The only sand in the profile appears to what has been applied in the last 4 years. Actually we have just started to get aggressive with topdressing in the last 2 years. The 2 to 3 inch core we are pulling is mostly dirt. We've known this to be the case for awhile but when you begin to correct the problem it becomes a daunting task. I'm left wondering how this could be at a course of Royal Mayfair's quality. But that's in the past and we have to think of the future.
The fairways were very good for the last few years and even up until the middle of last August. With the dry summer some problems were exposed. It was easy to see during periods of long term stress that the turf would suffer. By introducing some agronomic changes and proposed upgrading of the irrigation system we can greatly improve the performance of the fairways. However, they will not magically improve overnight. It will take years of aggressive turf management and then a commitment from both Turf Care and the membership to continue this type of work during every golf season in the future. Turf Care cannot decide that maybe one season we'll just solid tine or maybe a mid-summer topdressing will be skipped. Also, the membership must relax expectations when fairway aeration is underway (or any aeration procedure for that matter). Our great playing conditions do not happen on their own. A cliché yes, but short term pain will result in long term gain.
It may appear to the casual observer reading this that our fairways are in rough shape. Far from it but we need to get out in front of future problems given the changing weather, a commitment to deliver outstanding season long playing conditions and the day to day challenges of a golf course that has a very high % of Poa annua throughout the property.
I ask that you please be patient with Turf Care as we go through the next week of aeration and heavy sand topdressing. These are long tiring days for all involved. As much as you would prefer Turf Care to be somewhere else at 6:00 pm we need to be here to get the work done. Thankfully the weather is warm and we've experienced no frost delays. Yet.
If it was always this dry cleanup would be so much easier. Each fairway is blown off after the sweep. Topdressing follows. The sun is setting so in this case the sand would go down the following day.
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