Aeration Update

The greens were completed last week and that is it for core aeration and topdressing on the golf course. The short game practice area will be aerated and heavily topdressed towards the end of the month to allow for practice to continue until closer to closing.

We typically do not post a closing date for the golf course but we will not stay open beyond the end of the month. If the weather holds I envision the last day of golf to be Sunday, November 1st.

The size of hole we punch and the amount of dry sand we use at this time of year does not lend itself to good putting conditions from now until basically the middle of next May. We remove a high percentage of organic material in October and the low growth rate of turfgrass at this time of year results in a very small amount of recovery. That is fine. I believe the open holes in the spring allow for some minor drainage of standing water (if any), better penetration of applied irrigation and good oxygen exchange as the weather warms and the turf begins to grow. Another important consideration is that the greens are basically kept in top condition from mid May until early October with no significant interruption in play for the membership.




Finished product. Holes filled which is great but also a lot of sand on the surface. We have stopped mowing by this time of year, the excess sand will not get removed and it can eventually work its way down into the profile.

 

On Tuesday morning we will be bringing in a contractor to perform a deep aeration of 18 green. We have been having some trouble with root growth beyond a few inches since we resodded the green in April of 2014. On the surface it appears fine but there is a layering issue underneath that needs attention. The machine used will drill down 12 inches, remove the existing material in each hole and then replace it with our topdressing sand. This will hopefully allow better root growth in the future. Going forward, if we see positive results this technique may be used on other greens. Visit the following website for a YouTube video of the process: www.westernrootzone.com  It is a very slow process that will take around 3 to 4 hours to complete. The green should be back in play before the first golfers arrive on scene.


Notes:

• It's been 2 weekends in a row of extremely windy conditions that has stripped almost all the leaves off the trees on the golf course. Turf Care did a nice job of cleanup last week but its back to square one on Tuesday.
• It is now time to begin applying protective fungicides on the golf course. You can assume that the sprayer will be out on the course almost every weekday from tomorrow until the end of the month depending on weather conditions. Please do not put tees in your mouth and make sure to wash your hands after a round of golf. These fungicides need to go down now. Waiting until we close is too late and bound to result in freezing temperatures or a snowfall that will end all activity on the golf course. We also need time committed to installing all the covers on the greens after we close as well.

Last weekend.