GREENS

Course Conditions

Mondays afternoon storm brought over 2 and a half inches of rain with it. I have completely lost count of the number of times the turf team has had to repair washed out bunkers this year. We all hope the rest of August will bring gentler rain when it must come. All bunkers should be back in play by the end of the day Wednesday.

It is frustrating for all of us to see the damage to areas on some greens. Seeing it day after day can preoccupy our minds so it ends up being all we tend to see when on the golf course. As you know all areas have been aerified and over seeded. We have good germination in all areas. Some of the thinnest areas were opened up again yesterday and seeded again. These were spot aerified in the areas requiring more healing. By not aerifying the whole green we leave areas for the pin so members are not always putting over holes. The painful part is the time required for them to properly recover. It's a lot like watching your children grow. Seeing them day in and day out you don't notice any changes. Then one day you see a picture of them taken 6 months ago and your are shocked! These areas will be a lot like that. Newly planted seed takes 12 weeks to properly establish. Although we have good germination, it will be the fall before all areas have filled in completely, there is just no way to change this time required. Some members have been asking why we did not top dress these areas. The sand would attract the suns heat and raise temperatures which both seedlings and the established turf could not survive. Think about how hot the sand gets at the beach. Most of us have had to run across the sand to get to the surf so we didn't burn our feet.
We have raised the height of cut and eliminated rolling these areas to prevent mechanical damage. We also take tissue tests from the greens and have them analyzed to be sure our nutrients within the plant are ideal.

On a positive note sod installed on the 12th green is doing very well and we anticipate opening it Next Wednesday August 18th. The green will not be cut short, which means it will be bumpy and slow, but at least we will be back to 18 holes.