GREENS

Diamond patterns on greens

You may have noticed this diamond pattern on some greens this week. The pattern you are seeing is from a machine we brought in earlier this week to over seed our weak greens. The machine actually cuts a line into the turf canopy and drops seed in behind. We cover the green twice in different directions (which causes the pattern) to get the seed as close as possible to improve healing time. The pattern will be almost invisible by the middle of next week as the leaf blades continue to grow over these marks. Thankfully the weather has changed for the better. This is the absolute best time to grow new grass. We have already seeded most of the damaged areas on our collars. The front of 5 needs to be excavated to a depth of about 8 inches to remove heavy gravely sub soil to improve this area. This is scheduled for the fall.

A member recently expressed concern over some brown marks on the back of the 12th green. He was worried the green was starting to go backwards. There is some areas on the back of this green that are not as healthy as the rest of it, but this is actually from an intentional decision. As the sod was brought in and was being installed, there were rolls that were cut thinner due to the thatch layer in the turf. I intentionally had the installers place these rolls at the back of the green leaving the healthiest turf to be installed in the areas that we would cut pins once we opened the green. The thin areas at the back will require some additional over seeding, but there is no concern with the health of the green. It is doing very well, and it will remain at its current high height of cut going into the fall. This is done to ensure that we do not put the new turf under any additional stress until it has had a chance to grow an adequate root zone.

Anyone hitting balls on the right side of the range tee may have noticed how wet the area is. This is due to a sprinkler getting stuck in the on position. When dirt accumulates in the control valve, it can cause the valve to stay open even though the computer has sent a signal to shut down. The valve has been cleaned and should no longer cause us a problem.