Glen Eagle Maintenance (2/2/24)

 Golf Course

We continue to have nice sunny weather this week. It has been cold but I’ll certianly take cold and sunny over overcast and rainy.

Looks like we have a pretty good chance for rain this Sunday which is needed as our last rainfall was on January 16th. We are still doing ok with our lake levels but I have noticed them starting to drop. Periodic rain will insure we don’t run out of water between now and the time our summer rains start, normally in June.

I didn’t get any new pictures of the course this week but can honestly say I am very pleased with the course color and recent turf growth. That could slow back down with the cold weather but overall the course is doing well.

I did take some video of our crew out pencil tine aerifying the greens this week. This is called venting and is a very beneficial practice that helps oxygen reach the roots of the plant while allowing irrigation to filter into the root zone rather than sheet flowing off the surface of the green.

When we get done, you can hardly even tell we were there.

In our last Greens Committee meeting, it was noted that on many holes there is little to no difference in the length of the fairway and rough grass even-though the fairways are mowed at 0.7” and the roughs at 1.25”. This is due to carts matting down the roughs.

The recommendation was to utilize the 90 degree rule to enter and exit the fairways. I was also asked if I would prefer carts in the fairways or carts in the roughs. I explained driving in the fairways was preferred since it would help the rough grow taller.

Here is a brief review of the 90 degree rule:

 1. Drive down the cart path until you are parallel with your golf ball.

2.  Turn 90 degrees and travel out to your golf ball.

3. Once you are in the fairway, I would prefer that you stay in the fairway and travel down to the next shot. 

4. Once all shots have been hit from the fairway, exit to the cart path at 90 degrees to the final shot.

This will reduce the amount of cart traffic in the roughs and give the roughs the best chance for growth. 

Common Grounds

This week we worked on back planting more of the ficus along Glen Eagle Blvd. We added over 170 new Calusia to finish off the hedge behind Provincetown.

Calusia lined up waiting to be planted…

Calusia planted behind the ficus…

It will take a year or more but before we know it, the Calusia will fill in and grow tall enough to remove the Ficus, revealing the new hedge.

I look forward to seeing everyone on the course, and as always, if you have any questions, flag me down or shoot me an email. I always enjoy talking turf!