Golf Course
It truly amazes me how quickly Mother Nature can change her mind and how that can change course conditions.
We went from this…
To this in just over a week.
While temperatures are climbing, the low humidity and extremely windy conditions are what is really drying the course out. Low humidity increases evaporation while the wind sucks the moisture out of the plant. As summer gets closer, temperatures will be an increasing factor but humidity will rise and help retain moisture in leaf tissue.
In the mean time, we are doing what we can to add extra water to the dry areas and using tools like wetting agents to help the water penetrate thru the soil. You can see the suds from the wetting agent (picture below) we are injecting into the irrigation water.
I often get asked why we don’t mow the fairways and rough higher. I always explain that we do mow them higher than most other courses but given the limiting factors in the winter, slower growth and cart traffic, I could mow them at 6” and it wouldn’t matter grow that high.
I was on #5 this week and saw a good example of what I am talking about. The picture below shows the effects of traffic around the drain in the fairway. You can see that the turf around the drain is much more plush and not nearly as matted down as where carts go around the drain. I thought it was a good visual to pass along as an example of why our lies are often so tight.
Common Grounds
The ficus project continues…
Removal of stumps this week a likely into next, then irrigation will start. Once irrigation is in, plants can be put in the ground. The landscape company is removing the smaller stumps first and will go back to get the bigger stumps out last. The larger stumps may have to be hand dug to keep from damaging the wall.
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!
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