Glen Eagle Maintenance (5/31/24)

 Golf Course

Still hot and dry here in SW Florida as high temperatures have been above the average all but 3 days in the month of May.

It was also the hottest May (averaging high + low temperatures) on record since they started keeping records in 1902!

That said, our 1st (of 3) maintenance closures is well under way and I want to give a big thank you to our team. Even in the extreme heat they have been killing it!

We started by backtrack verticutting 2 directions. Backtrack verticutting we go up a pass then directly back down the same pass. We do it this way because often times if you verticut with the grain, the vertical knives won’t “dig” in but instead they will ride on top of the grass. To make sure we get a good verticutting, we come back against the grain, removing more material. You can see this in the next two videos.

After the verticutting, a crew blows off the chafe and we are left with the finished product below.

 You can see the lines on the green where the vertical blades bit into the turf canopy…

and smooth surfaces verticutting provides…

At the same time we are verticutting greens, we are also Terra Raking Tees, Fairways, Collars & Approaches.

The Terra Rake stands up old growth which allows us to cut it off. This rejuvenates new young growth and removes the old scraggly growth. I think of it like getting a fresh haircut.

After Terra Raking, we circle cut to scalp off all that old grass.

This is the second circle cutting and you can see at the end of the video how smooth this process leaves the grass.

Day 2 we start aerifying greens…

Slow motion

Once the cores are pulled, crews pick them up and blow off the greens.

We leave the holes open one night and start topdressing on the third day…

To load the topdresser, we fill the material handler and transport the sand out near the greens. Each green can take approx. 3 small topdressers full of sand. The material handler can usually do two to three holes before having to refill.

Here are some videos of the filling process.

Next we brush in the sand. Brushing helps fill in the holes and improves distribution of the sand.

Meanwhile, while some of the team work on greens, other parts have been Terra Raking and scalping roughs

We also do a lot of blowing clippings to clean up the course from the work we have done.

Here are some still pictures of rough that has been Terra Raked and mowed. The ball was added as a reference for how deep the rough is once the old grass is pulled up. The scalping process helps us manage a finer turf quality throughout the year.

I’m sure I didn’t capture everything we did in the pictures and videos but you can see how many tasks our team works on in what is a somewhat choreographed maintenance dance.

Common Grounds

The Calusia along Radio Road east of the Glen Eagle gate has been installed. Now all we need them to do is grow, grow, grow.

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!