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!
This week was all about trying to catch up. Many tasks like edging greens, edging beds around trees, spot spraying weeds and spraying non-selective herbicide in the beds on the course to name a few.
Our color is a little off due to overcast weather, scalping as we catch up on mowing, and relatively heavy plant growth regulator (PGR) use to help get back on top of clippings after delaying mowing last week due to rain.
We had a great week of work and are well on our way towards having the course in very good shape heading into the busy upcoming golf season.
Common Ground also got some work done this week with tasks like planting plants to fill in open spots in the hedges on GE Blvd, trimming up a few hedges and trees that needed it and making some irrigation repairs.
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!
This past week can best be described as difficult. A stalled frontal boundary has kept persistent rain over our area, and while the total rainfall has only been 2.45 inches, the near-constant showers have impacted every aspect of our operations.
The biggest challenge has been mowing. With limited opportunities to get equipment out, excessive growth has lead to additional clippings and occasional scalping. At the same time, we are still in recovery mode from last week’s aerification and WetJect applications, which require sunlight and dry conditions to heal properly. Unfortunately, we have had at least a 50% reduction in sunlight for seven consecutive days. That has slowed turf growth by the same margin, delaying the recovery process and making it more difficult to work sand into the canopy. Instead, it is sticking to the surface and equipment and about everything else it touches.
Under normal conditions, the course typically recovers in 3–4 weeks following aerification. Given the slow start caused by this weather pattern, recovery may take as long as 6 weeks. Our goal is to get through this stretch as efficiently as possible, and we are optimistic conditions will improve as we move toward October.
Sand Injection on Greens
On Friday, a contractor completed sand injection on the greens. This process uses air and water pressure to pull sand from a hopper and inject it into the soil profile, creating vertical channels.
Our soil samples revealed approximately 3.5 inches of organic matter in the greens. To penetrate this layer, sand was injected to a depth of 4 inches. Excessive organic matter slows air and water movement, but these sand channels restore porosity and help the greens “breathe” again. This investment will improve long-term turf health and performance.
Radio Road Entrance Fencing Project
Also beginning last Friday was an important community project at the Radio Road entrance. The ficus hedge that had long served as a border was removed, and by Monday a new fence was installed. This is the first phase of a larger plan to enhance the entrance.
The next steps will include installing new gates and fencing between them, followed by landscaping improvements. When complete, this area will present a much more attractive and welcoming appearance for the community.
Despite the challenges posed by this extended period of rain and cloud cover, progress continues both on the course and within the community. We appreciate your patience and support as we navigate these conditions.
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!
A lot of activity going on this week during our final maintenance closure of the 2026. Hard to beleive the summer is almost gone. Something else that has been gone is our normal rainfall.
This year we have recorded only 33” of rain YTD, some 20” behind our normal amount thru this time of year. At least the start of September has brought us some slightly cooler temperatures, so far only the lower 90’s not upper 90’s like we had in August.
Less rain has allowed us to make good progress on many of our planned maintenance tasks this week.
Before we talk about that I wanted to mention a trial chemical application that we put out a couple weeks ago. It is a herbicide called Plateau that also acts as a plant growth regulator. The reason for trying Plateau is to determine if it can be used to slow down the progression of Common Bermuda from taking over the Celebration Bermuda that was planted in 2017. Common Bermuda is more susceptible to the herbicide so its growth is “regulated” two, three, maybe ten times as much as the Celebration, slowing its takeover of the Celebration.
As you will see in the pictures below, all the grass is stunted by the Plateau but the Common Bermuda much more so. The experiment worked, now we will have to monitor whether or not we think the short term pain, the stunting, is worth the amount of Common Bermuda retardation we get.
Keep in mind if there is enough “gain” this could be a cost effective way to slow down weeds, growth and Common Bermuda in one shot. We won’t apply any more applications of Plateau this year but will consider it again next summer when the grass growing rapidly and has time to recover from the herbicide app.
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| Plateau at 1.5oz/Acre on the right |
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| Difference in Celebration uptake and Common Bermuda |
| Temporary Thinning of Common Bermuda Fun fact, I took the pictures of the Plateau application while playing golf on Sunday. Just after we played 6 (in the picture) as we were waiting on 7 tee a Coyote ran out of the palmettos between 6 and 7 tee, down the lake bank in Chatham and into the UROs behind 7 Tee. Can’t help but wonder if he had been watching us on #6 the whole time. Probably in the palmettos laughing at our golf swings 😂  Capital projects: bunker sand replacement, concrete cart path additions and concrete removal on #12 are under way. The contractor will have the cart paths ready for play on Tuesday and have a good jump on the bunkers which should be finished next week. Here is a video of the cart path work this week Here is a video of the bunker sand replacement Our cultural practices are going well too…here is a video of some of the task this week. 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! |