Glen Eagle Maintenance (4/29/26)

Last week I highlighted how dry conditions had started to take hold across the golf course as we’ve reduced irrigation to conserve water. Fortunately, Mother Nature gave us a timely assist last Thursday, delivering about an inch of unexpected but very welcome rainfall. Here are a couple before and after pictures showing how much the rain helps us catch up.

#16 last week

#16 today

Here Sylvestre is applying fertilizer, organic insecticides (for Mites), and wetting agents to reduce stress on the turf during the dry period of the year. Make no doubt, Mother Nature is in control but we do everything we can to assist her along the way.

While a single rain event doesn’t erase the overall rainfall deficit we’re experiencing, it certainly helps take some pressure off. These periodic showers play an important role in bridging the gap between our reduced irrigation cycles and the arrival of our summer rainy season. They allow stressed turf to recover, improve soil moisture levels, and give us a short-term reprieve from having to rely solely on irrigation.

We’ll continue to manage water carefully and make adjustments where needed, but this kind of rainfall is exactly what the course needs this time of year. Looking ahead, the forecast for Sunday into Monday shows another chance for rain—hopefully it delivers and gives us another boost.

Looking ahead, the upcoming summer is shaping up to be a busy one for the golf course. Planned projects include regrassing the tees, laser leveling, replacing decking on several bridges, along with other capital and routine summer maintenance efforts.

The first step in the tee regrassing process is to spray out the existing turf. This will be done through two applications of herbicide on the tees, spaced approximately two weeks apart, prior to physically removing the grass beginning June 1st. The goal of this process is to remove as much of the off-type (Common Bermuda) that is currently contaminating our Celebration Bermuda as possible, allowing us to establish a more consistent and pure stand of turf moving forward.

Following the initial application, you can expect the tees to begin turning brown within about a week. However, the turf will not immediately thin out—it will simply stop growing, allowing for normal play to continue right up until the removal process begins on June 1st.

I am excited to start this process look forward to the improvement it will make in the quality of our tees once they reopening the tees in the fall.

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!

Glen Eagle Maintenance (4/22/26)

The early-month showers of April arrived just in time to provide some relief, but moved out just as quickly as they came in, leaving us right in the heart of dry season. A time of year when water management becomes one of our most important responsibilities on the golf course. This year, that challenge may be a bit more dynamic with forecasts pointing toward an El Niño pattern developing as we move into summer. We are currently reducing irrigation on our roughs by 50% and as you can see in the pictures below, that is staring to show.

While we navigate the dry conditions of spring, you may start to notice areas of the course beginning to firm up and dry out. This is largely intentional. We have been proactively reducing irrigation across both the golf course and common grounds in an effort to protect and conserve our irrigation water supply. It’s always a balancing act—maintaining healthy turf while being responsible stewards of our resources—and this time of year really puts that balance into focus.

We had a cold front move through on Monday that we had hoped would bring some additional rain, but it ended up passing through dry. What it did deliver, however, was a stretch of nearly perfect weather. A few mornings and days with low humidity and temperatures starting out in the 60s are a rarity this time of year, and it certainly made for some very enjoyable conditions on the course.

On the greens, we’ve been dealing with a somewhat unusual challenge. Recently, they have not been quite at their typical consistency due to the presence of Microdochium patch. This is a disease that is far more common in northern climates, particularly where turf is covered by snow for extended periods during the winter. It’s not something we typically see in Southwest Florida, which makes this occurrence a bit out of the ordinary.

Friday

Today

While it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly why it has shown up this season, a combination of factors likely contributed. The cooler weather earlier in the year, paired with high rounds during a period when the turf was semi-dormant, may have created conditions that allowed the disease to develop. Even though we don’t have snow cover, the stress on the turf combined with favorable environmental conditions can occasionally allow uncommon diseases like this to surface.

The good news is that we are actively addressing it. Our team has implemented a targeted fungicide program specifically designed to control Microdochium patch. In addition, we’ve made slight adjustments to our maintenance practices—raising the height of cut on the greens, carefully managing irrigation, and dialing in our fertility program to support plant health without encouraging further disease pressure.

These combined efforts are already making a difference, and I fully expect the greens to return to their normal, high-quality playing conditions soon. As always, we appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through these challenges and continue to prioritize the long-term health and sustainability of the golf course.

Summer annuals were installed in the common areas and golf course a couple weeks ago, they are looking great!

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!

Glen Eagle Maintenance (4/8/26)

 It’s Masters week, the most awaited golf week of the year. The week where we wonder what it would be like to play in near perfect conditions and where even Superintendents are wowed by the conditions produced. I guess it starts with unlimited resources but in the end, what always impresses me is the unending attention to detail. While not quite Augusta, I caught a couple pictures of our little piece of golf heaven this week.

Recent rain has helped with our conditions and taken some stress off of myself and our staff. Having 3.53” of rain in the last 12 days has improved course and common ground conditions but even more importantly, shortened the gap between dry and wet seasons. The 4” rise in lake levels will buy us approximately 30 more days of water availability than we had prior to the rain. This should help us to get to June when rains normally begin. We will still have to manage water diligently between now and then but every drop counts towards getting to that end goal.

This week, new flowers were installed in the common areas. The fall flowers were overgrown in many areas and replaced with plant types that will survive the hot summer temperatures ahead.

Out with the old…

In with the new…

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!

Glen Eagle Maintenance (4/1/26)

As we closed out March, we were fortunate to receive 1.38 inches of rainfall spread over four days. This came at an ideal time, as we had recently reduced irrigation across both the golf course and common grounds. The steady rainfall provided much needed relief to areas that were beginning to show signs of stress, allowing the turf to recover naturally and more evenly than irrigation alone can provide.

While our lake levels remain below where we would like them to be, the recent rain did result in an increase of approximately two inches. Another significant benefit of this stretch of weather was the opportunity to keep the irrigation system off. Over those three to four days, we estimate saving close to one million gallons of water. These savings are meaningful and will help extend our available water supply as we move further into the dry season.

With warmer temperatures now settling in, the added moisture has also encouraged a noticeable increase in turf growth. This is especially apparent on the greens, where growth has naturally led to a slight reduction in speed. To maintain the consistency and quality of playing conditions you expect, we are actively applying plant growth regulators to help manage growth and keep green speeds as uniform as possible.

It’s hard to believe April is already here—it feels like we were just celebrating the New Year. For those of you preparing to head north for the offseason, we hope you had an enjoyable and memorable season at Glen Eagle. For those staying with us through the summer months, we look forward to seeing you out on the course. We have a number of improvement projects planned for the summer of 2026 and are excited about the continued enhancements to the club.

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!