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!