It has been a roller coaster of a year so far.  Too much rain followed by too little and then back to excessive amounts has made for a challenging season.  One positive is the lake is full which is not always a good thing.  Our roots in our fairways are very shallow.  Because of this we have been extremely cautious with golf carts and mowing equipment.  We have been successful reducing the amount of annual bluegrass in the fairways and should have success seeding the weak fairways if the weather cooperates in August.  We anticipate seeding to begin in mid-August.  Once seeding initiates carts will be restricted to the paths on specific holes.

 

Cart damage in the rough while the sprinklers are flying.

 

 

Turf decline in the 12th fairway.  Notice most of the damage follows the drainage pattern.

 

 

My guys are guilty for not staying on the path too.

 

 

A localized dry spot in the 18th fairway.

 

 

Fairway turf with one inch roots.  Excessive moisture deprives the roots of oxygen and the turf declines.  All the rain in June and early July was not beneficial.

 

 

Turf nursery showing heat stress in areas where straight sand was used to replace turf plugs.  Crazy!

 

 

Bad storm presented us with this throughout the course on Wednesday morning.  We received two inches and it actually perked things up.

 

 

A familiar scene of this summer.  The fun continues.

 

 

Using light weight mowers to do the perimeters of all fairways helps protect the turf.

 

 

One planting that has thrived this summer is the daylily bed on the 4th hole.  Here Armando and Jose pose behind a mass of color.  I don't believe they have ever looked better.

 

 

Summer camp kids enjoying a photo with Quincy.

 

Summer arrived with vengeance this week. Some of our turf is under quite a bit of stress so we would appreciate everyone pitching in by following cart rules and fixing ball marks and divots.  Our roots are particularly shallow at this time probably due to the amount of rain we have experienced.  The good news is most of the weak turf is annual bluegrass and we are trying to push it out anyway.  Seeding of thin areas in fairways begins in August.
 

 

Annual bluegrass thinning out in a fairway.

 

Pylex herbicide whitening the bermudagrass.  Very light rates are applied to suppress this weed.  We are seeing much less this summer compared to last season.

 

 

Cart damage to fairways and rough is evident on the course during this difficult weather pattern.  Please watch your turns.

 

 

This greeted us on the second green Monday morning.

 

 

Our mowers are sharp but won't stay that way for long!

 

 

I know I've said it before but put your insect repellent on when on the cart path. 

 

 

Our crew has endured a lot recently with all the rain and now the heat.  Here the operator avoided mowing through a low area on the 17th hole.  Experience is priceless!

 

 

Cart damage next to the path with emerging crabgrass following.

 

 

A peaceful scene on the third hole and a stress reliever!

 

This picture says it all... Three inches of rain the first week of July with ten inches in June.  If it gets hot we can expect some turf loss.

 

 

Lots of tree damage from all the storms.  The white oak by the practice green has finally been removed.

 

 

Meet James Earhart, arborist extraordinaire! James won the International Tree Climbing Championship in 2015.  He did much of our recent storm damage repairs that required climbing.

 

 

Stephen figured a swim suit was more appropriate than regular shorts given our weather.

 

 

Solid tine aeration of greens is occurring as often as possible to provide oxygen to the turf.

 

 

Light applications of Pylex herbicide have begun on fairways and tees.  The application rate is .125 ounces per acre!

 

 

Those nasty biting flies are back but applying bug repellents on the turf does this.  Put your repellent on while on the cart path!!!

 

 

Finally some bluebird success to boast about.  These babies will be fledging this week.