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.