Well dang if another storm has hit Springfield.  The Springfield Split is dead and the Springfield Bullseye is alive.   This was the worst so far this year and required all hands on deck to get our bunkers back in shape.  Lots of flooding with 3.6 inches in a little more than an hour.  Ouch!  The crew is tiring of these large rain events and our bunkers are showing quite a decline in performance.  Only one tree fell but there are endless branches to pick up.  We are behind again.

Storm water running over the walk bridge on hole sixteen.

I'm estimating water rose at least nine feet from normal flow.

Fish in the bunker at sixteen green.

Labor Day week renovation went well.  On Tuesday we solid deep tined aerated all the greens(pictured here) and core aerated all the tees.  After the cores were picked up the tees were cleaned and brushed before applying topdressing.

On Wednesday all greens were core aerated followed by picking up the cores, rolling and then applying sterilized topdressing.  The sand is brushed in and then the crew uses back pack blowers to fine tune any heavy deposits of sand.  Maybe you heard them?!!

Work on the fairways was done as well.  Here we shallow aerate using a tight spacing in bermudagrass affected areas to create a seedbed.  This is then drug with a steel mat and then slice seeded.  

Several fairways with minimal bermudagrsss contamination were treated with non-selective herbicides and then seeded several weeks later.  We intended to do more areas and use a soil sterilant as well but too much rain put that program on the shelf for the time being.

Bentgrass filling in after only one week.

Seeding rough with a tall fescue/bluegrass blend.  Three thousand pounds have been planted so far with another one thousand going out next week.

Seed germinating in the rough eight days after seeding.  Conditions have been really good for germinating seed this September.

Three days of tree work was done too.  Here's a pic before....

And after!  More screening will be required in this area.  Ten trees were removed and some hazard pruning was performed as well. 

Julio and Pedro cleaned up this shrub bed on hole fifteen.

September is for roses.  This hybrid tea rose is called "Touch of Class".

 August has been a real roller coaster.  After a mild start the rain and humidity arrived in excess.  One thing is for sure-never trust a long range weather forecast.  The nice weather we are experiencing was 'supposed' to begin several weeks ago.  Haha!  Anyway we made it through Ida and now the course needs to dry out so we can have the conditions necessary to have a successful fall renovation.

Testing our aeration equipment on the chipping green.

Two days before we had this unfortunate accident.  Gasoline spilt on the chipping green from a leaking gas cap on a back pack blower.  This occurred early morning before sunrise and fortunately only this green was damaged.  This will be repaired after course maintenance is completed.

Bermudagrass eradication if there is such a thing on the 5th hole.  We couldn't do as many areas as intended due to the constant rain.  A second application of a non-selective herbicide will be applied this week followed by seeding.

Back pack blowers and some great workers blowing clippings on the 7th hole.  Our crew has been through plenty of difficult working conditions of late.  They mowed the entire course on Monday and Tuesday in preparation of Ida.

Four inches of rain at my home Wednesday morning from wave one of Ida.  Somehow our course only received a half inch and we were open!  We caught a break!

Wet conditions and a beverage cart without brakes is a bad combination.

Demonstrating a deep tine fairway aerator on the 9th hole.  This area will be treated with a soil sterilant this week during course closure and then seeded the following week.

Have you ever wondered why there are dead spots on the 6th green?  This is the reason why.  Great Blue Herons doing their business as they fly over the green.

Monarch butterfly on lantana in the pollinator garden behind 15 green.

Asters blooming means fall is around the corner.

We are sorry to see these two leave. Best wishes Dawn and Billy!