Beautiful weather has been dominating for quite a while.  It is rewarding to see the golf course in such good shape as we enter November.  It promises to be quite a busy fall as the leaves have hardly begun falling.

Look who's running again!

The golf course has been in marvelous shape most of the season capped off by the excellent October weather we have experienced.  Here Jack surveys the ninth fairway and some nice straight mowing lines.  Checkers anyone?

Always trying to improve the fairways here Richard seeds bent into some common bermuda patches.

Bent seed is tiny. Hopefully it will establish in some of the bermuda areas before winter arrives.

What a nasty weed.

We had our first frost on the 26th of October which is quite late.  Frost delays can be expected as we go forward into the fall.  Walking on frosted turf bruises the turf and can actually kill it if allowed to continue.  Frost delays are a pain for all concerned but necessary to keep the turf in it's best condition.

All the approaches and specific fairways were topdressed recently.  We hope to do this one more time before winter arrives.  Topdressing firms up the surface allowing better roll and playability and helps reduce the development of unnecessary thatch.

Diseased roses that refused to bloom were removed at the1st tee and replaced with European Hornbeams.  Additional landscaping will be added.

A nice improvement.

How about that sunrise!

Plenty has happened since our last blog so let's get on with the videotape!  Anyone remember who said that?  Anyway the lake is full and we are back to growing grass and hoping for no more rain!

From this to ….

THIS!!!!

Lots of bunker work was required after nearly five inches of rain last week.

There is plenty of grass to cut with lots of clippings to disperse.  We stopped collecting clippings for a short period and used blowers to disperse them.  Growth regulator applications have started again to slow down top growth. 

Our greens have had a very good year despite the weather.  One of the biggest reasons is the wetting agent we have chosen for our greens.  Wetting agents must be watered in to be effective and have the ability to firm up the putting surfaces by pushing water through the root zone.

What looks like a divot is actually a poorly repaired ball mark.  Please do not repair ball marks in this manner.  This is one of the consequences of too much rain.

Another unfortunate consequence.  And one wonders why we restrict carts!

The driving range turf is about done for the season and will be on turf only for a few more days.  This pic illustrates the benefit of taking divots in straight lines versus wearing out an entire area and a point of emphasis in the future.  

Another view of turf healing from straight line divots.

Josh and Richard performing some detail work in the fairways.

It's interesting to see native plants evolving through the years.  Here Goldenrod is in full bloom and is in much more abundance than we can remember.  This is often blamed for allergies and mistaken for ragweed.  Goldenrod is an excellent native flower and great for insect pollination.

A nice sunrise on native plants on a newly restored pond.

The fun continues.  We are now in an extended drought coinciding with prolonged summer heat.  Managing anything green is trying.  Rain is in the forecast tonight so hopefully better days are ahead.

This heron finds the fishing better but who cares!  We need rain and yes we are buying water.

Right on the edge of Hermaine but not a drop of rain to be had.

Greens aerification-only the turf likes it.

We chose small holes based on the weather and feel good with our choice. 

A week later and the greens have fully recovered.  This looks like a young wooly bear caterpillar and an early sign of a tough winter?

Heat stress damage to the ninth fairway with bentgrass plants starting to recover.

One week later more improvement is seen but cooler temps and rain are the prescription we need.

Bent is finally beginning to grow as exhibited by the lateral recovery in this divot.  Temperatures have been too hot for this to occur for almost two months.

Some disappointing pics.  Fresh ballparks on aerified greens…

and not one but two divots on turf that can't heal itself.

Cart damage to drought stressed turf.

Second generation goosegrass germinating.  This weed has been a beast this summer and difficult to control with the weather extremes.

Proof that wetting agents are working!  Nice moisture throughout the root zone with roots starting to grow again.  Fall is coming.

Yours truly representing our club.  My team won the Virginia Turfgrass Research Tournament at Wintergreen shooting a fine 57 with a net 51.4!!!!  Thanks to my friends from Davisson Golf for the invite.

The driving range tee ready for action.  Days practicing on turf this season are numbered as the bermudagrass slows down.

Serenity even if the lake is out of water.

It's been a really difficult August but it is ending and course renovation has begun!  We either set or tied a record for the most ninety degree days for the month.  All things considered the course held up well and should recover rapidly with cooler temperatures and some beneficial rain.

All things considered the golf course held its own this summer.

We recently purchased this fairway slicer/spiker.  When better weather arrives we will incorporate it into our regular maintenance.

It is amazing how ugly one weed can be.  This is a goosegrass plant in a fairway.  This only plants that grow well this summer are weeds-particularly goosegrass, crabgrass, nutsedge and bermudagrass.

Crabgrass around the fifth tee.  We will document where extensive weed outbreaks were and treat accordingly next year.  Too much heat and rain have rendered preemergent herbicide applications ineffective this summer.  Treating later in the heat only hurts the turf.

Great practice technique on the practice fairway.  This will recover once it cools down by lateral  growth of the bent.

Poor practice technique and will not heal till next season.

Josh renovating the nurseries.

Solid tine aeration before and after rolling.

Lots of wildlife on the course.  Here four bucks graze near five tee.

Red tail hawk enjoying the sunrise.

The ladies had a fun "Karnival"event that Richard enjoyed preparing.

Mina's garden.

The lovely twelfth hole!