The golf course continues to be busy.  Thank goodness for Monday closure now more than ever.  Props to Groody's Groomers who filled fairway divots on Monday.  Ten members helped and a different ten will help next Monday.  Thanks to all!

 

Finally getting caught up on our mulching.

 

 

We groomed our greens last Wednesday.  This promotes more upright growth and a truer putting surface.  Notice this is done in two perpendicular directions.  

 

We are using light rates of Acclaim herbicide on our fairways to suppress common bermudagrass.  As this picture shows it is working quite well.  We will lay off the next application to allow some of the stressed bentgrass to recover.

 

 

This is the result of an application of Turflon Ester to suppress common bermudagrass in the rough. These areas will be extensively seeded in August.  This is done every thirty days if  weather permits.

 

Our new wildflower beds are ready to explode.  This is behind six tee.

 

 

Greens are lightly topdressed with sand every two weeks. Light sand topdressing really helps smooth the putting surface.

 

Knocking weeds down in chipped areas.  Finally!!!

 

 

Perfect weather for cool season turf and golf.  Currently we are a little dry but it allows us to get a better cut on most of our turf and nice roll for golfers.  The course is very busy with play.  Nearly five thousand rounds occurred in May! 

 

We are vertical mowing the fairways to remove some lateral growth and promote more upright growth and density.  This work should wrap up this week.

 

The course is playing fast due to the lack of rain and low humidity.  Here some drain lines are drying out on the 4th hole.

 

 

The fairways were fertilized in May and we had a problem with the spreader setting.  The result was some striping.  The turf will grow out of this along with some special care.

 

 

Checking the sand depth in green side bunkers and shifting it as needed.

 

Herbicide applications in the rough to suppress bermudagrass and bentgrass as well. 

 

Finally getting some beds weeded and ready for mulch.

 

Meet our new red tailed hawk.

 

We have seen quite a few snapping turtles on the course this spring.

 

Daisies in abundance on the third hole.

 

 

It has been a busy week on the course.  Mondays continue to be the cat daddy for maintenance.  This week our crew edged all the green side bunkers, installed annuals in the large bed behind 18 green, sprayed all the fairways and the practice green, worked with a tree contractor removing dead or dangerous trees, began applying a preemengent herbicide and mowed some rough.  Whew!

 

Edging green side bunkers.  We also tamp the sand as needed.

 

 

This is the same bunker later in the week.  The player walked up the face of the bunker and collapsed the sand.  Never walk in or out the high side of a bunker.

 

 

A bucket truck was required to remove the tree at the 6th tee.  That is a 480 volt 3-phase power line that feeds the pump house he is working over.

 

 

Notice anything different?

 

 

Dead oak on 8 gone!

 

 

Two more oaks between 2 and 8 removed.

 

 

One of our last scrub pines and a sourwood removed between 3 and 16.

 

 

Cleaning up the area left of 12 green.

 

 

Hauling away the logs.  This represents three days work.

 

 

Annuals going in 18 green bed.  The start of a long day.

 

 

Josh spreading our second application of Dimension herbicide in the rough.  Split applications work better with this herbicide.

 

 

Working on some weak turf in our short game area.  Richard using an aerifier to create a seed bed.

 

 

This is a success trial.  We broadcast some leftover wildflower seed on the bank of 4 tee last winter and bam!  We will do the entire bank this coming winter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Finally some nice weather!  Warmer temperatures finally woke up the turf from the cool spring.  After playing golf I can attest the rough is healthy and to be avoided!  We have been able to increase our staffing and the help is huge.  Annuals are being planted and detail work is finally getting done.

 

Summer annuals have arrived.

 

 

The clubs entrance bed completed and looking magnificent.

 

 

Sweet William in foreground and I believe Beardtongue in the background in our wildflower bed.  Almost monthly a different species begins to bloom.

 

 

Pylex herbicide applied to the tees to suppress encroaching bermudagrass.  The yellowing turf is the bermudagrass.  We will alternate Pylex and Acclaim herbicide on the fairways and tees in our quest to reduce this weed.

 

 

It has been a tough stretch for many of our trees.  Here a native sycamore is starting to recover from the disease anthracnose.  Many of our oaks are in decline from the crazy wet then dry year we experienced in 2019.  Some tree removal begins this week.

 

 

We have at least one baby red tail hawk!

 

 

 

 

It's been a productive week on the golf course.  All fairways and roughs were fertilized.  With the rain coming our timing couldn't be better.  We planted 15 ornamental trees and nearly 100 shrubs earlier this week.  Today we are completing our herb and vegetable garden.  Next week summer annuals begin arriving.  With Memorial Day next week we will be busy!

 

Plants arrive at 6 AM on Monday.

 

 

Adding dogwood and redbuds to fill in the bed by the ninth tee.

 

 

More club grounds improvements.

 

 

Adding leaf compost to the herb and vegetable garden before tilling.

 

 

Cross cutting fairways and fertilizing the rough.

 

 

This is encouraging. Wildflowers finally germinating in the bed by the 7th tee.  Plant growth throughout the course has been so slow due to the cool weather.

 

 

Crazy wind and another white pine is down.

 

 

This improved elm will have to come down as well.

 

 

Check this out!  A honeybee swarm on the 4th hole.  We tried to capture it but it was gone later that day.

 

 

Living on a golf course is every dogs dream.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Warm weather finally arrives this week.  We have begun increasing our staff's hours and are beginning to bring back our part time labor.  Tulips are currently being pulled and may be picked up in the upper parking lot as we make ready for summer annuals and some other landscape plantings.  We finally completed fairway aeration on Monday with perfect conditions.  Its nice when the weather cooperates! 

 

Perfect conditions to aerify the remaining fairways on Monday.

 

 

What a difference from the last time we did this.  Fairways will be fertilized later this week.

 

 

Luis aerified the driving range fairway on Monday as well.

 

 

Julio, Francisco, and Rony digging up tulips.  You may pick them up in the upper parking lot.  Store them in a cool, dark place and plant in November.

 

 

 

 

 

The cool wet weather persists on.  We will attempt to complete fairway aeration on Monday.  If it rains we will try again on Tuesday.  There may be some interference with morning golf but not much if Tuesday is the day.  The cool weather has slowed the turf growth down a bit which has been helpful.  Warm weather looks to finally arrive late next week.  We anticipate bringing some staff back the following week as the work load increases.

Our first fairway since April 17th.  Three weeks!

 

 

Greens were mowed for the first time since aeration on Monday and came out great.

 

 

The cool wet spring has been tough on the sycamores.  There is an abundance of anthracnose causing poor leaf growth.  Fortunately these trees are able to produce new leaves.

 

 

The new bed we developed last spring is quite a display.

 

 

Wildflowers are starting to bloom on the third hole. The other wildflower beds are struggling to get going and may need to be seeded again.

 

 

Mulching continues.

 

 

Hazard lines have been painted for the first time.

 

 

Our resident deer on the 16th hole.