Friday, May 23, 2014

THE NATIVES ARE RESTLESS

Over the past few weeks we have begun the process of refurbishing some of the native "no mow" areas.  Since the completion of the CRI project I have not been happy with the establishment or overall look in some the most highly visible areas.  Establishing fine fescue from seed is best done in the late summer and early fall months.  Fortunately, I was able to secure 25,000 sq. ft. of Aurora Gold fine fescue sod from a local farm that is rotating their fields.  It was a "win-win" for both parties. We will not be able to sod every native area, but will focus on locations with high visual impact and steep slopes.  Sod is best utilized on the steep slopes where seed is difficult to sow. 

As we move forward thought the season, we will continue to trim all the non sodded native areas.  Along with herbicide applications for invasive weeds, the appearance will be manicured and clean.  Seeding and establishment of thin areas will commence in the fall.


4 Red & 5 Red
4 Red & 5 Red

3 Blue Tee
3 Blue Tee


3 Blue Tee
3 Red Tee
Finished Look - 4year Old Aurora Gold Fine Fescue
Harmony Landing Country Club - Louisville Kentucky




Tuesday, April 8, 2014

SPRING HAS ARRIVED?

ENOUGH SAID!


I thought it would be helpful to give you a update on the impact this winter’s weather has had on the golf course and our maintenance plan.  It goes without saying that we’ve experienced near record snowfall and low temperatures that have extended the winter season.




 FAIRWAY AERIFICATION AND SEEDING


Our ability to core aerify and seed the fairways and rough has been halted to this point.  The past three weeks have either been too wet or snow covered to perform this vital cultural practice.  Why is this an issue? WEEDS!  My program is designed around having our spring seeding sowed and germinated prior to a pre-emergent weed application.  Unfortunately, crabgrass seed is already in the soil lying in wait for its opportunity to germinate.  Temperatures can rise quickly and crabgrass will have the advantage.  The plan for this spring is to solid tine aerify/seed selected fairway and rough areas.  If we are unable to aerify/seed this week, we will only solid tine and hold seeding until fall.  The result will be a half season delay for rough establishment following construction.  As weather dictates,
Pre-emergent herbicides will be applied to minimize weeds course wide.




 BUNKERS


Part of my winter program is to supplement and touch up bunkers that have been contaminated over the season.  This consists of exposing the drainage, inspecting the piping and adding fresh sand.  I had ten bunkers on my list and we’ve only been able to address three due to weather.  The process is time consuming and disruptive to play, so we will have to look for opportunities when the spare nines are closed on Mondays to continue.




PAR 3 TEE SODDING


For the past two years we have sodded portions of the Par 3 teeing areas that have been thinned by play.  We used our entire in-house turfgrass nursery for these repairs, but more is needed.  Sod availability and harvest has also been greatly affected by winter weather.




COLLAR MANAGEMENT


Collar management is a challenge in the Transition zone and we’ve had our fair share
of setbacks.  I changed our management protocol that consists of reducing the width and
addressing thatch build up.  Phase 1 (Width Reduction) of the program has been completed .  Phase 2 (Small Tine Core Aerification/Topdressing) began and was halted by snow cover.  Six holes have been completed. 


 GOOSE CONTROL


 With snow cover off and on since the end of December, geese have had full run of the property.  Assembling in areas not accessible due to snow cover made it difficult to run the dogs as a deterrent. The result is excrement on the snow, that when melt occurs, is quite a mess.  Clean up is difficult because of wet conditions.


Although the weather has caused disruption, we have regrouped and completed other projects on my hit list.  Stay tuned for those updates!

I hope this will give you some idea of how things are going and help answer any questions.