Sodded tees

As some of you may have noticed the new sodded tees have started to struggle a little. This is a normal happening with a sodded tee. It is a result of a layer of compaction. 

Today we are going out a relieving that compaction with solid needle tine aeration, as shown below. Going to a depth of 4" will give us the relief we need to keep the tee in good health. 

We mow the tee surface tomorrow, once mowed there will be very little effect on the courses playability. 

The leaves are turning and fall is in full swing.  Fall is also a good time for weed control, right after this first frost is the best time. We will be going out with a control product in some of our sensitive areas. These areas include the collars and aprons. These are sensitive due to have the bent grass green right next door. The bent grass limits the products we can use. We were also limited due to the areas being reseeded this spring, there is a buffer time needed for new seed before you can treat for weeds. That buffer time is typically 3-6 weeks.  Hoping to get good control this fall. 

If you have questions please feel free to contact me. 

The Golf Course in great shape!! 

Ross

Irrigation Leaks

We have had a couple of small irrigation leaks occur over the last week, one in 11 fairway and the other by 12 tee. So today is the day to fix them. 

Wednesday we brought in the small track hoe to dig the area up. This morning we cut the pipes, to drain the system as shown below. We will then repair the leaking pipe with new fittings. This afternoon we will the flush the irrigation system out and charge back up. With any luck at all the system will be up and running tonight. 

The golf course is in great shape, come out and play some beautiful fall golf!!

Ross

Top Dressing

Today we are top dressing greens. This is basically applying a light coat of sand to the greens, as shown below. Once the sand has dried we will then use our vibratory roller to roll the sand into the green's canopy. During the season we try to top dress the greens on a weekly basis. 

Applying sand in light applications does several good things for the greens. First it will smooth the putting surface of any inconsistencies. Second is it will help control thatch and organic matter near the green's surface, this is important due to more organic matter = a more bumpy moist surface. And finally this will help build up out sand base over time, creating a better root zone to grow grass.  If you have any questions feel free to contact me.  

The Golf is in Great shape right now. Play Golf Aberdeen. 

Ross

Fairways

I'm sure you have noticed a little bit of yellowish tint to our fairways. This is a combination of two things thing; first is the poa that has been on the struggle from the heat recently. Second is the older varieties of blue grass have a yellow tinge right now, no reall issue here just have a yellow look.  This has given us a bit of a different growth pattern, causing not a clean cut when we mow.   Both these will resolve themselves as the fall type weather is here for now. 

Tuesday we applied a light application of fertilizer to the fairways, this was not to make them grow but to try and improve the plant health. We also applied an application of growth enhancer, this should slow the upward growth and encourage a healthier plant. Both these applications will keep the fairways in great shape going into the fall. 

The Golf Course is in Great Shape!!!

See you on the Course. 

Ross

Rain

Officially 2" of rain in the gauge. It was just a good rain. This puts us in good shape for moisture going into the fall. 

The course is in good shape. Last weeks heat was starting to cause some stress on the turf plants. This week cooler and some rain has eased the stress level. 

Come out and enjoy your golf course!!!

Ross

Course update

Well here we are the middle of August, where did the summer go. The days are getting shorter and fall is not too far away. Some of the best golf weather is yet to come!!

The course is in great shape, we have started to use all tee areas now. They still have some filling into do but are very playable.  The fairways have struggled during the heat. This is due to having to reseed this spring, leaving us with a higher than normal amount of poa type grass. The poa does not like the hot humid days. I hoping the other varieties of grass out there will fill in when the poa is weak, not sure how much this will happen but a good thought.

Below is one of my favorite pictures from this summer. 

If you have any comments please contact me. 

We will see you on the course!!!!

Ross

Black Tee Markers

The new black tee markers have been placed!!!  These will be our longest set of tee's. The blue, gold and white tees will all move up slightly.  Check out the new score card to see which set of tees will best fit you and your golf game. 

The golf course remains in good shape. Our fairways took a slight hit from the extended period of warm humid weather. The weather mainly effected the poa annua turf plants. We have poa as a result of losing grass in our fairways; the poa tries to move in and it is not our desired turf type.  If you look there is dark green plants in the struggling areas, this is the new seed we planted this spring.  We hope that some of this new seed will take over the poa eventually. The cooler weather will help along with a light application of fertilizer. 

If you have any questions feel free to contact me. 

Fall is approaching quickly!

We will see you on the course!

Ross