Course Update 
May 5, 2021
 

The last two weeks have shown major improvements to the golf course overall.

Fairways have finally greened up and the Bentgrass seed we put down is germinating and starting to grow. The rough is starting to thicken up and grow, the Tall Fescue seed is germinating and should show signs of growth soon.
Greens are coming along nicely and the Bentgrass there is starting to show signs of growth.
 

We finally got our soil test back from the lab and were able to make a few key applications in the last week that kicked the greens in high gear. Soil tests showed that the greens had a low ph and low on calcium, we made a lime application to raise the ph in the soil on Monday. When soils are low ph and low calcium nutrients can get locked in the soil and plants aren’t able to use those nutrients. Lime is a calcium based product which, along with raising the ph, unlocked the nutrients in soil making them plant available.  With the greens now able to utilize all the nutrients in the soil, and the warm days we’ve had, the final recovery from last year should move quickly.
 

Our new irrigation satellite boxes were delivered last week and we have almost completed installing them. This is a major upgrade to the courses irrigation system and will give us more control and better communication to our irrigation system.
These satellite boxes along with the upgrades to the pump station will translate into better turf conditions, fewer breaks, and better watering practices.
 

We had a track skid steer loaned to us over the past weekend and we were able to fix the large “marsh” on 14 fairway. We found that there were at least 2 springs along the property line on 15 that are feeding into this area. Drainage had previously been installed in these springs and was trenched all the way across 15 and 14.
The drainage had become corrupted at the edge of the fairway causing the water from the springs to leach out onto the fairway creating the “Marsh”. We removed all of the water logged turf from the area, and lowered the area about 6” creating a “catch basin” to trap water coming down the hill before it hits the fairway. We then retrenched the corrupted drain line and connected it to the main drain line.
 

With this fix, any water coming down the hill will get trapped by the catch basin and taken out through the drain lines and the water from the spring will stay underground. We are also creating a small swale further up the hill to direct water to our catch basin. This part of the project is not complete yet as we need the soil to dry out completely before it can be graded properly. The area will remain “Ground Under Repair” until our seed is ready for play and all the grade work is completed. The previous “marsh” will be rough for the remainder of this year and we’ll take a look at the fairway line in the fall to see if any adjustments need to be made. We did not have a chance to address the “marsh” on 15, but we believe it’s a similar situation.

May should be a great month for the golf course and I expect the greens to be 100% by the end of the month. With all the new seed germinating and growing across the golf course playing conditions should be great this summer.

 

Peter Danaher

Golf Course Superintendent