Green Edges

Green Expansion

After a nice shot of natural rain the greens have completely healed from our fall aerification.  We also applied a granular fertilizer on September 17th, which aided in the healing process and encouraged root initiation.  Now that the greens have healed we will resume normal scheduled mowing heights, grooming, plant growth regulators and bi-weekly topdressing.  Tees and fairways will be aerified in the upcoming weeks.    

During the next few weeks you may notice some discoloring from scalping around the greens edges.  This is an attempt to restore greens to original size.  You will also notice white dots symbolizing the original green edge.  Over the years the greens collars have encroached into the putting green surface simply from improper mowing.  During the cooler months of the spring and fall we are able to correct the mistake minimizing the potential of turf loss due to heat related stress.  We will systematically lower the mowing heights until the grass has adapted to the normal greens height.  This process will allow us to maintain a consistent collar width and maximize the pin placements on our smaller greens.

Rough Grass

 Slit seeding process

Seed filled slits

Our greatest struggle in recent days has been the keeping up with the mowing of the rough.  This recent wet spell from the remnants of Hurricane Isaac has directly coincided with the peak temperatures in vegetative grass growth, as any homeowner with a lawn can attest to.   It was the perfect storm, coming off a wet holiday weekend followed by our fall greens aerification and a tournament on Monday we have been forced to give our best effort to mow rough and attempt to stay ahead of golf play during the morning hours.  This hasn’t exactly been successful as the wet, sticky grass simply lays over from the weight of our equipment, and whatever grass clippings that are cut end up sticking together in large clumps.  We resorted to having 2 power blowers chasing the rough mower around, doing their best to break up the clumps immediately after mowing.  By the end of the week we should be able to catch up and resume normal rough mowing the following week.  Although the long thick rough has been an inconvenience for golf play and maintenance, we were fortunate enough that most of the rough made it out of dormancy just fine.  Any thin or weak area will be seeded this week and with any luck we will get a little rain to help expedite the germination process.

Fall Aerificaiton

Eric Bruns filling holes with sand

Sand filled channel

This week will be the beginning of our fall aerification process.  Rain earlier this week has prolonged the sand topdressing process, however greens should be completed this week and back to normal playing conditions in a few days.  We are aerating greens, tees and fairways to remove thatch, add creeping bentgrass seed to weak and thin areas, and amend the root zones with more sand for greater rooting capabilities and internal drainage.  Core aeration is the process of removing cores of thatch and replacing them with sand.  These sand filled channels will break up the undesirable layering of organic matter created over the years and allow for air and water movement through the root zone.  The healing process usually takes approximately ten to fourteen days depending upon the weather.  We will be applying fertilizer and watering to germinate bentgrass seed and expedite surface recovery.  Members will experience softer, slower, bumpier greens containing many sand-filled holes during this time.  Once the bentgrass seedlings have become established and the surfaces have sufficiently healed, we will return to our normal watering practices and the greens will dramatically improve in firmness and drainage.  We understand cultivation temporarily disrupts the ball roll and is an inconvenience for the golfers but keep in mind that the long-term benefits far outweigh the temporary disruptions.