Grounds Update for May 15th

Now that the season is underway, I am going to attempt to provide regular bi-weekly updates on what is happening on the golf course and any other important information on conditions or specialty maintenance items.

The greens are very healthy this spring and very dense with bentgrass turf.  Green speeds will gradually increase over the next couple of weeks as mowing heights are lowered and sand topdressing is applied.  The greens are becoming firm and smoother each day.

Ball marks

We've all felt the excitement of hitting a great golf shot (and I've seen many here at DR) and rushing to our ball to line up that birdie putt.  Often though, that excitement keeps us from remembering that the shot has left an unsightly ball mark somewhere on the green.  Fixing ball marks and helping those who have forgotten to fix theirs, will go a long way in helping the green heal.  Ball marks fixed immediately and properly will heal in 2-3 days while poorly or improperly repaired ball marks may take up to 2-3 weeks before they recover fully.  Probably the most important part of fixing a ball mark properly and quickly, is to help prevent the invasion of Poa Annua into these perfect pockets in the green.  With Poa making up a large percentage of the grass in our fairways, any Poa seed that is tracked onto the putting surface by shoes and mowing equipment will quickly take hold in these voids and begin growing in these areas.  So........ please take the time to repair your ball mark and those of others to help keep our playing surfaces pristine. 

As far as managing Poa, our staff has been trained to identify and properly remove Poa from our greens and are now mandated that each greensmower takes the time to remove a minimum of 20 plants per green on a daily basis which will be the main defence against future invasion from this plant species. 

Short Game Practice Facility

The Short Game Area is taking shape quickly with drainage and irrigation now installed.  Although the wet spring delayed the start of the project by a couple of weeks, the construction is progressing well and is getting close to having the final grading/shaping being done.  This practice area has been designed to capture a variety of golf shots that are found on the golf course and features both shallow and deep sand bunkers along with deep bluegrass hollows and mounding.  There are significant bentgrass runoffs similar to those found on holes 4,6,11 and 18 and approximately 7,500 square feet of  subtle putting surface to practice long putts.  The sand for the greens is being imported this week and topsoil should be spread around by early next week with sodding to follow shortly thereafter.  If the weather continues to cooperate, sodding should be completed by Friday May 24th with an estimated opening date somewhere between the middle to end of June.


Miscellaneous Projects

The spring has provided some challenges in completing some projects along with balancing many of our routine spring maintenance items.  We are working diligently to try and wrap up some pressing areas prior to the beginning of the event season.

Putting Green

  With the trees removed around the upper putting green to improve sunlight, much of the remaining turf around the green was unsightly with Poa Annua, Perennial Ryegrass and Kentucky Bluegrass equally making up the turf rough.  It has now been sodded with 100% Kentucky Bluegrass and has greatly improved the appearance of our putting green area.

#17/18 Garden

Irrigation has been installed and planting soil is scheduled to be placed in these gardens within the next week with planting and mulching to follow.  This area once mature, will be similar to the planting gardens between 9 green and 10 tee and create a small visual barrier between these two holes.  Garden plantings will be sparse at first but will be splitting plants from around the property to help fill in these areas throughout the season.

Old Cartpaths

The old cartpath areas have been redone with topsoil and seeded with a turf that is better able to handle dry conditions as many of these areas are outside of our irrigation coverage.  These areas will remain roped off until the seed has been established and should not be used for cart traffic.

Wrap up

Finally I should thank Jeremy Hubbard (foreman/spray technician/ipm manager) for getting this blog page up and running and appreciate his efforts in developing this forum for communication.

I look forward to more seasonal weather and seeing everyone out enjoying the course.

Jason Winter, AGS