Course Update

 

 

 

The new tee on 14 has started to develop some black layer in the sod line.  This is limiting air into the root zone and some decline has already started to show in the roots with some yellowing of the turf.  You can notice the red arrow pointing to the black layer just below the sod but the tee mix we used is untouched.  The sandy soil that came with the sod has started to seal off the oxygen to the roots.  To cover all the basis with recovery of we started to aerify the tee box this past Monday and then followed this with some plant protectants to help keep the roots free of any soil diseases like summer patch which bluegrass loves to get when it gets hot.

 

We stared to aerify the new tee on 14 Monday June 16th after last weeks excessive rain to allow for some air movement into the root zone.  We did it again on Wednesday with some larger solid tines to really get some air in there.  Now we just need to get the air to blow back there and keep it dry.

 

 

Here is one of those things that we sometimes just find on the course first thing in the morning.  On Friday June 20th we were making our rounds checking things out when we found this pine tree that had fallen between the 5th and 15th tees.  It looks like the wind just blew it over.  Looking a little closer at the trunk which seemed to be rotten finally gave away and succumbed to mother nature.  After the guys finished bunkers we got right out and cleaned up the debris.

 

 

The front entrance work has started.  A stone veneer product is being installed about waist high to the left and right of the front door.  Once this is complete the siding workers will come back and finish installing the siding and trim at the front entrance.



Bugs!

 

 

These little critters that the red arrows are pointing to are called Annual Bluegrass Weevil.  This pest has been around for a few years and been difficult to control because of how may generations they have which is up to five in a season.  This past Sunday I was looking at the poa annua in the 7th fairway and noticed how the poa seemed to be stressed even though the ryegrass seemed fine.  Thinking this was more than drought stress I started to do a little digging.  After cutting out a section of turf they were easily noticeable.  They are currently in the larvae stage that you see now.  Typically in Spring the adults emerge from their winter hideouts and start finding some prime areas to lay their eggs. They munch on the stems and crowns of the plant which cause the turf to look drought stressed unless you look closer.  Now that we know we have them we will be adding additional control measures into our agronomic plan for next year to make sure when get the best control at the best time no matter what stage this bug is in.

 

 

On Monday we went ahead and sprayed an insecticide on the 7th fairway and the perimeter to knock down any of the ABW (annual bluegrass weevil) that we could.  Since we are going after the larvae stage of the ABW we to water this product in to kill them.



Course Update

 

 

I wanted to snap a picture of what the rough around the greens and tees are cut at so everyone can see the height of where we are at.  Now that we are in June the rough will start to simmer down a bit since it is getting to the end of its seeding phase.  We will always go through this phase because during the spring because the plant is using all of its sugar to produce seed head to help it reproduce.  Typically you will see longer stemmy looking stalks with seed head.  This time of year along with the spring rains makes it tough to keep up with the grass cutting and also the quality of the cut is not a good as we would like to see.  As the heat arrives and the seeding phase goes away the density also lightens up making the rough a bit more playable.  Everyone knows that during the spring you cut your yard about once every 3 to 4 days and we try to do the same but between events and weather that is not always the case.  As we prepped for the MSGA Women's Mid Amateur this week we cut the entire rough in 2 days which is a first this year.  The bad part is that we cannot keep cutting during their tournament Thursday and Friday, so we will have to play catch up early next week.

 

A small improvement outside the ball room exit door was the additional landscaping we installed.  We removed an old ugly yucca plant and a native grass and added several shrubs to fill the space in.  The plants we chose were Itea "Little Henry", Otto Luyken Laurel, Pieris "Cavatine", Lantana "Pina Colada", and some Hosta.


 



A reminder on Bunker Etiquette