Rough Renovation

Today we implemented our rough renovation program that will take place this Fall on the Old Course. Our goal for this program is to provide a more consistent rough that consists of desirable turfgrass species. Our rough consists of several different grasses. Unfortunately two of these grass are bentgrass and Poa Annua. Bentgrass does not perfom well at high heights of cut. Poa Annua does not tolerate the heat and drier conditions. The Poa Annua has especially struggled during the heat and drought conditions that we have experienced this summer. We are currently overseeding our roughs with Perennial Ryegrass. We will be aerifying and slicing seed into the rough around the fairways and greens. We are going to concentrate around the greens and fairways this Fall. While seed is establishing we will have most of these area roped- off to prohibit cart traffic from damaging the seed. This will also help us keep the Ryegrass Seed from tracking into the fairways and contaminating the bent/poa fairways. We realize that this process may cause a minor inconvenience and may be a little unsightly but will make a huge impact on the quality of our golf course.

Greens Are Recovering

The putting surfaces have recovered from the aggressive aerificaiton that took place a few weeks ago. Green Speeds are pretty much back to normal. Other areas of the golf course have recovered nicely from the Summer Maintenance. At this point we have set ourselves up for a great Fall golf season with very minimal interruption. The temperatures are starting to lower which should help alleviate the stress the the golf course was under. We will begin spraying the weeds in the high grass areas again next week. You will notice some significant yellowing in these areas as the weeks begin to die. This will allow the fescue to flourish and provide better aesthetics and playability for next season.

Post Aerification Mowing

The Aerification and Topdressing process takes its toll on the golf course as well as our mowing equipment. We attempted to mow greens this morning for the second time since the aerificaiton was completed. We were able to get a pretty good cut on our first few greens but after the sand had time to take its toll on the mowers they struggled to cut any grass. They will continue to get better as the holes begin to fill and the sand has a chance to get worked into the canopy. On days that we don't mow we will be rolling the greens to help with smoothness. We realize that this process may be frustrating for those of you trying to play but it should begin to get better quickly. I have always looked at aerification as a temporary inconvenience for a permanent improvement.