Hermitage CC Golf Course Management

Not the ideal forecast for most this holiday weekend, but for us grass growers, it looks pretty dreamy. Hopefully the next four days will bring some much-needed relief to what has been a historically dry spring.  Currently watching the radar! It’s hard to believe we’re already gaining on June. This spring feels like it has moved at record speed, but this week somehow managed to feel a little longer. Temperatures in the mid-90s combined with continued dry conditions kept our crews moving all week long. Ironically, this is the heat we’ve been wishing for, and we are finally starting to see the bermudagrass respond and take off from these warm conditions… finally.  Honestly, it kind of feels like that reliable golf buddy who is always a trunk slammer — sliding into the parking lot five minutes before the tee time and sprinting to the first tee somehow fully ready to go. That bottom pond is getting low! Our crew battled through the heat to aerify nearly 100 acres of short grass ...

 After weeks of watching rain chances disappear from the forecast, we finally got a little glimmer of hope this week with our spring weather woes. Monday the campus received right at 1" of slow, steady rainfall, followed by another 0.2" Wednesday and just a trace today. We’ll gladly take it. This rain was a much needed help for the operation, but we’re still sitting roughly 8" behind for the year. Monday also started with a light topdress on Sabot greens to try and smooth out some of those tiny baby bumps left behind from aeration.   The guys and girls have also been absolutely crushing it on the bunkers lately — they have been looking and playing great!  If you see them out on the course thank them.  Bunkers are not easy! Now that the driving range is finally back on grass — much later than normal because of the cold nighttime temperatures and the bermuda not really growing — it seems like the range has become the single most popular spot on campus. 8am or 6pm… it...

 As we move deeper into May, it continues to feel like spring is teasing us more than actually arriving. The unusually cool and dry conditions we’ve experienced this season have significantly slowed the green-up process of all our bermudagrass surfaces across both courses. While we remain optimistic every time rain appears in the forecast, Mother Nature has continued to leave us wanting more. Over the last two days, forecasts suggested we might finally make a meaningful dent in our now 7+ inch rainfall deficit this spring. Unfortunately, the system only delivered just over one-tenth of an inch of rain. We’ll certainly take every drop we can get, but it is going to require substantially more moisture to truly re-wet our beautiful west Richmond clay soils that have continued drying out for months now. The primary focus for our agronomy teams this week has been moisture management throughout both courses. This time of year, maintaining adequate hydration is critical. Even though tem...

 As we near the end of April, we’ve been dealing with some unusually challenging weather patterns that continue to test this grass-growing thing. First and foremost is the lack of rainfall. We’ve received just ½ inch of rain throughout March and April combined. Historically, the Richmond area averages about 4 inches in March and 3.2 inches in April, putting us at a rainfall deficit of roughly 6 to 6.5 inches to start the growing season. To put that into perspective, this marks the third driest spring planting season (in agricultural terms) since 1875, according to U.S. Farm Report . This extended dry stretch, paired with unseasonably cool nighttime temperatures, has left our Bermudagrass a bit dazed and confused. While the turf is green, it’s simply not actively growing, recovering, or moving the way we would expect this time of year. That creates a real challenge, especially as we enter the spring push of play. Increased rounds are always a good thing, but traffic stress without...

 Last week had us feeling like we were taking two big steps forward across the property. Bermudagrass on both courses was showing encouraging signs of green-up, the Sabot greens were recovering nicely from aeration, and the Range Tee grow-in continued to progress right on schedule. Over on Manakin, greens had fully rebounded from their spring aeration and were delivering the firm, fast conditions we all look forward to this time of year. It was the kind of stretch that reminds us prime golf season is right around the corner. This week, however, served as a bit of a reality check—more of a one step back moment. Early in the week, we experienced unseasonably cold temperatures, including a significant frost. The Bermudagrass that had just started to wake up and push color unfortunately took a hit. Much of that early green-up has been knocked back, and overall growth has slowed as a result. Before After While the turf is certainly off-color in areas, this is not unexpected for this t...