Hermitage CC Golf Course Management

 This week gave us a little taste of summer. Just seven days removed from a frost, both courses are already off and running in the race toward prime golf season. It’s always encouraging to see that kind of turnaround, and the recent stretch of warm weather has really helped jumpstart our progress. Last weekend’s Jr. Valentine event was a huge success, and a great showcase for the club. The Manakin Course was prepared and presented at a high level, with firm, consistent playing conditions that held up well throughout the tournament. The team takes a lot of pride in delivering that kind of environment for competitive play, and it was rewarding to see everything come together for such a well-run event. Looking ahead, next week brings a bit of a curveball with cooler temperatures—potentially flirting with freezing on Tuesday morning. We’re hopeful we can dodge another frost and keep the momentum going with our green-up, which has been steady and encouraging across both courses. Throug...

  Our major spring aeration on the greens is officially in the books, with Sabot wrapping up this week. Everything went just about as planned, and the weather couldn’t have cooperated any better. The team knocked out a full program—deep tine, solid tine, and hollow tine aeration, along with topdressing and fertilization. It was a busy stretch, but the crew did a great job staying on track and getting everything done. Over on Manakin, we’ve been focused on cleaning up some of the winter-damaged areas and getting things ready for the Jr. Valentine this weekend. The greens there are finally starting to settle back in and feel more like normal after their aeration a couple of weeks ago. Last week gave us a really good look at where we stand with the bermuda. The warmer temps helped kickstart some solid growth and green-up, which was great to see. This week, though, we took a couple steps back with frost the last two mornings—this morning being the toughest. That said, it wouldn...

 It has been an absolutely beautiful week here at Hermitage. The stretch of warmer days and, just as importantly, warmer nights was exactly what the doctor ordered for our Bermudagrass. To top it off, we received about a half inch of rain last night—perfect timing with those warm overnight temperatures. There’s a certain level of excitement this time of year that only true turf nerds understand. Waiting for the sun to come up after a warm rain, just to see how much more green has popped overnight—it never gets old. That said, we’ve made great strides this week identifying what we have and what still needs attention, and we’re in much better shape than we initially expected. MONDAY # 10 MANAKIN     THURSDAY #10 MANAKIN We started the week by bringing in a tractor load of sod to address the areas we knew needed it. Most of these spots are in high-traffic collars around practice greens, pinch points between greens and approaches on Manakin, and some bunker edges that took...

 It’s still early… but there’s a lot to be excited about. As winter begins to loosen its grip on the Mid-Atlantic, we’re seeing more and more signs of life across the property. The recent stretch of favorable weather has really helped move things in the right direction, and each day is giving us a clearer picture of how the golf courses are coming out of the winter of 2025–2026. Overall, bermudagrass recovery is off to a very encouraging start. Sabot has greened up really well across most areas. That’s likely due to a combination of increased moisture, more consistent snow cover, reduced cart traffic, and a more open canopy (a lot of the reasons that we see less play on Sabot throughout the winter). Those conditions provided a great environment for the turf to come through winter strong, and it’s showing early as we transition into spring. As always, winter impact varies depending on a number of factors—moisture levels, traffic patterns, compaction, shade, and exposure. The mor...

 I feel like this blog has turned into a weekly recap of the wild weather swings here in Richmond… and, well, this week is no different. This was aeration week for the Manakin greens, scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. In true spring fashion, the weather had other plans. We worked around off-and-on rain Monday (more on than off) and kept a close eye on the tornado warning that evening. Thankfully, we avoided any touchdowns on property, with just a few trees down to clean up. To stay ahead of the storms, the team got a jump start Saturday night by completing deep tining and a roll. That decision paid off, allowing us to wrap up most of the remaining aeration work on Tuesday while also tackling storm cleanup. The Manakin greens received deep tines, ½" solid tines, and .3" cores, followed by topdressing and a nutrient package. All things considered, the process went as smoothly as it could given the wet conditions. With several cold mornings this week, recovery has been a bit ...