Making preparations as we draw closer to starting the Manakin project
There is lots of current info below. If you have not reviewed the Manakin re-grass Powerpoint on the front page of the Blog, please do so. The video from the info session is also on the Facebook page. The Manakin project begins May 28th!
This week will not end how it started. Some very cool temperatures got us started in the mornings early in the week. The rains over the weekend helped the turf charge through the temps however and turf growth has been impressive this week. The Sabot greens are putting well and are about 96% filled in.
A cool start to the week gave us a chance to engage some practices that help improve the texture of the greens surfaces. The greens on the Manakin were lightly verticut and then mowed up one direction and back down the same direction. The brushes were down in front of the mowers so the bentgrass was standing up nicely before it was mowed. Remember that although we are changing out the turf on the majority of the Manakin, the greens are not going anywhere. Please find and fix your ballmark by pushing in towards the center of the mark.
The weather this spring has been very nice. Moderate temperatures and timely moisture have helped us. This type of weather is also perfect for the dollar spot fungus. There was some bentgrass out on the walkway on 15 manakin that was getting obliterated by dollar spot this week. Making the change to bermudagrass greatly reduces disease pressure all through out the year and will absolutely ensure we have a healthy and consistent playing surface.
We gained a new employee on the staff this week and his name is Bandit. This new wood chipper will be a huge benefit to our productivity for many years to come. Dunstano and his team also built a chipper box so that during tree work branches and logs can be chipped straight into the box and hauled away. We spent some time this week pruning up the oak trees between 5 and 6. The more sunlight that we can get penetrating into these outside areas, the better chance for success we will have with the bermudagrass conversion.
The staff has continued to harvest sod from the Manakin and replace areas in need on the Sabot. Areas of the collars on 14 and 16 were patched up with northbridge bermuda sod from 16 tee Manakin. The northbridge will take the wear from the greens mowers much better than the thin ryegrass that was there prior.
The bare area on the left side of 13 Sabot was also sodded out.
We also picked off two more areas for drainage on 13 Sabot. Kinloch finally remembered that we had their excavator so any more drainage will probably wait until the fall.
Inside of the dogleg on 14 will be sodded for the weekend. The significance of the tree, shade, roots and why this area needed to be sodded should not go overlooked.
One of the biggest benefits of moving sod around on your own property (besides the sod itself being free) is that it roots in very quickly. The sod is really only out of contact with the soil for an hour or two at the most. All we have to do is keep it watered and it is ready for golf play again in a week.
Our annual plantings are also making their way into the ground this week. We have utilized a good amount of lantana this year. Lantana is deer resistant, drought tolerant and puts out blooms all summer. The landscape around the club and tennis should fill in nicely as the temperatures continue to rise.