Hermitage CC Golf Course Management

McDonald and Sons has finished up the sand exchange to soil for our approaches. The sand that was removed has been placed behind 9 green and here by the bathroom on 5. This sand will be reused to topdress the sprigs over the next few months. The sand was equally exchanged for fill soil and then topped with 4 inches of topsoil. The soil was harvested from the area left of #1 Sabot. The approaches have all been sodded back with the same Latitude 36 bermudagrass. We will continue to roll, mow and topdress these approaches and they will play as firm and consistent as ever when the Manakin re-opens. With the approaches finished in great time, the pros from McDonald and Sons moved on to a few bunker modifications that we mentioned last week. This back bunker on 9 green was filled and reshaped into a run off and collection area. The middle tongue on 17 fairway bunker often trapped balls behind it making an exit very difficult. The tongue was pulled back so the bunk...

The golf courses dried out nicely this week. Not a one rain storm hit us with anything significant and we were able to get plenty of things accomplished. On the Sabot, we actually spot aerated a few greens. The small cores popped out and let some air in some of the more trafficked and stressed areas on greens 2 through 5. The cores were blown off and the greens were mowed like normal the next day. This method helps the bentgrass get through the summer better and has almost 0 impact on putting for the week. On Monday the approaches and tees were topdressed with sand. The sand helps keep the surfaces firm and smooth. Once dry the sand was brushed down into the canopy. We continue to work on the bumpy ride around the Sabot. Some depressions on the front nine were cut out on Monday and filled with hot asphalt mix from the plant up the road. The hot mix is a much better product than cold patch from Home Depot, not to mention significantly cheaper. Once plate tamped it looks nic...

We have gotten an amazing amount of over the past 7 days. Our teams has worked around it and the Sabot is holding up. Just about every blade of grass was mowed on Wednesday before another two inches of rain came down early this morning. The drains in the bunkers are very slow due to the amount of silt contaminated sand in them. It will take most of the crew two days to get the water out and get the sand shoveled back up on the edges. We will be putting together an improvement plan for these bunkers this winter. A quick note on cart traffic. Our main directive has been to scatter traffic as much as possible. Something that helps this is to stay on the path until you are at a similar distance to where your ball is. Most golfers have been treating the fairways as grass cartpaths. Exiting the path quickly and driving straight up the fairway does not do the turf any favors, especially when everyone drives through the same areas. Stay on the path until you reach a closer latitude to ...

The golf course did what we thought it would do and all of our different turfgrasses that once graced the Manakin are now the same color, brown. The common bermudagrass has also taken up the herbicide well and is on the way down. The herbicide will continue to translocate through the plants this week and our second application is slated for Friday the 14th. Our signs about the re-grassing will go back up next week and it will be important to keep traffic off the Manakin. Especially as we begin the sprigging process July 8th, neighbors need to find a different way to the club that doesn't involve driving across any turf. Our first application went exactly as planned and was finished in just one day. We worked around the existing Latitude bermuda and the greens accurately. With the Manakin closed until September now, we jumped right in to aerate the greens. These greens have not been aerated for over a year. The deep tine aerator went first and punched 8 inch deep hole...