Manakin Sprigging starts Monday and we are ready!

Our sprigging preparations are coming to head. All of our sprigging area has been double aerated, creating holes for the sprigs to grab onto.

We have also run the veritcutters through the surface to break it up and churn up some material to help keep the sprigs moist. The staff continues to work on irrigation tasks and small items such as drain leveling and general grading in the rough and along the cartpaths.

Gypsum has been applied to supply some calcium to the soil and help with water infiltration. Our final herbicide, pre-emergent and insecticide spray is being applied in a staggered manner about 3 or 4 days in front of the sprigging machine. A starter fertilizer and wetting agent will also be put down just in front of the sprigs. We will start on 3 and 4 on Monday and then head over to 14 through 18 the rest of the week. Our team has worked very hard to get the golf course prepped and ready and we are very excited to start seeing some green turf on the Manakin!

Over on the Sabot we have put out a slow release fertilizer for the season. The bermuda continues to tighten up and we are keeping surfaces as firm as possible as summer rolls on. We have just clicked over 3 weeks straight without rain. The guys are working hard to give the turf just what it needs to stay healthy.

With the absence of rain, golf play has been very steady on the Sabot. Even when it is 100 degrees outside you all are still finding a way to enjoy some golf. The ballmarks are starting to add up, especially on the holes where you have a shorter iron in your hand. Please remember to find and repair your ballmark correctly. Any mark that you see on the green is more than likely an incorrectly or untimely repaired mark. Always push in towards the middle of the mark, this will help get the turf back to its original spot and allow it to recover quickly.

This past week we installed two new smart TV's in the breakroom. The TV's display a digital job board to keep the staff moving in the right direction. Now, instead of having to travel all the way into the shop to change jobs on the dry erase board, managers can update the job board from their phones. This helps everyone be more efficient on such a big piece of property. Next week our focus will turn to installing a digital antenna so that we will end our reign as the only golf course on the planet that wasn't able to watch the Price is Right at lunch time!

Enjoy your holiday weekend!