Hermitage CC Golf Course Management

We could not of asked for better weather to get this conversion done on the Manakin. Everyone on our team worked hard and stayed focused in order to present a new golf course to you on time. The extended summer has helped the latitude fill in beautifully in most areas. With only .3" of rain in September we could use a cloudy wet day at some point! The expanded fairways and roll off areas create a unique look as well as some very interesting shots. There is no more looking for your ball in the rough either. Pace of play has already sped up and everyone seems to be enjoying the new turf. This week was filled with plenty of events. We have been putting some extra time in the greens, sneaking out an extra dry cut and roll in the afternoons when possible. There is plenty of work to do on the greens to better manage the top layer. As time goes on and we can get more grooming and aerations under our belts, the greens will continue to firm up and putt consis...

If you were looking for a lull in the action in the past 115 days you would be hard pressed to find it. Our staff has really worked tirelessly to get this golf course back into shape and give it back to you in just 2 and half months after the first truck of sprigs hit the ground. It's not prefect out there but it is very good. If you can look into the future for the next growing season, the Manakin will be spectacular. There are some bumps and patches here and there but we are ready to get some golfer traffic back on this piece of property. We are officially opening on time and on budget. We are through the final hurdle with the bunkers. They have been scraped clean and are now getting their depths checked, faces smoothed, sand fluffed and raked. Around the edges we are really grinding on getting the pine straw and mulch beds tightened up. Temperatures are dropping and while the bermuda is slowing the bentgrass is going to try to drop some roots down for the fall....

We just moved past 40 days since the last two holes, 10 and 13, were planted. This late summer heat is helping to keep the bermuda moving, even though we have not seen much rain to speak of (besides .2" last night) in the past month. The "short cut" on the Manakin is being mowed just about every other day. With the tees connected to the fairways and green surrounds, we have essentially doubled the amount of low cut turf on the Manakin. There are now 58 acres of turf being mowed at fairway height. Short cut height is down to .575" at the moment. We will take it down just a tick more next week and then leave it there. Even though it is 100 degrees outside, fall and winter are in the sights. The height will go back up slightly for the winter. Here is your lie in the "deep rough" that wasn't even cut today. There are still a few thin spots and some bumpy fairways out there but come two weeks from now there will be a great golf course to e...

The days are getting shorter as is the time before the Manakin reopens. We are just shy of 2 months since the first sprigs hit the ground. The Latitude continues to fill in and we are now in a full blitz mode to get the property looking like an actual golf course again. All the short cut lines have been marked and we are starting to drop the height down with daily mowing. We are working more towards the edges with weed control in the beds, weedeating around trees, bunker work and reinstalling the tee plaques. The sand pile behind 9 green as well as the pile on 5 are gone! This was a major step to get all 100 acres topdressed, worked in and out of the way of the mowers. These areas will be sodded most likely next week. The sod cutter is still finding its way around to thin areas through the Manakin. These areas get patched and root in quickly. We will be right up to the end with getting 99.9% of the course filled in adequately in two weeks. 10,000 square feet of bluegr...