Hermitage CC Golf Course Management

Through some gloomy weather this week we pulled some organic matter out of the Manakin greens. The tines used were the same size that were used on the Sabot last week at just under half an inch. This aeration was moved up a month so that when things are fully operational again we wouldn't have to come out and aerate as we are ramping back up. Our full time staff got the greens blown off and hauled away about 70 progator loads of organic matter. This removal process is imperative for a healthy season on our greens. The more pore space and air we can introduce to our greens profile the better chance our bentgrass will have to thrive through the summer. Since we moved up this aeration and also clamped down on the budget, we did not incorporate the Dryject process on the Manakin greens. They are still scheduled to come later in the spring but of course that remains in the air. With that in mind we went a little heavy on the sand topdressing. There was no doubt we filled al...

The kids, the dog, the irrigation system and the Golf Course have no idea what is going on outside of their little bubble. Because of that we are still grinding away to keep the courses in playable condition and we are happy to see people out enjoying the outdoors. Our seasonal staff of 11 people have been asked to stay home, as has most of the rest of the employees of the club. Those of us that remain are being safe and keeping things as disinfected as possible. We are lucky to have jobs outdoors where it is easy to stay separated. As was scheduled anyway, the Sabot greens were Dryjected and aerated on Monday. The dryject machines were hand loaded with 40 tons of sand, all of which was injected into the greens profile. We then removed cores to reduce the amount of organic material in the greens. The aerator travels at a slight angle in order to miss the Dryject holes. Taking into account the current situation, we will be aerating the Manakin greens on this coming Monday and...

We have gotten pretty lucky with the dry weather so the bunker project is moving along. The bunkers through 14 are filled up. The first bunker on 15 is in the process of being filled while the second is waiting for a little bit more capillary concrete. 16 is ready for capillary concrete to be poured. Two trucks are set for Friday which should finish off 15, 16 and 17. The excavator is on 18! We should be able to have everything buttoned down by the end of next week. We have yet to put a load of old bunker sand up at the dump area. We have been leveling and expanding our parking pad at the shop area with all the debris. Two new shelves have made an unusable hill usable. We have pretty much finished our pruning and tree work for the winter. There are few loose ends that will be taken care of over the next two weeks but the bulk is thankfully finished up. Some of these trees on the Sabot may have never been pruned. The turf underneath and the trees themselves all wi...

Here is your million dollar picture for the week. The Latitude on the Manakin is starting to show some green color. If you brush away some of the old plant material from dormancy the Latitude will show it self. The longer days and rising soil temperatures will continue to push new growth for the spring. Right now our plan is to allow the Latitude to wake up and then allow carts to scatter on the new turf by April 14th. Here is our major cultural practice schedule for the year. This of course is dependent on the weather but this outline is set up both to reduce impact on golf play as well as allow us to make headway on diluting the organic matter on property with more sand. This schedule is posted on the main page of the blog as well so it can be accessed any time. As we mentioned last week and has been posted around the club, the Sabot greens will be aerated a week from Monday on the 16th and 17th. Bunker work continues on the back nine of the Sabot. The bunker team will be...