Here comes summer

The heat is on the way for the weekend. The Planet air machines made their way across the Sabot greens early in the week in order to help with some gas exchange. The machine uses small knives to slice the upper profile and the rollers keep the surface smooth. The process is virtually unnoticeable but the impacts on water movement, air exchange and root initiation are very positive.

A more noticeable venting was done on the Manakin tees with the deep tine machines. Half inch diameter tines were driven 9 inches deep in order to ensure water penetration in these sand based tees for the summer.

With the Latitude growing nicely on the Manakin now we are dialing in the mowing process. We have moved from mowing 25 acres of cool season fairways to mowing 55 acres of warm season fairways, tees and approaches all together with not much change in the equipment. Luckily our lease terms are coming up so we are looking at demoing the proper machines to mow this bermuda. The demo machine pictured has a larger diameter reel which weighs almost twice as much as our current reel. It is also 30 inches wider than our current machine. A wider, heavier unit will give us a better cut and allow us to get all the fairways mowed out in front of golf play.

Bunker rakes are back on the golf course and we have started putting new stickers on them to remind you to keep the rakes inside the bunkers. Our guys try to place the rakes in the bottoms of the bunkers to minimize any impact on play. Ultimately, we need these rakes out of the way of the mowers in order to keep those machines moving efficiently as they lap the course multiple times per week.

It may be a little hot for some outdoor dining this weekend! The AC in the clubhouse is blowing nice and cold. Enjoy your long weekend!