Hermitage CC Golf Course Management

Our week got started quickly with 5 of our aerators punching solid tine holes in the Manakin's 55 acres of short grass. Given the lack of rain it is easy to tell how firm the surfaces are. These holes will help water infiltrate faster and more evenly through the soil. The small voids also allow for more root growth as the Latitude enters its third growing season. With these holes punched we can put down our summer pre-emerge weed control and remain protected for the growing season. The vertical mower also made few passes around the greens run off areas in order to continue tightening up that turf. 120 yards of compost was spread throughout the rough on the Manakin. Ideally this will be the only fertilizer that the rough will receive this season. With the rains coming this weekend we should really start to see the bermuda growth take off.  On the Sabot the new Latitude bermuda collars have greened up nicely. More sand was added to keep help smoothing these collars out. The tees were...

  The heat has finally decided to show up. The poa annua on the Sabot fairways is literally smoking in the afternoons and the bermuda is starting to wake up. Notice the distance between these front two sprinkler heads. Our new system will have heads about half that distance apart, allowing for much better coverage and control of our water. Now notice how the back of this first sprinkler is clogged up compared to the others. It is a completely different head also. All this adds up to poor coverage, wasted water and subpar conditions. All things our new system this winter will address and improve. The Manakin fairways are ready for summer! Warmer, dry weather equals root growth for cool and warm season grasses. Check out this root shooting down about 8 inches through a deep tine hole from 3 green Manakin. This plug had roots gripping deep in to the sand profile. While a few aeration holes are still visible on the Manakin rest assured we are encouraging the plant to establish its root...

  We have had a few beautiful days over the past two weeks but temperatures 10+ degrees below normal are not helping our turf that much. Thursday morning we started off at 39 degrees! Only a few more days are forecasted with lows in the 40's and then maybe we will get into some spring growing weather.....before June gets here! The spring has been great for cool season turf. Where there is no concern for green speed, the bentgrass is growing nicely. This a picture from the sod farm that is growing the sod for our new greens on the Sabot. It is looking great after just 3 weeks. It got its first haircut this week and is beginning to be managed as a greens height turf. We are looking good for a November transplant. Our latitude bermuda collars on the Sabot have rooted in nicely but have yet to really green up. Part of that is the weather and part of that is mowing them immediately at .4". The sod comes in at around an inch tall but we do not have to waste time training it to our d...

  Cool season grass has really enjoyed this spring. Cool temperatures and plenty of rain have kept fescues and bluegrass growing at an impressive rate. Bermuda has greened up but it is going no where. The poa is enjoying the moist soil and limited competition from bermuda this spring but its time is almost up. The herbicide in the Sabot fairways is starting to take down the poa and the bermuda is primed for growth. The tees are nicely ahead of the fairways and are doing well in their transition. Our spring cultural practice program was completed this week on the Sabot fairways and approaches. Both areas we solid tine aerated with 3/4" tines. This needed to be done before we applied our next pre-emergent application in early June. The solid tines have immediately helped with moving water off the surface. We received an inch of rain this week from thunderstorms and have only had a few holes restricted from cart traffic. Compost was applied at a rate of 10 yards to the acre behind th...