Bermuda weather is here
Everyone started off in the same place this past Monday, on the front range tee. The old vamont bermuda turf was striped off and taken to the dump. The size of our range tee (half acre) is about 1/4 of the size it needs to be for a 36 hole membership. While there is not a lot we can do about that right now, we can put down a more improved bermudagrass variety.
The top range tee apparently has already been replaced with a better bermuda than vamont but the lower (larger) tee had not. The top tee recovers relatively quickly from divots while the lower tee struggled. Tahoma 31 bermudagrass was laid down quickly on Monday. This entire 15,000 square foot area was stripped, smoothed out and re-sodded before 1:00pm.
We will keep this sod wet and it will knit in rapidly with these temperatures. The Tahoma boasts a very tight canopy and should hold up to divots very well.
A few extra pallets of the Tahoma were left over from the range tee so we were able patch some small spots on the Sabot as well as the entire black tee on 15 Sabot. This tee was previously bentgrass and never enjoyed the summer much. The only bentgrass tees left now are 15 white and 5 black tees, all of which should be converted to bermuda in the next year or so.
You know we are in bermudagrass weather now when this sod tacks down in just 4 days. These new bermudas just have incredible growth habits. They barely get any disease and really don't need much water at all. The texture of the tahoma and latitude will be tough to beat.
A few last pieces of tahoma were laid along the new path to 18 tees and then some tall fescue was put behind it to go ahead and finish this area off. It has been a little too dry to grow in that fine fescue seed so a little sod covered things up nicely.
The Sabot approaches were topdressed with sand on Monday. The verticutters will be headed to the Sabot on July 19th and 20th followed up with a heavy dose of sand.
On the cool season front we are starting to see some small patches of bentgrass thin on the greens. Whether it is from disease or just old genetics it remains frustrating to manage these random areas that show up right next to other patches that look perfect and beautiful. Over time the bentgrass segregates out and grows to thrive in different climates. This is why you see all different colored patches through the greens. These patches and their responses to different weather are a great justification as to why we are beginning to resurface the greens, starting with the Sabot front nine this winter. A new crop of fresh bentgrass will give us another 20-30 years of consistent playing surface.
On the Sabot irrigation front this week: Leaking head on 12 fairway, leaking head on 10 gold tee, satellite box problems on 12 tee not allowing some heads on 11 and 12 to run, satellite box problem on 1 fairway not letting heads on 1 fairway run, broken head 5 fairway, just to name a few. T-minus about 140 days before the new system hits the ground on Sabot front nine!