Hermitage CC Golf Course Management

  The last two weeks have been pretty special as summer has come on quickly. 14 out of the 24 days in June so far the temperature has clicked above 90 and two of those we were at 100 and 101 degrees. This is all without any kind of significant rain in the past month!  The thunderstorms were cruising north last night as we went to sleep again with no rain hitting the turf. We did however wake up this (Thursday) morning with close to a half inch in the gauge and clouds in the sky, a welcome relief to the past few weeks. The pumphouse has been cranking water out each night and we are using all of our irrigation system to the greatest of its ability. Water consumption thanks to all of our recent irrigation renovations has drastically decreased while accuracy and consistency has gone way up. The results are great looking golf courses while your lawn has long entered dormancy. The dry weather has allowed us to reduce mowing frequency and get a few more people on hoses to hit localiz...

  Congratulations are in order for Joe Wagner as he has accepted the Golf Course Superintendent position at nearby Dominion Club. Joe has been the backbone of our operation over the past 5 years, first coming on as Sabot superintendent and then now finishing his Hermitage career on the Manakin. His diligence, communication and agronomic skills will now be transferred down the road and put to excellent use at his own property. His understudy, Grant Lowery will step in the Manakin GC Superintendent role. Grant has been taking on more and more responsibility over the past year so this timing will be perfect for his career progression. We are happy to continue graduating managers in house. Just as Ben Longest moved up to Sabot superintendent two years ago we are excited for Grant to do the same all the while finding new levels of excellence along the way. Please wish Joe a farewell as you see him over the next two weeks! The temperatures are starting to heat up although the humidity h...

  The weather over the past week has been outstanding for golf. Member Guest shaped up perfectly with firm fairways and greens that provided a fun challenge for all. We worked hard Saturday and Sunday to get a little moisture back into the greens before the aerators came out for their post MG venting Monday. Tiny 1/8" cores were popped out, providing excellent opportunity for our bentgrass to take one final breath and shoot some roots down before the hot and humid weather rolls in. The tiny cores were simply blown off and scooped up with a shovel. No additional sand was applied but we did put down some gypsum and potassium and washed it into the profile. All 39 greens were aerated, rolled, amended and ready for play Wednesday morning. The greens are all putting great again already. Our small holes are major insurance for a successful summer! You may or may not see some talk about the USGA GS3 ball this week during the US Open. We have been using it for a few months and it provides...

  Once again we have a great team of about 47 people help set up this 500 acre property for an amazing few days of golf. We are thankful for each and every one of them for being here and putting forth their best effort no matter the circumstances each and every day.  Manakin Superintendent Joe Wagner and Sabot Superintendent Ben Longest make this event a walk in the park for all of us. These three days allow us to set up and then sit back and watch people enjoy the work we have been putting in for the last 360 days.  It is back to hard stuff on Monday! All 39 greens will be vented with tiny 1/8" coring tines. The greens will be blown off and rolled smooth. These tiny holes will let the greens grab one more nice breath of air before the 90 degree days show up. This venting, in conjunction with the fans coming back out will help us keep the greens in great shape through the summer. Have a great weekend and enjoy some pictures from the week!