It only hit 100 degrees once this week

 

The temperatures again this week have been stout, with highs deep into the 90's and the real feel temps bouncing off 115 degrees. After that rain on the 4th of July the humidity has been pretty oppressive. More rain is on the way and we have yet another stretch of tropical temps early next week.

The weather could not be much better for the bermudagrass. Our irrigation system has kept us right on the line of firm and healthy. Our mowing frequencies are up in order to combat the ever growing thatch growth on the bermuda but that leads us into our annual verticut and topdress next week. The Manakin will be closed for three days starting this Monday the 15th. All 55 acres of short grass will be vertically mowed in order to rip some thatch out and replace it with sand. This will help prevent scalping from the mowers the rest of the year and send us in to the fall looking great.

Our bentgrass greens are still performing well despite the tropical bermudagrass weather. Sure there are plenty of ballmarks out there but are seeing a ton of golf still come through. We are at 32,000 rounds for the year, exactly where we were last year at this time. This year however the Sabot has 3,000 more rounds than it did last year. Last week we changed our wetting agent on greens for the first time in a long time. This new product is keeping the surface drier while holding the right amount of water in the root zone. The drier surface and some more topdressing should help with these ballmarks as we work through the rest of summer. 

On Monday the Manakin crew pulled up a big area on 5 cartpath and another bumpy spot on 7 and laid down some new asphalt. The end result isn't perfect but it is much improved over the root damaged areas.

Also on this past Monday we raised up a small area in the back lawn to form up a small back tee for the Valentine Invitational that is coming up in late August. The extra length brings the fairway back in to play for the long hitters and should make for some exciting viewing from the back patio.

Enjoy the clouds and rain today and get ready for some more heat! Here is a quick video from yesterdays first round prep for the Tommy Galloway.