Uncontrollable moisture is the real challenge of summer
It is possible to have too much of a good thing, and in our case now it is rain. We made it through the June drought without much issue but when the rain keeps falling out of the sky we can only rely on existing drainage instead of the irrigation system.
Rain has gotten our moisture levels back up as well as the lake level. While the bermuda can take either dry or wet, the bent starts to get tired when saturated conditions persist. Daily mowing and golfer traffic combined with high nighttime temps and high humidity put a burden on the bents ability to photosynthesize and respire (read: stay alive). The fans are a massive help in reducing leaf moisture and humidity on the greens. This is easily a year where you could justify a fan on every green, especially the putting greens!
With rain on the way this week, Amelia and I snuck out of the house on Sunday night and were able to spread some sand on the Manakin greens. Topdressing this time of the year helps the surface dry up a little faster and continues to help defend against ballmarks.
Last Thursday we hit 4, 120 yard shots on 4 different greens and marked where the ballmark was so that we could come back to it.
Each mark was fixed within minutes and tapped smooth.
4 days later on Tuesday the mark is bruised and the middle is essentially dead. In the heat of the summer (and even on a cloudy 80 degree day) bentgrass does not do well against the golf ball smacking it at highway speeds. Yes, repairing it correctly will help recovery but no matter what, every golfer that comes through is going to leave a mark that has to heal over time. We'll keep watching these spots to see how long it takes the mark to recover. In the meantime, keep fixing your marks and we'll keep throwing sand and nutrients to keep the greens healthy.
Because the greens are healthy and really playing well for the end of July!
We continue to take advantage of our Mondays and being closed until 3:00. This past Monday we verticut the Sabot approaches and mowed right behind. It creates a mess but keeps the approaches tighter and playable. We will most likely do the same to Manakin this coming Monday.
As you should of read in Matt's email, he has some new clocks out on the golf course. Assuming you started on #1 on either course, when you see a clock it should match your starting time. If the clock shows a time AFTER your starting time then you are behind pace. Manakin has to be one of the best courses around for keeping pace and enjoying a brisk round of golf!
Enjoy a couple cool nights this weekend and good luck to all in the Club Championship!