We are back

 

The warm humid weather has finally made an appearance and our bermuda is back in action. Growing degree days are basically a measure of heat units needed to grow grass, the more the better for bermuda. Look how we fell behind last year at the beginning of May but we are projected to catch right back up now. Don't mind the cold start to the year either!

The last of the winter damage is being patched up this week. The color in the bermuda is here and we can finally look forward to a great summer.

The blue and black tee on 13 Sabot have been sodded out to Zeon zoysiagrass. These tees don't get more than 5 hours of full sun even in the longest days of the year like we are in now. The zoysia can handle the shade and wear much better than bermuda.

This week we ran right into our scheduled post Men's Invitational cultural practices on both courses. All 39 greens were topdressed at a medium rate and then solid tine aerated with 3/8" tines. This is the last chance we will have to create some holes for the bentgrass roots before the heat sets in. Look for the greens fans to start making an appearance back out on the course next week. 

The dry sand was brushed in two directions, filling in some of the holes but the main purpose of the sand is to firm the surface up and continue to defend against ballmarks.

Our monthly application of calcium and potassium also went out after the aeration. We have increased this application this year and so far the greens seem to reacting better to ballmarks than in years past.

After 3-4 days the sand and fertilizer have been washed in nicely. After a mow and a roll tomorrow the greens should be in good shape for the weekend.

In addition to the pre-summer greens aeration the Sabot fairways were scheduled to be verticut and topdressed with sand. With the spring growth delay we bypassed the verticutting (except for 18 fairway) and just went with a sand application this year. Next year we may look to push all these practices back a week in order let the membership enjoy some post Invitational conditions and give the Sabot another week to wake up.

Over 300 tons of sand were spread out on the fairways, tees and approaches on the Sabot. Similar to the greens, the sand helps firm the surface but also helps with divot recovery.

The less aggressive triplex verticutter was run over the approaches and tees to help continue tighten those surfaces. We will be able to do this once or twice more during the summer but time and money will only allow for one topdressing per year on the fairways which is perfectly ok.

With the full summer staff on board now we are looking forward to getting in to our normal mowing and grooming routine for the summer. Enjoy the US Open this weekend!