July Is Doing July Things

 

Last week ended with some extreme heat, followed by a couple of dreamy days to start this week. It was the perfect time for the ice cream truck to stop by! I apologize for the terrible picture—I didn't realize how bad it was until now.

Anytime we can get a couple of nights in the 60s during July, we view that as an absolute gift. Unfortunately, it didn't last long. We're back into the upper 90s for the next couple of days, along with some incredible humidity.

Overall, everything is in decent shape for July. The greens are a little wetter than we would like, but the rain earlier in the week, soil spray applications that require a little overhead irrigation, and all of this humidity have kept them a little fat and swollen. Unfortunately, it seems like the last couple of soil spray applications have come due just as we've started getting some rainfall. It would be nice if those lined up with periods when the greens were drying down instead of getting wetter, but such is life.

One thing we will not be doing this time of year is extending our intervals on root fungicides or wetting agents. If anything, those windows are being shortened to help compensate for the ideal conditions for disease development—hot and humid weather.

PLEASE! Be careful with traffic on the greens during these humid stretches (and preferably all the time). Most of the areas on the greens that may be showing slight thinning are simply due to foot traffic. The Manakin putting green receives the brunt of that wear compared to the other 37 greens.

The Sabot bermudagrass received its first application of fertility and growth regulator following verticutting and topdressing, and things are filling in nicely. We apply growth regulators to help tighten the canopy and encourage the plant to grow more horizontally rather than putting all of its energy into vertical growth.

The range floor also received a heavy haircut this past Monday, followed by a weed control application.

This week didn't have a lot of groundbreaking projects going on. Being between verticutting weeks, it was a great opportunity to catch up on mowing, detail work, and all the little things that are difficult to get to during major aeration weeks.

I was going through a few old photos and found some from about two months ago. Quite the improvement in some of these areas thanks to the hard work of our crews, fertilization, cultural practices, and some good ol' fashioned sticky bermuda weather.

This is one of my favorite spots on the property. I love how quiet the Sabot 3, 4, and 5 corridor is, with the elevation changes and the opportunity for that long vista, highlighted by the wispy native areas. It's such an awesome part of the campus—and it may also include the most terrifying tee shot on either golf course (#5 at Sabot).

I know it's the dog days of summer when it feels like we may all be losing it a little. This was a great picture of Grant and my lunch buddy Arch that somehow ended up sideways at some point in a group chat. The heat exhaustion may be setting in around the shop with some of us!  Sorry Grant!  I had to include it!

Next week, Manakin will be closed Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for verticutting and topdressing. Hopefully we can dodge the thunderstorms. Cleanup becomes an absolute mess once everything gets wet, so fingers crossed!

Have a great weekend!