Sweaty, Sticky and Hot!

 This week started with a helicopter on the range to lift new AC units onto the roof of the clubhouse. They wouldn't let us drive the helicopter, so we started prepping the golf course for battle this week.

Scheduled fungicide, nutrient, and wetting agent applications were made on Monday to both golf courses to ensure all the necessary plant protectants were in place to get ready for what has proved to be a tough Fourth of July week. Today was absolutely brutal, but tomorrow has the potential to be straight-up dangerous. The heat index is forecast to be above 110 tomorrow. We will be babysitting bentgrass for the next couple of days.

We pride ourselves on absolute top-level conditions, and very rarely do we give ourselves a pass on green speeds, but this week we're taking that pass. The name of the game this week is plant health and survivability. The greens early this week were as slow as they have been all year. When it gets this hot and humid, the plant gets puffy, fat, and saturated, resulting in a flush of growth and sticky conditions. Some adjustments were made to tighten the putting surfaces and slow down growth, but honestly, we are just trying to survive this week. Be careful out there this week!

While this weather isn't ideal for the bentgrass, the Bermuda is absolutely loving life. The courses are really showing out. Next week we will be aerifying, verticutting, and topdressing Sabot. Not everyone's favorite week—especially ours—but we are playing the long game. Tournament conditions don't come without some occasional sacrifices.

Some of the new equipment continues to roll in... still can't wait for the sprayers! In the meantime, tractors and rough units showed up this week. The boys were smiling ear to ear, especially this week, seeing the cabs with full AC! It sure makes it more comfortable and safer putting in the long hours in this heat!

We got a couple of punch-list areas that have been driving me crazy taken care of with sod this week. The Taproom parking area got some much-needed love and new sod, the pool area received new sod, and that area behind #16 Manakin green that you see every day leaving the property got some new sod as well.

For those of you braving the heat, please be patient with us. We will be out there in full force, dragging hose and keeping things alive.

Happy Fourth! We will be grinding to get through the next five weeks!!