Today we started on 15 fairway pot bunker. The bunker was eroded and infested with roots. Overtime from wind, rain and golf activity a bunker looses its shape. We are getting the Sod from 11 gold tee area that will be raised and coquina cart path added.
Knocking 2 birds out with one stone…11 Tee improvement with 15 bunker improvement!!! Win Win!
We topdressed fairway wet spots on 2,4,5 fairways today. Tomorrow we will do 7,8,11 and 13. Hopefully by Friday all wet areas will be topdressed after the 2.5 inches of rain from Saturday. The course played great on Sunday for the Pro Am. We were already over 30 inches of rain above normal.
Sand applications over time will firm the wet surfaces for improved playability and drainage. We use a drag brush to work into canopy of turf.
The last 3 mornings we have dipped below 30. The course will be off color until night time temperatures increase back into the 60’s for an extended time. Enjoy the crisp nights before we know it summer will be here!
We can’t seem to dry out with 2nd rain event this week and Saturday forecast for more. The course will continue to play wet.
Break out the gloves and parkas as Sunday am will be 39 degrees for final round of Pro Am.
We rented a plate compactor the last 2 weeks to tamp the bunker edges of all greenside bunkers. We added new sand after Hurricane Irma. The sand is called G-The angularity and larger particle size of G/Angle not only increases playability, but also significantly reduces bunker maintenance costs.G/Angle bunker sand will: • PROVIDE GREATER WIND RESISTANCE TO DECREASE PRODUCT LOSS • STAY IN PLACE BETTER ON STEEP BUNKER FACES DUE TO INTERLOCKING PARTICLES • PROVIDE EXCELLENT DRAINAGE • REDUCE THE FREQUENCY AND SEVERITY OF WASH-OUTS • DECREASE LABOR EFFORTS NEEDED TO COMPACT / FIRM-UP BUNKERS
The weather is still a concern this week as it has rained 5 of the last 7 days. The cloud cover and persistent rain showers have increased disease pressure. Please continue to exit cart paths at white line at end of fairway. Driving carts around greens will thin turf and lies will deteriorate. This week we will continue to refresh green side bunkers with new sand. We are on back 9 today and hopefully weather dependent will finish them this week. We would then refresh fairway bunkers starting next week.
2 inches of rain overnight. Hole 5 cart path only.
A quick reminder that carts must exit fairway before white lines at end of fairway. Please do not drive carts around green surrounds. Keeping carts on path around tees and greens protects the turfgrass from being damaged and beaten down. Carts should also remain on paths par 3 holes as well.
Thanks for preserving the course!
We finished 2 right greenside bunker this week. We will start on 3 greenside bunkers next Tuesday.
The crew turned their attention to hole 7 coquina area. The oleanders were removed from Irma. The guys are leveling and reshaping this area. We will Sod a section of 7 cart path and coquina will go down in palm area.
We are almost back to normal as course is still slowly draining. I anticipate that we will be on the wet side for rest of fall. The water table is extremely high.
Summer Time!
Welcome Summer Members and thank you to our year round members for keeping it interesting during the summer!! The summer time is the peak growth for our seashore paspalum. The turf starts growing fast April thru October. During these months, we must perform cultural practices such as verticutting, aerification and topdressing of playing surfaces. This helps groom the top surface as well as the root structure you do not see. In May, we deep tine aerified the fairways and tines went 9.5 inches deep. This process created a quarter inch wide by 9.5 inch deep hole that will allow the roots to grow deeper as well as increase drainage and air movement in soil profile.
We will also be selectively treating the common bermudagrass on 1 & 2 fairways. This is a weed in our paspalum fairways that looks a little unpleasing to the eye. We will treat with several chemicals and resod if necessary. We will not harm the paspalum if possible so some areas will just grow in. If area treated is large then we will resod. So bottom line is that you will see some brown areas and it will be the common bermudagrass weed.
Greens aerification will be June 1, August 3 and September 14.
See you on course!
Common bermudagrass being treated on 1 collar
Shane Wright, CGCS 