The greens were groomed and top dressed today. They have needed it since the beginning of the season, but we have been waiting for the greens to firm up to better handle the weight of the equipment. Our plan is for a second top dressing early next week in preparation for the Men's and Ladies Opening Golf Events.
The applications of sand this week and next are to fill in any irregularities from last falls aeration and help firm and smooth the playing surface. A brush is used to drag the sand into the crown of the plant.
It's difficult to plan all of the maintenance in advance. We decided this morning that today was an ideal day to top dress because of the timing between the warmer drier weather of this past weekend and the rain we are to get over the next few days. The wet weather this week will help wash the sand into the crown of the plant minimizing damage to our mowers.
You will see various fertilizers being applied this week, these are Magnesium and Potassium supplements that are recommended based on soil testing. Again we are trying to take advantage of the weather to wash the products in to the turf. Now is an ideal time for homeowners to be applying a spring application of fertilizer to your home lawns. I recommend keeping the Nitrogen and Potassium numbers as close a possible. The first number on the bag represents Nitrogen, the second number Phosphorous and the third number Potassium. Potassium builds strength within the plant cells and will help the plant better resist stress. Always keep some extra on hand and time your applications when it rains.
Staff was able to get an early divotting of the fairways and tees done last week while play was slow and the weather was poor. This week we are hoping to edge bunkers and check sand depths.
If the irrigation is on, it's only because staff are testing and running diagnostics on the system making sure we are fully operational for when we really do need it.
We applied our first fungicide application yesterday. During cool wet weather the greens are prone to a disease called Fusarium Patch. It's a cousin of snow moulds which Poa is susceptible to in the spring and fall. This was a preventative application though there are a few active spots out there. Take a walk around the 6th green to see if you can spot them.
A tentative Course Opening Date has been set for this Friday April 15th. The warm temperatures and rain on the weekend has helped jump start the grass and we should have three cuts on the greens before we open. Staff have been working hard preparing the course for Friday. The winter blast during the last week of March has limited us to 8 working days to get the course up and running, far less than in years prior. Thank goodness Mother Nature was kind to us and we are looking forward to Opening Day.
We were asked to experiment last year with a plastic lip insert that sits above the cup to give the impression the hole is painted. There has been much discussion at committee level about whether to continue with it or not.
Here are some of the points we have discussed to help shed some light on the issue and have included a POLL for you to voice your opinion.
We were asked if daily painting of the holes is feasible? Hole painting is time consuming and comes with a cost. If each hole took 2 minutes to paint, it would add nearly 4 hours of labour/week to the hole changers duties. It's easy to make a mistake since many of the holes are changed prior to sun rise and a poorly painted hole is not pleasant to look at. You may also risk slight yellowing of the turf around the old hole in warmer weather which can slow recovery time.
We do agree that holes can and should be painted for special events.
The plastic lip liners are quickly installed. They are designed with a ridge to sit on top of the cup and are pushed into the hole along with the cup and set with the cup setter. They sit a millimeter or two below the turf and the hole needs to be perfectly cut to ensure a clean path for the cup to pass through, so there is not a lot of room for error. Sometimes on our rocky and tree root filled greens it's more difficult then you think. We have noticed those members using their putter to remove the ball from the hole will catch the liner and lift it above the surface. We have also seen the natural expansion and contraction of the green over the day force the liner above the turf.
However the sight line of the hole is improved.
The ball will have a tendency to lip out on a perfectly cut hole and fall in on a deteriorated hole. No doubt the lips are in much better condition at the end of a day with the liners in. We also feel the old hole recovers more quickly.
Does any of this matter? The true argument is whether they impede the ball from going into the hole or not. If they do then I believe they shouldn't be used, if they don't the discussion continues.
What's your opinion?
Well, by the look of the following pictures we wintered just fine!
Our staff removed the green covers yesterday revealing a sigh of relief as even our most troublesome greens braved the winter.
 |
| 3rd Green |
We protected our 3rd and 5th greens with a two cover system this past winter. A breathable cover was laid on the green first, followed with a solid (non perforated) cover on top. This solid cover prevented ice from coming into contact with the turf grass. Last week we shoveled the ice remaining on these covers off and removed the solid cover leaving the breathable cover on. Leaving this cover on allowed the turf to acclimatize to the temperature preventing shock to the plant prior to full exposure to the elements.
 |
| 5th Green |
Some recovery time is required for the greens to fully heal from the late fall aeration. This is minor compared to having to deal with winter kill.
 |
| 13th Green |
Unfortunately Mother Nature has reminded us 'it's not over until the the fat lady sings'. The snow we received today and cold weather will likely keep staff off the course until the first week in April when we begin spring clean up.
A new addition to the course this year will be an upgrade to our flag poles called Smart Sticks. The new poles have an embedded prism into the pole of the flag stick. This will help provide those using yardage finders a reflective surface to aim at.
These more traditional style poles are thinner then our previous poles offerring a softer bounce if your lucky enough to chip or putt a ball off the flag pole when left in. The lighter flag pole should casue less marking of the greens when dropped by golfers ready to putt. The poles are yellow with a black bottom as before.
