Weather patterns have finally given up some good growing conditions. Area courses, and your lawns, are going to charge ahead in leaps and bounds. Rough will fill in (oh no!) and our mowers will run, pretty much, non-stop to keep it playable. We have 3-5 staff cutting rough 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. Our current staffing level on light days is 9. That goes to 11 when we mow fairways. At the peak of summer we'll be somewhere around 15 crew members.
Greens have already started to fill-in with these temperatures. This is exactly what we needed to jump start areas that were lagging. Tee divots will start to germinate readily as well. Keep filling them, it really helps.
 |
| Candytuft (Iberis) - front yard of clubhouse |
Bugs and Weeds
Similar to store-bought produce, golf course grass can't be maintained to the level desired by today's 'consumer' with out using chemical protectants. The 'Chemicals Applied' signs will be up on the days we have chemicals going out. We target our applications in the morning after mowing and before golfers hit the course (as weather allows). Spraying can't be scheduled for one set day of the week due to the weather variability. Protectants are applied under the supervision of a licensed applicator when conditions are correct. Signs are posted when there's been a treatment as per New York State law. If you have any questions as to what we've been spraying, or why, I'd be happy to speak with you.
All records and product labels for the last 3 years are kept at the Superintendent's office
 |
| Annual Bluegrass Weevil - a major pest at Tuscarora |
A Whiter Shade of Pale
Fairways have been treated with a growth retardant that restricts grass seedheads from forming. The major benefit of this treatment is the plant puts energy into root growth instead of seed production. This pays off in the heat of the summer when the plants benefit from deeper roots. The trade-off is minor discoloration. The regulation effect lasts about 2 more weeks and causes the fairways to look slightly pale. This is a normal side effect. Once the plants have passed the seeding stage and the regulation ceases, they turn dark green and produces a high quality surface. We traditionally use the same strategy on greens but I opted away from it this year because it wasn't worth risking injury due to the condition the greens were in. As a result, the greens will have more seedheads in them during the month of June. We will be combating that with grooming, topdressing, and rolling.
The curb on 6 to 7 came out well. Stay tuned for more.
A thanks to Chris Bednarski and Ben Kilmartin for the push to get this done after they saw something similar at a club last year. I think it's a huge improvement that's both affordable and attractive.
Greens Recovery Update
Steady improvement is accelerating with the warm conditions. Greens have been fertilized with a quickly available nitrogen source before the last rain. That, teamed with heat and regular moisture, is speeding them along. We took 15 green off the injured reserve list last weekend as it had recovered enough for foot traffic.
4, 17, and 9 are all going in the right direction. It's a waiting game now.
 |
| 9 green - good germination |
 |
| 4 green - fighting off the shade. Slow but sure. |
1 comment:
Thanks for the update, Steve!
Post a Comment