Good Weather

This past week was full of sunny, dry days and the amount of golfers on the course this week were a testament to that. We were very busy this week with our normal maintenance jobs around the course but we were able to do a few extra jobs as well. The rough this week was a 40 hour full time job for two machines. We did our best to mow all of the rough twice and certain areas three times to help with all the clipping and fast growth. We used the groomers on our greens mowers this week three times to help stand the turf up giving us a cleaner cut, better ball roll and quicker greens without lowering the height of cut. We added 23 tons of bunker sand to various bunkers around the course that desperately needed sand. The addition of sand will help the rock situation in our bunkers but really is only a band-aid on the larger problem that our bunkers will need to be rebuilt in the near future. The greens committee and I are looking into costs associated with a bunker renovation. The 8th green has a lot of seed germinating and along with some plugging from our nursery the turf should be mostly healed by Memorial Day. I will be venting all the greens like we have done to #8 on Monday allowing for better rooting and water infiltration before the weather turns hot. Those that have played this week are seeing many different shades of green, yellow and brown on the golf course. This week's article from the USGA describes what is causing these colors. The following is an excerpt from Dave Oatis:

Bentgrass throughout the middle and southern part of the Northeast Region now is showing the effects of cool nights and mechanical injury.  Plenty of bentgrass is off color, has a bronze cast, and may be experiencing some thinning.  AB right next to the bentgrass looks perfectly healthy.  Many misdiagnose this as leaf spot, and while a disease may be involved, it usually is nothing more than the weather.  When warmer temperatures arrive, the growth rate of the bentgrass will take off, and the discoloration will dissipate.

If you would like to read the entire article here is the link USGA May Article