Getting Ready

The mild temperatures continue as we move into March. Two additional staff members were hired this week a month early as we try to keep the course ready for play. Greens are being mowed two to three times a week and the  dual-cup system is being changed once a week.  Bunkers are touched up during the week with the goal of all the greenside bunkers ready for weekend play.

On April 2nd the greens will be aerified with a 5/8" hollow tine with the soil cores removed and the holes filled with sand. For the last ten years, the three weeks prior the spring aerification, staff members will inspect the greens for poa annua. Depending on the size of poa area, the grass will be removed by knife or a plugger. Bentgrass plugs from the range nursery will be planted where the poa was removed from the greens' surface. Fortunately, the amount of poa is minimal and most of the grass is located in the bent collar where golfers or mowers routinely approach the green.

The blue dots are outlining  small clumps of poa along the outer edge of the bent collar on hole #6. The poa is ready to be removed with a "plugger" and new bentgrass planted in its place.

The irrigation system was recharged on Monday, March 5th. One pump at half throttle took the entire day to slowly fill the irrigation pipes throughout the golf course. On Tuesday morning, only one small leak was found on the perimeter of #5. So far, so good..........  For the next two weeks, the course will be inspected daily for weeping sprinkler heads or any other leaks that may have needed some time to reach the soil surface. Each spring when the irrigation system is recharged, the pipes move a little and expand as the pressure reaches our 140 psi threshold. The system is twenty plus years old so a leak or two is not that uncommon considering all the miles of piping we maintain.