Course
Improvements
We’ve
began the process of sodding out some areas around the traps that have
accumulated sand and have thinned from the summer’s heat. I’ve changed
the grass species to a turf type tall fescue since the majority of these areas
are south facing “fingers” (see pictures). These areas get hot during the
long summer days and Kentucky bluegrass can’t handle the stress. The tall
fescue can handle drought and stress much better. The green bank along
the #7 green was sodded with tall fescue during the bunker renovation and has
performed amazingly well!
Why
Is It So Wet Out There???
Recent
weather conditions have been very challenging for the grounds crew. In
the past week we have received a little over an inch of rain (1.06”). Typically this amount during the summer
months doesn’t cause problems. However,
our evapotranspiration (ET) has been extremely low for the last week. We
had ET’s of 0.02-0.04” per day, compared to typical summer readings of
0.15-0.25” per day. ET measures how much water plants lose during the
day. For the period October 1st - October 6th, our ET total was just 0.22”. This means we have a surplus of water in the
soil that results in soggy golf course conditions. During the summer
months, we try to replace a certain percentage of ET (50-60% of ET). This creates dry, firm conditions.
We
probably shouldn’t have allowed carts to be scattered this past Sunday.
If you see “muddy and wet” spots, please try your best to avoid them. These
areas will mend once dry weather returns.
