Thursday, October 6, 2016

Course Improvements and More

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.