Agronomy Update

April 27, 2016

Bunker Renovation Update:

            Medalist finished shaping and grassing the bunkers on #6, during the next few days will be installing gravel, glue and new sand. Currently, Medalist has started demo on the 8^th hole. They will be reshaping the green side bunker and softening the landing area at the greens entry. This will allow players to hit a shorter iron and bounce the ball onto the green.  #8 will be closed all day Wednesday, until 1:30 pm Thursday and all day Friday. The closure is needed to complete the scope in a few days. Once completed, Medalist has been contracted to complete drainage work on the Driving Range.   

Annual flower installation:

             The Summer Annual Flowers are being installed this week at the Clubhouse/Front Entrance and Tennis Center. We expect to complete everything over the next few days.  We spent last week preparing the beds, so install will go smoothly.

Zeon Tee Boxes:

            A few weeks ago I briefly discussed the tee boxes and I am circling back with our progress. Since I last wrote, we have applied a few extra fertilizer/fungicide tanks and coupled with temperatures reaching the “140 rule” we have seen drastic improvement over a majority of the tee boxes. There still are a few tee boxes, however, that are lagging and slow to transition. A majority of these ”slow” tees are in heavy afternoon shade. Warm season grass is at its best when it gets full sun in the afternoon. We have taken samples into the shop and there is a lot of green grass down deep. We are aerifying and adding another shot of fertilizer to these “slow” tees and expect to see recovery over the next few weeks. If and when, it is necessary, we will re-sod any spots that do not transition and we anticipate the sodding to be minimal.   

Green Speed:

            During the last 10-14 days, we have pushed the greens for growth/recovery.This spring we have seen fewer weak areas on the edges compared to last year. Our goal is to have these areas filled in before we hit our tournament stretch. Therefore, we have taken a “grow-in” approach to the greens this spring. We are seeing the results in our density, but the downside, we have seen green speeds fall under our target. Please be patient as this is only temporary and once we are grown in we will do what is necessary to hit our target speeds consistently.