Fertilizer + Rain =

Hole #9:

It is amazing what fertilizer and rain do to a golf course. The maintenance staff has done a tremendous job over the last couple of weeks keeping the golf course in great shape, I hope the membership is enjoying the conditions.

Bailing Hay.

This is what happens when you apply 1 lb nitrogen/1000ft2 a week before 7+ inches of rain. This is our 1st time mowing fairways since last Tuesday. There will be a lot of clippings and the cut will look bad until we can mow them a few times. Don't worry, this is normal, by the end of the week they will look perfect. 

18 Consecutive Days Above 90!!

18 Consecutive Days Above 90!  Including 3 days above 104.


The greens are holding up okay to this point. We are seeing some general thinning on high traffic areas, which is expected. We will plug these areas out with grass from our bentgrass nursery green. Hopefully, we will see the day time temps fall below 90 degrees this week. The greens will need the break.

HEAT WAVE!!

I apologize for not having more posts over the last few months.  It coincides with what is happening on the golf course. We seemed to have made it through the latest heat wave (104,105,104) fairly well, now we need some rainfall and cooler temps to help the greens recover from the beating they took from the heat. We applied a fertilizer package this morning to the greens to give them a little food to help with recovery.

It looks like we will continue to have temperatures in the mid to low 90's for at least the next 10 days.

DryJect

We started the DryJect on Tuesday because the rain shut us down on Monday. It took 2 full day to complete the job but overall it was a success. We have a few areas that got damaged but nothing a few plugs can't fix. The sand gets blasted into the green at 5000 PSI and creates new channels for roots. It also shatters the soil to break up any compaction or hard-pan layers. The holes will heal quickly and you have probably noticed it is not that disruptive to play.

Summer Venting

Fernando Plata is using the ProCore to vent the greens in preparation of the stresses of summer. Venting is punching small holes into the turf canopy to allow for gas exchange, water infiltration and new channels for root growth. These small holes are non disruptive and will be gone in 2 days. One of the changes in our Maintenance Plan this year will be to incorporate this practice throughout the summer. Let me know if you have any questions 

Kevin Dunn

 

 

 

 

 

 

My name is Kevin Dunn. I grew up in Macon, GA and graduated from ABAC in Tifton, GA. I have been working in the golf industry for 10 years. I have previously worked at Reynolds' Plantation, The Landings Course and Oconee where I did a valuable internship. The last 2.5 years have been spent at Indian Hills Country Club in Marietta, GA. I have enjoyed the experiences and learning opportunities from each course that I've worked and look forward to the new challenges/opportunities that await.  

 

I look forward to seeing you on the golf course: jdunn@valleycrest.com

 

Kevin Dunn, AGCS