Sorry Poa

We have been aggressively treating our fairways with a growth regulator to allow the bentgrass to take over the poa, especially this time of the year.  While the poa is just showing signs of greening up again this week, we hit it again today with another batch of growth regulators.  This should keep it looking yellow for at least another 3 weeks.  We are also applying fertilizers with the spray to help push the bentgrass while the poa stays suppressed.  If you notice the high populations of the poa are in the cleanup pass of the fairway.

Before After of 18th Tee Relocation

Seems like yesterday we were building the new 18th tees during the drought last summer.

View of New Future Par 3

The new green we constructed this spring is starting to fill in nicely.  This will become a par 3 on the back nine rotation.  This will be a great short par 3, playing anywhere from 100 yards to 150 from the black tees with a meandering creek in front and a 5000 sq ft green.  Once we construct the new tees and do some tree work, this will really take shape.  This is the view from the proposed new tees which will have some nice oaks framing the tee shot.

Post Invitational Work

Now that the Invitational is over, it is back to our normal routine.  Greens were topdressed Sunday before the rain, vented yesterday, mowing heights were slightly raised and greens were not mowed on Sunday or Monday to give them a much needed rest after the intense maintenance last week.  Mowing today for the first time, I decided to check green speeds after not mowing for 2 days, venting yesterday and fertilizing on Saturday evening and we were still rolling 12.2.  I will say the stimpmeter will now be put away as I have never been a big believer in checking speeds daily.  This past week was the first time in my almost 7 years here that I pulled the stimp out of the closet.  We push our greens daily and green speeds vary with weather conditions, plus most golfers cannot gauge what 9,10 or 12 mean.

Prepping for the Final Day of the Invitational

The 2016 Invitational is almost in the books as we work until 9 oclock tonight in preparation for Saturdays final round and shootout.  My staff has really stepped up to get the golf course in top condition for the event.  Mother Nature even held off the major rain today so we can keep the greens firm and fast.  With our aggressive management practices, our green speeds were at almost 15 on Thursday and dropped to about 14 today during the rain and tomorrow we expect them to be back up with drier weather and more mowing.  Thanks again to my staff for going above and beyond to help make the golf course play great.