Bentgrass Plug From 11 Green

This is a picture of the same plug in a matter of 48 hrs.  The top photo was when the plug was taken out on Sunday morning, the 2nd photo is Monday, the third photo is Tuesday and the bottom photo is today after 3 days in a controlled environment, the plug has shown huge improvement.

Last Official Project

I am happy to announce that the construction of this new tee on the 16th hole will mark the end of all major construction on the golf course.  We will sod the banks on Friday.  Our construction started in 2011 and has not stopped since.  We have renovated all 18 holes to some extent including all new tees, bunkers, green expansions, chipping areas, irrigation and tree removals.  All that is remaining on the must do list is drainage on fairways and cart paths and these we can do as time and funds permit.
Thanks for your patience the past few years as we worked diligently to get projects done in a timely fashion while trying to limit disturbance.

Good Monday Work

The greens were vented today using our deep tiner and we applied 10lbs/1000 sq feet of gypsum on top.  We watered in the gypsum and then a nice rain came after to help it into the soil.  Our greens have been on the lean side of late so the rain and the calcium were sorely needed.

Bentgrass Not Waking Up Just Yet

We all know each spring we battle the off color bentgrass on our greens.  The colors can range from purple, to red to brown or even blue.  This is caused by a multitude of factors, weather, mechanical stress, growth regulators, dry weather, foot traffic etc.  This is most evident on our 11th and Practice Greens where every season they look terrible this time of the year.  Even though we hit 90 on Thursday and Friday, it was preceded and followed by 60 degree temps during the day and low 50s at night.  We need steady temps to get all the grass to wake up.  When the bentgrass cannot grow fast enough and we are aerifying, topdressing, rolling, double cutting, growth regulators etc, these all lead to stress, bruising and the colors you see out there.  These will all go away as soon as the weather moderates.  On top of that, we usually do not start fertilizing until this time of year so the grass really needs more help than we are giving it.  We also lean the greens out with water as well so that will stress the greens too.  Moving forward I am going to concentrate more on promoting growth on these greens than keeping them firm and fast, especially in April and May.

The red arrow shows the bentgrass in the chipping area on 14.  It is purple and not growing, while the yellow arrow shows the poa....doing just fine.  Also, this is the only walk off point of the green so the bentgrass is constantly getting pounded by mowers, foot traffic etc and cannot grow out.

Again, the yellow arrow shows little patches of bentgrass by the collar of 13.  They are off color as well.  This bentgrass is probably less than 5% of the green and not so offensive, but when you look at 11 and the practice green, the bentgrass makes up more than 90%, which is why most people are concerned when they see them.
When it comes to the weather and growing grass, patience is a virtue.

New Par 3 Hole Opens

Christian Wall and Chris Connelly were the first to christen the new par 3 hole for its grand opening on Friday.

Green Ready to Open on the 16th Hole

The green is ready to be opened later this week. Work is finishing up on the cart path and the alternate 16th green can now open.  In another week or so the par 3 portion of the green can open when the tee is knitted in.

Quick Aeration Recovery

We finished aerifying greens last Monday with 1/2" solid tines followed by a 1/2" deep tine followed by dryject on top.  While the greens were a disaster on Friday as far as growth and seedheads, they have come a long way since.  By weeks end they will be almost in mid season form.