It's that time of year... the cool season grasses are tired, the course is a bit tired, the staff and the superintendent are as well. Must be September!!
The only one not tired is Buzz....
Yes that's a large pile of sand and yes... we are aerating the greens again. This Monday, the front nine will be cored and sanded. Tuesday, the same process will take place on the back nine. The back nine will be closed for the day. The fall aeration is the least disruptive of all and we will use a 1/4" tine to pull as much material out without impacting the surfaces in a major way. You can expect healing in 7 to 10 days.
This process could not come at a better time. It's been seven months since the last significant rainfall and we've been irrigating the course with some pretty poor water for the entire time. The irrigation water is full of minerals and they build up in the soil over an extended dry period to the point where it's detrimental to turf. The minerals I am referring to are salt and bicarbonate. When your car gets sprayed by that sprinkler going off around the circle lawn early in the morning, these minerals leave behind the white spots that are hard to remove. The salt and bicarbonate build up in the soil to the point where it ties up nutrients and results in areas that are poor to drain and/or take water. The best thing now is to poke some holes and remove some of the "bad stuff".
Despite the poor water quality and long, stressful period with out rain, we are quite happy with the course. The greens, tees and fairways are in great shape and ready for the busy fall tournament season.
With the fall season approaching, we are looking forward to shorter days, cooler mornings and eventually rain. While we are able to manage the salt issues to some degree the real relief will come by way of Mother Nature's irrigation. When she sends the rain our way, the cool season grasses, the course, the staff and the superintendent will all take a big breath of relief and a good nights sleep will be had by all... Until then, we will work hard, push the turf when the time is right and Finish the season Strong!
Thanks and we'll see you on the course...
