Before I begin with on course activities, a reminder of the solemn events on this day 22 years ago, and the heroic actions of those who gave their lives saving their fellow Americans. We will never forget……
With summer on its last legs, the staff and I are beginning to switch maintenance gears to projects, reduced mowing on playing surfaces, and debris removal. The rough is growing at a rapid pace, given the perfect temperatures for Kentucky bluegrass, so our blowers are out almost daily eliminating clippings. I keep staring at the leaves knowing that while their beauty will begin showing in a few weeks, they all will drop down and take up the bulk of our October and November time to mulch and clean up. A few quick updates on my observations on course as well as what we’ll be up to in the next few weeks:
I have slightly raised greens heights from .110″ to .115″ to both allow the turf some recovery from the stresses of a hectic summer playing schedule, as well as to begin the process of building carbohydrates for the winter. Raising height of cut allows more leaf surface for the turf to maximize their photosynthetic capabilities and carbohydrate storage, and also help create a deeper root system going into winter. This height of cut raising is something I do every year at this time, and will continue throughout the fall season until turf dormancy in November.
We have also decided to raise the height of cut on #9 green to .120″, to allow the right side to recover from summer’s stresses. This is a common issue with re-utilizing existing sod for a greens project, as the major compaction necessary to change the grades on the green creates a layer that is difficult for turf roots to penetrate deeply for the first couple of years post project. While the green has matured better than other green reconstruction projects we have done in house, the Poa annua sod really struggled to maintain rooting deeper than 1-2″ throughout the summer season. As was the case with #18 and the Large practice green, we will continue to aerify and topdress this green more frequently than the others to help the turf rooting get past this layer so that it builds strength as the years pass on. While this will in the short term create speeds slower than the other greens, this is the best long term play for the health of this green. Thank you for your understanding!
September also brings the possibility of damage caused by critters (raccoons, groundhogs, skunks) searching for a tasty meal of grubs in the rough, like the picture above of 11. We treat a perimeter of the rough in the early summer with an insecticide to prevent grubs from damaging turf, but not every acre of rough. We treat these areas with another insecticide to take care of the food source, and seed the damaged areas for recovery. These areas are ground under repair until the seed takes.
A few of you have asked why the pond surround on hole 3 is more unsightly than normal. The delays we had in completing the liner led to late seeding of fescue in that area, which allowed other grassy weeds, suck as crabgrass and foxtail, to take hold and prevent the fine fescue seed from filling in totally. These areas have been treated with a herbicide to eliminate the weeds, and we will be slit seeding additional fescue to create a more uniform stand of fescue. Additional wildflowers will also be planted to add depth visually along the edges. This area over time will continue to mature and better meet your expectations for what it should look like.
Something else I am continually asked is why the club does not supply sand bottles on the carts. Whenever possible, you should always replace your divot. Most of the time, even the tiny divots will root back down and recover. At a minimum, replacing all your divots keeps the fairway looking clean and helps minimize any shot from having to be played out of a divot. If you experience an exploding divot, replace what grass you can and please step down onto the divot to minimize its size of impact. Not replacing divots can really upset someone behind you whose ball lands in one, and can also provide an avenue for weeds to germinate. Sand bottles are also not supplied to help keep the course cleaner. Many times it is easier to reach for the sand bottle than walk a few yards to retrieve a divot, leaving the fairway looking littered. Adding soil could potentially introduce weed seeds to the fairway. Many people can also overfill the divot with sand, leaving an unsightly pile of soil, which leads to dull mower blades during the next mowing. The grounds staff periodically fills all fairway divots during the golf season. Finally, replacing your divot allows that area to heal within a day or two, however long it takes for that grass to create new roots in the ground. Sand from a bottle takes about 10-14 days for the existing bentgrass to fill in that area with new growth. If you have any questions about this, please contact me. I am more than willing to discuss further with anyone!
Our turf nursery received a much needed renovation in August. It was rototilled, and seeded with many different new turf varieties that I can judge their usefulness for any future projects we may have at Elcona. The video above shows our Bermudagrass trial we planted, but we also planted an additional area with new bentgrass varieties that we will maintain at greens height.
Finally, we have a few fall projects we will be accomplishing over the next 2-3 months. In September, we will be stripping the back half of the north end of the practice tee and repairing the settling that has occurred since it was constructed in 2021. Later on in the fall, we will be constructing a new forward tee on hole 4. Finally, we will be installing new drainage in the valley on hole 12, allwing that fairway area to stay dryer after a large rain.
Thank you everyone for their compliments on the golf course this year, we have had a great year as a staff and will finish the 4th quarter of the year strong and create a great starting point for a successful 2024 season. If you have any questions, please email me at ryan@elconacc.com. Have a great week and I hope to see you on the golf course!
Ryan
Rub of the Green 