Well, March was unseasonably nice. In what is typically an awful weather month, she provided great weather. As of the 29th we have only received 3.5" of rain, but more is expected before April 1. We hit a record high 87 degrees, and that really helped jumpstart the bermudagrass. Fairways, tees and greens have really jumped out of dormancy nicely. Here's to hoping April is just as nice.
The pipe replacement project on #6 is complete. Christopher Grading did an outstanding job in a very short window. As wet as the ground was it still amazes me the job got done as quickly as it did. The 30" metal pipe was replaced by a 36" plastic pipe which we shouldn't have to revisit in our lifetime. While Joe was here we had him address the broken pipe on #10. Upon uncovering the problem we found that we had a rise of 7" which is not what we wanted to hear. So, we are kind of stuck with an open ditch, which will have water in it but will allow water to flow into the lake during rain. The area surrounded by silt fence will be fine graded later this summer when things dry out and re-sodded.
Greens are in good shape! We have lowered the height of cut several times from our winter height and they are rolling great. We fertilized them this week to really wake them up. I expect to begin normal cultural practices soon, such as light verticutting, topdressing and brushing.
Greens aerification schedule for 2016:
Monday May 16 1/4" core
Monday June 20 1/2" core
Tuesday Sept 6 1/4" core
Also,Monday May 2nd we will be grading high spots around the greens to allow water to drain off the green surface. This is the primary reason for loss of turf on a few greens. Years of sand topdressing has caused a lip at the edge of the green. At the same time I plan to re-sod weak areas on greens with new Champion sod.
April projects:
Fertilize fairways and tees
Pre-emerge fairways
Aerify fairways and tees
See you on the course!
Andy
No comments:
Post a Comment