Leaf Spot/Pythium

Greens Update:


What is another way to tell Fall is here?   The arrival of disease pressure on the greens.  This is a battle each season.  When we get into periods of cloudy, overcast,  rainy and damp conditions the fungus attacks.  It thrives in that type of environment.  The end of September has provided exactly that.  Leaf spot and Pythium have reared its ugly head.  I have applied 3 types of fungicide to control it.  While this fungus is mostly aesthetic the greens continue to put very well.  Recovery time depends on the weather.  Out of the last 10 days, we have seen the sun ONE DAY, and it has rained 8 of those days.  Bermuda grass needs sunlight. This weeks forecast looks great with Sunny days and highs near 80.  The greens will bounce back, please be patient.  Now let the sun shine!

Fall is here...

Fall is here, grass has slowed its growth and leaves are falling.  Mornings have been cool lately and afternoons comfortable.  I love this time of year.  With the approaching cooler weather we prepare.  Listed are a few things which are very important this time of year.


-Raise the Height of cut on Tees and Fairways from .5" to .6"
-Raise Greens HOC from .125" to .135",  We will do this as the temps get cooler with an end result of .160"
-Pre-emerge golf course for winter annual weeds
-Apply preventative fungicide for Spring Dead Spot
-This time also allows us to catch up on bed detail and spraying weeds in beds
-I plan to address several bunkers that are low on Sand
-Repair any leaks or broken Irrigation


We always have a project list in the Fall/Winter, and we work hard to complete it.


What is another way to tell Fall is here?   The arrival of disease pressure on the greens.  This is a battle each season.  When we get into periods of cloudy, overcast,  rainy and damp conditions the fungus attacks.  It thrives in that type of environment.  The end of September has provided exactly that.  Leaf spot and Pythium have reared its ugly head.  I have applied 2 types of fungicide to control it.  Now let the sun shine!


See you on the course!


Andy

Busy August and looking forward

August was HOT!  It was our warmest month so far, but as I write this it is 58 degrees.  This morning was beautiful.  Fall is on the way.  With that said, we will soon be doing cultural practices to prepare the course for cold weather.  Tuesday September 8 we will close the course for our final core aerification of the season.  We will get more aggressive with the verticutting, pull a 1/4" core, topdress heavy and fertilize.  I anticipate full recovery in 2 weeks.  We will also begin to monitor the temperatures, that will dictate raising the height of cut and reducing the amount of growth regulator applied.  The days are getting shorter, we need maximum growth going into Fall.


September is the time in which we Pre-emerge the course for winter weeds.  Last Fall we had perfect timing and I am hoping for similar results this year.  I would also encourage you to do the same on your lawn.  There are many products out there and I can help steer you in the right direction.


NCC's annual Club Championship was held August 15,16 with a field of around 70.  Carson Vaughn won with rounds of 75-75.  Pick Parks won the Senior division, Ernie Bell won Super Senior and Ms. Nina Fanning claimed the Ladies Championship.  The course was playing tough.  The roughs have become thick and greens were fast.  In fact, I have had quite a few folks mention that they have never been as fast as they were for the tournament.  Yes, I would love to keep them like that, but it's just not that simple.  Overall I was very proud of the condition of the course.  I heard many positive comments.  It is always nice to hear those nice things after putting in the hours to get it there.


Call2Cut tree service was out Monday to remove 5 dead pines.  The most noticeable was on the left side of 9 fairway.  It was struck by lightning  July 19. 


We received 4+" of rain last week and we are just over 5" for the month.  We are slightly ahead of our annual rainfall total.

July Recap

Well, we continue to be busy on the course.  I am very proud and appreciative of my staff for the effort they have put in this season.  Working conditions have been tough and challenging.  July 6 all greens were verticut, aerified, sanded and fertilized.  We were fortunate to receive a few timely rain events to help with recovery.  The recovery process went very well, in fact we aggressively verticut and sanded them again 7 days after aerification.  This really helped smooth out the surface.  We had 19 days to have them great for The Kirby.  We accomplished that.


Speaking of The Kirby, I thought the course was in great shape.  Greens were rolling smooth and with a good pace.  I played this year and heard numerous compliments, all positives!  Brad Harden won this year with a +1 total.  The course was playing tough.


We received 5 1/2" rainfall in July, bringing the yearly total to 38".  We are just above average for the year.  And although we have received adequate rainfall we are pretty dry.  The intense heat dries us out very quickly.  Last rainfall was July 19.


We are preparing for Club Championship, August 15,16


I have sprigged a nursery green at the far end of the Driving Range.  I anticipate 8-10 weeks grow in.  This will allow us to utilize plugs from there instead of the chipping green when repairs are made.  Speaking of repairs we plan to address the front of #12 green and back of #13 green in the coming weeks.


Next Greens Aerification---Tuesday Sept 8, day after Labor Day. 


See ya on the course!


Andy

June Recap

As I write this I am enjoying life, at the beach on vacation.  Yes I know, there are better things for me to do but just a quick recap for the month.  First off, I am very proud of my staff.  They have really worked hard this month preparing the golf course for 2 big events.  Monday June 22nd NCC hosted a GSGA Georgia Amateur Qualifier.  75 players competed for 16 spots.  NCC's own talent of Trevor Smith and Carson Vaughn competed and played very well.  Trevor shot 68 and Carson shot 69.  68 was low round of the day.  They will now compete in the State Amateur at Sea Island in a few weeks.  Good Luck!

Also this past weekend was Member/Guest.  I felt like the golf course was in great shape.  I heard several compliments on how the greens rolled, and course conditions.  The crew put in a lot of hours in the heat this month to have the course ready. Speaking of HEAT, it has been hot!  We have had warmer than average temperatures this month, 7-10 degrees warmer than normal.

We are catching up on rainfall after a very dry May.  Many days in June were wet and it looks like we may end the month that way.  The weather for Member/Guest was very challenging, but we got it all in without having to use Sunday.  I gladly accept rain, I learned to not complain about it, just deal with it!

We plan to aerify greens Monday July 6.  The course will be closed all day so we can work uninterrupted.  We will use 3/8" tines, backfill the holes with sand, drag, verticut, mow, fertilize and water.  It will take us all day to complete this process.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate and allow us to complete this job.  While I know the greens are in great shape it must be done.  I expect a 2 week recovery and we will have them ready for The Kirby.

May update

Rain, finally!  The course received 2" of rain yesterday.  Prior to that we had a whopping .65" for May.  While I would rather have it spread out over a few days I don't complain about rain, I deal with it.  We have had a busy month on the course.  Along with the daily maintenance that we do we have done a few things that hopefully you have noticed.  Several new signs have been put up,  the Club Champion signs and a new Range yardage.  We have also installed an Air compressor for blowing off cleats.  By using this it will help keep the inside of the club a bit cleaner. Thank You to the MGA for the purchase of the compressor and Range sign!  Two new weeping willow trees have been planted along #6 lake bank, purchased be members of the Sewer/Septic group.  Three new maples have been planted along the right side of #8 where the big pine once stood.  Lastly another willow has been planted on the lake at #2, in memory of Mr. Terry Lunsford.


The maintenance crew has also landscaped in front of the clubhouse.  We have installed a dwarf Holly and Loripedilum.  We will have Bermuda grass back in place and will be pine strawed. These shrubs will give us color and provide some feel of a foundation.


All fairways have been aerified.  I plan to do this on all tees and in areas of the rough to relieve compaction.  I think the fairways are in great shape, and we will fertilize them again within a few weeks.


Lastly, we will be repairing a few spots on greens.  #'s 5, 12 and 13.  #'s 12 front right and 13 back left are spots that stay wet and water has a hard time running off.  The back 9 greens are native, push up greens so they don't drain like the front. Over time the collars build up due to the sand topdressing that we do and my plan is to cut back a few strips of the collar and lower the soil and replace the sod.  While doing this we will also dig down and replace the soil and mix in greens mix.  As for #5...I have sent off a sample to find out exactly what was applied.  We will be repairing these spots within the next week or so.


Coming up in June NCC is hosting ....


 Atlanta Junior Golf on the 6/4
GSGA Georgia Amateur Qualifier 6/22
Member/Guest 6/26,27

April Recap

Greens:

-Greens are in great shape provided the weather we had in April.  Very wet and somewhat cool.  We ended the month with just over 9"

-Greens will be verticut, aerified, topdressed, brushed and fertilized next Monday, May 4.  The plan is to lightly verticut and pull a ¼” core.  With good weather I expect a very quick recovery.  We will also apply a lime product to adjust any soil pH deficiencies we might have. Golf course will be closed all day so we can complete this process.

Fairways/Tees/Roughs:

-Fairways and Tees have really jumped and have grown in nicely.  For April our fairways are as green and full as I have seen in my time here. 

-Soil test results on #13 fairway indicate a low pH, so the decision to blend Lime into the fertilizer was a good one.  I have enough product left over to fertilize at a light rate later this season on fairways.

-We have applied another pre-emerge to the fairways and 3 passes around each fairway and green.

Projects:

-Restrooms on #5 are done.  Our maintenance manager Kyle Mims has done an outstanding job.  We hope to have the restroom on #13 completed before Member/Guest.  Thank You LGA for assisting in this project!

-We hope to build a new water station soon that will house the air compressor for blowing off cleats.  Thanks to the MGA for the purchase of this.

-MGA also assisted in the purchase of all new rakes for the course.

-Member/Member was a challenge.  My crew put in a lot of work to have the course ready but Mother Nature won the battle!  Overall I was very pleased and proud of the condition of the course and what we could control.  We received 4.5” the week of the tournament and just over 9” for the month. 

See you on the course!

Andy