What a difference a week makes! Not only have the near normal temperatures been more comfortable for us humans, but the turf is really enjoying it also. The cold front stalled before completely passing through the area so it took a few extra days before the full effect of the cooler weather was experienced and before we saw rain. We ended up with 1.75" over Monday and Tuesday which the course soaked up really well. It helped the areas that had browned out start to green back up with those areas already looking a lot better. As you can see below, the rootzone temperatures are sliding in the right direction and are a lot closer to the optimum temperature for healthy plants.
We turned off the fans on Thursday and Friday to save some fuel. While there was still not a lot of air movement around the pocketed greens, it was possible to shut them down as the humidity was low and the temperatures were not oppressive. They were back on yesterday and today to help dry the greens out a little bit more before the rain that is forecasted for today and tomorrow. The forecast looks great for needletining and topdressing on Tuesday, which will be the last time before aeration starts on August 18th.
The nicer weather meant I was able to groom the greens this week and the difference was noticeable; it cleaned up a lot the turf that was lying over, improving the putting surfaces. A couple of the collars are showing some signs of stress, mainly on the high traffic areas, such as the walk onto 2 below. We've roped a few off and will be giving them extra fertilizer to help them recover. The needletining and topdressing next week will help them also but overall they are not much of a concern, especially with aeration right around the corner.
The clubs first Parent/Child Fishing Rodeo is this afternoon. We spent some time on Friday setting up some games and preparing for it. The new Adirondack chairs are a nice addition and will be great for relaxing by 14 pond.
We set up a horse shoe pit behind the Learning Center and painted a bocce ball court on the DR tee. So how to you set up a bocce court on a tee box? With some math, a measuring tape, string and paint. Once we had set an end, we used Pythagoras' theorem along with a tape to ensure we had right angles. After that it was just a matter of running a string line and painting - although we won't discuss the painters ability of following a straight line.....
Did you know that we grow some of our produce and our herbs? I managed to nab some pictures of Chef Dan collecting tomatoes and herbs from our garden this week. Our horticulturist Deb has been doing a great job tending to the garden and keeping them growing healthily, while keeping the rabbits away. We hope to extend it later in the year, so next year we can supply Dan with even more fresh produce.
And lastly, another of Brandon's pictures.
