The Founders Cup Weekend

After a few hot days this week, a front moved through bringing overcast weather for a few days. The rain bucket on the weather station was blocked so did not record the rainfall. Luckily it still collected it and once it was unblocked, recorded the weeks rainfall - albeit all at one time.... The 0.3" we received set the course up perfectly for this weekend and the cooler temperatures that are forecast. 18 fairway wilted pretty badly on Wednesday when the heat slightly caught us off guard and it was mowed later than it normally would in those temperatures. The stress of mowing in the heat, coupled with the drier conditions caused the wilt. This time of the year it is not much of a problem and it is already looking better (as in the picture below), and should be looking 100% in a few days. It is however something that needs to be avoided during prolonged periods of heat as the damage will take a long time to recover if at all. Having a wake up call this time of the year always is nice to remind us to not let our guard down during the summer heat in July and August. Both 17 and 18 fairways needed to be irrigated to prevent more wilt damage, however the rainfall the following day has made them wetter than the others but with the today's weather, they should be playing like the others very quickly.

The Founders Cup went off this morning without a hitch. Even with the 9am shotgun the crew had the course fully prepped before play. 

Over the last week the crew have been refreshing the bunkers. They checked sand depths, leveled any shelves that had formed and repaired the edges/lips. They also added some sand where needed. Adding sand is not an ideal solution as it can cause drainage issues due to the layering of the new sand on the old dirty sand but it is a short term solution to make them play better. 

You may notice some odd patterns from time to time and usually if it a regular shape it it something maintenance did, or didn't do..... Some of these are easier to identify while others can be a bit of a puzzle....

Here are a few from this past week. The line across the front of 5 fairway initially threw me. I knew it had to be something we sprayed (or didn't) but since I couldn't remember what applications went out , it made me pause to work it out. It was simple once I checked the records - we had sprayed a wetting agent earlier in the week. The product helps water penetrate the soil better and makes it easier for the plant to take up. The product we use is a long chain polymer so it is sprayed twice at this time of the year and, depending on the summer, usually lasts until fall. Here the spray tech forgot to return to the first part of the fairway after his tank ran out. It's not a big issue and the next time it is sprayed will correct it. 

The next one was a little easier identify - a crew member did not tie down his fertilizer spreader so when he drove off the path and into the rough it tipped out of the cart spilling it contents into the rough. Although we shoveled and vacuumed the excess up, there was still enough remaining to burn the plants and cause a dead spot. 

While on the topic of puzzling damage on the course, this is one from a few years ago that took a while to work out. It was after aerating and topdressing. The sand we use is kiln dried to make it easier to spread. Unfortunately this load had not been left to cool long enough before it was delivered. The topdresser leaked sand as it drove off the tee-box and the pile of super hot sand burned the turf. It grew out after a week or so. 

The fans went back out this week on 2, 4 & 10. With the warm weather and the few wet days, algae started to appear on those pocketed greens again. This is to be expected since the air movement is minimal on these so they never really get the chance to dry out fully. The greens were needletined on Tuesday - these tiny tines make channels in the turf so air can be exchanged, providing air to the roots and helping dry the upper profile. Having the fans running in addition is a major benefit as it helps accelerate the drying process. Our aerators have rollers fitted when they are set up for needletining so the process is very noninvasive and does not upset the putting quality of the greens. This post explains the need for fans and why we use them. 

The upcoming week looks like another great week for golf so I look forward to seeing you out there!!