Reel to Reel

Here are my favorite shots of the month.   

Temperatures in the mid 30's and wind gusts up to 31 mph today were a brisk reminder that winter is fast approaching.  In preparation for the winter months, the greens were aerified 9"deep with the deep-tines.  The newly created holes will provide a means for excess moisture to move off the greens surfaces this fall and throughout the winter.  deep-tine aerification on #11 green  As we move into November the final fungicides will be applied to the greens, tees and fairways to protect the turf against winter diseases. Please be advised that the irrigation system will be blown out on November 5-6.  We will blowing air throughout the irrigation system in order to winterize it.

As I traveled around the course this week several items jumped out at me.  Plant health has been outstanding this fall.  The early aerification on greens combined with a healthy dose of foliar nutrients and soil amendments have put the plants in an extremely healthy state.  The plants continue to store energy and the root systems continue to thrive.   turf plug taken from #16 green    The new forward tees are proceeding nicely.  We peeled back the covers this week to take a peak at the new seedlings. new seedlings on #18 forward white tee   Over the last few days, leaf colors have changed significantly.  We continue to blow and mulch the leaves on a daily basis to keep the course as playable as possible. leaf color change on #1   Deep-tine fairway aerification continues and should be completed early next week.  The aerification holes have helped the fairways drain from the rains this week....

Deep tine aerification of the fairways is underway.  We are planning to aerify about two fairways a day.  Jose aerifying #1 fairway   To achieve the tight spacing we desire, the aerifier is moving at a pace of 1.2 mph at a depth of 9". These deep holes will help move any excess water off of the fairway surface this fall and winter, as well as during the spring thaw. deep tine aerification at 9" depth   The leaves have started to fall at a rapid pace.  We will continue to blow and mulch keeping the golf course as playable as possible.  blowing leaves off of #18 fairway

The work we did this week has really taken shape.  The cart path east of #7 green was removed.  We added over 60 yards of soil to the area and mounded it slightly to blend into the existing area.  It was seeded today; we should see some germination yet this fall.    All of the topsoil used in this project came from the dump.  Over the last three years, we have been piling up old sod and debris from previous projects.  Over this period, the debris has decomposed into some nice topsoil.  What we once considered discards, we were able to utilize and save a significant amount of money.   rough shaping on #7 green bank  finish grade on #7 green bank finished product all seeded We also rerouted the cart path on #6 tee this week.  The cart path previously went right through the middle of a low area.  During periods of heavy rain, the area was too saturated for cart traffic.  We r...

Demolition of the decaying cart path east of #7 green was today's task.  Tree roots have made the cart path extremely uneven over the last year.  Instead of replacing the path, the decision was made to remove it.  This hole will now be much more playable for shots that miss the green right. breaking up the cart path cart path removal   hauling debris away Over the next couple of days we will be adding topsoil and shaping it, to blend it into the existing area. After the shaping is complete, it will be seeded with bluegrass .

Two new white tees were constructed this week on holes #12 and #18.  We finished sodding the tee banks and seeding the tees this afternoon.  A big thanks to my staff for moving more than 80 yards of soil around while shaping the tees.   A cold forecast this weekend prompted us to put covers over the new tees to retain soil temperatures and help germination.  The covers will be on and off depending on weather conditions.  staff prepping area for tee construction on #12   Armondo sodding tee bank on #12   new white tee on #12