Course Update

It's officially been 10 days since the start of the summer.....clearly someone hasn't received the memo.  While the rest of the country and continent for the most part, is enduring record breaking temperatures, we just haven't been afforded any consistently warm and dry weather.  Actually, I do recall about a 3-week stretch at the end of May and into June, but c'mon now, tomorrow is July 1st!  WE WANT SUMMER DARN IT!!!

Okay, now that I've got that off my chest, here's what we've been busy doing on the course over the past few weeks:

• The grass tee at the practice range opened for use on June 16th.  Needless to say, after only 2 weeks of use it is clear that adjustments NEED to be made in order for it to remain open and make it through the season.  The grass tee is not intended for nor can it handle someone hitting hundreds of golf balls at a time.  Due to it's size limitations, we ask that you only use it for warming up before your golf game.  In other words, hitting maybe 20-30 shots vs 2 large buckets of balls. We received a great suggestion from a member to setup a few of the hitting stalls with artificial turf mats for those who would like to practice and hit more balls than one would during a typical warm up.  We will certainly look into this immediately and    Again, we ask that everyone please follow this "Preferred Divot Pattern" to help the turf recover quicker for repeated use:

"Preferred Divot Pattern"

• We were quite aggressive with vert-cutting the greens this week.  By Wednesday afternoon we had completed four verti-cuttings and then we topdressed and matted them on Thursday.  For those that aren't quite sure what the heck vert-cutting is, it is a method of mowing with a set of vertically mounted blades that cut into and perpendicular to the surface of the turf.  Here is what a verti-cutting reel looks like closeup:
  
  

  

  series of thatch removing vertically mounted blades

  
  This slicing action removes organic material at a depth that can be adjusted based on how aggressive you'd like to get.  We were verti-cutting the greens and collars at a depth of 1/8" today, which may not sound that aggressive, but as you can see here, we were removing alot of material:

thatch and clippings removed from only 4 greens!

• The recently added "Naturalized Areas" are establishing nicely and are already providing improved definition and additional wildlife habitat.  These are not the only benefits from naturalizing areas on the course, we are also able to reduce mowing and inputs (fertilizer & water).  That being said, as I've stated before, that doesn't mean they don't require any maintenance as we will still mow them down on occasion to reestablish and we will be treating them for weeds and other undesirable plant species.  Naturalized means "Low Maintenance" and not "No Maintenance".  The only "course marking" change resulting from these designated areas is the large naturalized mound to the right of #14 green.  It is now being marked as a lateral hazard so please be aware to avoid any penalty strokes.

• We are still waiting on bunker sand to become available again from our aggregates supplier.  They anticipate being able to provide us with our bunker sand by the end of July.  As soon as it does become available, we will be receiving 80 tonnes to add to our bunkers.

• Our bat houses were installed early this month and there have been reports of some "bat activity".  We'd like to reiterate that we DO NOT expect to be "mosquito free" because we have bats residing on the course.  In fact, we've always had bats on the course and we've also always had mosquitoes, even when the golf course ponds were being treated with larvicide.  However, we do hope to increase the bat population and reduce the mosquito population by providing these ideal habitats for bats.

• Speaking of mosquitoes, it's that time of year to remind everyone to please remember to apply mosquito repellents on cart paths and NOT on turf!  BUG SPRAY KILLS TURF!!!  Here is a photo that clearly shows 2 green footprints where the turf was shielded from the bug spray being applied and damage where the spray contacted the turf:

PLEASE APPLY BUG SPRAY ON CART PATHS!

Practice Range Grass Teeing Area

Well, the time has finally come, the grass teeing area at the practice range will officially open for use this coming Saturday, June 16th.  The reason for the later opening date this season was to allow us to improve the density of the turf through regular slit-seeding and starter fertilizer applications.  As you can see in the photo below (taken yesterday morning), it has responded very well to the attention:

June 11, 2012

The original game-plan was to completely strip the grass teeing area late last season and re-sod it to start this season with a fresh stand of new turf, but that plan was unfortunately slashed from the budget.  We will continue to routinely slit-seed and fertilize the teeing area in an effort to reduce the healing time of the divots to ensure we have adequate turf for golfers to warm up and practice.

There is a way that you, the golfer, can help us to provide a better grass teeing area.  Here is a link to a great "Preferred Divot Pattern" video put together by Dan Meersman, Director of Grounds at The Philadelphia Cricket Club, which illustrates exactly how we'd like to see golfers use the range: "Preferred Divot Pattern" Following this practice method greatly reduces the healing time of the divots and uses far less teeing area on a daily basis.

Here is a fantastic article from this month's USGA Green Section Record that also provides great insight on how you can help us to provide the best possible practice teeing area: "Practice Like a Pro"

This photo from that article is very telling and will be posted at the practice range and throughout the club to remind golfers of proper range use:

"Preferred Divot Pattern"

Please keep in mind, our practice range was not originally designed to include a grass teeing area, but due to popular demand we added it in 2010.  It is quite undersized and we knew that when it opened a couple seasons ago, but we can only work with what we've got as there is no room for expansion.  In an effort to reduce the wear and tear on the grass tee, golfers are restricted to use the artificial turf mats on Mondays and Thursdays.  The grass teeing area is also closed on outside tournament days to reserve it for member use.  We typically complete much of the maintenance required for the grass tee on our scheduled "Maintenance Mornings", but we will occasionally close the tee for maintenance at other times too.  It is difficult to predict exactly when, but we do our best to provide as much advance notice as possible before doing so.

Last, but certainly not least, here is a friendly reminder to all that use the practice facility that you are not to use any club on the range that you can hit 230 yards or further.  There are many homes around the perimeter of the range and golf balls exiting the range can cause serious personal injury and property damage.