2013: What a year it's been...

2013 has presented some challenges for the Turf Care Department and the team has been working hard to maintain optimum playing conditions.  Some areas of the golf course have struggled through the summer months and we have a plan to address these areas.  Of most concern are the tees, fairways and high-traffic areas.  What are we doing to help these areas along?  Here is a breakdown of what to expect during our late-summer aeration and throughout the fall and winter months:

• TEES

• Tees will be core-aerated, aggressively verticut, heavily overseeded and fertilized during aeration week.  We will not be topdressing them as we want to ensure proper moisture levels at the surface as the new seed germinates and matures.  Topdressing with sand will dry the surface.  Expect the tees to be somewhat moist and soft as we keep moisture levels where they need to be for proper seed establishment.

• Tees will also be routinely aerated with solid tines (no cores) and oveseeded throughout the fall and winter months.  Yes, seed will germinate in our mild and wet winter climate so we are not wasting money and resources by applying seed throughout the winter months.  This is also why seed remains in our divot mix all winter long.

• FAIRWAYS

• Fairways will be solid deep-tine aerated (no cores), verticut and slit-seeded during aeration week.  The slit-seeding will likely not be completed during aeration week, but we will complete it in the 2 weeks following aeration.  They received a foliar fertilizer application last week and another one will be applied the week following aeration to promote a quick recovery and to help the new seed establish.  Much like the tees, expect the fairways to be a bit on the moist and soft side as we keep moisture levels where they need to be for proper seed establishment.

• High-traffic areas on fairways will receive extra attention throughout the fall and winter months with supplemental aeration, slit-seeding and fertilizer applications as necessary.

• HIGH-TRAFFIC AREAS (ROUGH)

• High-traffic areas in the rough will be solid-tine aerated (no cores), overseeded and fertilized.  High-traffic areas include walk-on/walk-off at tees and greens, fairway enter and exit points in the rough and general turf areas of the golf course that receive excessive traffic.

• Like tees, high-traffic areas will be routinely aerated with solid tines (no cores) and oveseeded throughout the fall and winter months.

Bunkers remain a concern and I will be preparing a detailed plan outlining the work required for the refurbishment and remediation of our bunkers.  For the short term, we are budgeting to add a significant amount of new sand to the bunkers next spring.  With the summer coming to an end and the rainy season approaching, it is not wise to add new sand to the bunkers at this time of year as our typical west coast winters would “age” the new sand very quickly due to the lack of proper drainage in many of our bunkers.

We are confident that the aforementioned plans will provide the excellent playing conditions that our members and guests have become accustomed to here at Quilchena.  We anticipate a speedy recovery from aeration and lots of additional turf recovery throughout the fall and winter months.