It was another GREAT summer in the lower mainland, but now it is time to welcome fall. The change of season also indicates a change in our turf care maintenance practices. Some routine tasks, such as mowing, become more difficult to keep up with as our summer students have returned to school and the seasonal rains and cooler nights provide ideal growing conditions for turf. Although we provide moisture to the turf via our irrigation system throughout the summer months, nothing gets turf growing quite like rainfall. It's like we've fertilized each and every time it rains. For more info on why rainfall differs so much from irrigation, please visit one of my previous blog posts by clicking HERE. That being said, we are mowing as frequently as we can and will be lowering the height-of-cut (HOC) on the rough mowers this week to try and lessen the penalty of hitting your ball into the rough.
Frequency of mowing also changes in the fall. Again, without the staffing levels that we have in the summer months, we are forced to reduce how often we mow greens, tees, approaches and fairways. You can expect these areas to be a bit "shaggy" this time of year until colder temperatures slow down the growth rates. Bunkers are also raked less often so please ensure you do your part by raking your tracks when you enter and exit them.
On behalf of Josh and all the hardworking guys and gals on the Turf Care crew, I'd like to take this time to thank you, the members, for all the positive feedback and compliments about the course conditioning and landscape maintenance this year. We were eager to hit the ground running this spring to prove just what this team is capable of and I am proud to say that this crew has exceeded all my expectations. We are already planning for an even more successful 2015, but until then, enjoy what fall has to offer here at Quilchena.
See you on the course,
Jason
