Good morning Everyone,
Wanted to share some information with all of you that you may have questions about. We have started going through each course and picking out our trouble spots for re-sodding. In the past, these spots were more abundant. Now that we have addressed some shade issues brought on by an over abundance of trees, these areas are either getting smaller or not a problem anymore. We continue to identify areas that are being affected by shade due to trees and with the help of our new Greens Committee we are making decisions that will either allow us to manage the trees or remove them. We are exploring the idea of a tree fund that will give us opportunities to plant new trees in areas that make more since with better varieties of trees.
You will also notice that we are in the process of changing out the collars on the Lakes course. We have had some issues this season that we have never experienced before with the collars not transitioning. In the past, before we did any of the renovation work to the greens and collars, they transitioned fine. Reason is because the grass at that time was more mature and established. Now that we have installed new collars, our maintenance practices need to change to adapt to these new issues so that we give ourselves the best chance to transition each season. Some of the new practices we will use is an aerification in April and March to these areas. We will use a tine the size of a #2 pencil so the disruption will be minimal but the relief to these compacted areas will be huge. Some of the causes that are bringing about this problem revolve around foot traffic and mower turn. This constant impact to these areas have some devastating affects if not relieved in the form of aerification.
This also leads me into my last bit of information dealing with high traffic areas. Most of you know that with our greens and tees and how they are situated, you may only have one way in and one way out. The constant foot traffic in these areas produces compaction that can only be corrected by either aerification during the season or with the use of rope and stakes. If you do see an area that has been roped off, please walk or drive around the area so as to not compound the problem. We will do our best to move the ropes every few days to give other areas some relief.
Hope you all are having a wonderful summer and hope to see you soon!
Damien
