The heat is here!

Wow, it's been hot this summer!!!  We've been busy on the golf course with various projects and working hard to deal with the abundant heat and humidity.  The crew has been working very hard these past few weeks dealing with the heavy rains and short week from the 4th into this hot spell we are in currently.  Please take the time to thank our great staff on the maintenance crew for all of their hard work this year.

This past week, we borrowed an aerifier from Jerry Pate Turf as a demo to aerify the putting green.  This is the same aerifier that we are considering purchasing for this quarter as our current aerifier is out of commission and we have been using Eglin GC's aerifier for the past year.  It's very smooth and provides great options for depth and spacing.  The benefit to the tractor mount is the wider unit, less wear and tear on the operator, and we only need one man to aerify as opposed to two or three previously.

After aerifying the putting green, we also topdressed all greens on the golf course.  The topdressing sand worked in nicely after a brush and roll operation.  Continued, light topdressing will assist in smoothing the surface, increasing the shot holding capacity of the green, and protect the plant from damage by mowers and foot traffic.

This past week, we got hit with some Armyworms.  The excessive rain and flush of growth on the turf really encouraged the insects to come out in droves.  We have been spraying as we see them and their damage.  Left unchecked, Armyworms can devour entire fairways in several days.  However, since they are only eating the green, leafy material recovery is relatively quick.  We sprayed the back 9 fairways last Friday and saw full recovery in affected areas by Monday.  As for pests, thankfully they are easy to control.

Upcoming work that we have planned:
*Dead, sick, fall hazard tree removal
*Edging concrete cart paths
*Fall aeration (tentatively set for beginning August)

I've been asked a few times about the status of #6 green.  I'm real happy with the progress that the green has shown.  You can see that we have been adding plugs to the thin areas still and will continue to do so.  At this time, we have decided to let that section grow up to collar length.  You may play shots that come to rest in this area as if they were on the collar of the green.  Please be careful not to take divots, however.  This area WILL NOT be marked as ground under repair.