Golf Course Maintenance Update at The National Golf Club - October 2019

Golf Course Maintenance October 2019 Update

The purpose of this update is to provide you with more insight into projects and maintenance taking place at The National Golf Club.

Gary Sailer, CGCS Director of Golf Course Maintenance

IN THIS UPDATE:  Fall overseeding and interseeding  Capital projects  Native grass management  Winter projects

It has been a very wet year with nearly 50 inches of rainfall year-to-date. With our yearly average at 30 inches, it will be interesting to see what our grand total is at year end. Despite the wet conditions, your Golf Course Maintenance team has achieved many of its 2019 goals, although there is still much to do.

I have been busy getting to know my team of assistants and team members who have been doing a terrific job. I’m also in the process of evaluating the property and developing programs that will continue to improve The National.

Some of these programs such as interseeding and Native grass management will be touched on in this update. The team is also identifying what our focus is for the short-term as well as for the long-term benefit of the golf course.

Thank you for the warm welcome and support I have received since joining The National family.

Please email me at garys@fivestarlifestyles.com if you have any questions or concerns.

Regards, Gary Sailer, CGCS Director of Golf Course Maintenance 1

Golf Course Maintenance October 2019 Update

The photo above shows poa annua infestation on #5 green. We interseeded the greens with bentgrass seed on October 7th. I say “interseed� because we are seeding new bentgrass into the existing stand to introduce more competition to the poa annua. Our plan is to continue this practice two to three times per year. With the help of growth regulators, we hope to reduce or shrink these areas of poa to a more manageable size. We use our aerifier to create many shallow, small holes for the seed to fall into. This causes little disruption to the surface from a playability standpoint.

We have finished our fall overseeding in high-traffic locations and in areas where the turfgrass has thinned out due to the rigors of a long season. We will begin sod work this month with our focus on green surrounds and spots where seed was not successful.

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Golf Course Maintenance October 2019 Update

The creek on hole #17 We will be going forward with the restoration of the creek channel on hole #17 later this fall. As you can see in the photo above, the channel has narrowed so much that water flow is severely restricted which causes flooding in this area after heavy rain events.

By opening this channel back up to its intended size, we hope that flooding will be minimized in the future on this part of the golf course.

This area will be much improved aesthetically as well since all of the overgrowth will be removed and new rock will be lined along the banks for erosion control.

We will also be repairing two cart path panels toward the back of the driving range that have become severely undermined from heavy rain events. This has caused a safety hazard and a logistical problem in terms of using the back driving range tees. The team will complete the project this month.

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Golf Course Maintenance October 2019 Update We still have a few native grass areas to mow. Once all of these areas are mowed, we will apply a pre-emergent herbicide later this fall to control grassy weeds like foxtail and crabgrass.

A post-emergent herbicide will be applied next summer to control broadleaves like sunflowers, ragweed and woody plants. This will help accent the rest of the golf course with the classy look of the Scottish links.

In the upcoming winter months we plan to continue with more tree work. One of the areas we will focus on for selective tree removal is on the left side of #1, pictured above. The shade these trees cast on the left side of this hole causes excessive wetness, thin turf and extended cart restrictions. Selective removal of trees on the left side of the cart path will result in more sunlight and air movement on this side of the hole, ultimately providing much drier conditions and fewer golf cart restrictions.

Throughout the remainder of the year (as long as the ground is not frozen), we will be probing sand depths in bunkers and adding new sand where needed.

Stone work will also continue in high-traffic areas near cart path edges to improve the appearance while solving a long-term problem at the same time.

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