Hermitage Living Monthly: September 2021

HERMITAGE

Living

M O N T H LY E D I T I O N - S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 1

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The Hermitage Hurricanes finished in 6th place out of 20 teams at the championship meet which was held at NOVA of Virginia Aquatics on 7/29 & 7/30. The team placed 1st in the middle size division and also received one of the three sportsmanship awards that were awarded to the teams that received the most votes by their peer teams. We had 45 athletes compete over the 2 days. 15 individual and 3 relay Hermitage swim team records were broken. JD Chen also broke a JRAC record.

Raleigh Harrington was a quadruple 1st place winner and Charlie Harrington was a triple 1st place winner.

Individual records broken: • Girls 13-14 50 Breast - Ameila Chen 36.60 beat her previous record of 38.06 from 6/21/21 • Girls 15-18 50 Back - Gabby Chen 30.67 beat her previous record of 31.75 from 6/21/21 • Girls 15-18 50 Fly - Gabby Chen 30.16 beat Sydney Pesetti’s previous record of 30.41 from 2014 • Boys 8 & under 25 Back - Raleigh Harrington 18.46 beat his previous record of 19.47 from 6/13/21 • Boys 11-12 50 Free - Charlie Harrington 28.34 beat his previous record of 28.87 from 6/28/21 • Boys 11-12 50 Back - Charlie Harrington 31.54 beat his previous record of 32.62 from 6/21/21 • Boys 11-12 50 Breast - Charlie Harrington 36.86 beat JD Chen’s record of 38.10 from 2019 • Boys 11-12 100 IM - Charlie Harrington 1:09.12 beat his previous record of 1:11.66 from 6/28/21 • Boys 13-14 100 Free - JD Chen 58.02 beat Taylor Hoffer’s previous record of 59.82 from 6/21/21 • Boys 13-14 100 Free - Taylor Hoffer 57.70 beat his previous record of 59.82 from 6/21/21 AND JD Chen’s 58.02 from 2021 Champs • Boys 13-14 50 Breast - JD Chen 32.08 beat his previous record of 34.12 from 6/21/21 - THIS IS A NEW JRAC RECORD (old JRAC record was 33.06) • Boys 13-14 100 IM - JD Chen 1:04.18 beat Anderson Broughton’s previous record of 1:04.38 from 2017 Champs • Boys 15-18 50 Free - Anderson Broughton 24.09 broke his previous record of 25.38 from 6/9/19 • Boys 15-18 50 Back - Anderson Broughton 26.57 broke his previous record of 27.85 from 2019 Champs • Boys 15-18 50 Fly - Anderson Broughton 25.52 broke his previous record of 26.64 from 2019 Champs • Boys 15-18 IM - Anderson Broughton 59.11 broke his previous record of 1:00.58 from 2019 Champs Relay Record Broken • Mixed 11-12 200 Medley Relay - 2:16.29 Charlie Harrington, Isabella Glen, Laura Burns, Ford Reams broke previous record of 2:21.71 from 2018 Champs • Mixed 13-14 200 Medley Relay - 2:05.05 Cora Campbell, JD Chen, Amelia Chen, Taylor Hoffer from previous record of 2:10.81 from 2017 Champs • Mixed 15-18 200 Medley Relay - 2:00.29 Gabby Chen, Eric Fagan, Anderson Broughton, Wynn Robbins broke previous record of 2:03.69 from 6/21/21.

GO HURRICANES!!

a n o s n o i t a l u t a r g n Co ! n o s a e s t a e r g

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The CourseUpdates Important upcoming dates: September 20th and 21st Manakin Greens Aeration - 3/8" cores plus topdressing September 27th and 28th

Bluegrass overseeding on Sabot back nine fairways November 1st 2021 - mid April 2022 Sabot front nine closed for greens resurfacing and new irrigation system installation

Photo: Our new Bentgrass for Sabot at the sod farm.

Click here to view Chris Harriman's blog.

Photo: Pure Eclipse Bentgrass trial at NC State.

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November 1st: Sabot Front Nine Greens Renovation In conjunction with the Sabot irrigation system renovation, the front nine greens along with the putting and chipping greens will also be stripped off and sodded back with a new strand of bentgrass. With bentgrass being a cool season turf, this is a project that can be accomplished through the fall and winter.

The irrigation system project will be ongoing from November through mid-April so with the course being closed, this is a great time to upgrade to a newer bentgrass putting surface.

The Sabot greens were seeded to L93 bentgrass in late 2000. L93 was developed in the late 80’s and turned out to be a very reliable bentgrass. Plant breeding is a very involved process and breeding bentgrasses is no different. To start, two different parent plants are selected and after a few years of growth and selection, a new bentgrass variety is selected. Over time the new variety will try and revert back to the qualities of its parents. After 20 years on the Sabot, the bentgrass on the greens is quite diverse.

Initially, the greens all looked perfectly the same and then over time small patches grew to express their own genetic make-up.

Very simply, you can make a comparison to your own family. You and your siblings probably looked very similar at birth, always fielding questions about who looked more like mom or dad. After 20 years you have taken on your own look, as well as your own likings. Your sibling may like the heat and going to the beach while you like the cold and going to the mountains. The bentgrass is very similar in that each patch of turf now has its own preferences for weather as well as its own texture and density.

Bentgrass breeding has come a long way in 20-30 years. Breeders visit abandoned golf courses and select bentgrasses that have survived years without any maintenance or irrigation. The new grasses that are available now are incredible. For the Sabot greens we have selected “Pure Eclipse” bentgrass which was bred by Tee2Green out of North Carolina. Pure Eclipse has all the attributes you look for in new bentgrass. Its heat and disease tolerance are outstanding. Its ability to withstand lower mowing heights and more rolling is increased. The density is probably double that of our older L93 and the fine leaf texture is very noticeable.

Pure Eclipse is new to the market and has been tested by numerous university trials. We have looked at Pure Eclipse in person at Bayville Golf Club, Raleigh Country Club and at the NC State field trials.

This bentgrass is strikingly good. In April, Collins Wharf sod farm in Maryland seeded about 2 acres of Pure Eclipse for us. On November 1st they will start to harvest our new bentgrass and bring it to us. In preparation for the sodding, we will be doing some aggressive aeration and then removing the top ¼” of existing turf on the greens. The contours will stay the same on all the greens save for #7, where the top right of that green will be laid down a bit in order to gain more pinable area. The sodding process will be completed in about two weeks time.

This winter will be very exciting for the Sabot golf course. So long as the weather is cooperative, we will look to open the front nine, along with the putting green and chipping green in mid-late April. The back nine and of course the Manakin will be open for play all winter long. Please keep up with the Golf Course Management Blog for weekly updates!

~ Chris Harriman 23

Golf

P G A INSIDER

Dear Member, August zipped on by. The great weather and amazing condition of the golf courses produced some very successful and accomplished rounds of golf. Congratulations to Charlie Hanson, the 2021 Men’s Club Champion. Charlie was an impressive 6 under par in the two rounds of medal play on the Manakin and Sabot. In her first final Pam Luse won the 2021 Ladies Club Championship. She came back and did it again winning the 2021 Jane Mack Senior Women's Club Championship for the sweep! Grady Williams secured his position in the 2022 Men’s Club Championship by shooting a 2 over par 146 to be crowned our 2021 Junior Club Champion. A huge accomplishment to win any club championship at Hermitage Country Club, congratulations to you all.

Inviting all 9-hole ladies!! We are kicking off September with a wonderful new event from the HWGA 9 Holers “The Crown Challenge." All the “Niners” are welcome to play in this fun new tradition. There will be an Outdoor Coronation Ceremony where we will be crowning “The Queen of the Niners." We look forward to seeing you all on September 1st.

September 15th – 18th we will host the Legends Memorial Men’s Member-Member. This 7 match, 12 flight, 96 team, 192 player event is sold out again! Traditionally the most fun event of the year, we will host 27 holes Thursday, 18 holes Friday, with a party for spouses that evening, and 18 holes Saturday followed by one of the most epic shootouts in all of Richmond. All members are invited to attend the shootout and celebrate in the festivities.

We have a few course closures scheduled in September, so please plan accordingly.

• September 7th, the Tuesday after Labor Day, the courses will open at 1:00 PM like a normal Monday.

• On September 20th and 21st we will be aerating the Manakin greens, the course will be closed that Tuesday the 21st.

• September 27th we begin Sabot overseeding, this process requires us to keep the course very wet for the next several days, expect the carts to be on the path.

• The Sabot course will be closed Tuesday, September 28th.

Speaking of golf course improvements, Have you seen the new stream on #14 Manakin, it’s awesome!!

There’s nothing more serene than the sounds of a trickling brook meandering through the rocks while you swing. It’s such a great improvement, thanks Chris and Nick!! ~Craig Callens, PGA

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2021 Jane Mack Memorial Senior Club Championship August 10 - 11 Overall Gross Champion: Pam Luse - 167 Overall Net Champion: Martha Beddingfield - 149 Runner-Up Gross: Kim Harrington - 169 Flight Winners

Flight 1: Gross: Maggie Balch - 169 Net: Bonnie Shelhorse - 149 Flight 2: Gross: Kim Lawrence - 178 Net: Gail Schenck - 155 Flight 3: Gross: Helene Meyer - 184 Net: Joy Fuhr - 150

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