Grounds

GROUNDS GREENKEEPER'S UPDATE

Hurricanes Henri and Ida were not what our courses needed in late August and early September. Through mid-September, over eight inches of rain saturated the property. Thankfully we only had minor damage from wind and severe thunderstorms, unlike other parts of the State. Unfortunately, the combination of heavy rain and high temperatures caused a great deal of stress to the playing areas. Under those weather conditions, there is little to no rooting structure. Under bright sunny days, the plant goes under moisture stress and begins to wilt or turn blue or yellow. The only way to keep the plant from dying is to apply light amounts of water multiple times a day. It’s very discouraging to apply water to an already saturated and wet soil, regardless of how light, but it’s necessary for the grass to survive.

Unfortunately, the playing surfaces are at their absolute weakest point when activity at the Club remains exceptionally high. The 007 bentgrass will regenerate new roots with favorable weather, but as you can see by the photo, they are currently relatively shallow 1/8 to 1/4 inch. With days getting shorter, the cooler nights and warm days will hasten recovery to allow the rooting structure to recover. Spots in certain fairways will be reseeded or sodded, and where necessary, carts have been restricted from the fairways to enable the seed to germinate and establish. With little to no rooting structure, we need your help. When operating a golf cart, please use caution applying brakes and making sharp turns on the fairways to reduce damage. We appreciate your patience following the work that was completed on the Driving Range tees and fairway. We are pleased with the performance of the IronCutter bermudagrass to date and the contrast between the bermudagrass in the field and the Innovation zoysiagrass target greens at the back of the range. As cold weather arrives, we will be overseeding perennial ryegrass on the range tees for improved playability. However, once the grass stops growing and recovery from divots becomes non-existent, all play will be from the all-weather mats on both ends of the range. The range field will become dormant or brown, and the zoysia targets will be painted green with a green pigment that is safe on the grass and provide excellent definition throughout the winter months. We will be installing trees and landscaping on the left of the range tee near the Golf House to provide separation between the range and first tee on the West. Director of Horticulture Cathy Wagner and her team will also be installing additional landscaping in the corner as you leave the cart staging area and head to the first tee. These plantings were based on the recommendation of Golf Architect Keith Foster. We also appreciate your patience as we regrassed a number of tees on the West Course to bermudagrass. These include: #1 blue/white, #2 blue, #8 blue, #9 white, red/gold green, #10 green, #11 blue, green, #13 blue, white, red/gold, #14 green, #15 blue, white, green, #16, #17 red/gold, green, #18 gold. These tees were overseeded with perennial ryegrass. We look forward to utilizing a two grass system on these and the other tees converted to bermudagrass in the past. Finally, it’s no secret that our industry has been subject to challenges finding and retaining staff to maintain the type of conditions you have come to expect on the courses and grounds. Staffing challenges have forced us to reduce the level of maintenance on tasks which include, but are not limited to, the following: • Fairway dew dragging • Bunker raking and maintenance • Mowing frequency, course grooming (trimming grass around trees, trimming grass around sprinkler heads, mowing and maintenance of tall grass/native areas), and maintenance of mulch, pine straw, and beds on both courses and grounds • The mowing of East Course walk paths is being eliminated for the remainder of the season • Fairway divot filling will be limited along with maintenance of the Driving Range We look forward to having great weather this fall and seeing you at the Club. ◆

Tim Kennelly, CGCS Head Greenkeeper