A good soaking!

The first of several storms delivered 1.8 inches of rain last night, with more coming soon. Not only does rain help us in the form of free irrigation, it is also very beneficial in that it is a clean source of water. This good soaking has finally pushed the salts below the rootzone making for ideal growing conditions. Unfortunately, the course is extremely wet and I can assure you that carts will be restricted to paths through the weekend and most likely into early next week to avoid any damage and compaction.

Green spots!

You may have noticed small green spots on several of the greens. The spots are from a misapplication of rough fertilizer that got onto the putting surface. The darker green color is due to higher rates of nitrogen in that area. Fortunately, the damage is nothing more than aesthetic and should go away in a few weeks. I always view mistakes as an opportunity to learn and have used this instance as a teaching point for future fertilizer applications.

Stone Pine #16

Last week, we were very unfortunate to lose this large Stone Pine behind the 16th green. I really liked the backdrop it provided as you viewed the green from the fairway. Make no mistake it did cause some headaches, as it shaded much of the back half of the green and its roots needed routine pruning to keep them away from the putting surface. As the pictures show, several arms of the tree had been weakened from root rot, leaving only one member hanging over the back of the green. We felt this imbalance made the tree very unsafe and therefore had it removed. In time, we hope the remaining Stone Pine on the slope will provide the same beautiful backdrop that this one did.



As we are finally seeing temperatures to support some turf growth, we thought the time was right to reseed some of the areas where we didn't have much germination. To ensure better seed to soil contact, we verticut the area in question, followed by seed and aerification. This process gets the seed growing in the soil, as opposed to just growing in the thatch of the existing grass.

Busy Monday

Monday's are usually pretty busy on the golf course and this Monday was no exception. Aside from our routine maintenance practices, I typically have several to-do projects that we tackle. This Monday (2/10) we were able to fertilize all the tee and rough areas; spot aerify, verticut and reseed several unsightly areas around the driving range and #1 tee complex; and lightly verticut and topdress the greens. I am a big believer in light, frequent topdressing and usually combine the practice with a light verticut to help work the sand into the canopy of the greens. I plan on about 10 "dusting" applications per year on top of 2 to three heavier applications during aerification.

Rain!

Thursday afternoon we saw the first real rain of 2014. Although we only received 1/3 of an inch it has made the course pretty wet. We will restrict carts to paths on Friday to reduce any chance of damage. All too often, golfers think that if their cart is not leaving tire ruts, then no harm is occurring. Untrue, as compaction is possibly more problematic, as it is harder to correct.

Tree 254

Today I decided to pull the trigger on a removal I have been contemplating for quite some time. Tree 254 was a Carob tree in the left rough near the approach of the 6th green. Although the tree had been previously designated for removal, I really thought it held some strategic benefit. However, after considering its poor growth habit, poor health, and its effect on routing cart traffic from the hole the answer was clear.