June Gloom

June gloom is in full effect. The low clouds and fog have really helped us conserve water this year. To date, our water use has been reduced by over 9 million gallons compared to last year. While this weather pattern is really beneficial to saving water, it does create a headache when it comes to disease pressure. Long periods of moisture make for the perfect breeding ground for disease. We are currently seeing disease on many of our tees and greens. Curative fungicide applications have been made this week and it appears that we have the pathogen in check.

Greens Update

The greens have rebounded fairly well from the recent aerification. Considering the size of the tines and the amount of sand we put down, I am pleased with where we stand at this point in time. With an aggressive spring aerification I think we should be able to ease off a bit when aerifying this fall. Unfortunately, as the greens began to heal, we started to notice disease (Rapid Blight) on many of the perimeters. Saticoy has long battled Rapid Blight, as it is often initiated when soil salts are high; something we fight throughout the year. Just this week a new fungicide has been registered in California which finally gives us an effective tool to control this disease. The product is on order and will go down as soon as we get it.