Fall Work

Although the temperatures have been unseasonably warm recently, fall is in full effect on the course.  Maybe it's just me, but the leaves seem to be falling earlier and much more heavily than normal.  Much of our efforts over the past two weeks have been focused on leaf management.  We spend a significant amount of time blowing and chopping the leaves to keep the course as playable as it can possibly be.  Often times, despite our best efforts, the leaves still win on windy days.  Golf ball retailers are almost certainly big proponents of deciduous trees, but at least someone's happy about the situation.

The oak trees that line 14 and 15 are some of the messiest culprits on the course, but they do look pretty nice.

At this time of the year, the turf plants have already shifted their focus from producing above-ground growth to reforming their root systems that were lost in the summer heat.  Accordingly, the daily mowing requirements have decreased substantially, and when you consider all of the leaves that we have to deal with, that's certainly a good thing.

This is also the time of the year when we're able to have adequately fast greens without even trying.  Until top growth ceases later in fall, we'll alternate mowing and rolling on a daily basis.  We've also bumped up the height of the greens to allow them to get as healthy as possible before winter arrives.  Of course, this is a relative term as the greens are being mown at 0.156".

We certainly hope that you've enjoyed the recent stretch of warm weather by playing a few rounds.  If the long-term forecast holds up, it appears as if fall might be back.