Productive Week

If it were possible, we would have bottled this week's weather and replayed it throughout the summer.  With minimal wind and temperatures in the 70s, it was a very productive week.  After being here for a few weeks, our seasonal employees are settling in nicely and that has certainly helped us to take on duties besides mowing.  Approaches and tees were fertilized with Milorganite, and the tees especially will appreciate this slow-release fertilizer.  All of the fairways were also fertilized with a granular product.  Typically, we fertilize the fairways with a granular product once per year and rely on smaller, more frequent doses of liquid fertilizer throughout the remainder of the year.

Also this week, traditionally dry spots on greens, tees, and fairways were treated with wetting agents.  Soils in a golf course setting (especially those with a high percentage of sand) often become hydrophobic when water-repelling organic compounds coat the soil particles.  Wetting agents act as a bridge between the soils and water and allow for more even moisture retention and penetration.

And, finally, much of the course was spot-sprayed for broadleaf weeds this week.  Our primary weed targets at this time of the year were prostrate knotweed and white clover.  Over the past few years, we've been aggressively trying to reduce the knotweed population in many rough areas.  This particular weed does well in compacted soils, and with very few cart paths, the majority of the course's rough area are quite compacted.  Earlier this spring, we also aerified and fertilized the worst of the areas to give the grass a fighting chance and to alleviate some compaction.

A few weeks ago, you probably noticed that two trees between 6 forward tee and the driving range were removed.  Although one of the trees (a honey locust) was in poor health, they were targeted for removal because they impacted play from the left side of the practice tee, and the before and after pictures below illustrate just that:

Speaking of tree removal, a medium-sized linden tree that was located to the front left of 3 back tee was cut down.  This tree made the back left of the tee unusable, and its elimination creates a very interesting angle for tee shots.  Again, the before and after pictures are below.

Similarly, a linden tree that is to the front left of 15 tee was trimmed, and this will also allow for use of the back left portion of the tee.

We hope that you enjoyed the nice, cool week as much as we did and have an enjoyable, hot weekend.