Golf Course Conditions – June 2024

Welcome June 1, 2024, and good Bermuda grass weather. Last month, we aerated greens, pulling a half-inch core and cleaning off the surface. Since then, greens have healed nicely, and we can start working on getting better ball speeds on our greens. There are a couple of practices we use to achieve better ball speed. One being Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs). PGRs restrict the growth of the leaf blade while at the same time increasing the number of leaf blades on a plant. We mix these PGRs with fertilizers to achieve and maintain better coverage and color on the greens. Another huge benefit of PGRs is the reduction in the size of the leaf blades. This allows for a tighter, closely mowed surface without having to lower the height of cut on greens too low. Another way is more frequent mowing and more rolling. All these practices help to get a more consistent, better ball speed on greens.

On the bunker project, we have wrapped things up and will start fly mowing with the hover mowers and edging out the inside of the traps for a clean look. All bunkers now have capillary concrete liners with new drain lines underneath. The sand we are using in our bunkers is called Tour Angle. This is a bright white cracked sand for better consistency and helps reduce washouts. The sand will be fluffy at first and will play slightly differently across the course depending on when they were completed. After four to six months, they should all play slightly firmer and more consistently. All in all, they turned out great, and we look forward to all the sod around them growing in and the sand settling in place.

Other areas of the course are greening up and growing in as well. For the trouble areas out on the course that are lacking good coverage of grass, we will be sodding and repairing as the summer continues. A golf course is always a work in progress, always changing with the weather or wear patterns from cart and foot traffic. We on the maintenance staff look forward to trying to give our members the best possible playing conditions available. Please continue to help us by filling all divots and repairing all ball marks on greens.