We are finally rid of February, and March has arrived like a lamb with the first days being above normal. Does this mean that it will end like a lion? Who knows? The abundant moisture last month has left the course wet in the drainage ways and is keeping (along with the wind) staff from spraying the poa in the warm season turf with Roundup. With the bermuda starting to send up new shoots even though they are still covered with the dormant fluff, the window of opportunity has probably passed. Especially since the forecast tonight is for 1-3 inches of more rainfall. Plans are in the works to spot spray some of these areas with a selective herbicide to kill the poa. The chemical will be more expensive than Roundup but by targeting the worst areas the cost will stay under control.
The greens are leaving dormancy and it is amazing to notice the differences in the varieties. Some are bright green while the worst are still purple from the cold. None are growing much yet (two frosts this week probably did not help) but our once a week mowing has smoothed them. They are still a little bumpy but that will go away with topdressing and rolling. The first of the seasonal staff will return next week and activity will pick up on the course. A load of bunker sand is on the way and will be used to get them back in playable condition (assuming it does not rain every other day). There are many limbs to collect and some trees to trim and we hope to finish measuring the greens next week.
My plans are to post to this blog weekly and now I have set up a Twitter account to post small snippets of information on course conditions. Whether it will be daily remains to be seen. You can follow me on Twitter at lhantlecgcs. I will also post these blogs on Twitter (that is supposed to make it easier for you). I am still learning the technology but this hopefully this will be informational for the membership and fun for me.
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