Spring began last Sunday amidst a beautiful weekend that carried over into outrageously hot days on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday was the swing day that had everything including hail and led into a return to below normal to normal weather for the rest of the month. Despite the wild swing in the weather and the fact that at least half of last year's seasonal staff has decided not to return, it was a productive week.
All fairways and collars have been cut short which will encourage green up that will in turn lead to allowing golf car traffic sooner. The cold night time temperatures will slow this progress but with the winter fluff gone the sun will warm the soil quicker. The majority of the rough was cut for the first time, the rain on Friday was just enough to prevent us from finishing. The bunkers on the front nine with the exception of fairway ones on 8 and 9 were fixed and raked. (This is where we missed those non-returning workers.) The irrigation system is now fully operational after our attempts of bringing it on line last week met with a disasterous leak on #14 where a tree root had grown completely around the pipe and caused it to pull apart.
In a trial run at greens aeration scheduled for next Monday and Tuesday, the practice green was aerated on Monday. The aerator did a credible job but the big news was the demonstration of a new piece of equipment called Sweep N Fill. It was used to brush the sand topdressing back into the aeration holes and did a wonderful job. The company then showed us other uses to fortify the need for its purchase. It was used on a regular green after mowing and it stood the existing turf up so much that we mowed the green a second time and collected almost as many clippings as the first mowing. Additionally, it was used to brush a swath on two fairways to show how it could control the bermuda from thatching up and laying over. It is an impressive piece and could help streamline the aeration process, groom the greens, and possible even the fairways (if labor could be allocated for that time consuming job). I recommended that it go to the top of the list of purchases.
On Monday a contractor will be here to deep tine the greens first with 1/2 inch solid tines on 4 inch centers. This will poke a hole without removing a core. Depth will be 8 to 10 inches that will make channels for water and roots to move through. As soon as he is finished on the first green, our aerator will begin making 1/2 holes 2.5 inches deep on a spacing of 1.4 x 2 inches. It will remove cores from the green that will be cleaned off. Sand will be applied to fill the holes. The Sweep N Fill machine would be utilized (if we had one) to clean after the cores are removed opening the holes for the sand to enter and then after the sand is applied it can move the sand into the holes and remove any excess. We will try to accomplish those tasks with brushes mounted on walking greensmowers, the roller, and a drag mat. After all the greens are finished (two days if weather cooperates and everything goes just right), fertilizer will be applied and then it can rain for a couple of days nice and easy. On Friday the greens may be mowed with old mowers to pick up any trash left on the surface and the first mowing with good mowers usually occurs on the following Monday.
This process worked reasonably well last year and there is no reason to expect otherwise except for Murphy's Law which golf course personnel are always leary of. With luck the greens will return to normal for the Master's weekend. I think most people are ready for warm temperatures. For me a nice slow but steady run up to summer would be just what the doctor ordered.
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