Turf News - May 2023
10 MAY 2023
The weather has finally turned around for us, the sun is shining, the air is warm, the course is starting to dry up after 40 mm of rain in one weekend and RattleSnake is rocking! It was a tough run of nasty wet weather. We were unable to cut any of our primary roughs or fairways for 8 days and this, coupled with some warm weather, has got us behind on our grass clippings and playable roughs. Just about anything that will cut grass has been out for over 8 hours per day and sometimes 10 to 12. We are getting caught up and our blowers are following to disperse any ugly clippings. We do the bulk of our grass cutting ahead of golf play and that means early mornings and heavy dews! Cutting wet grass leaves clumps and unsightly clippings. Cutting in the nice dry afternoon is not only healthy for the plant but clipping dispersal is so much nicer.
We are very busy in the Turf department. May is a big spray month, as we have begun spraying our roughs for broadleaf weeds, fairways and tees will be thrown into the mix as well. Our forsythia shrubs at the front entrance are in full bloom right now which is usually the tell sign that some of our insects that cause damage on our turf are in first generation peak adult flight, which means it is soon time to spray our greens and problem tees and fairways to protect us from the damage they cause. We have begun cycling in plant growth regulators on our greens to keep them up to speed and is a weekly application throughout the summer. Fungicide applications on greens will begin, with this warm weather our summertime diseases will start to become active.
Our bunker construction crew rolled in earlier this week and we have big goals to accomplish this season! We have heard the rumours going around and they are NOT true; we WILL be renovating Sidewinder bunkers and starting later this year. Our goal is to have Copperhead complete by end of August and get a start on Sidewinder in the Fall. The first couple of weeks the construction crew is going to focus on the following:
- Finish sodding on Hole #4 CopperHead
- Add bunker liner and sand to the bunkers on Hole #4 CopperHead
- Sod filled bunker on Hole #6 SideWinder
- Sod filled bunkers on Hole #5 and #6 Rattler
- Begin construction on Hole #10 CopperHead
Many of you ask how you should be managing your lawn at home. This is a good time for top dressing and over seeding. At the golf course we prefer to wait to Fertilize until a little later in spring after the bluegrass has finished seeding. Fertilizing too early will increase seed production rather than making your grass blades thicker and greener. And fertilize early with the larger middle number on your analysis; that Phosphorus which assists in root and lateral growth. FYI the first number is Nitrogen and the last is Potassium, NPK.
Christine Kumagai and Bill McAllister
Associate Superintendent and Superintendent