A New Approach

The recent warm, dry weather has allowed us to get a great head start on preparing the golf course for the spring.  The greens are open and appear to have come through the “winter” with flying colors.  We have groomed and mowed the putting surfaces, fairways and tees, and the bunkers have been raked, weeks ahead of schedule.  We will continue these efforts as needed in the coming weeks.  The turf throughout the course is starting to break dormancy, and conditions will continue to improve as long as this weather pattern holds up.

The recovery of the 1^st and 18^th fairways is well under way.  Last fall we focused our attention on installing drains and improving surface drainage.  We fertilized, seeded, and covered large areas in hopes that we could get enough recovery to avoid purchasing large quantities of sod.  The mild winter and warm temperatures helped the grass that germinated in October, but the early spring came a month too late for the dormant seed to establish in time for the golf season.  We have been working this week to strip the weakest areas prepare them for sod.  I have been in regular contact with sod farms and will take delivery of fairway turf as soon as it can be harvested.  We should have the majority of the areas ready in the next few days, and I hope to install the first shipment by the middle of next week. 

The sod brokers with whom I have been in contact all have the same message.  They can get turf, but it is not very mature and it is extremely delicate.  This might be acceptable for use on small areas such as tees, or areas that will not be used until late spring, but large areas that must be playable as soon as possible require thicker rolls of mature sod that will establish more readily.  I will continue to monitor the progress of the turf, and may even travel to Rhode Island to walk one of the farms later this week.  If I am not confident that the sod will be ready by the end of the month, I may have to look as far away as Buffalo for more mature, resilient rolls of sod.  We are working very hard to make sure that we choose the option that will have the areas open for play as soon as possible, give us the best chance for long term success, and allows us to work within our budget.

I am borrowing a machine to help us reseed weak areas throughout the property next week.  This will include the bottom of the 5^th and 9^th fairways and rough areas on 1, 2, 3 and 5.  These areas will be fertilized to promote growth, and we may even use covers to speed up the process if temperatures return to normal in April.

This has been an extremely challenging spring, and I am looking forward to a time when we can shift our focus away from the recovery and concentrate on improving playing conditions throughout the rest of the golf course.  I will do my best to take a few minutes each week to update you on the recovery and course conditions.  I will include updates in the newsletter and emails from the golf shop, but the best source of information will be found on the blog.  Thanks for checking in, and we look forward to seeing you on the golf course soon.