You may have already noticed that, with the exception of 10 and 9 green, the ropes protecting our newly seeded expansion have come down. The leaf blades have now established themselves, and can resist light foot traffic. And with the root structure now in place, our young plants will be more inclined to stay in place rather than being pulled root and all out of the ground as they might have been when their roots were barely half an inch in length.
Let us not mistake better for best, or harder for hardest. These plants are still far more tender than the fully established turf that makes up the rest of any given green, and as such still require your care in dealing with them. Though they may not be susceptible to any amount of traffic as they were before, but they are still sensitive enough to be damaged by a twisting foot or repeated ware. Relief should still be taken when your ball comes to rest in these areas, and when they can be avoided by foot traffic they should be.
I have removed the ropes for the aesthetic gain of having them gone, but they will be replaced without hesitation should our seeded areas come under abuse.
See you on the course!
Elliott Dowling
