Twenty mile per hour winds? Nothing we can't handle. Even with the weather not quite cooperating we managed to get quite a bit done on the course this past Tuesday, though we may have lost a few hats in the process.
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| After verticutting, before mowing. |
One project that we have been looking forward to finally getting into is the verticutting of the fairways. This requires a special kind of reel (called a "verticutter"), meant to thin out over grown canopies as well as remove surplus thatch. Mowing the fairways generally takes two mowers carrying five reels each four or five hours to complete; for this project we must use one mower that carriers only three of these specialized reels. As if that didn't make this process long enough, once they've been verticut the fairways must be mowed again with our standard mowers so as to remove any leaf blades left "standing" by the verticutters. And as a final measure the fairways are blown to remove any debris. Suffice to say this will be an ongoing project, spread across the next few Monday's available to us. In the mean time we ask that you pardon any temporary disruptions in the appearance of the fairways.
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| Verticutting Reel |
The greens received a bit of extra attention as well in the form of an aerification using the smallest tines we have in house and a very gentle topdressing, with only a light dusting of sand being applied. Where as topdressings are usual followed swiftly by brushes, brooms, and/or blowers, the aim of this light topdressing was to apply a minute amount of sand that could be worked into the soil profile using irrigation alone. The over all goal was to limit disruption as much as possible and keep the process barely noticeable to players. The greens were also sprayed.
Continuing our past few weeks of sod installment, the fairway expansions that have languished since their installation have been sodded into rough. This has meant a slight re-contouring of the fairways in question but an overall improvement to playability and ease of maintenance. Until these areas have had a chance to root they will remain roped and closed to all play and traffic.
With another full day planned for tomorrow, I wanted to make sure I kept all of you up to date on what we do when you're not around.
See you on the course!
Elliott Dowling
Continuing our past few weeks of sod installment, the fairway expansions that have languished since their installation have been sodded into rough. This has meant a slight re-contouring of the fairways in question but an overall improvement to playability and ease of maintenance. Until these areas have had a chance to root they will remain roped and closed to all play and traffic.