Fall Conditions

Heading into the month of October, we are wrapping up a busy month of prepping the course for winter, as well as conditions for the 2013 golf season.    Although it's still six months away, the priorities we focus on today will pay dividends for the upcoming season.

Even with such a dry year, the rough is really bouncing back in strong form.  Add in our fall seeding along with timely fertilizer applications and the rough should be in great condition in the days ahead.

As usual for the fall, the greens are almost perfect.  Although the fall aerification took longer to heal than we had anticipated, the aggressive nature of this practice was just what they needed coming out of another tough summer.  Compliments to our staff for a great year on greens.  Dragging hoses everyday from June to early September can wear down anyone.  The crew maintained a great attitude and were committed to the plans we have in place to ensure the health of the greens.

One benefit of the hot dry weather has been with the condition of the fairways.  The Zoysia has thrived the last couple of years with the mild winters and hot summers.  This is clearly the best turf for our fairways, given our heavy clay soils and extreme weather conditions.  As the Zoysia goes dormant, we ask that you limit cart traffic on the fairways when possible.

Over the last few days, we have started working on the more troublesome bunkers, specifically around greens.  Hopefully, you will see more consistency in the bunkers that had a tendency to get too hard in the bottoms.

Looking ahead, as usual, tree work will move to the top of our priority list.  Raising and thinning canopies, along with select removals, are all geared toward better turf conditions for the upcoming season.

Until then, we hope to see you this fall on the course.