What a Spring!

Spring has ramped up, but our staff is still in transition.  We will be fully staffed by May 7th, so I appreciate everyone's patience in getting the course up to par.


Plugs are still a big priority on the greens and this can be an
extremely long task.  This is Dave Burns plugging #16 green.

 


We have applied 25 tons of sand to the bunkers over the last
two weeks.  We received another shipment yesterday and will
continue to add next week.

 



I just couldn't resist adding this one.





With a warm and fast spring, comes weeds in large numbers.  We have treated the
broadleaved weeds, so now we will see wilting and death.  That is good in my eyes!





Though the range tee looks to be coming in great, we must keep in mind that it is only
March.  I am sure the warm season Bermuda will get hit back some by the
cooler temperatures coming next week.  I will keep you posted on its condition.





Poa seed heads have arrived strong this year.  This season is probably the worst I have
seen in the Louisville area.  PGR's have been applied to reduce their growth and
and to aid in suppressing the seeds.



Course Update

We have completed the sodding work at #12 men's tee.  Trees around the tee have been removed and limbed up to improve airflow.  I expect this tee to open in the fall.

Removing Pine Trees

We removed two pine trees from the back left of #5 green to allow more airflow,

improve traffic wear and allow more sunlight to help improve the quality of

the green.  The pines were removed, stumpgrinded and sodded in two

days.  We also removed a pine from the right side of #1 green, pictured

below.

February?????

We have begun plugging some of the bare areas on the greens where seed did not take last fall.  Majority of these areas were taken over by the poa through the winter.  All the plugs came from the nursery at the maintenance facility.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

We also begun sodding some areas in the fairways from the nursery. 
The picture below is #2 fairway before the green on the left.

The New Year

Well 2012 is now here and I hope all had a safe and happy holiday season.  It has been a while since I have updated the blog, so I thought I would let everyone know what we have been doing this winter.  We used a couple of weeks to trim trees and even removed some dangerous ones throughout the course.  We still have some touch-ups to finish prior to spring.

The tallgrass has been cut down.  The grass has been so dry it even caught on fire
from the mower. 

This is the tallgrass between 15 and 17.  Funny, cause I told the fire chief I had put in
a request for a burn permit several years ago and they would not respond.    He told me to
contact him next year and they will help me with the prescribed burn.

We have begun work on the new #12 tee box.  I foresee this opening in the fall
of 2012.

Besides some seeding, fertilizations and other course duties, work is performed on
all equipment during the winter months.  This is the time of year when
all cutting units get broke down, rebuilt and grinded for a successful golf season.
This winter we also painted, added new cabinets and improved the interior
of the maintenance facility.

Seeding Update

I am pleased to announce there is a great stand of turf now for the 2012 season.  Hopefully Mother Nature will be more knid to us next year than the previous two years. 


The next two pictures are of #13 green seedlings coming up.  We will continue to seed, topdress, mow and spray throughout the winter.



The nurseries at the maintenance facility are also coming in nicely.  The main nursery
is for greens and tees repairs.  We also have fairway bentgrass and fescue growing for
needed repairs in 2012.



Course Update

We trenched the back half of #13 green for the root barrier.

Each black dot contains a chemical that emits when contacted by the
roots.  The chemical prevents the root from growing beyond the
barrier.

This is the amount of roots present within the green surround.  Trees
and turf do not go well together!

The finished area prior to seeding...and Gilbert acting like he helped.

 While we had a trencher in house we installed some drainage.  The

picture directly above is at #2 tee boxes where water seemed to always

stand after a large rainfall.  Picture above that is at the miantenance

facility.

We also aerified tees 1, 2, 3 and 7 and will finish the remainder

tomorrow (Thursday). 

We also spiked and seeded greens 1, 2, 5 and 6.  We will finish

the frontside greens tomorrow (Thursday).

BE AWARE:  IRRIGATION ON GREENS WILL BE ON WITHIN THE HOURS

OF 7:00 AM, 10:00 AM, 2:00 PM AND 5:00 PM.

During the seeding process we cannot allow the seed to dry out or it will die.

I apologize for any inconvenience.