At this point in time the summer has been relatively mild with exception of wet weather that seems to appear every other day. It has treated the golf course rather well and there have been minimal dry spots. As a matter of fact the hose has mostly stayed in the carts. With the wet weather it has posed a challenge on #3 and #6 greens and they have actually done well all things considered. Sure we are fighting some thin areas but a lot of that has to do with the work that was completed this winter, remember we had to re-work the drainage and install new lines. So this is why you have seen certain areas that have been top dressed. The idea is to gently level out the high and low spots and over time we will revert back to the original contours. Also our weekly program of needle tining these greens has really helped them dry out.
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| Needle Tine Process |
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| #3 Green Spot Top Dressing |
My Next topic I would like for you all to see is how the rough is mowed. This is a labor intensive process with over 80 Acres of rough to maintain. The biggest job is actually mowing the bunker faces which requires the most labor and typically is a two day process. In the photos below you can see how the process takes place.
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| This individual is tasked with edging the surrounds |
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| Then we have a push mow crew that will get most of the complex with the exception of the steep banks, our fly mowers help out with this. |
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| Another group blows out all of the grass |
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| Behind the blowers a group will tamp the edges, this would be the most valuable process, packed edges help mitigate wash outs from heavy rains. It also will limit the ball from plugging on the sides. |
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| Last but not least is the broom crew, they smooth out all of traffic that has been caused by the teams ahead. |
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| Tee complexes are mowed with large walk behind units, we do this because our other heavy mowers can really wear out the grass, especially on Tee banks. |
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| And finally for those big areas our larger units will pick up. |
