The sod on #6 has started to put down roots and is taking well. We will evaluate it early next week and decide if we will open it on May 1st or delay the opening of that green. Our hopes were that it would be ready sooner but with average temperatures still in the 130's we are still not at optimal growing weather for bermuda grass greens.
* Cowan Greens
With warmer temperatures in the forecast things at Cowan in regards to the greens should start to improve. The most recent problem we have experienced with the Cowan greens has been the surfacing of another under lying problem. The greens on the areas where they are not draining well have became Anaerobic, which means they are sealed off and have no oxygen to the plant or it's roots. We have started aerifying these areas so that we can provide air and oxygen to those areas.
* USGA
On Thursday April 26th we will have the Southern USGA rep at Cowan to do a Turf Analysis report of Cowan's greens and course conditions. We look forward to this outside source to give us insight and recommendations on our current practices at Cowan.
* White Wing Aerification
Monday we aerified the greens at White Wing and everything went well. With us only pulling a 3/8" core they should be fully healed in two weeks.
* Legacy Hills
We will be performing the same aerification as White Wing at Legacy Hills on Monday April 30th. Recently we have noticed areas on the Legacy greens that have been off color, we sent in soil samples and it showed a severity of 3 out of 5 for Bermuda Grass Decline. We have treated for it and have seen a positive response and green up of the turf.
*Attached Picture
The picture below shows a plug from an Anaerobic area of #9 green at Cowan Creek. If you notice the top three inches is dark black were it is "sealed" off. The entire profile should look like the bottom half of this soil profile. With aerification and water management we will be able to remedy this problem.
