Cowan Creek continues to do well and the recent
aerifications have been very beneficial in helping us relieve compaction and
assist with flushing. The fairways are still compacted in areas and we will
continue to aerify them through the growing season. We will aerify the fairways
with the solid tine aerway which slices to a depth of 7” and is roughly one
inch in width. This will take place before 8/18/14. Greens aerification is
scheduled for 8/18/14 and we will use a 5/8” tine and pull cores at a depth of
4”. In conjunction with this we will
also be deep tining the greens at a depth of 7” with a half inch diameter solid
tine. We continue to fertilize greens at Cowan with liquid fertilizers on a
weekly basis and flush them with granular gypsum once a month.
White Wing
The White Wing’s greens have come back in nicely and are
doing very well right now. We continue to plug any of the small blemishes
around the edges so that we can be back to 100% turf coverage. The green speed
has been a little slower, averaging a 9 on the stemp meter but this will pick
up as the greens become tighter with cultural practices. The fairways and
roughs are doing great right now and the timely rains have really helped out. Greens
aerification is scheduled for 8/11/14 and we will use a 5/8” tine and pull
cores at a depth of 4”. In conjunction
with this we will also be deep tining the greens at a depth of 7” with a half
inch diameter solid tine. We continue to fertilize greens at White Wing with
liquid fertilizers on a weekly basis. This year we have started to flush them
with granular gypsum once a month just as we do Cowan Creek. Fairway
aerification will be done in August using the same machine and settings that
Cowan Creek uses.
The short game greens are now back to chipping and bunker
practice only and we have reopened the large putting green as of 7/28/14.
Legacy Hills
The greens at Legacy Hills have been doing much better and
we continue to plug any weak areas on them daily. The main ones being #1, 3, 5
and 13. Once those four greens are back to 100% coverage we will be in great
shape there. Greens aerification is scheduled for 7/28/14 and we will use a
5/8” tine and pull cores at a depth of 4”.
In conjunction with this we will also be deep tining the greens at a
depth of 7” with a half inch diameter solid tine. We continue to fertilize
greens at Legacy Hills with liquid fertilizers on a weekly basis. Once a month
we flush the greens with gypsum. Fairway aerification will be done in August
using the same machine and settings that Cowan Creek and White Wing will use.
Combined Course
Information
We have all three courses using liquid fertigation for the
fairways, roughs and tees at this time, this allows us to fertilize as we
irrigate the golf courses. The current product that we are using is a slow
release nitrogen source that also contains an acid product which helps us fight
the salt levels in our water and soils.
Collar Aerification
for “Sand Dams”
During our visit from the USGA in May we discussed the
detrimental effects of “sand dams” around the greens. These damns are caused by
years of topdressing which eventually build up at the transition between green
surface and collars. The result is a raised area surrounding the green which
prevents any surface drainage from getting off of the green. That can cause
anaerobic conditions which result in weak turf and eventually turf loss. To
remedy this we are aerifying the collars, watering them with a hose and then
flattening them out with a heavy roller. This process will have to be done
multiple times to physically alter the collar. We will be doing this during the
growing season and it has little impact on interfering with play. The end
result will be better surface drainage off of the greens and overall a better
transition from collar to green.
Audubon Certification
Fertilizer usage forms are 90% complete and we have started
working on our site maps for the courses. We will more than likely reach out to
the Wildlife Committee and various clubs to help us document the wildlife that
we have on our courses.
GCSAA Certification
Jonathan and I are currently working on case studies, these
studies include work place scenarios and require us to draw up Action Plans and
Justifications for each. This along with the Skill Statement and Work Sample
portion of our portfolio takes six months to a year to complete.
