Successful aerification

Aerification was a success. This year we tried some things a little different than what I have done in the past. First of all, we went at a much later date than I am used to. Normally I would have aerified at the end of August to the beginning of September. We wanted to stay away from some of the problems that we had last year with the weather. We are in a much better place this year.

We also used a different aerifier this year. We used a tractor mounted machine called a soil reliever. The Pro Core that we normally use is a great machine, but the soil reliever goes 5"-6" deeper. You can eventually build up a layer that our roots can't get past by going the same depth time after time. This helps us bust through the layer that has been built over the last few years. This machine also has a flicking motion that breaks up any compaction that we may have.

Here is a video of the process.

 

All greens have been topdressed and all of our fertilizer and soil amendments are going out now. With the weather that we are having, the healing proccess should be quick. Have a great week!

Renovations on 4 and 5

Number 4 is finished! McDonald and Sons made quick work of the bunker project on #4 and have moved on to #5. #5 should be complete Wednesday. Here are some before, during and after pictures of #4. Please do not play from or walk on the roped off areas!!!

 

The architect from Nicklaus Design was on site Tuesday to look at the work on #4 and #5. He also made a trip back on the new nine to double check the golf course boundaries. We are going to start hauling some soil back to the wetland crossings so we can start piping and filling those areas. We are full speed ahead now! Pictures of #5 green surround will follow soon.

Construction on #4 & #5

We are set to start construction on #4 and #5 on Monday Sept. 16. We will start with #4. This should only take 1.5 to 2 days. On #5, we have decided to not rebuild the entire green. All that we are going to do is shave the mound down just off of the left of the green. This project isn't going to take more than a week to finish. This means that next week we will not have a driving range. The current practice facility will be used as an actual hole while we have the other two holes shut down for construction.

This will be good practice for the construction of the other holes. Have a great weekend!

Busy upcoming fall

This fall is going to be very busy at Westham Golf Club. We are well into the planning phase of the construction of the other eight holes and practice facility. We are also getting ready to rebuild current #5 green and do some work on the green surround on #4. This work will start within the next two weeks.

Work will be completed on #4 first. We are going to fill in some of the left side bunker and soften the slope in between the green and bunker. This will make the green a little more receptive. #5 will be a complete rebuild of that green. The left side of the green will be lowered and the right side will be raised a little. The mound off of the left of the green will be lowered as well. Again, this will make this green a little more forgiving and your approach shots that land left of the pin won't roll off into the bailout on the right.

While all of this work is going on, we will be using new #1 as an actual hole. This means that there will be no practice facility until we open the actual driving range. We are currently looking for options for a temporary range, but as of right now we will have to make due without one. I will keep everyone informed of the progress being made on the existing nine and the future nine holes.

Rain, green speeds and the death of weeds!

We had another 8" in the month of July. That puts us to right at 40" for the year! Thankfully the temperatures haven't been too bad this summer or it may not be a pretty sight out here. Overall, we are in pretty good shape. The greens are still looking good and with the cool nights that we have had and we are forecasted to have, they should start looking even better.

Last week we put out a granular fertilizer to help the greens recover from all of the traffic. The fertilizer that we put out has really got the bentgrass growing. This, combined with moisture from the inch of rain we got last week, has really slowed them down. Monday morning we will be venting the greens to help dry them out. They should be a little quicker with the weather that we are having this week.

You may have seen some yellowing of some weeds and the bermudagrass on the course. Last week we went out with our second application of herbicide for the crabgrass that has come up in the last month or so. In the early spring we put out a herbicide to prevent weeds from coming up. Because of the wet year, we have had quite a bit of weed breakthrough. The bermudagrass will bounce back in a week or so. The crabgrass has just begun its slow death.

Fertilizer and growth regulator being sprayed on fairways this week. Trying to get rid of these seed heads. 

Seems to be a trend

This rain will not stop! We received another 2.25" last night! This puts us over 4" for the month of July and over 31" for the year. The average annual rainfall for Richmond is 43.91". I think we will get there.

All of this rain puts a huge strain on the turf and the turf care team. Not only are we unable to work when it is raining, but once we do finally dry out, our labor hours are used for cleanup or bunker work. After this round of rain comes through today and tonight, we will have had to fix wash outs in the bunkers three times since the first of the month. This equates to about 240 man hours spent on repairing bunkers. That slows down all other maintenance work that needs to be done on the course.

 All of these washouts need to be repaired by hand

 

Another thing that we had to do is vent greens twice in the last two weeks. The first time we used solid tines just to open the greens up a little. This week we pulled 1/4" cores. This process helps us dry out. It also helps get oxygen to the roots. When the greens are this wet, the roots will begin to suffocate. By opening up the surface, it helps the plants breathe again.

This is what the greens look like after venting

 

 

Have a great weekend and try to play some golf in between rain drops! It has to stop eventually, right?!