As we head into the last week or so of August I felt that a course update was in order. The weather has been relatively good this season and course conditions have been great. We have been doing tree work to improve air circulation around the 10th, 12th and 15th green. We will be doing some more work soon around the gold tee on hole number 5. As mentioned before, sunlight and air flow are very important. Sometimes the benefits of this type of work aren't seen right away, but the turf grass plants get healthier and stronger with time. A good example of this is the first two greens. These greens and their surrounds used to be very problematic and would require a lot of extra care, and would play differently than some of the rest of the greens. In time, they have become as healthy as some of the others, and require no extra care because of tree removal and pruning.
How is the bentgrass promotion going?
Promoting bentgrass is a never ending practice. Some people think Annual Bluegrass or Poa annua will out compete the Creeping Bentgrass over time. You will never hear me say that! Creeping bentgrass requires different management practices than annual bluegrass. With our efforts we are seeing the Creeping bentgrass out compete the annual bluegrass. The use, and timing of growth regulators and fertility practices, are benefiting the bentgrass more so than the annual bluegrass. Below are some pictures that may help explain this.
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| The bentgrass out competing the Annual Bluegrass |
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| The greener bentgrass out competing the weaker Annual bluegrass |
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| Fairway Bentgrass creeping over weakened Annual Bluegrass |
Our male labradoodle that we got at the beginning of summer is doing very well and is anticipating the days when he can start going to work. This week he is getting his rabies vaccination and will be ready to chase geese in a couple of weeks. Below is a picture of him.
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| I'm ready for the golf course! |
