The maintenance staff has added 3 irrigation heads to the driving range which will cover the tee expansion and the sloped grass area around the driving range tee. We have removed the cart path and the tee expansion will provide over 4,500 square feet of teeing space. We have also decided to hydro-seed the slope that surrounds the tee expansion. Hydro-seeding is done with a machine that spreads seed, fertilizer and mulch to the selected area. The soil along the slope is loose in the top inch or so (sandy) and hydro-seeding is the most effective way to successfully plant grass seed in this type of soil. The mulch that goes in the hydro seeding mix retains moisture (during and after the germination of the seed). We have also, in keeping with current conservation practices, stockpiled aeration plugs that have been decomposing for a couple of seasons; these will provide the base for the teeing surface itself. We will be seeding the teeing surface with creeping Bentgrass. We hope to have the expansion done by the end of next week. It will take several weeks to have this area open, but it will be a great addition to the existing range tee.
If you have played golf in the past two weeks, then you may have noticed the tiny holes in the greens. These holes are caused by small tines on our aerator (referred to as needle tines or venting tines). This type of aeration provides oxygen and nutrients to the root zone during the season with minimal disruption. This process also allows for some compaction relief and helps the breakdown of unwanted organic matter. In conjunction with our topdressing program, I would like to perform this activity every month; rest assured: it does not disrupt play in anyway, and, once the green is mowed or rolled, you can't even tell we did anything.
Below are some pictures to help explain what we are doing.
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| Adding irrigation lines |
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| Head and swing joint attached to pipe |
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| Teeing surface being leveled |
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| The size of Creeping bentgrass seed |
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| Needle tines on greens |
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| Putting surface after we roll |
