Many thanks to the members that came out and filled divots on the golf course last night. Our group was able to fill all of the fairway divots on the top 9 golf holes. I would like to recognize the members who came out last night because I failed to take a picture. Thank you Chuck Ditsler, Joe O'Hare, Lee Parker, Mike Mikeska, and Tom Cavanaugh for coming out and helping make the golf course better. Many thanks as well to Richard and Tammy White for their hard work filling divots. Overall, we are seeing more filled divots and many more repaired ball marks on the course. Our golf maintenance team will finish up the bottom 9 divots this week.
We have a lot of great events and weather to look forward to and greens are recovering from aeration and drill and fill. We fertilized greens again this morning to help speed recovery. The rain that we are currently getting should help as well. While the drill and fill holes are still visible; ball roll, surface smoothness, and green speed are all in good shape. This will still improve once the holes fill all the way over and we can more aggressively groom the greens.
The weather has really changed and with colder temperatures looming , we are beginning to groom the TifSport and T-10 bermudagrass for winter dormancy. The height of cut has been raised on all tees, collars, fairways, and approaches. We will be switching over to ride-mowing greens to take wear and tear off of the collars starting in November. The collars have been historically weak in the early spring and we have made an aggressive effort to strengthen these areas all summer long. The collars of TifSport directly around the greens have been core aerated 4 times this year and topdressed in an effort to improve the soils and relieve compaction. They have also been fertilized with 5 different applications of organic fertilizer to encourage growth and promote stronger soils. These efforts, along with ride mowing greens will improve these areas.
Finally, I would like to recognize our staff for all of their hard work this season. We still have a long way to go and a lot of great tournaments but we have started shrinking our staff size. We have retained a great group of team members to help finish the season. Our Lead Assistant Superintendent, Kevin Mark, and our two Assistants-in Training, Ryan Johnson and Dan Smith put in long, hard hours this year to help us provide a great golf experience. Thank you to our entire team for all of your hard work and dedication.
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| Ryan Johnson (left) and Dan Smith have proven themselves this summer through hard work and dedication. |
