Thursday, January 12, 2012
Over the past few weeks we have had an inordinate amount of good weather/golfing days. This has been great for our staff and for the golfing membership. A few concerns have been voiced about the length of the rough and these concerns are warranted. We made the decision to stop mowing the rough in October per the normal weather conditions in Richmond, Virginia. Due to a long, warm fall season and limited cart traffic from August - October, the rough continued to grow and in turn is a little longer than desired. This leads to a condition in which an errant golf shot can be difficult to find, let alone advance. Our USGA consulting agronomist, Stan Zontek, confirmed my thoughts on mowing the dormant turf with this response; "Let it go. If the canopy is removed and it turns windy, dry and cold, you wouldn't have any insulation/canopy to break the wind and prevent desiccation. I assume that it will eventually get cold. You guys had a great fall and early winter for grass and golf!" The fairways are also a little longer than desired but once again this protects the turf from winter desiccation.
The staff has been working diligently to prepare the golf course for play, adjust bunker depths, remove trees, remove aquatic weeds, manage bird boxes, edge sprinkler heads/yardage plates, and clean up the golf course. The staff has done a great job with bunkers and is almost finished adjusting depths. The new sand will be a little soft until it compacts. This winter has been a nice change from the normal winter weather but the staff still has some inside work to accomplish such as painting hazard stakes and staining benches. We have been able to accomplish these types of projects on frosty mornings.
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| The golf ball can be hard to spot in certain parts of the rough. Adding to the problem is the fact that the dormant, khaki colored turf provides very little contrast against the white golf ball. |
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| In other parts of the rough, the ball sits up cleanly but can leave a flier lie. |
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| Bluebirds, Purple Martins, Barn Wrens, and Mallard Ducks are all encouraged on the property through the placement of species specific bird boxes. These boxes must be removed, cleaned and restored every winter. |
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| The invasive aquatic weed, pennywort, must be removed by hand before it takes over the pond. The tall broom sedge around the ponds is being encouraged to provide a natural buffer around the ponds. | |
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