Pretty Routine...

Routine is how I would describe the last two weeks.  We are spot aerating and overseeding select fairway as foretold and, unfortunately, we haven't been able to get to the collars but we will.  If you go back and look at posts I wrote in the month of June in years gone by you will see that most every June we were aerating, fertilizing, and fighting disease.  It sort of makes me see how common place events and situations really are when it comes to maintenance in June. 

I am now sure that I am running too small of staff since sh*t isn't getting done and if something is completed it is not in a very timely fashion.  One project dragging on is the not-so-quick and dirty re-do of the flower bed on #4 tee.

Adding Fresh Root Zone for Flower Bed on 4T

We dug out the old railway ties and replaced them with the blocks from the old wall that use to be near #8 green.  Those blocks have been in our dump for ages and I decided to make use of them.  Ultimately, I see replacing the homemade rock walls all around the course with this style of block.  I know landscaping with this style of landscape block is definitely pedestrian (and somewhat expensive) but since the homemade walls fall down or bulge out and need repairing every year and we just aren't getting to them I feel forced into choosing a lower maintenance alternative.  Perhaps the "crowd funding" idea that seems to be taking on some steam could help in the replacement of the rock walls with landscape block.  What do you think?

As I get older I begin to really to appreciate those things that save my back and my knees.  I think I've made mention of my experience with high rise toilets and how fantastic they are so from now on when we replace a potty it is with a high rise.  Keeping with that theme I bought some rake handles this spring with the hope of catering to crotchety backs.  Instead of 54" handles I bought 72" handles and put them out on those holes with really steep bunker faces. 

A 18 Inches Difference May Not Look Big but Every Little Bit Helps

In a perfect world players would always exit a bunker on the shallow side but a fair number don't even take the time to smooth their regular tracks.  People tend to take the most direct route out so I thought I would provide longer rake handles to reach down the steep face and players could smooth their foot prints if they chose to go that way.  Also, maybe, with any luck, longer rake handles may make raking bunkers easier and perhaps more people will do it.  Uh huh.......

No Excuses Other Than There is Only 24 Hours in a Day

Yeah, yeah, I know I'm horrible but I am not finding the time to post.  I'm thinking I've made a mistake by staffing the way I have but we've really only been in fully open mode for a month so maybe I am just panicking.  Good news is we aren't trying to grow out any damage other those areas I didn't spray on the fairways.  Temperatures have been pretty good for cool season turf.  My bench mark for how good a growing season we are having is by looking in the 1-2-3 triangle.  This area has no irrigation and never receives fertilizer and this spring it's thick with dandelions and the grass is past my ankles.

For the next month we will be trying to help those fairway and rough areas prone to drought stress by performing an aerating/top dressing /over-seeding regime that has yielded positive results for us over the past 10 years.  We will try to aerate tees and aprons as well before July.  The next greens aeration is scheduled for July 6th week; a traditionally slow week thanks to Stampede.

Right now we are dealing with a huge flush of seed head on fairways and greens.  This is usually the time when certain diseases rear their ugly head.  All spring we've seen a small flare ups of anthracnose and fusarium.

The other thing to be aware of  is the pollen.  Last year, at this time,  a golfer went to the local clinic complaining of shortness of breath, congestion, and head aches.  The on-call doc suggested it was all the pesticides the individual was exposed to on the golf course.  WTF?  I guess allergies was to boring to suggest.  Anyways, the air is so thick with pine pollen is actually obscures the trees if you look over a distance.

Next time out I'll try to cover some of new and different things.