Happy Thanksgiving!!

Late Fall Aerification

We have just completed deep solid tining of the fairways in preparation for the upcoming gypsum application. This will mechanically loosen the soil as well as open channels for the gypsum, water, and oxygen to enter the rootzone.
Tees will be hollow cored starting this week and then heavily top-dressed to help eliminate thatch buildup. We will keep the course open and work around play. The plugs will be removed between tee rocks while we continue clean-up to reduce any disruption of golf. Once we start I will post pictures of the process and update our progress.
In early December we will spiking the greens in order for oxygen and rainfall to enter the profile. This will help to reduce standing water from freezing and causing damage to the surface of the greens. Topdressing will also be applied before winter sets in to help protect the plants and reduce thatch.

Gypsum Application

This Wednesday we will be applying gypsum to our fairways. We will be spreading 1000lbs an acre with large AG trucks which throw the product up to 60 feet. This amendment is calcium based and will help to flush the high levels of bicarbonates in our soil. When high levels of bicarbonates are introduced into the soil they tend to combine with sodium and begin to seal off the surface. During this past summer when natural rainfall was scarce, continuous irrigation began to cause a lock up of soil particles making it more and more difficult to get needed water into the rootzone. This caused many dry spots throughout the property and the more we watered the worse it became. This problem also contributed to the fairyring which were not effectively watered causing the necrotic ring spots. This application will be done each year to help "loosen" up the soil allowing water and oxygen to reach deeper into the profile.