Unloading

I thought the rains would never arrive. And then they did and boy Cindy was angry. We received 2.4" of rain in about three hours. We got the pond filler we were looking for but timing could have been a bit better. It was drizzling at 4:30am and with the crew ready to roll out at 5 we got about 15 minutes of prep completed before all hell broke loose. After popping drain caps all around the course and surveying the damage we set out. 90% of the bunkers were washed out and at 7:00 many of the greens still had puddles.
Luckily the greens drain very well so it wasn't long before they were playable. I couldn't mow the greens this morning without risking damage from digging and scalping so we'll double cut and roll tomorrow to catch up.

Topped off 10" in one short storm. 

Water Hazards galore!

We hurried around the course and quickly shoveled and raked the worst washouts to make the bunkers playable but will do a full bunker rake in the am.

Tining

Ask and you shall receive. Well, sometimes. I prayed a bunch last summer but was never answered.
We've received close to 2" of rain in the last week re-wetting the turf but unfortunately softening everything up. This coming Monday has very cool temps expected, especially at night so we will take advantage of this and needle tine greens. With all the wetness opening channels will allow the noxious gases that accumulate rapidly during wet and warm periods to escape. The slits will also allow vital O2 to penetrate deeply into the soil and give channels for the roots to grow. The plan is to do a few holes Monday ahead of golf and roll smooth behind. The remaining greens will be finished on Tuesday. This operation, as we've done before will not hinder mowing or rolling schedules.

Fan On 1 Green

The fan is installed! 1 green has always been a difficult green to manage. The main principle superintendents will agree on when caring for greens is proper sunlight, good drainage, and good airflow. When one or more is disrupted trouble will occur. Bentgrass loves it dry and sunny. When those are deprived the plant compensates by slowing root growth and increasing shoot growth to catch all available sunlight. When roots suffer you are removing the lifeline to the plants. Roots gather nutrients, water, and oxygen to support whats on top. When roots are damaged the plant will take much longer to grow and heal. On one, we've removed the majority of trees to the right side of the green to allow more sunlight and that has helped but another component is proper airflow. The maintenance building as well as thick woods to the left of the green block all typical westerly breezes. When the heat of the summer rolls in this will have detrimental effects on the turf. The first is overheating. When it's very humid and the area does not have adequate airflow the temps rise rapidly on the surface. The second especially after rainfalls is the plant can't dry out. This leads to the formation of black algae, increased disease pressure, welt wilt, and thinning turf.

The installation of the fan on 13 in 2012 has helped dramatically with the health of this green. Due to trees used as a barrier for the pool area airflow was cut off and the green suffered year after year. Losing patches of grass on this green during July and August was commonplace. The fan gives just enough breeze to cool down the canopy and help it through the summer


After deciding on a position that would effectively hit the majority of the greens surface as well as not obstructing golfers view too badly, it was time to dig.

A 20''X40" deep hole was dug and 10" of gravel for drainage.

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An adjustable sleeve was leveled then the hole was filled with concrete

I pulled 600' of 6/2 gauge wire to the back of the maintenance building.Whew that wire is heavy!!

This was the nerve racking part. Lifting the heavy brand new fan and carefully positioning, placing it on top of the pole. 

1 green and me can finally breathe easier.