MESSAGE FROM GROUNDS | Continued
What are we doing to mitigate the damage now and in the future? As part of our annual seeding program, we are slicing or coring the damaged areas and planting turf type tall fescue. With the moist conditions of the last week of September, we are seeing seedlings filling in the voids. We are applying materials to zero-in on the white grubs specifically to limit further animal damage. Lastly, in areas that have sustained more damage than a small, isolated area, we are sodding new turf. Both the seeding and sodding process will allow for a better stand of turfgrass for the future, where the majority of damaged areas were annual bluegrass that would go dormant from a lack of irrigation coverage and eventually die. The new turf stands are turf-type tall fescue, a more resilient species to drought, heat and humidity. Lastly, in 2025, we will expand our current application zones to include all maintained rough areas to limit the amount of grub activity next fall. We continue to play the game of having too little water flow to the hydro courts (sub-surface irrigated clay courts) in tennis during the summer months, then re-adjusting maintenance strategies to having the adequate amount of water for playability now the pool is closed for the season. It appears the water leaking at the pool facility has an effect to the flow for not only the hydro courts, but also the water fountains in the outdoor racquets facility. During the summer months, our staff had to fluctuate water flow between two courts versus all four courts (normal operation), where we saw little to no flow at the water fountains. The dry conditions we experienced for the majority of August led to not than desirable playing conditions. Then for a small amount of time with normal flow at the beginning of September, the courts became too wet. It has always been a case of “art vs. science” with the hydro courts, learning the systems associated with sub-irrigated courts, and we are gaining a much finer perspective with the ability to control the water, rather than not having enough water.
October signals the start of our fall maintenance program. We are scheduled to aerify the golf courses and grass tennis courts on the following dates:
North Course – October 21st through 24th
South Course & Grass Tennis Courts – November 4th through 7th
Currently we are scheduled to host a dual course outing on October 14th. If this goes off without any precipitation, North Course aerification will go as scheduled. In the event this organization needs to delay their event and move one week, and we will perform aerification October 28th through the 31st. During these times, each course will be closed. Therefore, the South Course is available for play on October 21st (rain date, October 28th). DIVOTS With the hope that more frequent precipitation will occur, please replace your divot with the patch of turf from your golf shot. After replacing your turf divot, if there is any void due to breakage of the divot, please use the mix to fill the empty area. Last month we communicated regarding assistant superintendent, Gavin Kopczynskie, had been selected from a pool of candidates from across the country to attend the EXCEL Leadership Program this month at Desert Mountain in Phoenix. Well, congratulations are in order again for Gavin as he was selected from a similar pool of candidates and will attend the Green Start Academy in Pinehurst, North Carolina. Since 2006, the goal of the Green Start Academy has been to help assistant superintendents build a strong foundation for their careers. Each year’s program features educational and mentoring sessions from some of the most respected superintendents and leaders across the industry. Congrats Gavin!! With a few Mondays left on the schedule before aerification, we will take advantage of the weather patterns and conduct some maintenance to the playing surfaces as topdressing or verti-cutting of the greens, tees and fairways. We look forward to seeing you and your families at the various events on the club calendar and hope you and your families have a safe and healthy month!
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