April 30, 2016

Things happen. We are all human.

The other week we fertilized the tees and during the process the spreader came out of calibration, unnoticed at the time, but easily seen once the striping began showing on some of the tees days later.  After we became aware of the problem, we used a drop spreader to fertilize between the stripes. We used a rate less than the original so that we could do our best to match up, but it’s purely an estimate based on observation. I can’t for sure say how much fertilizer the tees originally received and didn’t receive, so it’s not a clear fix. And, being the first time I have dealt with this, it’s a new experience, so I don’t have a lot of practice with it – a good thing!

The bottom line is that the fertilizer won’t last forever, and in a little time, the striping will disappear.

Regarding the tees on 7, the areas that were in play throughout the winter and not covered are not healing in very well. It seems the Bermuda cannot take too much wear when it is dormant. This is something I will need to address – I may try another type of warm season grass, cover all the tees each winter, or just expect to sod the wear areas every spring. The reason we are using Bermuda on these tees is that the areas get no air circulation and too much heat in the summer months for cool season turf to survive. It’s better to have turf in summer when it counts, and only the Bermuda has given us consistent results in this respect.  

Overall, the course is coming into early summer very strong. Roots are good, there are no disease concerns right now, and we are pretty much on schedule with our preparations. The weather has been the real challenge – hot days, frost, snow, wind, rain, etc – what weather we have had, has always come unexpected!  So we have done our best to “thread” these needles and to keep up with things the best we can.

Thanks to all of you who have asked about my AK spots which are being treated with cryotherapy. So far so good, except for one area on my ear that is fighting back! The doctor said it’s pretty common to have a spot or two that requires a few repeat treatments. It surprised me that after I published the post, many area superintendents shared stories with me of their experiences with pre cancerous areas, and cancerous areas. Many of our members have also shared their personal stories dealing with this same medical condition. It seems to be somewhat common, so everyone needs to be checked.

One again, I thank everyone for their support and encouragement. We have a great course only because we have a great membership!