Good morning all,
Well it hasn't taken much time (just some much cooler weather) for the grass to go dormant and the leaves to finally fall. The last couple of weeks of sub-freezing nights robbed the turf of the rest of it's color. And after this summer's drought forced trees into hibernation (causing them to hold leaves longer than normal), they have finally shed their leaves. Unfortunately, with the wet weather we've recently had, we have been unable to get out and pick up all the leaves. We have worked to keep the greens, tees and fairways blown off, but any wind just scatters them back out. We will resume picking them up as soon as we can get the tractor and sweeper back on the course.
Tomorrow's "Ulitmate Scramble" marks the end of the 2011 member tournament season. If you haven't played in it before, it can be quite a fun time. One of the highlights of the tournament (and why I call it the Superintendent's Revenge tournament) is that I get to put hole locations anywhere on the putting surface. This includes any and all areas that would otherwise be deemed 'not legal'. I know there are often times that my set-up guy puts a hole location in suspect spots (and I diligently work with him on this), but imagine all 18 hole locations in the middle of slopes or too close to edges. Nathan and I went out this week and picked all of the hole locations and, with the current speed of the greens being rather quick, will have to invoke an automatic three-putt rule. As of this morning, there are only nine four-man teams signed up. Without a few more entries, Nathan will cancel the event. While it's going to be a little chilly at the start, the skies will be clear and it should be a beautiful day to have the event. Contact the pro-shop today to get signed up!
With the turf on the greens going dormant and the final tournament passing, we will be going to the three-hole cupping system next Monday. Weather permitting, we will change one hole Sunday, one hole Monday and the last hole Tuesday. Two of the three cups will have covers and we will rotate them based on the amount of play. Also based on play, after two to three weeks, we will change all three cups.
We are also entering the time of year when it may be necessary to cover the greens. My general rule of thumb is that if the temperatures are going to remain at or below freezing for more than a 24-hour period, we will cover the greens. We have already seen overnight lows in the lower 20's, but the highs the previous and following days were in the 40's. If the situation arises where we have to cover, I will be sure and let everyone know on this forum.
This week we made an application of iron to the fairways. While the turf is dormant, there is little delineation between the fairways and rough. The iron does nothing more than "stain" the turf a darker color so that the fairways stand out from the roughs.
In closing, it's been a tough year for golf courses all over the state, but I feel our staff has provided a good product throughout the year. We do the most with what we have to keep the conditions as consistent as possible. While we are still about ten inches behind normal precipitation for the year, we are hopefullly nearing the end of one of the toughest droughts in decades. As Christmas and the New Year approach, I hope you all enjoy time with your families as well as safe travels.
Happy holidays!
Chuck
