#4 Drainage

We have recently started to take care of some drainage issues on hole #4. Over the years many attempts have been made to drain water that comes from a marsh area to the right of #4 fairway and rough where the cart path enters into the tree area off the tee about 150 yards. When we get lots of rain this marsh area fills up and flows into the drain located next to the cart path by #4 green. Unfortunately the drain that takes this water to the lake has failed and has caused the water to backup and collect in the low area along the edge of the fairway and rough to the left. Additionally, the ends of the pipe were buried too deep where they entered the pond, thus the water had no place to go but back up the pipe and out into the fairway and rough. Our plan is to replace much of the pipe with new pipe at the right depth so it will fall into the lake and not back up. We also are eliminating some old connections and basins that were not functioning correctly.

#4 drain basin removal 

 

Lower section pipe replacement

When the project is completed we will have eliminated much of the water that was flowing above ground and get it back into the pipe where it belongs. By virtue of the terrain in this area there will be some water remaining on the surface, but we will now have a pipe in the ground we can tap into when additional drainage is needed.

Drainage work

Recently we started to once again repair some areas around greens that are causing us problems. Below is a picture of some work we're currently doing alongside of #18 green in the rough edge.

Back right in the rough on #18 green

Fortunately we have some drain boxes nearby and we should be able to clear up another soggy area next to a green.

#18 Ditch Cleanout and New Bridge

Recently we had the ditch next to the tee on #18 cleaned out and removed the land bridge leading to the ladies tee. The old bridge didn't allow enough water to pass through during heavy rains, which then backed up and created sediment buildup in the ditch. We've replaced the bridge with a new one that will allow the water to freely pass underneath. This should help in keeping the sediment from filling the ditch.

#18 New foot bridge to Ladies Tee

#18 Ditch

Fall disease pressure

As we progress into the winter months our old friend Fusarium has made its ugly appearance. We have been on a pretty aggressive fungicide application schedule this fall, which has me perplexed as to why we had such an outbreak. Generally, with a schedule of applying fungicides on a regular basis we can keep the disease in check.

Fusarium #5 green

Fusarium left unchecked can get pretty ugly and leave the putting surface bumpy. One of the problems in contracting the disease during this time of the year is that it is difficult to get the turf to recover due to the winter time slow down in turfgrass growth. We are doing everything we can to help protect what has not been infected. The picture below was taken after we applied a granular product. If you look closely you can see some recovery already taking place in the middle of the spot.

Fungicide application

Canterwood as you know is a very shaded golf course during the winter months. This is one reason why I think it has been difficult to keep the disease from staying away. Cool, overcast, wet and shady conditions all add up to perfect conditions for the disease to appear. The good news is that with continued applications it will recover over time.

Fall project

In an effort to help clean things up around the snack shack/restroom building, the maintenance crew has been clearing some small trees and removing the underbrush. This will enhance the look of the area and help keep tree debris from damaging the roof any further. This will also allow more light into the area which will help keep the moss from getting any worse. We are looking into assessing the condition of the roof and will be making plans to deal with its condition.

Snack Shack/Restroom Brush and Tree Clearing

View from behind looking towards 9 green

We've only just begun the work in this area. We intend to brush and clear small trees down to the waters edge on the number 9 lake. You can't see it very well in the photo above, but the protective netting fence is still in good shape and in position to protect against balls coming into the entrance of the restrooms from the number 9 tee.

Fall update

As we head into our first measurable rainfall expected Friday into next week, the maintenance crew has been busy getting in as many mowing frequencies as possible. The turfgrass is continuing to grow, but at a much slower pace.We know that when it rains it can pour here, which will then limit our ability to get some of  the mowers out onto the golf course. We are also looking at conducting some improvements to the irrigation system. You might ask why are they doing that now, it's going to rain. We want to target areas now that we know have issues and make the corrections before we turn off the sprinkler system due to freezing temperatures. We also have a better idea of where the specific areas are due to the discoloration in the turf from the summer stress. When spring rolls around we will be busy fixing any leaks and energizing the system, which leaves very little time for improvements. Once we have some of the irrigation done we will move onto drainage projects. We've targeted several areas around the golf course that have been giving us trouble and need fixing. 

As of  late you will have noticed the greens speeds have picked up. Some of this is due to the verticutting we've done and the fact that we've had cooler temperatures at night and now during the day. We've managed to keep our disease in check for the most part, but cold wet overcast days are a recipe for our friend fusarium to reappear.

Lets hope for some minimal rain and more sunny weather! 

Post aerification

As of today, September 19th, we have completed 90% of our aerification process. Both of our fairway aerators developed  mechanical problems, one will be fixed in the next several days. The other will require more time and probably won't be ready until next year. Because of the problems, we have decided to solid tine the back nine fairways to finish the process. Our final aerating will be in the roughs, which will be attempted next week. 

As part of the process, you will have noticed we have fertilized as well, pretty much wall to wall. The greens are progressing nicely with a very quick recovery. The current weather has been a big help for healing in the holes. Within another week green speeds will have totally recovered and you should see speeds up around 10 or 10 1/2 on the stimp meter. We are planning to verticut and lightly sand on next Monday the 24th. This process will help smooth out some of the bumpiness that can creep in after aerification.

In case your wondering why we waited to aerate the putting green, we simply wanted to provide as much practice area while we were closed during aerification week . It should be back in good condition as well within a couple of weeks.

In trying to push the sand down on the greens with our watering practices, you may experience some wet areas in the surrounds on some greens and tees. This is normal due to the inability of our sprinkler system to apply water to just the greens and specific areas on the tees. Please be patient as these will continue to get better as we back off the water.

A big thank you goes out to my crew who worked very hard to get all of the aeration processes done by Wednesday. They did an outstanding job.

As we prepare for the fall and winter months,  I'd like to thank our members for their patience during this process. I know things get a little messy out there during this time.

Fall Aerification

This Sunday at 3pm we will be starting our aerification process.  We will be following play after 3pm starting on hole #1. The golf course will be closed Monday through Wednesday. Greens and Fairway aerification will take place first and should be finished by the end of the day on Tuesday. We will be using a smaller 1/2" tine on the greens to help heal faster. The fairway tines will be a 3/4" split tine. This will help the plugs that are pulled out to break down faster, so there is minimal disruption on the surface. Once the greens are done we will proceed to the tees. If our weather cooperates and equipment holds together we should have most everything done by the end of the day on Friday.

Thank you in advance for your patience during this process. We're looking forward to great conditions going into the fall and winter months.

Maintenance Update and Audubon Certification

On Monday of this week we verticut and lightly sanded the greens. This agronomic process is necessary to help smooth out the greens and also help keep our thatch level in check. Initially the greens can actually speed up right after the topdressing, but once the mower has been used a couple of times they tend to slow down due to the dulling of the bedknife on the mower. The very fine sand dulls the mower very quickly. Once we feel the sand has worked down a bit into the green, we place our walking mowers out to get the speed back up again. This can take several days as the sand is still present and keeping the mowers from cutting as good as they can. We will sharpen them after a few days once we know the sand is not being picked up by the mower. The speeds should increase as we will roll them as well. Thanks for your patience during this time, we try and keep the greens as consistent as we can and this process helps in this area.

We are in the planning process of becoming a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. As one part of the process we are forming an Resource Advisory Group. The purpose of the group is to assist us in the planning and implementation of various projects and offer technical advice. Group members also help to disseminate information and help to publicize our efforts. Group members can also volunteer time or labor to help monitor enhancement efforts and help with developing an inventory of plants and animals on the property.

If you are interested in getting involved as a Advisory Group member or just want to volunteer for some of the projects, please send me an email at  john.hicks@ourclub.com. You can also call me on my cell phone at 805-433-4643 

Additionally, if you know of anybody locally outside of our membership who has some expertise in this area and would like to be involved please let me know, we could use the help.

Thank you

Recent agronomic actvity

If you've been to the golf course in the last couple of days you will have noticed we aerated the greens with our needle tines and aerated with bigger tines on the collars. The needle tine aerification helps to let air and water penetrate the surface making for better growing conditions. The aerification on the collars is an attempt to alleviate some dry compacted areas and to provide air and water movement into the soil. We will be conducting some additional aerification throughout the golf course where we are starting to see some dry areas forming.

Our irrigation system has flaws and we are actively making improvements and adjustment as we go through the summer months. You may experience some very wet areas out there, primarily around some tee complexes and in the roughs. We are trying very hard to clear these up the best we can. Because the system we have is not a single head control system, it requires a lot of turning on and off sprinklers manually in some areas. Sometimes we don't get it right and we have to make adjustments. There has been some concerns that the course is too wet and I agree, in some areas. Our philosophy is to try and keep the turfgrass in the best possible condition both in color and in turfgrass health. Drying the course out will only invite disease, kill grass, make the course look ugly, and make for recovery in the fall much harder. It will also make it much more difficult for any kind of good playing conditions to exist in the winter months. Also note, that we try and keep the course just a little bit on the wet side going into a predicted heat spell as well. All in all it's a difficult balancing act between too wet and too dry, we strive for something in the middle as best we can.

Please feel free to contact me if there are areas that you have concerns with and we'll do the best we can to solve the problem.

Lady Niners MGI and Ladies MGI

It was a pleasure getting the course ready again for both the Lady Niners and the Ladies MGI tournaments. While not as intense from the stand point of late nights for the Ladies MGI, it was still a challenge to keep things at a high level for the three days. The crew again was outstanding in preparing the course during this time. Thanks to the tournament committee and the pro-shop as well for helping us coordinate the set up for the different events. We look forward to next years event.  A special thank you goes out to Nancy Keiter who always manages to get a batch of meatballs and goodies to the crew during the MGI events, Thank you Nancy! I even got some this time!

MGI and beyond

As your superintendent my first MGI tournament is under my belt and I think I can speak for the crew in saying, wow what an intense few days! First I'd like to congratulate the crew on doing an outstanding job getting the golf course ready and then keeping it tournament ready for four days. Second, a big thanks to all of the members who expressed their appreciation to me and the crew during the event and also to the pro shop staff and tournament committee for keeping us informed on the status of play. We couldn't have been more pleased with how the golf course stood up to all of the play. It was a fantastic experience here at Canterwood.

We recently prepared the golf course for the niners MGI, which went very well and we're looking forward to equally preparing the golf course for the Ladies MGI coming soon.

Golf Course Maintenance Update

We will be working in the days ahead on trying to eliminate some of the weeds in the ponds on #1 and #4. The majority of weeds are called Water Shield (Brasenia schreberi). They have been difficult to control chemically and we are going to be attempting to physically remove them by cutting the stalks under water. We will then apply some aquatic herbicide to help keep them in control. When used as directed, the chemicals applied are safe to use around wildlife


Additionally, after the Ladies MGI we will be once and for all digging into the mess at the #4 ladies tee box to see what's causing this to stay so wet and soggy. We will be removing a large portion of turf that is water logged and has a lot of thatch. We think that the area is either a spring or a possible leak in a domestic line that could be in the area.

Recent Vandalism

A few days ago we had someone cut some donuts with a vehicle on #5, #14 and # 15 fairways.While we were able to fix the damage quickly,  it tied up three of our staff for a day and half to repair. Things of course could have been a lot worse. Unfortunately there were no witnesses to this vandalism and we are working with security to gather more information. If anyone has information please give myself or security a call.

#14 fairway

#15 fairway

#5 fairway

#14 repaired

Golf Course Maintenance Update

As many of you know by now, we have removed some trees throughout the golf course. Our goal was completed and the improvements are already helping improve turf conditions and playability.

Area behind #14 green around restroom

View from #9 tee

Recently you will have noticed we aerated the greens using what we call needle tines. This process helps "vent" the greens. The holes are generally only visible for a day or two. This process helps get the water and  air down into the root zone. The holes will assist us in some of the localized dry spots you see on the greens as well. We plan to do this at least once a month during the growing season. The process takes about two full days to complete. Thanks for your patience during this time.

Aeration machine

Needle tine holes

On Monday of this week we started aerating the roughs. This process takes about four days to complete. It leaves a pretty good size plug on the ground. We will be dragging and mowing these up and most should disappear in about another week or so. Again thanks for your patience and please check in with the pro shop regarding current rules during this time.

Around the pro shop you will be noticing some new turf that will take the place of the ivy that was overgrown in this area. We plan to have this completed by Friday.

Project updates

I'm happy to report we are finally removing some trees around the golf course. The delay has been centered around the weather. The golf course needed to be dry enough to get heavy equipment in and around so we don't cause any turf damage. We started with the removal of some trees today (Monday) near #1 green and #2 tee. This will help during the winter months when we get frost. From there we removed some trees next to the #5 tee box to let in more light. Tomorrow ( Tuesday) we will be removing trees on #9 tee and down by the lake to open up the hole for enhanced playability.  After that is completed we have targeted some shade trees on #10 in the right rough on the other side of the lake. We have also planned a number of trees to be removed at the #14 restroom area. This is being planned for next Monday June 14th.  Be sure to check in with the pro shop before your round as we will be letting the pro shop know of our progress and detours, if any, while the work is being completed.

#5 tee box looking down towards #4 green

Sanding of the fairways took place today (Monday) with all fairways receiving about 3/16" of sand. This will really help in the long run by providing a smoother playing surface, improved drainage and help to reduce thatch.

Fairway sanding #14

Fairway Aerification update

We will be starting to aerify fairways today on holes # 1,9, and 18. We will be using a solid tine this go around. The solid tines will not leave a plug and will recover much faster. Sanding the fairways will commence tomorrow and into Friday.  A sanding contractor will be here on Monday to finish off the rest of the fairway sanding. This should be finished by Tuesday sometime. We'll do our best to allow play through and we are sorry for any inconvenience. We were unable to sand the fairways on our first aerification for a variety of reasons, most of which were weather related.

Fairway aerification and sanding update

Once again the weather has thrown us a curve ball.We also recently had one of our tractors go down with a steering problem. We will attempt to aerify and sand when we get a break in the weather and our tractor gets back up and running. Looking at the weather for the rest of this week it may not happen until after the holiday the week of May 29. We will keep you posted as we proceed.

Fairway aerification Update

We have rescheduled the fairway aerification and sanding to the week of May 21.

Golf Course Maint. Update

Our plan to dethatch the approaches failed to materialize as we had equipment problems. Once fixed we intend to continue to dethatch all of the approaches and then topdress with sand as well. We were however, able to verticut the greens on Tuesday and sanded 1 - 9 in the afternoon. We intend to finish the back nine today ( Wednesday). This practice will continue throughout the spring to try and reduce the organic matter and help smooth out the greens.

Aerification and sanding the fairways is still planned for next week starting on Monday. This could change if the weather changes.

Next weeks maintenance projects

We are going to start dethatching and sanding the approaches on Monday. We will of course take the necessary steps to minimize disruption to play during this process.  This agronomic process will help get the approaches to firm up and make for better playing conditions. We will move to the side when play approaches and make every attempt to keep the area playable during the process. The weather is predicted to be quite nice and we need to take advantage of this while we can. 

We will be verticutting and mowing the greens ahead of play on Tuesday. We will then sand in the afternoon. Verticutting and mowing the greens will help smooth things out more and the sanding in the afternoon will also make the conditions better. The sanding will not be heavy, but may take a day or two to work its way into the putting surface. This is needed as we are still fighting to catch up with getting enough sand down to get the greens back into good putting condition. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, but it's absolutely necessary we get this process done while we have a window of good weather predicted for this time frame.

If you have any questions regarding the process and timing please contact me directly and I can explain our plan more fully.  John Hicks   805-433-4643 

Post Aerification Update

The greens are continuing to get better and we will be treating them with some light sanding over the next few weeks. Due to the problem with the weather during our aerification, some of the greens did not get enough sand making for some uneven and bumpy conditions. We have verticut them and applied a moderate sanding, but we need to do more to get them where they need to be. Please be patient as we will try to do this during the week on days with less play.

The crew has recently finished edging all of the greenside bunkers and we will be going back in some places to put more sand down. We try and make sure we have at least 4 inches of sand in the entire bunker, but we do miss places and sand can move around, so if you experience an area that needs more sand please let me know and we can jump on it right away. Our next chore is to get all of the fairways bunkers edged in the next week or so.


Due to the wet conditions we were not able to put down any sand in the fairways when we aerified. We will do another aerification on the fairways when it drys to a point we can get the heavy spreader out without making any ruts. We're hoping this month if possible. We will keep you posted.

We have targeted some trees for removal and will be getting some bids to do the work very soon. We have targeted a select number of trees next to the restrooms on #14 which will allow more light for #15 tee and help us solve some drainage issues as well. In addition to trees in this location, we have identified a number of trees around the course to be removed that will help us with shade issues and frost in the fall and winter. We also will be removing some trees in a couple of locations that will enhance playability. Weather may play a role in removal so lets keep our hopes up for some good weather.

Finally, we are close to opening the turfgrass levels of the range and will coordinate this with the pro-shop soon. We are very close to getting our new dividers and want to coordinate opening the range when they arrive.

Aerification Update on Plan B

Thanks to the weather over the weekend and Monday, I'm happy to report we were able to successfully drag and add some more sand to the greens. Unfortunately though, due to the changes in our original plans, it has left the greens in a really bumpy and uneven condition. This is not uncommon when sand can't effectively get down into and fill the holes. Our strategy now is to verticut the greens and mow them a little closer and apply some growth regulator to try and heal the holes and get the greens to tighten up. It may even require more sand topdressing. One of the problems after aerification is keeping the blades on the mowers sharp in order to make good cuts. This can typically take several mowing attempts until the sand has worked it's way down lower in the canopy of the turfgrass. In the mean time, we do all we can to sharpen and keep trying to make good cuts in order to smooth out the turf. Please be patient as this spring aerification was hampered by some bad weather and it will take longer to get them back into shape.

We've also noticed our old friend fusarium disease pop up recently on the greens. This also is not uncommon after aerification. We anticipated this and applied a preventative fungicide application and it still is showing up. That's how active this disease can be. The good news is with treatments and turfgrass growing faster during this time of the year, it should recover very quickly.

We apologize for Monday and Tuesday of this week when we failed to put some tee markers back out on the tees. This was a mistake on our part. We were trying desperately to finish up sanding and dragging the tees, which requires us to remove them from the tees. We just missed putting them back out on a couple of tees.

Hang in there everyone we will be applying every tool in the tool box to get us back to the greens we all know and love.

Aerification Update Plan B

Due to the weather we've had to go to plan B, which is to remove some of the sand off of the greens. Pictured below is a machine we use to remove the aerification plugs from the greens. Because the sand is not drying and going down into the holes, removing some of the sand will allow the expected rain to wash a portion of the sand into the holes. When we get a better stretch of sunny weather, which looks like next week, we will spread more sand to fill the holes completely. Unfortunately this will drag out the process.

Removal of excess sand

After the machine picks up the excess sand we drag the greens with a brush unit to smooth out the surface and attempt to get the sand to fall into the holes.

Brush drag mat

Below is a picture of what to expect on the fairways until we can get the plugs screen dragged and blown off to the side. This can only be done when the plugs dry out so please bear with us.

Fairway aerification plugs

Aerification Update

We are into day three of aerification, which has some good and some bad news. The good news is, we have successfully aerified all greens, collars, approaches, tees and fairways. Starting Sunday afternoon really gave us a head start and we appreciated the cooperation of the membership to be able to do this. The bad news is, the weather has not cooperated and we are having a hard time getting the sand dry enough to be dragged into the aerification holes. What this means is, the greens will have a significant amount of sand on top of the greens and it will take longer for them to be in really good putting condition. We are applying every means possible to try and get the sand down and into the holes. Unfortunately, this may take several days to accomplish. Please be patient as this process is very labor intensive. I really want to commend the crew thus far as they have covered a lot of ground in a very short period of time. In the next few days we will be trying to continue to get the sand down into the holes on the greens and start to sand the tees as well. The fairways have all been aerified, but due to the wet weather, the plugs have not had a chance to dry out. Until we can effectively drag, mow, and blow them off to the side, walking the course is going to be a little messy. Additionally, until we get some sun??????? and/or some wind, conditions are going to be, well lets just say "different". Spring aerification is always a little tricky due to the unpredictable nature of our weather and events that are scheduled in advance. Feel free to contact me or the pro shop for course conditions as we move forward the rest of this week and into next week.

#14 Green aerification

#1 Fairway aerification

Aerification

Just a quick reminder we will be conducting aerification on the golf course. Our plan is to start on hole #10 at approximately 4pm this Sunday April 15th after the last group playing in the team tournament. If you have questions regarding course availability contact the pro shop.

Thank you

Spring Irrigation system pressurization

We are currently pressurizing the irrigation system and there may be isolated leaks that we are unaware of. If you should happen across an area that you feel is too wet and may be leaking, please don't hesitate to call me (John) at 805-433-4643 or the pro shop 851-1745. Location is important, so please be as specific as possible when describing the area.

Thank you.

Spring Aerification Schedule

Weather permitting, the tenth tee will close at 4:00pm on Sunday, April 15th and the Golf Course and Putting Green will be CLOSED for aerification of greens, fairways, and tees Monday, April 16th through Wednesday, April 18th. The Course will re-open on Thursday, April 19th. Additionally, aerification of the fairways and rough will continue through the week until finished.
Please note that the Driving Range will be CLOSED, Tuesday, April 17 until NOON to complete aerification of that area. If you have any questions please call the Golf Shop at 253.851.1745.

Please be patient during this process as the end result in a couple of weeks afterwards will be great playing conditions. As always, the weather can play a major factor in getting aerification finished. If we are delayed we will be posting and letting people know what our modified schedule will be, stay tuned.

Thank you. 

Finished product #9

The picture here was taken to show the finished product behind and to the right of #9 green. The crew did a great job with a difficult area that was always a mess. You should experience a much drier playing and walking surface in this area from now on. 

Behind #9 green

Right side surround area of #9 green

Odds and ends

Lead irrigation tech and drainage extraordinaire Jeff Ellison and crew are putting the finishing touches to some drainage at the back of #9 green. Not only will this help solve the soggy area there, but also give the water coming off of #18 approach and the new drainage work in the rough a much needed working drain line to move the water out of that area.

Behind #9 green

The crew will be finishing up the project early next week so please be careful in this area as there may be some open ditches over the weekend. We will mark off the area and have paths that you can safely pass through if your walking.

Another little cleaning project going on is the brush clearing alongside of #9 tee. This area was completely overgrown with blackberry and other weeds. Sorry all you blackberry pickers you'll have to scout out another area, we have plenty as you know!

Hillside #9 tee

New divot bottle stands

You will notice out on the golf course some new divot bottle holders located at #6 and #14 tees. They hold 24 divot bottles for you to use as you play your round. We also have relocated at both of these tees a divot mix box for you to use if you need to fill some of your own bottles. Once a bottle is empty just place it in the bottle holder upside down and take a new one and we will refill it and place it back into the holder.

We will be installing some landscaping around the amenity station as we move forward. Thanks to all of you who utilize the divot bottles, we appreciate all your efforts to help make our conditions the best they can be.

Greens treatment

Recently we applied a fungicide product on the greens. The granular size of this product is quite large, larger then we'd like to see, but very effective in warding off any disease. With the overcast, cold and wet weather continuing, it is providing some insurance against our friend Fusarium (Michrodochium nivale) or as it is also called,  Pink Snow Mold. While we haven't seen any new Fusarium starting up, the conditions are ripe to possibly have some appear. Because the size of granular is larger this time, it may take some time for it to work into the ground.  It shouldn't have an effect on the ball roll, but if you must blame a missed putt go ahead and blame it on the product and I'll take the heat!

Fusarium  (Michrodochium nivale)

Keep it straight.

Landscaping improvement update

If you've been to the Clubhouse recently you will have noticed some improvements to the parking lot and clubhouse grounds. We've replaced much of the Ivy with new turf and enhanced some of the beds. The flowers you see are Primroses, which will keep us in color for another couple of months. In about mid May we will be planting our late spring and early summer plantings in most of the beds around the clubhouse and golf course. Here are a few pictures of the finished product. We still have a little more work to do around the banquet entrance. We used 10gal Camellia bushes and dwarf Rhododendrons in this area. The next bed you will see renovated will be around the flag pole at the entrance to the club.  By clicking on the picture you will get a more up close view.

Parking lot landscaping improvements

Entrance to Banquet Room

Golf Course Maintenance Update

The Golf Course Maintenance staff has been busy recently with renovations of the landscape beds around the clubhouse. We removed the large bed of Ivy leading into the clubhouse and replaced it with new sod. We also are in the process of renovating the bed in and around the flag pole as you approach the club. New plants are scheduled to be planted in the area leading into the banquet entrance as well. We hope you like the improvements as we continue with updating many of the planter beds.

On the golf course you will notice some of the lakes have the diffuser systems working again. The lack of oxygen in a lake or pond contributes to the layering of muck on the bottom, which act as fertilizer for weeds  and can contribute to excessive algae growth. By introducing oxygen  to the lake at various depths, from the bottom to the surface, it is absorbed and organisms will deteriorate much faster, thus reducing the layers of "muck" and in theory help keep the algae and weeds from getting out of control.

We are fast approaching greens aerification, which is slated to take place on April 16th. The greens currently are starting to gain some ground in growth as we approach warmer temperatures. They continue to be a little bumpy and uneven in growth.  The dark spots you see on the greens are a result of the fall aerification. The holes provide for more air and water movement resulting in a much healthier environment for grass to grow. These will fade out as we get into drier and warmer temperatures. These also can contribute to some of the unevenness and/or bumpy conditions on the greens.   We are doing the best we can to keep them as smooth as possible by mowing and rolling when appropriate. The weather on occasion has kept us from regularly mowing so there are some days when the greens are definitely a challenge. When we get to a point where we have sufficient growth and recovery we will be verticutting and lightly sanding, which will smooth things out better.

Please don't hesitate to email or call me with any concerns or questions you may have.

Landscape Improvements

Front Entrance

Flower bed renovation

We are currently renovating some of the landscape beds around the clubhouse. We are removing much of the Ivy and will be planting turf and other plants as we move forward into the spring flower growing season.  

Collar and Approach aeration

#5 Green and Approach

In this picture you can see where we've punched holes in the approach and collar. Our goal here is to allow more air and water to get below the surface. Punching holes around the collar is followed with rolling to help collapse the holes to help flatten out the surface. On many of our greens we have what we call collar dams. This is a buildup of turf that creates about a 1/4 inch high dam around the green. These dams restrict water run off from the greens and create a very abrupt edge making putting a challenge at best. The transition from collar to green should not be that high and abrupt. We will continue with efforts to bring these down the best we can.

#8 Green Collar

Drainage project hole #18

We are currently working on an area to the left of #18 green in the rough. This picture shows the amount of thatch buildup. You can see pretty clearly the 4 inches of  thatch. It's this buildup of thatch that creates such wet and soggy conditions out on the golf course.

By digging out some of these areas we have been able to find old drain lines unplug them and in some cases we've had to replace them with new ones. All of these areas will get fresh sod.

Once we've finished installing the pipes and new gravel it will be ready for sand and sod.