Over the last several weeks the golf course maintenance crew has been busy on a couple of projects. You may have noticed in the rough on #4 we have completed the improvements to the turf and drainage in this area. The old matted sod was taken out and new drainage and sod added. Once this area is open for play the area should now be in good condition to play from.
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| #4 left rough at about 130 yards from the hole |
Another area we are currently working on is the surround area on #7 green. We have taken out the sod in a couple of areas surrounding the green that was not draining. We will be addressing the drainage issues and replacing the sod in the next few weeks once we have some other areas ready for sod.
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| Back of #7 green |
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You may also have noticed the trees we've taken down behind the green on #7, some of which you can see in the photo above. This has really opened up the light to this area. In addition to the trees next to #3 tee we also had the trees immediately behind the green trimmed up. With these trees trimmed and the elimination of the trees next to the #3 tee we are now getting much more direct sunlight to the green.
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| #7 green before tree removal - notice the amount of shade effecting the sunlight to the green |
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| #7 green from a different view before removal |
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| #7 green after tree falling |
Unfortunately as of this writing I haven't been able to take any photographs with direct sunlight as our days have been pretty gray and overcast. What little sun has been out it is now able to cover almost the entire green. We have a few more trees blocking the light that are located next to the restroom which we may consider taking out as well. You can see this from the photo above.
Another area of concern I've noticed recently has been the ball marks on all of the greens. Typically this time of the year the turfgrass has gone somewhat dormant so the recovery of ball marks are slowed way down. In many cases they don't recover until spring. It is vitally important during this time of the year to take the extra time to fix your ball marks correctly. In the photos below you will see some ball marks that were not fixed very well and one that with a little extra work is completely fine.
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| Poorly repaired ball mark |
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| No repair |
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| Properly repaired |
With your help in taking the extra time to fix ball marks correctly we can minimize the unsightliness and help improve the surface quality of the green. Poorly repaired or no repair ball marks can have an effect on ball roll.What works best when trying to repair the mark is to gently work in from all sides with a repair tool or tee, if that's all you have, until you have the area filled in with surrounding material then lightly pat down with your putter. If done correctly, as you can see by the divot above, you can hardly tell a divot was present.
