The number one most frequently asked question I've received this season is, "When will the cart path restrictions on 1, 2, 3, 9, and 10 be lifted????" Of course, no one wants to play holes that are cart path only, but I can assure you, that by doing so, we will have given those holes the best shot of recovery, come this summer.
The recommendation from myself, and our expert agronomy team at Troon, was to not overseed the golf course, this year, at all. That would have given the bermudagrass maximum amount of uninhibited growth before going dormant, and zero competition come the spring to summer transition. It's no surprise that this was a wildly unpopular recommendation, that would've created bigger conflict than just a poor transition come the following summer.
So, an overseed with cart path restrictions on select holes became the compromise. Holes 1, 2, 3, 9, and 10 were grassed with bermudagrass almost a month behind the previous grouping of holes. This was due to the severe monsoons that took place- both on our course and down at the sod farm. Because of this, and the additional monsoons that washed away some of our grass, these holes are much more susceptible to cart injury. In an attempt to protect these holes from further damage, we determined the best course of action would be to keep cart traffic off of these holes until the bermudagrass began to "wake up". While not the perfect strategy, this protects the bermudagrass while it's most susceptible, on the holes that are the most juvenile.
As I said above, I'm confident that this was a worth while effort, and now feel comfortable discussing a plan to get these holes open to cart traffic. The current 15 day forecast still has several days with frost potential, but once the this forecast shows no days of frost potential and lows consistently in the 50s, we can welcome carts back on to these holes. Historically, this happens the first week of March, but can shift some days in either direction in any given year. Please keep your eyes peeled for a correspondence regarding lifting the cart restrictions in the coming weeks. Our goal is to get carts out on this hole as soon as possible, while still protecting our most precious asset!
Stay warm (and dry) out there!
Maddie