Well after a pretty miserable June, July, and August it seems September is here to redeem our 2023 summer! With a little bit of rain, and several days of cooler temps, this month is off to a great start! Here are a few quick updates going into the month:
Heights of cut across the board (fairways, roughs, tees, and greens) have begun to rise with the humidity. Humidity causes the bermudagrass to puff up, similar to the way a succulent does, and can no longer withstand a lower height of cut. The goal throughout the summer is to keep heights of cut as low as possible- to promote lateral growth, but also so that when the time comes to raise heights, we are at a manageable starting point. This summer was much drier than average, so heights stayed lower than normal, longer.
Next, let's discuss rain and cart path only restrictions. This past week we received anywhere from 1-2 inches on the golf course, depending on the hole. This left many areas with significant standing water throughout the course. While the water dried up on its own, faster than it would have prior to the renovation, it still required a cart path only restriction. Protecting the golf course is the number 1 goal, but we also are very concerned with the player experience- it's all about balance. Cart path only, following rainfall, will only be implemented if there is a serious concern for cart damage do to collected water.
Hurricane hole update, post rainfall. I'm happy to report that our hurricane hole project was overall quite successful, even with a large rain event. Most notably, the driving range floor, which filled up over a surface acre area of water, drained almost entirely on it's own in less than 24 hours.
Lastly, we are feeling very confident in where we stand going into overseed. The golf course as a whole has transitioned very well, and thin areas are continuing to fill in. Sodding and plug work has been successful, as the majority of our holes currently have little-to-no thin areas. The only hole that is noticeably behind the rest in #9 (which was expected). We elected not to sod these remaining areas on 9, and grow them in naturally. We wanted to avoid having numerous small sod patches in middle of this hole, that would be visible for years to come. These areas will continue to fill in during the remaining weeks before overseed. From there, we will slit seed these areas at a higher seed rate than everything else, so that by opening day, in October, there will be no noticeable difference between these thin areas and the rest of the hole. Next summer these areas will have the continued opportunity to heal naturally.
Have a great week Terravita,
Maddie
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