Seeding green surrounds

Fall seems to be in full swing now. We have had some terrific days, but the plentiful sunshine just doesn’t quite pack the punch that it does in summer months. However, the cooler nights, rain, and sun do help us make some repairs around the course after a long summer.

We did suffer some turf loss in the rough around the greens. A combination of poor irrigation equipment performance, inferior turf species, and very dry weather all contributed to the decline in the rough seen on several holes.

We have sprinklers at each green that water the greens and rough, but we also have sprinklers that only water the rough. These are adjustable so they can be set to not get any water on the putting surface. However, over time these can slowly work themselves out of adjustment and begin to water where they are not supposed to or, like this year, not water where they should be. Areas that were supposed to be receiving water were not and the turf suffered. We will be checking each sprinkler this winter to ensure we start out next year correct and we will increase our diligence in monitoring in-season.

The overwhelming majority of damage occurred on holes that have not been reconstructed yet. Holes where Master Plan work is complete suffered little if any damage because the rough grass sod that is used during construction is tall fescue, which is a very drought tolerant turf grass. On the holes where damage occurred, the majority of the grass is ryegrass which is far less drought tolerant. With the less drought-resistant ryegrass already weak, experiencing an exceptionally dry August and September magnified our imperfections and mistakes. This is what led to the clumps of grass mixed in the bare areas. Species that were able to survive the late summer were growing right next to other species that did not survive.

All of the damaged areas have recently been re-seeded with tall fescue and the seedlings are growing quickly already. These areas will fill in shortly. We will continue to incorporate more tall fescue whenever and wherever we can, either with sod or seed, to maintain playable rough around the greens all year.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please remember to keep your cart on the cart path when we are “Cart Path Only.”

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org