Too much rain

The eyesore that is the struggling or dead Bermuda grass is the main focus of the Grounds staff. We continue to see daily improvement and continue to adjust our efforts to ensure the quickest and best path forward. But this past week was dominated by the rain.

We received 7+” of rain this week. While this is lower than some surrounding locations, it was still plenty to cause issues. The weather service to which we subscribe recently compared this May to May of 2014. We checked our notes, and this blog post “Rain”, regarding May of 2014 and saw that we received 17” of rain from May 1^st thru June 10^th back in 2014. While we are behind that pace so far this year, the rain might not be done.

We were able to fit in a good portion of the slicing of the bermuda grass before the rains came. We still have holes 4-10 to do and will finish those as soon as the ground is dry enough. We will also begin our fertilizer treatment of all weak areas once the weather cooperates. We also continue to formalize our recovery plan for the poorest areas.

Rain also limits our ability to maintain the turf and general aspects of the course. Mulch washes out of flower beds, drains clog with debris, and bunkers are washed out. We worked daily to keep the bunkers from deteriorating too much so that cleanup after all of the rain was not too extensive. But there is still other debris strewn across the course that will take time for us to pick up. We are not able to mow anywhere either without causing even more damage with our machines. Please be patient while we spend this upcoming week (or next dry stretch) trying to play catch up. As we work our way around the course getting to each area, there will be very long grass, lots of clippings, and generally a very haggard look.

We will continue to adjust to the weather because it dictates nearly everything we do. But we will strive to get the most out of each day to get the course back in shape.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

The broken tee boxes are not trash cans. Thank you.

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Bunker etiquette

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org