Aeration recap

Our annual summer aeration took place last week. Aside from the many benefits of aeration in general, and some of the reasons that we perform our aeration  at this particular time, this year was the first time we were able to close the course entirely for the process. Thank you to the membership for allowing us this time to get our work done.

In conjunction with the Golf Committee, last August it was decided that we would plan a 4-day closure of the course for our summer aeration. This is the most extensive of our four main aeration programs for the year and in the past, we would have closed only half the course at a time. Having the full course closed allows for flexibility in what we accomplish each day. And all along, it was conveyed that if everything goes according to plan, we would finish our work in only 3 days and the course would be able to open back up for play by the 4^th day.

The request by the Grounds department to have the course closed was prompted by last year’s aeration being interrupted by rain. We finished our work normally and on schedule Monday, but Tuesday was a washout after a thunderstorm dropped almost 1.5” of rain. The course was too wet to aerate so we had to pause until Wednesday. Unfortunately, Wednesday already had tee times booked. So, we had to coordinate with the Proshop and shuffle tee times around, block off other spots, communicate to golfers what happened, and keep half of the course closed for our work. The next day we still had work to do and again we interrupted tee times and play. It worked out, but it was not ideal for us or the golfers.

Heading into this season’s summer aeration, the weather was a major factor again. Thunderstorms were again forecast, along with heavy rain from the remnants of Hurricane Debby. The initial forecast looked as though we might be ok Monday and Tuesday, but Wednesday did not look great. Because we had the 4-day closure in our pocket this year, we were under less pressure to accomplish everything in 2 days. But by the same token, we were able to accomplish more on Monday than we normally would have, which meant that we finished all the greens and fairways on Tuesday easily. Tees were left for Wednesday, and had the weather been bad, we could have postponed them for a Monday of another week when we are closed until 11am. However, the rain held off until Wednesday night, so our work during the day on Wednesday went as planned. We finished everything we planned, in the 3 days that we thought it would take, and the course was reopened on Thursday.

Even though the rain ultimately held off until we finished, having the course to ourselves on Monday and Tuesday allowed us to get the highest priority turf aerated regardless of the weather. This would not have been possible without the full course closure. We appreciate that everyone loves to come out and golf as much as possible, but giving the Grounds department some time to work is better for everyone in the long run.

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please be conscious to not cut corners with your golf cart. The inside edges of turns are easily worn out after repeated traffic.

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

Golf Cart tips

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org