Relax and Prepare

Last week we began to watch the forecast and pay very close attention.  The weather we've had is a blessing, moderate days and cool nights is ideal for healthy turf.  This week has been busy just as any other, but some has been in preparation for next week as temps are expected to climb.  

This last Monday we took advantage to carry out necessary cultural practices on green.  Our grooming process included verticutting, blowing, topdressing, dragging, and finishing with a spike/roll.  Once this sequence of events were finished we gave a shot of water a foliar fertilizer and fungicide application then another heavy dose of water.  These processes put green speed in check a bit but we are now back to ideal.

Recently a great deal of people have commented on how great the golf course is but the water features are disgusting.  We did experience a large algae bloom at the end of July which is now under control.  A pond service is contacted here at BCC for routine maintenance, well a communication line broke down and they missed a week allowing that bloom.  I'm currently looking into options for pond treatment and future algae control.  Ideas we are coming up with are biological inputs, aeration ideas, and chemical use to help control algae issues.  I've taken the 11th pond under my control to experiment with some different products and methods for control.  I'm very happy with what I see.  Below is a photo showing the progress, top left is beginning and bottom right is 2 weeks later:

As you can see things got worse before getting better but the key is the limited chemical inputs, more biological was used.

The next few weeks will be busy, outing this upcoming Monday then preparation for the Blue Ribbon.  We will be returning to our aeration schedule of the Tuesday after Labor Day.  Greens and approaches will both be aerated on Tuesday using solid tines and topdressed to fill the holes.  Surface disruption will be evident for a little time but by weekend things should be back to smooth.