Golf Maintenance

ON THE GREENS

What a winter! November was very cool and dry, followed by an unseasonably warm December, and an unseasonably cold January. Fortunately, the groundhog was wrong, as we head into spring on the early side. What impact does this weather have on the golf course, and how might it affect us this season? While 2021 produced 70+ inches of rain (historical average is 49 inches), November, December, and January were dry for the most part. The dry weather helped with winter conditions. I do believe our cultural practices from this summer have benefited the courses, we have identified more areas that need more sand and deep aeration. We will continue to pinpoint these areas and aggressively attack them during our summer aeration schedules. Our goal with the North Course overseed was to improve thin lies, wet fairways, but also have a successful transition. We planned to overseed the fairways at half the rate that was used on the South Course before the re-grass. Unfortunately, due to the golf schedule, we had to overseed a few weeks later than originally planned. While it was nice to have a dry November, the cool weather and lack of rainfall did not help the overseed. At that time of year, we can only water so much because the sunlight levels and temperatures are so low. Irrigation coverage is inconsistent at times when used over multiple days and we made the decision to back off so the rough was not too wet that we could not dry it back out. Despite having a good winter from a moisture standpoint, a little more rain at the overseed window would have helped immensely. The warm December allowed the tifsport bermudagrass to thrive and out-compete the rye grass at times.

The cold January made the tifsport go completely dormant which has showed some of the imperfection of the overseed in dry and high traffic areas. While from an aesthetic standpoint it is not a consistent green color, the tifsport is holding its density in these areas. Once we get some consistently warm weather, the tifsport and rye grass will work synergistically to give us a great surface from late winter and into the spring. Our Agronomy team has remained persistent and forceful with the control of poa annua. The North Course had a much higher poa and weed population, and the overseed presents even more challenges to controlling poa. We are using new products as we continue to work toward eliminating poa, with the knowledge it will take some time to reduce the poa seed bank. Cool weather has allowed the teams on both courses to attack the sand deficiency in the bunkers on both golf courses – by adding 250 tons of sand to the bunkers on each golf course, with roughly another 150 to go. Beautification efforts are also

ongoing, as we enhance the bunkers and make other small improvement projects on both courses. Improvements to the North Course native areas, Learning Center and Practice Area are part of the plan and we hope to implement many of them this season and beyond. In tandem, we are developing our agronomic plan to improve playing conditions on both golf courses for a consistent playing experience. These improvements to the infrastructure and overall playing conditions, will further enhance the member experience this season.

Once we get some consistently warm weather, the tifsport and rye grass will work synergistically to give us a great surface from late winter and into the spring.