SUPERINTENDENT'S CORNER A NOTE FROM YOUR SEDGEFIELD SUPERINTENDENT
A NOTE FROM YOUR CARDINAL SUPERINTENDENT
I hope this message finds everyone doing well as we head into a new year. Overall 2021 was a successful year for the agronomy team. The weather this year was both good for growing turf and also allowed for a lot of great golfing weather days. We were cart path only for 28 days this year and only had to cover the greens 4 different times in January and February. The Wyndham Championship was a big success for us this year as we finally had a year that we were able to control the conditions the entire week except for Sunday due to overnight rain on Saturday. Typically we get several rain events that week and makes the course play not as we prepared it to play. It was great to see it play firm and fast the entire week and the scores this year were a reflection of that. Our biggest struggle for 2021 was labor. We could never get to full staff at any point for 2021 but our normal full-time staff stepped up and really did an amazing job picking up the slack along with us getting more creative with ways to increase productivity without losing quality.
What a nice fall and start to winter we had to enjoy the game of golf. The abnormally dry weather has allowed the course to play fast and firm, which I know most of us enjoy. This nice weather has also allowed the agronomy team to make lots of headway on our bunker project. As I am writing this, we have redone 22 greenside bunkers, and have 16 more greenside bunkers to do to complete this project. I am very pleased with our pace and how the bunkers are turning out. I am very hopeful that we will get approved to continue this work next year and move on to the fairway bunkers. This is very hard work as we are handdigging out all the bunkers, then spreading out the new sand by hand. So, “thank you” to those of you that have complimented the work that the team is doing. I have passed along your compliments to them.
Please keep in mind that the next 3 months are when we typically have some weather patterns move in that produce cold enough temperatures that warrant us to put out the protective covers on the greens to help prevent any winter damage. We are constantly monitoring these longrange forecasts and we will try to give ample notice on any course closures we may experience. Over the next several months we will be working on several small projects that consist of checking all the sand depths in the bunkers and making sure there is adequate sand. We will also be putting out fresh pine straw in all the beds, raising the sprinkler heads level with the turf around the greens on the front 9 (back 9 was completed last year), and we have a couple of small drainage projects that we plan to get completed before things start getting busy in May. Let’s all hope for a mild winter and I hope to see you all out on the course! Chad Cromer
The bunker project is not our only goal for this winter. We also have more tree work to do. As you know, we have already removed more dead trees on 4 and there are many more that we will be removed very soon. Also, now that the leaves are pretty much all on the ground, we will start going to some areas where the leaves are piled up along the edges and vacuuming the leaves up and out of these areas. Now that we are in the middle of winter and the Bermuda grass is fully dormant and not growing, there are a few things that you can do to help maintain the course this winter. Please obey the cart rule daily and follow all traffic control signs and stakes on the golf course. All carts should be on the cart path around all tees and greens. This is one of the most important things that you can do to help minimize damage and prevent winter kill. Also, please be patient with us and the pro shop staff on any delays to your starting time. Frost delays are a part of winter golf in North Carolina and are only done to protect the greens from any damage. Hopefully we will continue to have a warm and dry winter so we are all able to enjoy being outside playing the game that we love. See you on the course!
Ross Jernigan
Thank you Brian Stewart, Head Mechanic at the Cardinal, for capturing these beautiful sunrise pictures in late December
SEDGEFIELD TIMES
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