May & June CCC

The drill and fill aerification is an aggressive one. It is a 15/16″ drill bit going approximately 8″ into the green. It then fills the column with course sand. It will insure our greens continue to drain.

It is quite a laborious process.

The holes are on 7″ spacing.

It took us over an hour to do the putting green.

It also required almost our entire team.

The first green went a little faster, of course it is smaller but the team was getting into a groove.

We have to tear them up to keep them looking like this moving forward.

Once the material had a little time to dry we drag the greens with a coco mat.

Also slow go.

The time is well worth the effort.

Then we blow away the excess, mostly organic matter.

Voila!

Repeat same steps for 21 greens.

Pending rain would not be our friend until we get them all done.

Up close look at the surface following a thorough drag.

We don’t stop there, time to do an aggressive verticutting.

Not once but twice!

Up close look at the verticutting lines. This is the first of many of during the summer, no more grain.

After double verticutting it is hard to see the holes.

Then we drag everything again.

Blow to remove the thatch.

A closer look following cleanup.

Remember where we started.

Once the greens are opened up like they are now, it is time to treat for sub-surface pest. This application is designed to kill pathogens that we could not get product to otherwise, like “Fairy Ring” fungi.

The chemicals need to be watered in to the desired depth to insure good results.

Finally we’ll start thinking about smoothing the surface back out.

A little more sand for good measure.

Another dragging, are you noticing a pattern?

Up close look afterwards.

A good dose of fertilizer to get things going.

We’ll give the greens the weekend off to heal and grow. Monday we’ll reevaluate if the surface has been worked enough.

By the way, while all that is happening, we start prepping the clubhouse interior for some new paint. First thing is to empty the entire building.

The place is going to be as good as new.

We strategically place six of these storage containers around the clubhouse.

Proshop container.

Oops, blocked the road.

Driving range tee took a whipping this last season.

We found a process to level it mechanically.

It is called a turf planer.

It took a while to figure out but we settled on 1 1/4″ deep.

Depth is aggressive but looks great.

Removing plenty of material.

An after photo.

Laser leveled.

Not a lot of turf left behind but it will come back quickly.

We did the back practice tee as well.

Time for topdressing.

A good 1/4″ of sand.

Its like a day at the beach.

Time to grow it back, a little fertilizer.

Scary to look at but it will be fine.

Here is what we pulled out of the tee, wow!

Turned out to be some good sprigs so we thought why not plant the is the areas in need.

After, just needs a little water. By the way we got an 1 1/4″ later that same day.

Guys are leveling drains in #9 fairway.

To bake a cake you have to break a few eggs.

A couple of our shelled friends.

This hawk like the view from the range.

Maybe a little camera shy.

Another of our shelled friends.

This guy is good for pace of play.

Playing through!

Love is in the air.

Gators are terrible about etiquette, didn’t even rake his tracks.

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Great shot of the range during a tournament earlier this year.

Luigi does fine work.

We hosted an event in May for the local Pros and Superintentdents.

Turnout was great.

Plenty still to do but there is always tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

Blog June 2017 May & June CCC

May & June CCC

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