Spring is here

Spring must be here as we are finally mowing the short grass on the course!  Fairways, tees and approaches have all been cut down to remove the winter “duff”.  By mowing them short in the spring we expose more of the plant to direct sunlight in an effort to encourage the green-up process.  There was a ton of grass on the fairways in particular. Since we have mowed the fairways, the ball rolls out better and there is not as much “grain” to them.  We are also changing some of the mowing patterns to enhance the aesthetics of the course. This will also make it play a little fairer around the greens in particular.  This will be a work in progress and changes will be made as needed.

Greens have been slow to heal with the cooler temps this year, but are almost back up to regular playing condition.  We applied more topdressing this week to smooth them out, and have been keeping them wet in order to grow the grass in quicker over the aeration holes. The sod around the greens is greening up, but will take much work to get it smooth enough to mow at collar height.  Right now we are mowing a pass with the approach mower outside the green itself.  We look to institute a walk mower wide collar by the end of the summer at a lower height.

Lastly, we have been cutting some walkways in between the tees and fairways for the walkers.This will be a nice touch once the rough comes in.