April 1 Update!

I love spring time on the golf course.  As we approach the date for our first greens aeration it is a great time to lower the height on the greens mowers without doing any damage.  This is probably as firm as they will be all season.  We have already put out 5 topdressing applications in an effort to keep greens smooth and dilute thatch.

 

 

 

I am sure many of you have noticed the bermudagrasss starting to green up around the course.  The Northbridge sod that was installed around the greens was the first to green up, way ahead of the Celebration growing in the same areas.  We are mowing the fairways at .400 of an inch and will be verti-cutting soon to get that grass going.

 

We have done our plantings around the drinker houses with ornamental grasses and the rest of the spring plants are putting on quite a show!

March 10, 2016 Update

I am very excited to kick off another golf season here at James River Country Club!  Winter was very productive with new drinker houses (that were built on site) being installed on the golf course. All course accessories were re-furbished, new drainage installed, and we continued work on amending the soil in the putting greens. There was a big push to keep the property leaf and debris free using the new vacuum.

As warmer temperatures arrive, our fairways are at the top of the list for spring maintenance.  This year we are going to start the season at a lower mowing height, really trying to thin out a lot of the thatch and older plants.  Less aggressive thatch maintenance programs in the past have left the fairways spongy. This leads to less healthier turf, lots of grain to hit into with approach shots, and decreased ball roll.  The shallow tine aeration we did last year was a start, but not nearly enough.

The USGA regional agronomist agreed that mowing as low as possible to start the season and then coming back with vertical mowing will improve both the health and play-ability of the turf.  We will also be on a top dressing program to help with thatch management, smooth out the fairways, dry up the tops, and increase ball roll off of the tee.

The only down side to this process will be some really tight lies in the beginning of the season along with some discolored grass for short periods of time.  Hopefully an extra 10-20 yards off of the tee will help to make up for it!