Golf Course Update

It has been a very active few weeks in Turf Care since the last blog post.

Now that the golf course has been open for three weeks the maintenance programs are in full swing.

On alternating weeks the putting surfaces on each of the Hawk and Raven golf courses have been and will continue to be verticut, topdressed and spiked. This process helps to control grain, aids in enhancing surface firmness as well as smoothing the surface of the greens. The spiking will also help water and air penetration into the putting green which promotes rooting and healthier turf.

Greens were fertilized this past week with a foliar (liquid) fertilizer and our first growth regulator application of the season was applied. Growth regulators are applied with each foliar fertilizer application throughout the season to enhance turf density,plant health and in general, improved playability on the putting surfaces.

Greens were also fertilized this past Tuesday - Wednesday with 3 granular fertilizer products. A control release fertilizer product that supplies the turf with very small amounts of Nitrogen that supplements the bi-weekly foliar fertilizer spray program. The other 2 fertilizer products are applied to balance soil chemistry for optimum turf growth. With very high pH in our soil and water (7.8 - 9.8) these products help to provide essential nutrients to the turf that are normally unavailable when the pH is very high.

The Construction and project crew have also had a very productive past two weeks in completing a creek stabilization project at 11 Hawk creek and have installed 30,000 sq' of sod replacing snow mold damaged turf.

Contractors are now well into the fence construction at the Turf Care compound adjacent to Priddis Greens Drive near #2 Hawk. The new fence will provide a visual barrier to the compound were materials such as topdressing sands and construction materials are stored.

The bunker crew also had a very productive week while starting an aggressive bunker edging project. The bunker crew will continue to edge green side bunkers over the next week or two prior to moving into fairway bunkers. The purpose of edging bunkers is to define the edge of the hazard and to reduce the potential for grass growing in the perimeter of the bunkers. Edging also provides a sharp margin on the edge of the bunkers that enhances aesthetics. This bunker edging process will take approximately 3 weeks.

The Horticulture crew has been preparing the flower beds and will commence planting next week (May 28th).