Weepers weepers everywhere

Yet another weeper. This one just popped up on 8. The foot valves on these heads are what cause them to weep. Once the 25 year old valves are replaced in these heads, it usually takes care of the problem. Sounds easy enough....but there are over 1000 heads on the course and to change out these valves you have to isolate the entire hole, drain all the water, replace the valve, then pressure the hole back up. If your flying and on a hole where all the valves are working, you can change one in about 30 minutes.

Fairways

The fairways look better than they ever have this time of year. The verticutting that we did this year is really paying off. Usually they get puffy and scalped this time of year but the verticutting has really helped to tighten them up.

Plugging away

We are still working on plugging some of the worst spots on greens. In the last week we have put out around 800 plugs. I'm trying to use as much as the nursery as we can so we can blow it up and start over this fall.

Irrigation

Had a head stick on all last night by 2 green. This irrigation system has been a real hassle this year. I'm sure you have seen us fixing one of our many leaks or have seen some heads that have been weeping. It's a nonstop job running around fixing these leaks. I like to keep up with all the leaks...energy is money when that pump kicks on every couple minutes to keep the system pressurized. It does get really difficult to keep up this time of year when we have so much to do every morning.

As you can see...Duff doesn't mind when the heads stick on.

Growth regulator.

Sprayed a growth regulator this morning to start the process of speeding up the greens. This chemical also keeps the plant from using all its energy to grow top growth.

Seeding/topdressing

We were working an doing a second application of seed, organic, and sand on all of the thin areas on the outside of the greens.

These areas are receiving constant attention and the work has been showing. These outsides are really coming along on most of the greens.

They are still a little bumpy. I have been hesitant to roll the greens because the rollers can be especially harsh on the edges. I'm trying to limit the wear on these areas so we can get all the thin areas grown in. I will be mowing and rolling tomorrow to try and smooth them out. A light topdressing on Monday will also help the cause.

Edges of greens.

As you can see from this pic it is impossible to distinguish the difference between the green and the collar at this time. We are mowing the old collar and the cleanup laps on the greens at a much higher height and less frequent than normal. This gives the edges of the greens a chance to recover and doesn't wear out the new seed that is starting to germinate. We will be transitioning this cut back to normal in the next few weeks, once these weak areas start to fill in. When we do transition this cut back, there will be no bentgrass collar. We will be mowing the green right up to the Bermuda apron. The Bermuda surround will now be the collar.