They're back...

 We've written about Brown Ring Patch in the past, and it's back once again.  While this disease rarely impacts ball roll, it can certainly be visually distracting if there's a ring or two between your ball and the cup.

This appears to be changing from a seldom seen, easy to control disease, to a perennial issue we are having to deal with.  Three different fungicide applications have been made since December, and we are optimistic that the latest will check up the disease.  Additionally, with aerification coming up soon, we are starting to increase applications of Nitrogen to the greens.  This, in combination with the decrease in organic matter from aerification, should further help to reduce the rings. 

Quack, quack, quack...

This past week's weather was great if you're a duck, but not so much for the rest of us.  Between Wednesday and Thursday, 63,000 gallons of water fell from the sky on each acre of the golf course.  Whether you were looking to play golf, or prepare the course for Opening Day and GAP matches, it just wasn't happening.

Through April 7, we already received 2.30" inches of rain this month.  In comparison, April, 2021 was incredibly dry, with only 1.80" for the entire month.

What lies ahead for the rest of this year?  That is a great question.  Again, in looking at 2021, despite the rollercoaster ride of above and below average precipitation from month to month, at the end of the year we hit the annual average total exactly.

Bunkers needed attention after the deluge.

These peaks and valleys can make executing our plans for course care challenging.  However, it's also one of the reasons why the vocation of greenkeeping is rarely boring.

Open for business...

 After some crazy temperature swings in March, April has finally arrived, and with this month comes The Masters, the Club's Opening Days, and the opening of the new and improved #10.   

While this hole went from four field bunkers to just one, given the positioning of the new bunker--in the 140-150 yard range from the green and tight to the fairway--there's a fair chance that the lone bit of beach will see as many balls as the four combined previously did.

Opening the hole On April 1 proved to be no joke.  With the hole now playing anywhere from 295-403 yards, the wind was not fooling around, and made this Par 4 play way long.

The ability to adjust the yardage this much will allow for a good deal of variety in daily course setup, which everyone seems to enjoy.

Before and after...

 Due to phototropic growth, over the years, the view on #14 had become somewhat obstructed from a tree on the right side of the hole.  As the trunk of the tree is outside the wetlands clearing zone, removing the entire tree is not an option.

Therefore, as we did on #12 last year, we had the tree cut vertically in line with the clearing limit.

There are some treacherous hole locations on the right side of this green, but at least there will be one less obstacle to avoid in trying to get to the short grass.

Uncovering the tees

 We removed the covers from the Par 3 tees this past week, and it's pretty clear that the turf enjoyed being in the greenhouse for the winter.

While divots under the cover aren't completely filled in, they are well on their way.  In contrast, divots taken in the uncovered sections are about the same now as they were four months ago.

In looking closely at some of the divots which were protected from the elements, you can see recovery both from the surrounding Bentgrass filling in, as well as from seed which germinated.

March has been unusually warm, so we should have some good growing conditions going forward.

Mats were undoubtedly successful

 If you had a chance to get out on the course this past week, you may have noticed hundreds of freshly filled divots.  However, while these divots were recently filled with mix, for the most part, they weren't divots that were recently taken.  

No, the vast majority are divots from last October and November which still had yet to fill in.  This speaks to the benefit of using mats on the fairways during the past three plus months.  Had we not, the number of unhealed divots entering the spring would be dramatically higher.  

January was brutally cold, and the Creeping Bentgrass was as dormant as we've seen in years.  When you consider that we have gone close to four months without cutting the fairways, lack of divot recovery shouldn't come as a surprise.  Presently, the fairways are still more straw colored than green.

If you want to see some green grass, you need to check out the short game area greens--they are glowing.

Overwhelmingly, the vast majority of members and guests used the mats as requested during the winter.  With warm temperatures ahead,  everyone will now benefit from this.

In the shop

While few may see it, winter is one of the busiest times of the year for our Equipment Technician, Don Robel.  All of the equipment is gone over from top to bottom.  Fluids are changed, cables, belts and hydraulic lines are inspected and replaced as needed, and of course, the mowers are sharpened.

This past year has presented its own set of challenges in keeping our equipment fleet up and running.  Similar to the auto industry, there are a handful of parts which are tied up in the supply chain.  And like a car, a triplex mower needs 100% of its parts to work, not just 99% of them.  We have actually had a small part for one of our mowers which has been backordered since late last summer.

Planning ahead is critical to the success of our operation, but between the wild price swings and goods shortages, our planning attempts sometimes feels like we are gazing into a very cloudy crystal ball.