Hole 7

The greens are in the process of healing from aeration. They are looking better this week, and will be even better next week. We have been mowing them every other day, and we have been getting a fair amount of grass. The greens were rolled on Wednesday in order to help smooth them out.

The collars, approaches, tees, fairways, and rough were all mowed this week. Wet spots were hand aerated in any areas where puddling occurred.

I have been receiving a number of compliments on the condition of the golf course this week. Many people have commented on how quickly the fairways have healed from aeration following the recent granular fertilizer application.

Irrigation break on 14 fairway

Sunday, there was an irrigation break on 14 fairway. Usually, irrigation repairs consist of shutting a valve or two, digging up the break, repairing what is broken, waiting for the glue to cure, open up the valve, check for leaks, and replace sand and sod. On this particular irrigation break, the valves were not shutting down all the way. Since the break was at one of the lowest points in the irrigation system, a large part of the irrigation system had to be drained before the repair could be completed. The break occurred next to a concrete thrust block, so concrete had to be delicately removed from the pipe in order make the repair. Once the area to be repaired was cut out, the pipe did not line up very well, so an additional 12 feet of pipe had to be exposed. After the repair was made, there was quite a bit of sod work before the job was complete. Jerry endured the entire process by himself from start to finish. He did a great job, but I think its safe to say he has seen enough of hole 14 this week.

Jerry replacing sod on 14 fairway

View from the clubhouse putting green on 10/18/12

The greens aeration process was completed on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday of this week. The weather provided us a challenge, which we overcame with hard work and perseverance. Sunday and Monday were not good days for drying and dragging sand, so we washed the sand in the aeration holes with hoses on holes 1 through 13. The washing in method is not nearly as effective as dragging dry sand into the holes. It also takes a lot more time and effort. However, it allowed us to make the progress necessary to finish the greens aeration on time. Tuesday, the weather was perfect for drying sand and we were able to drag the sand into the aeration holes on greens 14 through 18. Also on Tuesday, greens 1 through 13 were double verticut without mower buckets in order to disperse the sand and even out the putting surfaces (washing the sand with hoses leaves the sand uneven). After verticutting, the greens were brushed to further work the sand into the holes and smooth the surfaces. Thursday, greens 1 through 13 were lightly top dressed and brushed in again.

Jerry washing sand into aeration holes on 10 green

John being camera shy after dragging 17 green

In addition to completing the greens aeration process, the tees, fairways, rough and surrounds were all mowed. The bunkers were also repaired after being completely washed out on Monday afternoon. The approach aeration was started, and is about half way done.

I would like to thank my staff for all of their hard work this week. All of the effort they put into the greens aeration process is greatly appreciated.

Practice green one week after being aerated

Practice green aeration

The practice greens were aerated earlier in the week, and everything went pretty well. Greens aeration for the rest of the golf course is scheduled to begin this Sunday following play. The course will also be closed on Monday and Tuesday to complete the process.

The following video is from Pace Turf, and it really does a nice job communicating the importance of greens aeration. I have included in my blog posts in the past prior to greens aeration, so you may recognize it. If you have not seen it before, I encourage you to check it out.

Another beautiful day at Sandpines

At the beginning of the week it did not look like we were going to get all the tees aerated. We had some equipment challenges again this week. Once again, the agronomy staff persevered, and the tee aeration was completed. In addition to completing the tee aeration, the greens, approaches, and green surrounds were fertilized. A big thanks to the agronomy staff for another productive week.

View from behind 12 green

Next week we will be preparing for the upcoming greens aeration, which will take place October 14th (after Florence Classic) 15th, and 16th. The greens are rolling great, and I am getting a lot of compliments about the condition of the golf course. Come out and play a round at Sandpines and enjoy the course and the fabulous weather.