Aerification of greens was completed on Wednesday. Our 1991 model year aerifier broke down, but Butch got it fixed. This put us a week behind schedule. All greens, tees and fairways were fertilized in the last couple of weeks. Tee aerification will start next week and should take about 3 days. We will also do small fairways if we have time.
This pictures shows that our pond is at its lowest level in many years. Our irrigation system has now pumped 14.8 million gallons in 2012. 2011 was 6 million, 2010 was 7.8 million while 2009 was 7.5 million. We have had only 1 month this season above normal. That was August. September we only received 1.15 inches at Lansing CC. We will need many steady rains to start filling up the lake. The dry condition have let us skip a fungicide application this fall which saved some money.
It's now leaf season. Be patient, as we try and keep up with this. It's a team effort as we blow leaves to the rough and mulch with another machine. We've had a couple of breakdowns with mulching machine, but Butch always seems to keep it running. The next couple of weeks are probably going to be the worst. As one variety of tree finishes dropping leaves, another one is just starting.
If you haven't noticed, our crew is getting smaller. Jose and I now have only 3 seasonal workers. With the cooler temps and shorter days we start our Fall schedule. Everything will be cut back. We will now cut tees and fairways twice a week instead of 3. Greens mowing will go to 4 times a week instead of 7. The course is actually in really good shape. A couple of good soaking rains will set us up nicely for Winter. My biggest concern is if it stays dry, we'll have to keep the irrigation system on longer.
No comments:
Post a Comment