July Update:
- matthewbehl
- Jul 21
- 3 min read
It has been a relatively dry stretch at the club since the end of May with most of the rainfall falling to the south of us. We were below normal for precipitation in June and are below in July thus far. Just take a look at the two ponds on 6 and you can see how much has just been lost to evaporation.
Ponds on 6:
With that being said we are in full water management mode. With water management comes hand watering fairways. Hand watering is used to evenly distribute water over an area. On fairways we strive for a volumetric water concentration of 20% based on a moisture meter reading. This simply can't be done only using the irrigation heads without overwatering and wasting water. Things such as different soil structures, drain lines, buried rocks, and localized dry spots all need to be given additional water via hand watering through a hose. Without the agronomy team doing so would result in wilt and tire tracking from the carts. This is a very labor intensive practice and simply needs to be done in play at times. The agronomy team does what ever it can to be courteous, but raveling up 150 feet of hose and pulling the cart off simply isn't possible for each group. Using just the irrigation heads not only is wasteful, but can cause a a host of problems such as anaerobic soils causing root and turf decline and a higher incidence of disease resulting in more chemical use.
Over the next few weeks you will most likely notice a few more areas painted out with blue paint. These are areas that the agronomy team are thinking about establishing as fescue areas in 2026. This is being done in order to continue to reduce our water usage while adding an aesthetic appeal to the golf course. All proposed fescue areas are discussed and approved by the greens committee. Fescue seeding could start to take place as early as mid August, weather and water depending, and will continue through the fall.
The membership is doing a better job with the exit and enter stakes. The one area that the exit stake seems to be getting missed is at the end of the 18th fairway. We are starting to get heavy traffic through our recently sodded area. The agronomy team would like to refrain from having to rope this area off. Please remember to exit before the stake on 18 and not travel through the sod.
While not managing water and making applications the agronomy team has found a little time to work on some of our "outskirt" areas of the golf course to help in speeding play a little. The entire right side of 12 was pushed back again and the "Bermuda Triangle" on 14 has been cleaned out again as well. Work has also started on the right of three and this should be finished shortly.
Mechanic Glenn Skelley has been busier then usual as of late. While in the middle of regrinding/sharpening our fairway units (not a small job for July) we had a greens mowers with engine problems. This resulted in the engine being pulled and a rebuild to take place.
Other work being completed or in progress:
Daily applications for a variety of turfgrass diseases
Preventative white grub applications being made
Wetting agent applications to better utilize the water being applied
Venting of greens with a 1/8 inch solid tine. (2nd round has been started)
Adding quick couplers to fairways to facilitate hand watering
Area by third white tee prepped for fescue seeding or fescue sodding
July is always a challenging month for the agronomy team and this one has been no different. Fairways have been particularly challenging this year. When one agronomy issue gets resolved and corrected another one seems to immediately pop up. I found myself at 5 am this morning in conversation with the 4th fairway asking it what it was going to throw at me this week. Another hot spell is predicted for later this week which could be our 13th and 14th day above 90 degrees for the summer. As always the agronomy team will be doing what it can to produce the best playing conditions possible and a course you are proud to call home.
Some wildlife pictures:
