Out with June onto July

The month of June was full of challenges. The month started out very dry in Ipswich and it wasn't until the end of the month where we received some rainfall. We also had 8 days above 90 degrees in the month of June with one sustained heat wave.

Along the way we had some turf challenges on fairways where we have been battling a couple of pathogens and seem to have finally won the fight. Tees have been plagued with localized dry spot which is essentially small spots where the soil become hydrophobic and repels water. Even with routine wetting agent applications, hand watering with wetting agents tablets, and sound aeration practices these spots have been problematic. With 72 tees on property it has also become very labor intensive.

Speaking of labor, we have not been at full staff all season. A decision was also made to move on from three employees right before Ryder Cup weekend. Rebuilding staff on July 1 is not something I want to be doing, but it is important to have the right culture on the agronomy team. Two new employees have started today and another employee will be starting on July 8th. I also plan to add one additional body and I am still in the interview process for this position.

This has been a tough stretch for the agronomy team and would like to especially thank Assistant Michael Curtin, Marcelo Barrios, Jim Kindler, and the rest of the team for all the hard work and overtime that June brought.

Your guess is as good as mine as to what July will bring. As always our focus will be on providing the best playing conditions possible and building a solid team for the rest of the summer and into the fall.

Respectfully,

Matt