It has been a very busy and
productive last 30 days for Timarron Golf Course Maintenance. Even though the
February winter storm happened 5 months ago, we are just now in the final
stages of getting our turfgrass recovered.
The cool, rainy, and cloudy Spring really slowed down the growth of the
bermudagrass. The last 45 days have been
OK and I’ve seen some nice turf recovery.
After the August aerification is completed, the course should really
shine going into Fall/Winter.
August Aerification
The third and final aerification
of 2021 is now upon us. The next
aerification is scheduled in April of 2022, so members will have 8 continuous
months to enjoy the course without an aerification event. Aerification is necessary to relieve
compaction, incorporate fresh sand, dilute organic matter, remove thatch/grain. All of which create healthy turfgrass and
provide good playing surfaces for our membership. Cores will be pulled on greens, tees, and
fairways. The greens will be verticut
aggressively prior to aerating and fairways will be raked. Both practices help to eliminate unnecessary
lateral growth of the bermudagrass and create a better playing surface. Aerification recovery time is approximately 3
weeks.
New Sod
Members will have noticed the sod
that was installed around the course last week.
The areas that were sodded were areas that were damaged from the
February winter storm. One challenge of sodding
is that the sod is mowed at 1.5-2 inches at the sod farm. However, we mow the collars around our greens
at half an inch. Because of the
difference in mowing heights, the first practice is to “scalp” the new sod. This is a necessary process, and the grass
will recover and adapt to the lower mowing height.
Timarron golf course maintenance
will continue to work hard to give our members the best course conditions
possible and communicate with timely updates.
Please remember to pick up broken tees, fix ball marks, and sand your
divots. There is always good and
relevant information about current course conditions on the Timarron Golf
Course Maintenance Blog at the following link.
www.timarrongcm.blogspot.com
Thank you for your continued
support,
Aaron Clary
Timarron Country Club
Golf Course Superintendent