Staff appreciation

As the intense heat of the summer continues, I thought I should take a moment and highlight the staff here in the agronomy department.  They work tirelessly to provide the best conditions possible, with little recognition.  So the next time you are out golfing please take a few moments and let them know you appreciate all their hard work.

Ballmarks

I wanted to take a minute this morning and talk about ballmarks.  Although play has slowed down some due to the extreme heat, I've been noticing an increase in unrepaired ballmarks.  This time of year, when the agronomy staff has to spend more time handwatering the greens, this leads to somewhat softer conditions that we are used to.  This causes the ballmarks to be much deeper, therefore it becomes very important to repair them so that the we can all enjoy the smoothest playing surface possible.  If you have any questions as to the proper technique for repairing ballmarks, please refer to the graphic below.  Thank you.

The right way to fix a ball mark

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Step 1:
Use a pronged ball mark
repair tool, knife,
key or tee.

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Step 2:
Insert the repair tool at the
edges of the mark; not the
middle of the depression.

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Step 3:
Bring the edges together
with a gentle twisting motion,
but don't lift the center. Try not to
tear the grass.

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Step 4:
Smooth the surface with
a club or your foot. Repeat
steps until the surface is one
you would want to putt over.

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Drought update

Over the past few weeks, you've probably noticed the tees, fairways and rough slowly getting more and more dry.  For the second consecutive year, we are in a moderate drought, and haven't seen any significant rainfall in almost two months.  The agronomy staff is monitoring the tees, and fairways and watering as necessary for turf survival.  Although the Bermuda isn't lush and green, the turf isn't in any serious danger.  We are letting the tees and fairways go dormant for the time being to conserve the water we have left in the irrigation lake.  The greens have held up great so far, despite the harsh, dry conditions.  The syringe crews have done a phenomenal job keeping the turf healthy during this extreme weather.