This week at Sunset: 4-18-2017

Last week, the installation of our new irrigation pump and removal of the old pumphouse began. We hope for the new irrigation pump to be online by the end of the week. There were some minor discrepancies which caused the irrigation to be down for a few days. Obviously, the greens cannot go very long without water and several of them certainly showed that over the weekend. Since then we have had the temporary pump back up and running and you probably noticed/or played through a lot of the water. I want to thank you all for being diligent with us as we complete this process. Also, I want to thank Bob, Elrod, and our staff for keeping things in check while I was out of town. I will be sure to keep everyone informed of any vital information that we may have as we wind this project up.

Looking at the next 10 days, there doesn’t appear to be a significant amount of rain expected. Our best shot looks like this Sunday with an 80% chance and around ½” of rain expected. I usually check all of the weather outlets, but one I look at more than others is Weather Underground. Lately, they’ve been pretty accurate on the timing and amount of rain or lack thereof. As it does start to warm up, those afternoon showers should start to pop up.

Another area of focus that I have mentioned in the past is our weaker greens, specifically #3 green. We have been applying extra fertilizer applications to that green and to other areas throughout the golf course. With the irrigation being down at the end of last week, I hope to see things rebound with irrigation and the additional fertilizer that we have been spraying. I plan to continue to spray these weak areas for another two weeks and then I will do a verticut mow on these areas to promote some stolon growth. We will also topdress the greens the same day we verticut and one thing that Tifeagle likes is sand. I really believe with combination of verticut, topdressing, and extra nutrients we will really see things turn a corner on #3 green.

As a reminder, please remember to keep golf carts behind the white lines that you see throughout the golf course. We do not need any traffic inside those white lines or around the greens. With the Bermuda grass in its most vulnerable stage with the transition in full swing it is important to keep traffic away from highly sensitive areas- greens complexes, tops of teeboxes, and other weak areas throughout the course. Help us out by keeping your golf cart behind the white lines and off the green complexes and near the tops of tees. Those of you who use pullcarts are fine to cross the line as pullcarts are lighter and less aggressive. However, make sure not to pull your carts across the green. Again, I want to thank everyone for helping us keep your golf course healthy and in shape.

The last thing I have this week is I want to introduce you all to the Air2G2. This machine essentially aerates the greens without any cleanup. Our first aerification is scheduled for June 12^th-13^th. I have decided to do a 12” deep-tine aerification with the Air2G2. The machine has 3 probes that go down into the subsurface approximately 12”. Once those probes are in the ground, compressed air is shot through sides and bottom of those probes fracturing the soil. The air creates a wave effect that shatters any compaction with basically minimal disturbance on top, but very invasive below. I’ve included a video that will give you a better idea of what I’m describing. We will be having contracted service out of Macon who will be performing this on our greens. In the future, if the results we see are extremely beneficial it may be something to consider to add to our arsenal.

Thank you for following us this week as we strive to get better every day. As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions/comments that you may have by using this blog, Facebook page, or emailing me at davisjoey@hotmail.com. Thanks for reading!

See you on the course!

Joey Davis