This week at Sunset: 5-15-2017



Brushing in sand on #17 Green.



So far for May, we have received almost 4 inches of rain. The past system that moved through Friday and Saturday dropped nearly 2 inches. I don’t recall seeing more than 1/2 inch forecasted earlier in the week. This week we will see temperatures in the 90’s and a 60% chance of rain coming in on Sunday. Now that we have some consistent nighttime temperatures I will be fertilizing tees and fairways this week and next week to promote Bermuda growth.

Putting green after being verticutted and topdressed.
Today, we started our first bi-weekly topdressing schedule on our greens. We also lightly verticutted the greens to promote stolon activity and upright growth for incorporating the sand. We plan to lightly topdress the greens every two weeks. The benefits that I’ve mentioned are priceless when it comes to verticutting and topdressing. As we move further into the season, I will get more aggressive each time with the verticutting. What I mean by that, I will go deeper into the turf to break up and cut into that thatch layer. After we verticut the greens, we topdress the greens with a very fine sand that basically “dusts” the surface and after it dries out we brush that into the turf. Again, I’ve mentioned before, but TifEagle is a huge proponent of sand and staying on a consistent schedule will only make these greens even more healthier.

Tomorrow, I will be attending the 71st Southeastern Turfgrass Conference in Tifton. This will be a full day of seminars and field tours. A lot of the brightest minds in the turfgrass industry will be giving talks on the latest innovations in turfgrass management, specifically on Bermuda grass. Many people are interested in drought tolerant (I definitely am) varieties and UGA-Tifton seems to be leading the charge when it comes to dealing with drought.

I want to thank everyone for adhering to our white lines that have been painted in the fairways. We have noticed the majority of everyone is paying attention to these lines and hopefully that trend continues. Again, as a reminder, please remember to keep golf carts behind the white lines that are painted on the fairways. 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.

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

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