With Spring here warmer temperatures are sure to come soon. When warmer temperatures are here long enough our zoysia will begin growing. This will be the moment when we will be able to open our Driving Range Tee. Some things that everyone should keep in mind is the correct way to make a divot when hitting off the grass. This video demonstrates this perfectly.
The only thing that we would ask you to change is to leave a little more space between divot lines, possibly an inch or two. This will only help with the recovery of the turf. Instead of the grass having to grow through a big square disruption it can now grow through a skinnier one instead and recover faster.
In case you missed our GM's remarks on the aerification process, we thought we would share it on our page as well. Thank you.
It's Done! The Grow In Begins.
Blue Hills Members, A perfect day to play golf clashed with the only chance we had to complete our Drill & Fill and Greens Aeration project this week. We are all grateful for your understanding and believe the benefits will last throughout this year. The aeration project is complete. Now, we begin the grow in process. Typically an aeration grow in will take two weeks. This will project will likely take 3 to 4 weeks to fully heal, and the recovery is weather dependent. You can begin playing Blue Hills again tomorrow. The forecast looks a little dicey on Friday and we all know the weather changes quickly in KC. To find out any course delays, restrictions or closings, check out UP TO THE MINUTE on the club mobile app or website. Reminder: PLEASE FIX YOUR BALL MARKS! Even though we have punched holes into the greens we still need you to repair your ballmarks. A repaired ball mark takes 2-3 days to heal. An unfixed ball mark will take 3 weeks and the surface will be uneven. Below you will find a picture recap of the aeration, our hard working crew, and a couple of videos.
The crews finished the Drill and Fill project Thursday morning.
They carried over 110 TONS of kiln dried sand, pouring them into the feeders of the drill and fill machines.
Then they worked on our regular core aeration throughout the day, pulling 4 inch deep plugs and unwanted thatch from the greens. Of couse this material needed to be removed, and the crews swept and shoveled the material into their work trucks.
They stayed at it all day, and needed to as they weren't done yet.
Cliff spread a fine topdressing of sand to fill in the aeration holes.
Bruce followed Cliff smoothing out the greens. But wait. There was one more step.
That same crew headed back out to spread fertilizer onto the greens. Correct. They walked every green on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Started out with a pickle bucket full of sand, and constantly filling and lifting them into a machine. Then they scapped off the unwanted material off each green. Then they fed each green to accelerate the healing process. I could not find anyone with a Fitbit to tell me how many steps they took, but we'll assume it was "Unbroken" esque. We are all very excited to get this project behind us and enjoy the great results in May .
This last week temperatures were rising and everyone believed spring was finally here. The Blue Hills Turf Crew believed this to be true and so we got out on the course and got down to business. We began our first verticutting of the season on all of our greens. Verticutting is a cultural process that is necessary to incorporate every season to help with thatch accumulation and grain control. Verticutting removes excessive roots and stems that have been accumulating just below the leaf vegetative tissue and just above the soil surface. It also helps with removal of organic matter. This practice will allow the leaf blade to grow more upright which in turn will help with ball roll and overall green playability.
This past Friday Woody and his crew made an addition to the irrigation pond. Some people might recall a few years back when we encountered a problem with a smell coming from the pond. We decided to correct this issue by installing four airolaters which help with pulling the water from the bottom of the pond to the surface. This keeps a constant flow throughout the pond to keep everything healthy and to help keep the smell away. In continuation of the project we decided to incorporate four more airolaters and dispersed them evenly throughout the pond. In total we now have eight airolaters, and our pond should continue to be in good health, free of smell and looking good.
The Blue Hills Maintenance Crew has begun work on the lagoon. This project has multiple steps that are required in order to get the majority of the debris out. The first step we took in order to start the process was to create a gravel path that would allow us to get to the center of the lagoon. We are now beginning to scoop out the debris and muck that has been collecting after heavy rainstorms. This is only a temporary solution because there are two constant flowing creeks that deposit directly into the lagoon.
This past week we have been busy working on a few different projects. One of these projects is the landscape bed next to the driving range tee. This bed was in need of a remodel. If you can remember this bed consisted of a row of tall shrubs that were enclosing the west side of the driving range tee. These shrubs were old and outdated and just needed to be replaced with something fresh. The remodel will consist of lower growing plants that will help with the beauty of the bed, and visibility of the driving range tee. Below, is a before and after picture of the bed. The design shown is what the bed will look like when completed.
This week we began dormant seeding our green banks. Dormant seeding is what it sounds like, you seed during the year when the ground temperature is below 50* and the seed isn't ready to germinate. It is useful and cost effective to do this now when temperatures are cooler and the soil can keep moisture for longer which helps minimize irrigation needs.
We began this project by aerating multiple passes along each green bank, this pulles a core of soil leaving a little hole for the seed to drop into and helps make soil contact. After every hole was aerated, we came through with a rotary spreader and dispersed our tall fescue. When the seed has been thrown we go behind and drag the area with a steel drag mat. This process helps to break the plugs up and work the seed into the high traffic, thin growing areas, where it will sit until temperatures warm and the seed can germinate.
