Hello everyone, just to gives an update on all things Bentwater Turf.
Miller update: As of this writing, we are going to finish all sodding of tees by the end of today or perhaps tomorrow (July 22). We have started mowing the new sod down, but because we are using Zeon Zoysia we will need to work the heights down slowly. The bunkers are still a work in progress, majority of the front 9 have been completed, but the push this week is to finish all sod and next week we will be all hands on deck to complete the bunkers over the coming weeks. #2 Miller is a completed look of how our bunkers will be going forward. After the heavy rains we receieved last week, these bunkers had minimum to no washouts and the sand was dry as soon as the rain ended. This is very encouraging for the future ahead. All bunkers will ultimately be renovated to this type of liner which actually holds sand on the steep faces and the white bunker sand will remain uncontaminated. I hope you all feel the same excitement I do, when I see a heavy downpour and the bunkers are left untouched. This will save us significant time and labor repair bunkers after each rain. And for you the members, you will a more consistent more playable surface day in and day out. I can't help you hit the long bunker shot, but at least we can provide a consistent surface to try and pull off that impossible shot. Greens are growing in nicely. We have lowered the mowing heights and have started to see significant filling in. Over the next weeks, we will topdress weekly to further promote a smooth putting surface prior to opening. We hope that you will take a tour around and get a glimpse of how good the Miller course will play when we open. Of course, I ask that you keep your carts on the path as there are newly sodded areas that are wet and we don't want to have to fix any unnecessary ruts.
Weiskopf: We will continue our sodding around collars and greens. This process started and I have heard nice compliments about our work, but now we must push to wrap this up over the next two weeks. I understand that closing the hole is a disruption to your golf round, but it is important to protect the men working on this hole and to keep our production levels up versus waiting for every player to play the hole. I hope you all will understand. The TifEagle greens have started to firm up and are rolling nicely. I believe we are now keeping our green speeds to an overall satisfactory level. We will topdress these greens next Monday and keep this practice up throughout the remainder of the hot growing season.
Grand Pines: The recent rains and fertilizer have really greened this course up. We are now growing grass like crazy and doing our best with keeping up with the mowing and blowing off clippings. It is nice to see this course responding so well. We will work next week to finish plugging small areas left on the greens so that we have 100% grass coverage and all the bare spots are a thing of the past. Thank you for all your support and words of encouragement during this process. Look forward to seeing you all soon out on the golf courses.
Donny Latham
Friday, July 21, 2017
Sunday, July 2, 2017
Hello everyone, I hope everyone is enjoying their start of the holiday weekend. I wanted to touch base with you all and update everyone on some things that are going on with each of the golf courses.
Miller: Scott Miller was on property the past few days approving all things that are left for him to see. The 18th fairway will be shaped differently than before, removing a bunker and shaping that fairway into a split type fairway. Bunkers are on the list of things to complete, as shaping and bunker lines were approved. We are installing liners in all bunkers that will prevent soil from eroding into the sand after heavy rains as well as holding the sand up on the steep faces. We will rake these bunkers by hand going forward. This will be labor intensive, however, I feel that the bottoms will be just too small to get in with our machine. We will no longer be raking the faces. We will broom them to a smooth finish. This will allow the sand to firm up and cut down on any "fried eggs" that could happen. These bunkers will be soft when we open, as any new bunker will be, but we will work to compact these faces and bottoms as much as possible before opening. The greens are progressing along nicely. After three weeks of being planted, we are now mowing 3-4 days a week as well as rolling. We will begin heavy topdressing these in the coming months to make sure they are smooth for opening. Over the next few weeks, we will be aerifying the fairways and rough to promote healthy root zones. I am pleased with the overall progress thus far on this redo.
Weiskopf: As many of you who play golf are aware, we have been actively cutting sod off many of the collars and greens edges. We are not only cutting sod off, but we are also re-grading many of the tie ins. The tie ins should be a smooth transition from collar/approaches to greens. We are going hole by hole correcting these tie ins. Some areas we are removing soil to have positive drainage off the greens and others we are bringing in soil/sand to raise up any holes. I hope to have this entire process completed in the coming 2-3 weeks. The greens have healed up nicely after aerification. We were able to pull 1/2" cores on 2"x2" spacings. We have also started spraying growth regulators again. This growth regulator promotes lateral growth versus vertical growth which in turns speeds up the greens. We will continue to spray this growth regulator weekly promoting smooth faster greens. I am very excited to see all greens healed up from the scars of aerication so quickly, which tells me we are healthy and heading in the right direction.
Grand Pines: These greens are also very healthy and growing. We also have started spraying growth regulators on these greens for the same reason. We must get these greens to putt faster. The course certainly has responded to the aerification and the recent fertilizer applications. We are growing and cutting a lot of grass on the fairways. I also know that the rough is getting thick and long. We will work diligently to keep this rough at a cutting height of 1.75". Understanding that we cut the rough on Monday and Tuesday and by Sunday this height is more 2+ inches, but I was told today, "Yes it is penal, however, it also saved my ball from rolling into the woods" so I am hoping many of your share this sentiment. The two closed days after the 4th, July 5th and 6th, we will be verticutting these greens to remove some grass as well as smoothing out the roll. Once we have cleaned up the verticutting mess, we will topdress these greens heavier than our normal weekly sanding. This will ensure that we do not get "puffy" in the coming warm humid months. I am very pleased to see how this course is really responding to our cultural practices as well as the recent fertility.
I want to thank everyone for the kind words I have heard recently, but understand we are doing all this work so that you will enjoy your courses more. I look forward to seeing you all out on the golf courses and Happy 4th of July.
Donny Latham
Miller: Scott Miller was on property the past few days approving all things that are left for him to see. The 18th fairway will be shaped differently than before, removing a bunker and shaping that fairway into a split type fairway. Bunkers are on the list of things to complete, as shaping and bunker lines were approved. We are installing liners in all bunkers that will prevent soil from eroding into the sand after heavy rains as well as holding the sand up on the steep faces. We will rake these bunkers by hand going forward. This will be labor intensive, however, I feel that the bottoms will be just too small to get in with our machine. We will no longer be raking the faces. We will broom them to a smooth finish. This will allow the sand to firm up and cut down on any "fried eggs" that could happen. These bunkers will be soft when we open, as any new bunker will be, but we will work to compact these faces and bottoms as much as possible before opening. The greens are progressing along nicely. After three weeks of being planted, we are now mowing 3-4 days a week as well as rolling. We will begin heavy topdressing these in the coming months to make sure they are smooth for opening. Over the next few weeks, we will be aerifying the fairways and rough to promote healthy root zones. I am pleased with the overall progress thus far on this redo.
Weiskopf: As many of you who play golf are aware, we have been actively cutting sod off many of the collars and greens edges. We are not only cutting sod off, but we are also re-grading many of the tie ins. The tie ins should be a smooth transition from collar/approaches to greens. We are going hole by hole correcting these tie ins. Some areas we are removing soil to have positive drainage off the greens and others we are bringing in soil/sand to raise up any holes. I hope to have this entire process completed in the coming 2-3 weeks. The greens have healed up nicely after aerification. We were able to pull 1/2" cores on 2"x2" spacings. We have also started spraying growth regulators again. This growth regulator promotes lateral growth versus vertical growth which in turns speeds up the greens. We will continue to spray this growth regulator weekly promoting smooth faster greens. I am very excited to see all greens healed up from the scars of aerication so quickly, which tells me we are healthy and heading in the right direction.
Grand Pines: These greens are also very healthy and growing. We also have started spraying growth regulators on these greens for the same reason. We must get these greens to putt faster. The course certainly has responded to the aerification and the recent fertilizer applications. We are growing and cutting a lot of grass on the fairways. I also know that the rough is getting thick and long. We will work diligently to keep this rough at a cutting height of 1.75". Understanding that we cut the rough on Monday and Tuesday and by Sunday this height is more 2+ inches, but I was told today, "Yes it is penal, however, it also saved my ball from rolling into the woods" so I am hoping many of your share this sentiment. The two closed days after the 4th, July 5th and 6th, we will be verticutting these greens to remove some grass as well as smoothing out the roll. Once we have cleaned up the verticutting mess, we will topdress these greens heavier than our normal weekly sanding. This will ensure that we do not get "puffy" in the coming warm humid months. I am very pleased to see how this course is really responding to our cultural practices as well as the recent fertility.
I want to thank everyone for the kind words I have heard recently, but understand we are doing all this work so that you will enjoy your courses more. I look forward to seeing you all out on the golf courses and Happy 4th of July.
Donny Latham
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