Published on 9th April 2023

March Course Report

Dear members,

For the most part March consisted of beautiful weather with temperatures consistently around the 20-25 degree mark and predominantly light winds making conditions for golf fantastic.  Rainfall was once again down on average but when we did get rain it consisted of nice soaking falls which was perfect for keeping the course in good playing condition.  As we head into the middle of Autumn we will start to see significant change in how the course looks with the fairways losing their green colour and the trees starting to be impacted by the seasons. On the whole April is typically a beautiful month of weather with comfortable temperatures and light winds making conditions for grass growth and playing golf extra pleasant until we begin heading into the cooler months of the year.

GREENS

We had a bit of a nightmare with our greens coring due to some persistent rain that lingered around for three full days. The main issue with rain occurring while coring is the inability to drag the wet sand into the core holes and trying to do so leaves mostly clumps of sand all over the green. This left the greens in less than ideal shape over the weekend however we were fortunately greeted with some sunshine early the following week to complete the work we needed to do. A big thanks must go to the Garfield Golf Club who were kind enough to lend us their drag in broom which is a speciality product to move sand around the green. This machine does a far better job than our simple drag mats and speeds up the process greatly which got us back on track after falling behind schedule due to the rain. As I write this on Monday afternoon Im now delighted with where we have gotten the greens to after such a bleak few days and the recovery process will now be in full swing over the next few weeks. There was a heavy focus on high phosphorous applications during coring to aid in root recovery and also an application of gypsum to improve calcium levels and help with better drainage through the winter period.

The feedback regarding our greens has been extremely positive from both members and guests alike and Ive mentioned often that one of the keys to our greens being in the constant great shape that they are is because of aspects such as coring. For those interested more on why we core/aerate please click on the following link

 5 Things Every Golfer Should Know About Aeration.html 

FAIRWAYS/TEES/SURROUNDS

Our santa ana fairways have begun to show signs of summer dormancy which is quite typical after a period that provided very little rain. Not only does this affect the color of the grass turning it a slightly yellow tinge but it also slows down growth significantly. We cut the santa ana fairways on the 21st of March for the first time in two weeks and as we head into April they will probably receive one more cut before they go to sleep completely. The playability of these surfaces is still fantastic with the ball lying beautifully and even with the slowing down of growth these surfaces remain excellent to play from which I expect to continue well into May.

The cool season tees and surrounds have probably withstood this summer better than any year I can remember which was largely due to the addition of applying wetting agents to these areas to help the water penetrate the surface. After such a dry summer we would normally see many dead areas but this year we are still seeing really nice surfaces to play from. The addition of wetting agents is a costly one which is why we have avoided this process in years gone by, however I believe it’s something we need to continue as the results have proven to be a success.

ROUGH

Our rough mower has been out of action for the past three weeks as we await on a new fuel sensor to fix the problem. As this mower is the only one we have for cutting rough it does create problems when it goes down and Im extremely thankful this didn’t occur during spring and early summer when the rough is growing far more rapidly. We have attempted to get around to some of the longer grass areas with our slasher however this is much more time consuming making it impossible to get over all the areas that are needed and doesn’t do near as good of a job..  It is my hope the problem with the rough mower will be fixed within the next week.

PALPALUM SPRAYING

We have spent the best part of the last three weeks undertaking paspalum spraying to our tees and surrounds whenever time and weather conditions permit. Paspalum is a very tough weed to remove and requires fairly aggressive herbicide products to eradicate it completely. The problem with any herbicide that removes paspalum is that it also causes death/damage to other grass species around it which makes it difficult to treat without causing some ugly areas post applications. Over the next few weeks you will begin to see these areas die off and will more than likely leave some unsightly dead spots in and around our tees and surrounds which is something that can’t be helped if we want the paspalum removed. It’s my endeavour next spring/summer to put together a plan to start focusing on trying to eliminate paspalum from the property entirely. It has been a problem for our course for as long as I can remember and will require spraying the entire course (including the rough) multiple times each season if we are to get on top of it. Finding room in the budget will be the biggest challenge to this and is the main reason that we haven’t been able to remove this annoying weed in the years and decades previously.

Hope everyone gets the chance to enjoy a game of golf throughout April which is typically a stunning time of year for golf.

Ryan Hammond

DG&CC Course Superintendent

Filed under: Golf, Members, Membership Level, Members Slider, Guests