Its June already??

Few random thoughts.....
Greens have rebounded quite well from their aeration processes in early May. We are within 5 thousands of an inch of out lowest mowing height and expect to lower mowers to their final height during the next week or so. Disease anthracnose has not been seen, despite its presence on a few greens last year. We have shortened the interval between fungicide treatments this spring to combat this disease nemesis and will continue this practice all summer.

Dual Bladed Shaving Technology Comes to Turf Maintenance
In the early 1970's, double bladed razors were introduced to the marketplace with the Gillette Trac II razor. The idea behind the razor was: if the first blade didn't work, the second one would. Well, this idea is now being utilized by our greens sprayer. Greenleaf Technologies manufactures nozzles for golf course sprayers. The new nozzle is actually a dual nozzle designed with front and back outlets, set at offset angles. Half the product is applied with each nozzle.

The benefit for the golf course is superior coverage....if the first nozzle doesn't cover the turf with product, the second one will. The sprayer travels at a quick 3.8 MPH while spraying, and better coverage will help the products we apply to work better and last longer, ultimately saving maintenance dollars.

Today we aerated more green edges that were extended a few years ago. (1 and 4) After plugs are cleared off, we fill the holes with an orangish Montmorillonite clay product that will help the soils in these areas hold more water. Turf in these areas have been prone to wilting, and the clay product should improve turfgrass quality. This process has been completed on nine greens. We expect to complete the other nine during the summer, two or three at a time.

We also plan on establishing more creeping bentgrass to these green extension areas during the season, using a contractor with a specialized seeder.

Tidbits....We are stockpiling irrigation water in the pond on 18 in preparation for upcoming hot summer weather....Excessive soil moisture last fall and this spring aided weed germination in the rough, and maybe your home lawn too. We have applied twice the amount of herbicide versus what we used during entire 2009 to combat weeds such as clover, dandelion and chickweed....We were quoted in a May 2010 article in "Golf Course Management" magazine on a newly released variety of perennial ryegrass we have been using on our tees. This new grass, developed at The Ohio State University, has regeneration properties similar to creeping bentgrass....Pumped 3.5 million gallons for irrigation this year, as compared to 2.4 million last year at this time....The water table has dropped in recent weeks, but is still higher than we have recorded since 2006.

My Rhode Island roots deepen....Daughter Zoe will attend Bryant University in North Smithfield this fall. This proud dad couldn't be happier to have her close by!!