Turf and Surf?

This week the grounds crew installed sod by the new wall along the parking lot. A few areas were left open for landscaping to be installed next week. 

   Sod Along New Wall

Extra sod from the project was used on select golf course collars. These areas had experienced higher concentrations of goosegrass following the summer rains. Because of the proximity to the green, herbicide applications in these areas are not safe. The infested areas were removed and replaced with new sod. These areas have been marked as ground under repair. While it is currently taller than the existing collars, over the next month the sod should establish and we will be able to cut it at the normal height.

   Sod On Collar

A few people have raised questions regarding fishermen under the new bridge. Most of the concerns are over vehicles traveling where they may endanger golf carts or pedestrians. As you know, last winter we installed new bollards in the cart path with Casa V's approval. This has prevented automobiles from using the cartpath as a driveway. However, where there's a will there's a way. It seems that some people are accessing the bridge by pulling their cars into the grass at the corner of Sun Blvd and the Bayway. While there are bollards installed here as well, they are fitting their vehicles in between. After numerous requests, the DOT intalled additional signage to prohibit unauthorized vehicles but that has done little to help. Technically, none of this area is our property and our options are limited. We can't completely close this area off to vehicles. "Authorized" vehicles from the city, DOT, Duke Energy and landscapers do need to access this area. At this time we plan to install posts in between the existing bollards at the corner. These posts must be removable to allow access for the "authorized" vehicles but we hope they will deter those who shouldn't be there with vehicles. 

Where The Green Grass Grows

We seem to have an abundance of green grass growing here at Isla Del Sol. It sure beats the alternative but it has been difficult to keep up with the mowing. We've experienced over 6.5" of rain over the past two weeks which has resulted in faster grass growth and reduced mowing time. Due to soggy conditions we have lost 4 days of mowing over the past two weeks because the golf course was too wet. It's important to understand that it takes all 3 of our fairway mowers 2.5 to 3 days to mow the golf course just one time under normal conditions. This normally allows us to mow everything 2 times per week which is typically frequent enough to provide the excellent conditions you prefer.  Keep in mind that almost our entire golf course is being maintained at fairway height including tees, fairways and green slopes. Due to faster growing grass and reduced mowing time the mowers have struggled to keep up. This has resulted in taller grass on the fairways and tees than we are accustomed to. This taller grass not only impacts play but also slows our mowers down as the workers often have to mow the same spot 3 times to get the grass fully cut. Obviously, this slows the process and makes it difficult to mow the entire golf course even one time in one week. For example, it took approximately 10 man-hours just to mow #6, one of our smallest par 4's! The grounds department will be working extra hours over the weekend to continue working towards catching up. If the weather cooperates, we hope to be caught up by the end of next week.

   Tall grass on a tee

   Trails of clippings left behind a mower.

   Placido on his second cut of this fairway.

Not only has the wet weather impacted the mowing process but it has impacted our weed control as well. Herbicide applications must be avoided during times of rain. This coupled with wet soil which promotes weed seed germination puts us behind in our control program. We experienced similar conditions last September but were able to catch up in October once the weather cooperated. 

   Tall grass mixed with nutsedge (weed) on 6 fairway.