Dodged a Bullet

A week ago we were stocking up on chainsaw chains, bars and oil. We were also ensuring all equipment was full of gas and getting our fuel storage tanks topped off. A brush chipper was reserved with Sunbelt Rental and we were prepared to institute our golf course and maintenance facility protocol for securing the property for a hurricane. Fortunately for Isla, Hurricane Dorian took a turn to the north and we were left with beautiful weather over the past week. It's extremely unfortunate for those in the Bahamas as well as those affected along the eastern coast of the United States. Having a friend who serves as the golf course superintendent at The Abaco Club, I know I will be watching this area and look for opportunities to assist.

The grounds department has spent much of the last week keeping up with mowing and working on details. There has also been a focus on weed control. This focus will continue over the next few weeks. We are also working to recover any weak areas on greens, including #13 where we had the irrigation malfunction last week. You may notice that some areas have been top dressed with sand. While the sand actually makes these areas look worse, it is there in order to protect the thin plants and encourage faster recovery. The majority of our trouble spots are located on greens where we expanded the putting surfaces with sod last year. When lowering the mowing height, we experienced thinning in some areas. The core greens continue to be in great condition and expect all of these areas to fill in completely with a little extra TLC.

#13 Green When Malfunction Occurred

#13 Green Today

Notice the sand topdressing behind the flag where the green was expanded

Since the last blog update, the new tees have continued to mature. We have had tee markers on most of the new tees for the past two weeks and the grass seems to be handling the traffic well. We still wait for sod to finish any of the most severe wash out areas but fortunately these spots do not impact play. We also began to work on completion of the lake bank left of #13 tee this week. A final geotube is being installed here before we grade and sod. Because this area is separate from the rest of the golf course, if necessary, we will use a different type of bermudagrass if our preferred type is not available.

#12 Tees

#9 Tees

#8 Tees

Ronnie and Arturo working on 13 lake bank