Laboring Before Labor Day

If you have been around Isla over the past few weeks, you have most likely noticed a lot of "laboring" done by the Grounds Department.

First of all, we are beginning to wrap up our summer cultural practices that we have discussed in previous posts. As the calendar flips to September, we begin to put all the pieces back together in preparation for cooler weather and our winter golf season. We appreciate your patience as we verticut, aerified and circle mowed the golf course.

Hole #9 Recovering Well from the Cultural Practices

We've been inundated with invasive vines across much of the property this summer, especially growing in the ficus hedges that surround the golf course. These vines are very difficult to control. There is no selective herbicide to safely remove them from landscaping. This means we have to hand-pull all the vines. The next step is to trim the hedges back. Using special equipment, we are able to trim the hedges and clean up their shape to reign in their size. At the same time, it makes it easier to identify where new vines are starting from the ground up. This will allow us to use a brush killer targeting just the new vines as they start from the ground before they grow into the hedge.

Fernando Trimming Back the Hedge on 16

As mentioned in previous communication, we are in the process of updating the landscaping around the clubhouse and other select areas of the property. A significant amount of work was completed this week as much of the old landscaping was removed and new plants installed around the clubhouse. While many plants have been changed out, there is still more work to do that will be ongoing for the next few weeks. We will be removing the annual flowers next week and those beds will be empty until early October. While empty, we will be able to target the weeds that like to grow among the flowers. We are hoping that targeting weeds for 4 weeks without fear of damaging flowers will provide us with cleaner beds going forward. New sod will be placed in a few select areas next week. New mulch is scheduled for installation on September 22 to allow time to complete all new plantings. 

Old Plants Being Removed from Clubhouse

Some of the New Plants Added to the Center Circle

Due to recent rains, it has been a challenge to keep up with the rough mowing. During normal conditions, it takes almost 40 hours to mow the rough just one time. Once it gets wet and overgrown, it takes significantly more effort to get through the rough, often resulting in scalping and an abundance of grass clippings. As we move towards fall, conditions will become more conducive to keeping the rough maintained. In the meantime, a premium is placed on staying in the fairway!

I wish you all a safe and enjoyable Labor Day Weekend.