Long range tee box, my apologies

The long range tee box has not been in very good shape since about the first of July.  We were working hard at keeping divots filled with sand and seed and keeping our nutrient levels elevated to improve recovery.  Here is a summation of how the tee went from really good to not very good over a few months time.

The overseeded(rye,poa annua) bermuda grass long range tee was in good condition coming out of winter.  Even though we overseed the tee with rye, poa annua was taking over sections of the tee or mixing in with the rye grass at an ever increasing amount.  I was very concerned regarding the health of the Patriot bermuda grass due to the severity of the winter.  From what I could see in June, there was very little bermuda grass from the walk on area to about half way across the tee.  This section of tee is too shaded for the bermuda grass to make a full stand of turf by the end of each season which is part of the answer.  I also
believe that winter kill played a major part in the lack of bermuda grass this season.  Due to the shade issues and weakened bermuda grass, the tee is basically half warm season and half cool season. 

During the extreme heat we received in mid to late June, there were some water management issues and disease which devastated the right side of the tee, namely the section that was mostly cool season which
consisted of poa annua and rye grass.  We were able to find enough bermuda grass across the front section
of the tee for practice during the Inivitational but that was about it. 

Crabgrass has also become a problem with this tee.  Continous over seeding of divots during the season does not allow us to pre-emerge the tee.  We use some post emergent sprays in the summer once the crabgrass has germinated but with the lack of bermuda grass cover and the already damaged tee, we were very conservative in our application of these products due to high temperatures in June.  We did make a couple of applications during some cooler weather but the material did not take out the crabgrass completely. 

What are we facing now.  Well, a tee that is pretty ugly and not in very good shape going into late summer.    We were able to spray a product which completely wiped out the crabgrass earlier last week.  Bermuda only covers about 60% of the tee and the rest is pretty much void of any substantial turf cover.  We decided to drill the tee with rye in a couple of directions plus broadcasted some additional seed with a spreader, fertilized the turf heavily and will be watering fairly regularly to encourage the bermuda to expand and germinate the rye grass.The ryegrass should take off over the next few weeks as will the bermuda.  I would expect the tee to be in good condition in the next 2-3 weeks.  

As you are aware, the range has been sold and when the sale goes through, we will not have to worry about this tee again but if by chance the sale is not complete, we will probably have to consider some tree removal(this will be up to the green committee to decide) in this area to provide adequate sunlight for whatever turf covers the surface.

From the back of the tee toward the front taken last week before we drilled in the seed and sprayed out the crabgrass.

The view from the front after drilling in the seed. 

We will be watering this tee heavily over the next few days to keep the seed moist and encourage the bermuda to regenerate and begin to spread.

We have had great success with the zoysia short range tee this season.  It will be available for practicing ever day of the week.