Long Range Tee

The long range tee has historically been a problem for the maintenance department.  Lack of sunlight, size of the tee and other factors have led to various failures over the years.  Currently, we have a fine bladed Bermuda Patriot, that is over seeded with rye grass in the fall and spring.  Since there is considerable shade issues with this tee, we end up getting less Bermuda in areas that ultimately turn to cool season poa/ryegrass which are very difficult to manage during the months of July/August in St. Louis.  We also have some weed management issues, crabgrass/goose grass which crop up because of our need to seed the tee during the spring months to keep divots filled in with turf since the Bermuda is not able to cover the complete tee.

Well, renovation time has come upon us again.  We have some very good Bermuda areas with some spots in the middle that needed some Bermuda plugged back into the areas.  We also have some severe turf loss along the edges of poa/ryegrass.  We used our Verti-drain aerator today to pull cores and used the cores to fill in the spots that needed turf.  Basically, we did a sprigged job in these weak areas.  With some heavy watering and fertilization over the next few days, we should get some establishment in these areas.  They should then fill in completely over the next few weeks as we push growth.

We have some decent turfed areas in the front of the tee that we will use for practicing once the plugs have started to establish.  Until then, we will have to be on the mats.  I would expect by next week that the grass teeing area will be reopened when we area able to back off from our use of irrigation.  The aeration we just completed will also be helpful for the rest of the season for the tee.

Cores being pulled and staff spreading the cores over the bare areas.  They also used a weed weasel to rough up the areas to make best soil contact.

Staff driving over the cores to press them against the soil to make good contact with the existing ground and to smooth out the surface for future mowing.

Final look after completion and soaking with water.  The front right foreground is in pretty decent shape even though there is some crabgrass contamination in the area.

Last year's view of the tee before renovation.  We were closed last year for 3-4 weeks.