Nursery construction

A couple of seasons ago, we seeded our greens nursery near the 18th tee and the collar nursery near the 16th tee.  We were able to utilize some of the sod off of the collar nursery but the greens nursery has been a disappointment.  We attempted to use the sand that was already in place but we have found out that it is just too coarse to make a tightly knitted turf which can survive transplanting out on the course.  Even though the collar nursery was a little better, the sand in its make up was not able to hold enough moisture and ultimately succumbed to last seasons severe heat.  With the bunker construction last fall, we were not able to get the area worked up and reseeded.

Time to get our emergency turf back in service.  I just sprayed non-selective herbicide(Generic RoundUp) and some selective products for broad leaf plants and bermuda grass.  You will notice the area turning off color over the next 7-10 days as the plants begin to die.  I might make one more application before we strip off the dead material, add some finer sand and organic/inorganic materials to the mix to improve moisture retention.  The area will be seeded in September and we should be able to begin mowing it in early October.  It takes at least a full year for the material to be strong enough to be used for transplanting.

We hope we never need these nurseries but it is almost impossible not to lose a part of a collar every season, have a plug scalped from changing holes or heaven forbid a hydraulic leak which will require turf replacement.

Green nursery looking from 18 tee with #2 tee in the background by the trees..