Asphalt Overlay, Green Roots and New Concrete

 It was an interesting month of July we've just recently experienced. All-time record high rainfalls at the airport, a little above normal temperatures with 15 days over 90 degrees and have had 7 days this summer over 100 which is the 18th ranked summer of all-time. 

Asphalt Overlay

We were blessed when our asphalt contractor called and asked to come on property a week early. We were initially scheduled for last week which gave us 10" of rain so we are counting our blessings of the early start which helped us complete our work before we were forced to build Noah's Ark!. Over 12,000 linear feet were laid in 4 days. Overall, the work turned out well with just a slight bit of rutting at a couple of spots.

We did have difficulty with a couple areas on 11 and 12 where the existing paving gave way and rutting occurred. It was dug out and once the paving machine and roller went over it the ground was to unstable creating an uneven surface. We are working with the contractor to get this repaired but this work might be put off until the final work is completed on holes 15-18 next season.

As a part of the clean up, we have started picking up the excess asphalt laying on the sides of the paths. Staff went through holes 4-8. We also have major work along the edges of the new paths in a number of areas. We will begin to back fill these areas as weather and time allows. We will be looking at greens and tees first and then move to fairway areas. This work will not be completed until probably the winter and or spring of 2023. 

As mentioned in another social media post, the staff and I are so appreciative and grateful for the funds  being made available to improve our infrastructure to go along with the excellent turf conditions our staff strives to produce. It makes the grass look even better.

#5 New Cart Path

Green Roots

On July 4th, I took a picture of our roots and commented not bad for this date. Well, within a couple of weeks of very high temperatures and heavy rainfall a root disease broke out and helped to shorten our roots. The disease is called Pythium Root Rot. It is always in the soil but is usually in control from a number of different ways. Average temperatures with proper moisture levels in our greens. A spray schedule in the spring with monthly applications to help reduce any outbreaks and humans making sure proper air(needle tining/venting greens) and proper moisture. As these factors potentially get out of balance, the Pythium infects the roots and reduces the grass plants ability to pull in moisture and feed itself. In the end, the greens begin to thin and patches just kind of melt away.

6 inches of roots July 4th. I was happy.

We sent samples off to our Turf grass Pathologist who moved from Mizzou to Purdue and received confirmation of the disease. We drenched in some chemistry and begin to needle them to help get the product down to the root and also help to dry them out. It appears with last weeks heavy rainfall, raising of mowing heights, using walk mowers and cloudy cooler days has helped us tremendously. It appears the weather is going to moderate again this week which will hopefully allow us to get some much needed sand on the greens and brushing. As greens continue to improve we will lower our heights down and begin the work of increasing ball roll out.  

 

The arrows are pointing toward what appears to be dry spots on our greens but to the left is a larger mass forming. The areas look like they are potential dry areas but they are actual moist and wet. We have a moisture meter that gives us a water moisture capacity reading. These reading are then used to determine if we need more water in an area or not.

                                                        After needle tine and rolling.

New Concrete Walk Paths For Driving Ranges

I apologize for the delay in getting the new walk paths installed but the approximate 2000 tons of asphalt needed a home first. We intend to lay the concrete for the paths at the long range this next week and then the path at the short range the following week. This will improve the look of our practice area and reduce the need for mulching and repairing the washed away mulch.

The long range walk path as we anticipated heavy rain overnight. Took off our lower side framing to allow the water to rage into the creek and did not bring the gravel all of the way down so it would stay in place. No gravel needed toward the parking area since there is 20' of asphalt in the foreground that we can pour the concrete upon. 

Hopefully things will dry out the next few days and we will see you on the golf course.

                                                 

Yep its Weather, Getting Dirty/TIlling Deep, Zoning Out, and Early Range Shutdowns

 Its been a while since I've made a blog post. If you follow me on other forms of social media you've seen a regular plate full of details regarding the work our hard working staff are accomplishing on a daily basis.

Weather

First and foremost, lets talk about the weather, especially the colder than normal temperatures we have experienced in late April and May. The average temperatures in April were a couple degrees above last season. Now, May 2021 is a different story. We are currently 8 degrees behind average in both daylight highs and night lows. Last May we were actually a degree above normal. More importantly, our soil temperatures have dropped since the first of May to 63 degrees.

Soil temperatures at this level are excellent for our rough grass(cool season) and greens. Our bent grass likes temperatures to be slightly warmer, especially at night but they are in full production of energy which contributes to root growth and adds to storage within the plants. 

It is most difficult for our dominant short grass zoysia, especially our tees and areas of fairways with heavier cart traffic and additional shade. We've cleaned up our zoysia mowing only weekly at this time due to the lack of growth. Some of our weaker areas we will keep the mowers away completely. It appears we might begin to see some increases in heat over the weekend and into next week. We can't force the plants to grow. The systems within the plant currently are slowed because there is not enough energy to produce growth.

It is very important during this time that membership operating carts reduce traffic in fairways as much as possible. Using a 90 degree angle from the cart path to your ball in the fairway reduces traffic in the fairway. Once the ball is struck, move the cart back to the rough and cart path when possible and proceed to where you ball is located. We are still seeing a tremendous amount of traffic going from the teeing ground area directly through the rough off of the tee and into the fairways and then driving another 50 to 100 yards down the fairway. Your assistance is greatly appreciated to reduce this type of activity.

Soil and Sod 

Stumps from a few trees removed were ground a few weeks ago, remnants cleaned out and this past week they will filled with soil. Yesterday and today, our staff edged the existing filled areas and laid sod to cover the spots. Six in total were cleaned up. Our contractor will be out in the next couple of weeks to grind the remaining stumps that we have on property so we can get them cleaned and covered for the summer.

Sycamore and Sweegum that were in the club lawn to the right of 9 cart path were covered with sod. Also, 9 tee, a pine tree in the club lawn and in the triangle between 5/7/main drive.

 

Some additional soil work was completed along some seriously compacted cart path edges behind 11, green, at 13 green and at the curve just short of 15 green by the 16th tee. We used a heavy duty tiller going as deep as 6-8". We added some black gold compost from St.Louis composting and covered with fescue sod. These areas will be kept very moist over the next week or two so it is important that we do not step into the 20" width of sod that are next to the path. Access to the green areas are still available at the top end of these renovated areas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=No8JNhqkE78

From the 11th cart path going up the hill to 12 tee. We have this section roped off and are asking cart to proceed to the top of the hill at the circle turn for the 12th tee to enter the 11th green complex. This area has been very problematic because of the severe slope and the large Pin Oak that keeps this area  depleted from moisture and into heavy shade. Hopefully this extra work will finally keep this area in better shape.

This area leads up to 13 green. We tilled from just above the left tee up to the top of the hill in the bottom picture. You can access the green from below or above the section. Some can step across the sod without issue but please be reminded this area will be kept wet for a week or two to help it root properly. We will also keep the tees up on the upper tee of 14 for a week or more so more the reason to pull up to the top of the sodded area.

No pictures of 15 but this area will be roped off and will be obvious for our golfers. Carts can stop short of this area and or proceed to the circle for 15 green/16 tee.

Drop Zones

We have one established drop zone at the club which is the red teeing area of hole 9. As play has increased, so has the wear and tear to this teeing ground. It is also a fairly small tee with an extension that was added a few years ago that frankly speaking needs to be renovated. Teeing grounds are not the best locations for these drop zones so a couple of changes will be occurring over the next couple of months. 

On hole 9, we have rough graded in a new drop area beside the 9th red tee. We will be covering this with zoysia over the next week. Later this summer,(after July 4th, we intend to close the red tee and blue tee on #9. We will strip the sod from the tees, enlarge the red tee forward, to the right and a little off the back. We also will strip the blue tee and will extend its teeing ground to the right. We anticipate these tees will be ready for play by August 1st with the heat of the summer pushing a quick grow-in. In the meantime, we will utilize the new drop zone for the red tee/drop zone and the white tee will have the blue tee added.

New drop area to the right of 9 red tee. We still have some work to complete on the slopes and some leveling but its roughed in. We anticipate the red tee to split the different between the existing tee and the new drop zone.

        

The golf committee and green committee has been in discussion regarding a potential drop area to be established for the 15th hole. We will be placing a drop zone about 35' from the cart path about 10' from the Egan's Lake. It will be mowed at a reduced height of cut and a circle designating the area will be put in place. 

Driving Ranges

There are signs at each driving range that mention the range will be closed early on Thursdays. This must occur so that all balls can be removed by the pro shop staff and readied for our staff to mow before the first golfers whom arrive on Friday morning at 7 am. This program is usually implemented in late April and runs into June and or until the grass begins to slow its growth. Its important that the grass be cut twice a week so staff can see the balls and remove them so they are not chopped up by the mowers. 

On event day Mondays, our staff usually picks the ranges clean and mows after the groups begin play. The pro shop staff assists us with as much removal before dark on Sunday evenings. We do not close the ranges early on Sundays so our membership are not inconvenienced by our necessary operations. We appreciate your understanding during this time.

I hope you get a chance to get out and see your golf course over the next couple of weeks. Ball roll out has been pretty good I hear and hopefully the rain starts falling at night and leaves our weekends free to play golf.

 

2 Tee Renovation, Tennis Courts and Cart Traffic

Well, we seem to get a step or two ahead with our work and then 2 step backwards with the rainy conditions we've experiences over the last few weeks.

Before starting on some big news on the 2 tee renovation, I would like to discuss the wet conditions we have been experiencing and how it relates to cart traffic. During normal weather conditions, Glen Echo's hill's have a number of springs that emit various amounts of moisture out of our rather tightly bound soils from late winter through the spring season. With a wet winter and now spring, Glen Echo's springs have really sprung this season. When we dry  enough to allow carts off the paths, we still have a number of areas that are somewhat damp. We have tried to rope off or place signage out but there are only so many signs that can be placed on a course. One thing to keep in mind, the lowest area of any hole is has the potential to be the wettest. Please allow me to give an example. #2 toward the metro track fence line has a tendency to be very wet. Within 20' or so of the fence your golf cart can end up over its axle in mud and water.

When we place a sign or signs on the course for an area to avoid, our expectation is that you give a wide berth of at least 20-30' feet to the left or right of the sign and 20-30' deep. Going directly behind a sign is not enough latitude to protect our turf. I've attached below a picturse which gives the example of what should not be done with a cart. Not trying to make an example out of someone but it is an example for future reference of how to avoid a wet area and not create tire tracks.

Tennis courts work is ongoing as the season is getting close. We are repairing the asphalt area adjacent the courts which will include filling some larger cracks with asphalt and then filling smaller cracks with liquid filler. We then intend to paint it a court green pigment. We also must add another 140 bags of clay to the courts in the next few days and then line the courts.

Skip cutting a couple of larger cracks out so we can replace with new asphalt.

Randy, Randy, Rallo and I cleaned the asphalt area and scraped the worn paint during the rain day we experienced last week.

So the big news of the day, 2 Tee surfaces and surrounding area were sodded today. We have a couple of small sections of sod on the back of the blue tee and forward off of the front tee toward the fairway that still must be completed. We will finish the remaining sodding over the next few days as weather allows. My expectation would be to hopefully open the tees on Memorial Day weekend if all things go well with temperature and not too much moisture.

White tee after tarps were pulled off Friday and was graded again by the bunker rake.

Blue tee was a bit damper but turned out ok.

Mike McNeil from Schaefer-Meyer Laser-leving the white tee Saturday morning.

                                   
                                                                   Laser leveling 2 tee
                                        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCa7Dl1YyT4
                                  

Begging laying the zoysia on 2 tee. Stake and rope to help with alignment. Old tee basically pointed down right edge of the fairyway.

Finishing the white tee surface.

White tee complete

Guys working on the right bank toward the tracks with Fescue

Pinning the sod to insure it stays in place. We intend to mow the top but initially will not mow between the bank and the track area. We will evaluate this as time goes by. It is pretty significantly sloped and we do not have a riding unit that can mow this hillside.

Edging and finishing up on the tee surface.

Before laying the sod between the 2 tees.

Big roll sod being used in the off tee surface areas to help reduce washouts and save time in applications.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ComW8JuLNzI

                                        2 Tees Completed.
                                        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhWRsMKUsPc

Mulch paths to long range and short range were smoothed and touched up over the last few days as well.

Large oak at the start of the fairway on the right of the cart path on #17 had its limbs removed today as we prepare to drop the main trunk hopefully Tuesday. This tree was severly compromised in the last storn and has signficant hollowing in at the start of the crown area which is where the limbws come out of the trunk.

Grass Range Tees Close Sunday, October 30

It's that time of the season to close the grass range tees until next spring. They will close on Sunday October 30th and will reopen sometime in April would be our hope or early May at the latest.
The Zoysia grass can no longer repair itself from damage so time to protect it from  potential serious injury which could delay opening next spring. The mats will be available for your use during this time.

Long Range Tee Netting Completed, Mats Now Open

Finished our work on the Long Range Tee netting this morning(Fri). The mats are now open. Thank you!

2 Weeks Left Before Grass Range Tees Close

You have 2 weeks left in our grass range tee season. In an effort to protect our range tees from long term injury, the grass section of the tees will close after October 18th. The turf is beginning to slow its growth and will not be able to recover from divots until next year. Excessive wear going into dormancy could lead to winter injury and delay opening next spring.

The grass portion of the tee will open again next spring when the turf greens up and is actively growing. We appreciate your understanding.

Long Range Grass Tee Officially Opened Today

The Long Range Grass Tee was officially opened today with the first shots being made by about 1/2 of our 17 member donor group. The grass tee will be open weather permitting on Wednesdays and Friday through Sunday until sometime in June when the turf will be actively growing and can fully recover from divots. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the mats will be used on the Long Range but the Short Range Grass will be open for your grass hitting pleasure.

We still must install a couple of poles and the netting on the Long Range Tee over the next few weeks and time allows.

We are very appreciative of our group of members who donated to this project. Over $ 22,000 was raised and spent on this project.

Mr, Coe, Dr. and Mrs. Herrin, Mr Henderson, Mr Storey, Mr Abel, and Mr and Mrs Muller taking first swings. Mr Todorovich arrived after the first swing. Contributors but unable to attend included  Lockhart, Caruso, Sommer,  Dr Miller, Mr Anthony Bommarito,  Carsten, Pranger, Lueken, Gabel, and May families.

Long Range Tee Update/Course Etiquette

The long range tee was mowed for the first time today, 15 days since the sod was laid. We are using a walking mower and are mowing it at a height of .900" which is effective height of our riding tee mower of .750". To give you an idea of the height of cut, our tees are mowed at .500". We might drop it slightly over the next couple of mows but will keep it higher than normal  to insure good rooting going into winter. We have plenty of time next season to bring the height down to an effective practice height for you and our guests.

62 steps to walk mow the long range tee in one pass.  40 passes so far with about 25-30% left to mow.

Using our collar walking unit to cut the tee.  Trying to keep the riding equipment off of it as much as possible except the roller to help smooth the surface.

A disturbing view today was to see a divot out of the tee and a spot where someone set up out on the tee hitting drivers. Will one or two individuals hitting off the tee kill it, of course it won't but why not hundreds of people hitting off of it since one or two are going to do it. You know the answer if hundreds hit off of it, it will be destroyed before we get the opportunity to use it.  I do realize there are more than our members that use this facility who could be involved in this issue and the one below.

Also have seen two divots near holes over the last week. This type of damage is rarely seen at our club and now we have seen two of these in a weeks time.

There Will Be Some Killing Going On at Glen Echo Today!

I don't like to utter those words at a golf course, its all about keeping things alive most of the time.

Say hello to my little friend Roundup and Fusilade Long Range Tee Bermuda grass.  I will be spraying out the long range tee this morning in the beginning stages of changing the grass back to Zoysia.  Proper divot patterns are not necessary this morning as you get ready for the Clarkson.  Chop, chop all you like.

 Please refrain from walking on the grass area after this morning to prevent transferring of chemicals to finer turf areas.  We appreciate your cooperation.

Short Range grass tee opening Saturday, April 26th

The short range grass tee will open Saturday , April 26th!!

Long Range Tee

As you might have noticed, we are not on the grass on the long range.  I've been over seeding with ryegrass the east 1/2 of the tee over the last couple of years to get our weed population under control, namely poa annua and crabgrass.  With the dry fall and very cold winter, the ryegrass is very sparse and the Patriot Bermuda is just starting to peak it's head out.  

In an effort to speed up our growth and get the grass tee open, we are placing a permeable cover over 1/2 the tee.  It will allow moisture and air to pass through but will hold enough heat to get the soil temperatures up and germinate some ryegrass and give the Bermuda a kick.

In the meantime, we hope to open the short range zoysia tee by this coming weekend.

Permeable cover on long range.

Overseeding Long Range Tee

As mentioned in an earlier blog posting, we over seeded half the long range tee in mid-fall.  We had sprayed a selective poa management material on the tee in September to clean up the early germinating poa annua and then rotary spread an average rye grass rate over the tee.  No fertilizer since the bermuda was still green. We drug in the rye grass and mowed without baskets.  No scalping of bermuda like they do in the south.  

We were not helped in germination by the dry weather.  We did water some to allow the rye to germinate but not enough to encourage more poa to germinate.  This would have also softened the tee leading to more damage than necessary going into winter.  Once winter breaks next March and the turf begins to grow, we should get a good jump in growth of the rye on this tee with a dormant fertilizer application.  We will keep the non-over seeded side closed until it begins to grown and can repair itself which will be probably in late April/early May.

Not a Florida style over seed but should be adequate for us next spring as the rye begins to expand.  We will also be filling divots with sand and rye as they occur in the spring.  The right side which is in more full sun and was not over seeded should give us some good mid-spring bermuda if the weather warms properly.  Less competition in the spring should also assist the bermuda in greening more quickly. 

Driving Range Grass Tees Closing/Carts on Paths Coming Soon

We have closed the long range grass tee for the season.  The mats will be open for your use.  The short range grass will be closed after November 3rd.  It is my understanding that 4 new winter range mats will arriving soon.  The grass tees are closed because the turf is not actively growing and cannot repair itself.  We have overseeded 1/2 of the long range bermuda tee for early spring use next season.  The zoysia/bermuda part of the tees will be reopened  next spring when growth begins and we begin to mow the tees.

Every fall, we face the decision when to permanently place cart on paths for the winter(dormant) time of the year.  Carts on paths in the winter protects the turf from wear and tear when it is not actively growing.  This wear and tear can contribute to late break in dormancy.  Severe compaction can lead to weakened and or dead turf.  Carts also driving on fairways in the winter can flatten the dormant turf making for less than desirable playing surfaces in the winter season.

I plan to place carts on paths beginning November 12th.  If we have dry conditions, I will try to have carts off paths for our last event of the season for the Turkey Day Tournament to encourage a large group of players for one last fling on the fairways.  Red flags will be allowed during the winter season if conditions are dry enough to safely allow the cart to be used.  I would expect carts to be back on the fairways once the turf breaks dormancy and we begin to get growth which requires mowing next spring

.

Long range tee overseeded for next spring

For the last two seasons, I have not overseeded the Patriot bermuda grass long range tee with ryegrass.  Poa annua had invaded the tee along with crabgrass and goosegrass.  In an effort to reduce some of the effects of these weeds, in the winter of 2012 we sprayed an application over our dormant bermdua like we do our fairways and tees.  The crab/goosegrass premergent and RoundUp application was very successful in reducing these weeds.  Luckily, the early warm up of spring allowed our membership early access to the bermuda because it had greened up so quickly from that early season heat. 

Last year, I decided to do the same thing but did not have good early spring conditions.  The cold damp spring caused us to keep the grass tee area closed since the turf was very slow in coming out of dormancy.  Conditions were very wet which would have allowed very few days on the tee but I decided this season we would get back to overseeding the tee.  .  

I sprayed a material in the early fall which should kill some of the early germinating poa annua and allow the ryegrass that we overseeded on the tee to flourish next spring.  Of course, we will get some poa annua to probably germinate and invade the area.  We seeded 1/2 of the tee that is closest to the parking area which should be enough teeing space for the earlier spring play.  I seeded this section of tee that has reduced sunlight and is usually slow to come out of dormancy anyway.  I wanted to keep the stronger area of bermuda ready for next spring in case we had an early warm up and it would grow faster and be ready to hit off of sooner if we received above normal conditions.  

Overseeding is stressful for bermuda.  We attempt to reduce the harm to the bermuda by only drop spreading the ryegrass.  My friends to the south who grind their turf down to near nothing when they overseed are beginning to post some nice pictures to twitter regarding reopening or how their rye grass is coming along.   Ryegrass can slow bermuda from breaking dormancy because it shades the bermuda and does fight it for nutrients and moisture 

So this spring you can look forward to having turf to hit from once the tee is dry enough to allow play. 

Awesome divot pattern on long range

Had to share this great divot pattern with the membership from what I saw on the long range this morning.

Driving range divots

Our driving ranges are there for your use and we expect and are required to perform regular maintenance.  Aerification, mowing, fertilizing, divot filling and topdressing are required to keep the turf as smooth as possible and in good shape.

There is one area in which our golfers can greatly influence how quickly our turf fills back in from a practice session.  Long lined divots or rows from the front of the practice tee area to the rear are preferred than taking the turf completely out of a 2x2 square.  

When watching the pros practice at a tournament, they remove almost every blade of grass.  This is not the example you should follow.  They do this type of pattern because there are 150 people hitting balls over a 5-7 day period.  The range tee after a tournament stop needs to be completely renovated because of the amount of divots removed.

Check out the video below regarding divot patterns that we prefer you take at Glen Echo CC.

Bermuda sod removal/short range targets

To the right of the old 17th front bunker, there was a patch of bermuda that we cut with the intermediate mower.  With the new approach placed in zoysia, this area was going to be converted to rough height.  No one likes a solid patch of bermuda at 3" so we removed it today.  I had a pallet of fescue sod left over from the rut work last week and over the weekend we were trying to complete.  The pallet got a little yellowed over the weekend.  It should green up over the next few days as we lay it on the spot on #17.  The bermuda remnants from 17 have been dumped on the targets on the short range and will be used to help cover the targets.  With some heavy applications of water and fertilization, I would expect the targets to be completely filled in over the next 30 days or so if the weather gets to a more normal temperature for June.

I know, brown side down not up.  Sod will revive in the next few days.  Replacing bermuda to the right side of #17 green.

Chunks of bermuda that will make up the surface of our targets on the short range.

Short Range Closed Tuesday after 18 hole ladies tee off

The short range will be closed after the 18 hole ladies begin their Match Play round on Tuesday morning for construction.  We removed the smaller targets and added soil for a fourth target green today during the outing that was at the club.  We still have to haul additional soil to the added target and the deepest target needs to be enlarged by a few feet as well.  We will then begin finish grading the surfaces.  Our last step will be to harvest some bermuda sod that will be used as sprigs that will grow and cover the target areas.  I'm not sure if this will get completed on Tuesday but should get it sprigged by Wednesday.

We will be seeding and strawing the old targets with ryegrass which will germinate quickly.  Bermuda that was throughout the target areas should then grow up through the ryegrass giving us cover for the season.  We intend to cut these targets at 1/2" which is the tee height.  This should give you a good contrast is texture and color between the targets and the surrounding 3" rough.  We will be placing the colored poles in the targets and will get our sign changed for the new yardages in the next few days.

Skip removing the small targets on short range

The fourth and newly added target to the range in the center.  Still needs a couple more loads of dirt.

Long range tee

I expect to open the long range tee about the middle of next week.  With some warmer weather predicted next week, there should be enough turf to begin hitting off of this tee.  You might want to do more of your short game work on the short range since its turf is more full for a couple of weeks to allow the bermuda to fill in.  I know many are wanting to hit drivers off of the grass which would be perfect for this tee initially.  I would just ask that you do not chunk out big squares of turf until things begin to really move.  Thanks for your patience.

This is the type of divot damage that we would not want to see through out the season but especially in the early season.  Large bald areas take about twice as long for the turf to fill in as narrower styled divots.  We will use sand with ryegrass in an effort to help the area become covered during the early season.  During the main heat of July and August, we place only sand in the divots since it is usually too hot to get ryegrass to germinate and survive the heat and our zoysia/bermuda grass is growing at its best.

Longer, thinner divots are better so that the turf has a much easier time to bridge across the thinner divot.  

Short range grass tee open!

The short range grass tee is open for play today.  It has greened up enough and has dried from the recent rain.  This tee has a sand capped layer which does allow it to drain more quickly and be ready for play sooner than the long range.  It also gets full sun which helps it dry quicker as well.  It as not growing very much but with the rain reducing our playing schedule every few days it should be good enough for the amount of wear that will take place during this opening phase.  The long range tee is a little behind this season because the Patriot bermuda has slowed considerably from the cool, wet weather.  I sprayed RoundUp and premergent on the tee in February to reduce the amount of poa annua competition we got on the tee.  I will overseed 1/2 the tee this fall so that we will have green turf to hit from on the long range tee during the early part of the next season when it is dry.  

This season, we have decided to leave both grass tees open Tuesday-Sunday with no restrictions to the mats except when it is wet.  

Remember, the tee closes early on Thursdays so the staff can pick the balls for the next mornings rough mowing.  The range rough are mowed on Tuesday and Friday mornings before play arrives. They will be picked clean on Mondays during tournament time and will be closed slightly early on Sundays when there is no Monday outing.  Please keep in mind that shots hit more than 140 yards will more than likely end up off property.  I would limit shots to 125 yards just in case you might hit it further to insure that our range balls remain our range balls.  Thanks for your cooperation.

First grass tee action ready on the short range.