Aerification/Seeding Finished

Finally, finally, finally. Aerification and seeding of all the fairways and tees are offically done. Now we are irrigating them so we can get some germination for green grass on the tees and fairways to play off of for you winter golfers. It was a long process, the crew worked hard on it, and thanks for everyone to had patience during all of it. We now we can start working on some winter projects like adding some more irrigation, putting some drainage in, touching up the tees and fairways markers, and working on some equipment. On a different note, the new blog posts this winter will be dedicated to the grounds crew who worked all summer long and tried to give everyone the best playing conditions possible in one of the driest summers in history. You see them everyday on a machine, running the irrigation, etc. I will post a picture of them and a brief history so you can get to know my staff better, and know who is taking care of your course. I appreciate everyone's understanding and patience during our maintenance programs this season. So in turn, this will be my last post concerning the golf course until sometime next year. And as always, we'll see you on the course.

Aerification Finished

We offically finished up the aerification process yesterday with #16 & 18 fairways. We still have to seed and topdress #8 - 18 fairways and slit seed #8 - 18 tees. Due to waiting on the seed to arrive, it put us behind on being totally finished. I was hoping to get the tees done as we closed the holes down during aerification, but with the high demand of seed this fall from everyone, it put us behind. So hopefully we can come back in and do this without disrupting any play. Though I ask you to please be aware of anyone working in the fairways and let them get out of your way before you hit your ball. It is easier for us to finish out the path on the fairway rather than stopping mid way through it. As for the tees, we will try our best to accomodate the players and alternate the tee locations. We are overseeding the tees at a heavy rate this fall due to the stress of the season and the amount of play we got this summer. Again, I thank you all for the patience you showed during this process.

Aeration: A breath of fresh air for greens

Aeration: A breath of fresh air for your greens
9/28/2010
Aeration is a common practice on golf course greens, and although it has benefits, it can also disrupt golf play. In this video, Dr. Larry Stowell explains to golfers what aeration is, why it is conducted, and how it is almost always a worthwhile practice, despite its downsides.

Aerification Update

Aerification is going very well. We are on schedule with the process as the front side was finished today. We are also slit seeding the tees that we shut down the fairways for aerification. Due to waiting on more seed to be delivered, we have not seeded #8 and #9 tees and fairways. We will continue with the aerification process this week thru Thursday, and finish up on the following Monday. Hopefully the seed will come in and we can get caught up on those fairways and tees. This delay will cause a little disruption in play in order to catch up with the closed fairways but please bare with us. The pro shop will let you know what holes will be closed for the day along with postings of the closings throughout the clubhouse. This is a necessary maintenance practice that in the long run will help improve the soil conditions which will lead to better turf conditions. If anyone has any questions regarding this, please stop me at any time. And as always, we'll see you on the course.

Aerification Schedule:

September 20th, 2010
Front 9 closed!
#1 – 9 greens and tees will be aerified.

September 21st, 2010
Back 9 closed!
#10 – 18 greens and tees will be aerified.

September 22nd, 2010
Holes 1 – 4 will be closed for aerification.

September 23rd, 2010
Holes 5 – 7 will be closed for aerification.

September 28th, 2010
Holes 8 – 9 will be closed for aerification.

September 29th, 2010
Holes 11 – 12 will be closed for aerification.

September 30th, 2010
Holes 13 – 15 will be closed for aerification.

October 1st, 2010
Holes 16 – 18 will be closed for aerification.

September 24th and 27th are not being used due to scheduled events already on the calendar. Please have patienc during this important maintenance practice.

Governor's Open Weekend!

I just wanted to say that I wish everyone in the tournament the best of luck. The staff and I did what we could to maintain the turf and give the best conditions possible considering the type of season we are having. I hope everyone enjoys the food and entertainment each night, the Men's Association always puts together a wonderful weekend. Also, please take the time to thank the women of the Women's Assoication who volunteer during this weekend. They take time away from what they could be doing in order to make the Governor's Open that much more enjoyable. I hope all the golfers enjoys the course and the experience that Juniper Hill puts on for this awesome tournament.

#3 Green Growing in Nicely

Just wanted to keep everyone updated on the new #3 green and show you how well it is growing in. We will have to do some small reseeding this fall and some next spring on some thin areas, but overall, it is growing in wonderfully. I mowed it for the first time on Tuesday, which will help the bent grass to start creeping out rather than growing more vertically. The picture is from the following day. Hope everyone has enjoyed the cooler weather these past few days, though we would rather take some rain. The Governor's Open is this weekend, and the crew has been working hard to keep the turf alive and trying to finish up on some detail work. Hope you all can get out and support this great tournament and watch some of the great amatuer players from all over the Kentucky and the surrounding states. We'll see you on the course.