Week of October 9th: Fall Begins
- Michael Curtin
- Oct 16, 2023
- 3 min read
Leaf season is starting here at the ICC and with it comes some familiar headaches for the agronomy team. All four of our turbine leaf blowers were busy this weekend clearing off play areas and rounding up what leaves/debris they could. While the trees are still mostly green it will not be long now before leaves are falling faster then we can keep up with them. In addition to covering play surfaces the falling leaves also become a major hindrance when it comes to bunker upkeep and all agronomy practices.
Bunkers:
Normally raking bunkers can be done with one person going out in the morning with a ride on bunker rake. They are able to fix disturbed edges, rake the bottoms, and arrange bunker rakes ahead of play by themselves. This time of year the tree debris (leaves, acorns, pine needles/cones, etc.) accumulating in the bunkers necessitates us cleaning out nearly every bunker ahead of the bunker machine. There are 55 bunkers on the property that potentially need to be blown out whenever we rake this time of year. Now instead of one crew member this process requires three or more crew members to perform. This makes regularly raking bunkers impractical while still aiming to complete normal daily set up tasks and mowing operations. We will do our best to clean out and rake bunkers as time and staffing allows. Please think of your fellow members and continue to rake out your foot prints in bunkers regardless of whether the agronomy staff was able to rake/blow them that day.
Range Tee Overseed:
The bentgrass portion of the range tee is closed for the season. The tee was aerated with a 1/2" hollow tine and cores blown into piles and picked up. We then used one of our turbine blowers to further clean the tee surface before topdressing and overseeding the tee. The topdressing was dragged in using a drag brush and any remaining low divots were then hand leveled with divot mix. A granular fertilizer was also applied at this time to the tee surface. Below are some pictures taken during the process described above.
Other Work Completed:
Fungicide, fertility, and growth regulator applied to fairways
Fungicide, fertility, and growth regulator applied to greens
Further work on the failed drain on 4 tee surround. Pipe exposed and damaged section removed and to be replaced. Rest of drain pipe needs to be cleared first.
Aeration of approaches will begin next week. They will be aerated with a 3/4" solid tine and topdressed with sand.
Divot Replacement:
Please note that daily temperatures are quickly approaching the point past which seed will germinate. This means that whenever possible divots should be replaced rather then filled using the provided divot mix. If the divot cannot be replaced for whatever reason then please continue to use the provided divot mix. Please refrain from using the divot mix in the rough.
Range Floor:
A load of compost was delivered that will be applied to the range floor in order to slowly improve the soil conditions. This will be the first of multiple applications over the coming years in order to ensure healthy and robust turf conditions along the range floor. The daily traffic of the range picker puts a lot of wear and tear on the turf that can quickly lead to diminshed turf quality. In conjunction, with the compost the range floor will be aerated with a 3/4" solid tine.
Wildlife:
