Golf Course Update

The golf course is coming in nicely due to all the hard work performed by the GCM staff. I just wanted to take the opportunity to elaborate on a few issues on the course. I have been receiving a lot of questions regarding the patches in the fairways and large areas of turf that are thin/dead. The patches on a select number of fairways are Spring Dead Spot. This is a perennial disease that occurs on bermudagrass and different factors play a role in the severity. Cold winters, poor drainage, and soil compaction are just a few factors that can increase the severity of the disease. Fairways on #4 and #17 were the worst hit with this disease this year. Therefore, we will apply fungicides in the fall preventatively on these two fairways and a couple other holes and monitor if this practice helps combat the disease.

Hole #10, once again, didn't fair well over the winter. The majority of the fairway/left rough on the hill is in the shade for most of the daylight hours in the winter. This area of the hole also receives a great deal of foot traffic whenever it snows due to sledders. The foot traffic compacts the snow and delays melting. Excessive shade and cold temperatures are a combination that can lead to winterkill. Virginia Tech has found that Vamont bermudagrass performed well coming out of dormancy this year. However, Tifway struggled in areas susceptible to winterkill. The turf areas on #10 that experienced winterkill are predominately Tifway. In addition, the north-facing slopes on #12 and #16 also experienced winterkill. The following are a couple articles detailing the severity of winterkill experienced in the Mid-Atlantic this year:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxAgdBl_9-_HT09HYVdRMUFQVzg/view?usp=sharing&pli=1

http://www.carolinasgolf.org/Blog/102404/Winterkill-of-Bermuda-Grass-in-N-C?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

 That being said, we are working to fix these areas. Fescue sod was laid on the left rough on holes #10 and #16 in place of bermuda. The fescue will perform much better over the winter being in shade and on a north-facing slope. I'm hoping the fescue on #10 will also help hold some golf balls before they roll into the woods. Hole #10 continues to be prepped for sod that will be laid early next week. We have decided to go with a different variety of bermudagrass that we hope will transition from dormancy with little/no setbacks. After the sod is laid please abide by the signs and rope/stakes directing golfers to the cart path in order for the sod to tack down as quick as possible. Thanks for your patience and understanding and we look forward to seeing you out on the course.