Course Update

We have survived the first half of the dry, hot summer relatively well. During this dry stretch, we have focused most of our attention on the areas between the cart paths and, to some extent, left everything beyond that to Mother Nature. Attempting to keep the entire course watered and lush would be nearly impossible, but we have done our best. Our prioriy has been to provide playing surfaces with enough moisture to keep them healthy, without creating soft conditions.

The playing surfaces have maintained their density relatively well. I would not be surprised if there is a slight thinning of some of the construction areas on Red Feather as natural selection thins out the weaker plants. To offset this possible issue, we will spot fertilize these areas carefully, not to overstimulate growth but to help the turf remain strong and viable. We may also enforce some cart path rules on certain fairways, but there is no need for that at this time.

Leaving our greenside roll-off areas at a higher height of cut on Red Feather has proven to be a good move. This may not provide a puttable surface yet, but it has allowed these areas to continue to fill in and should put us ahead of the game heading into next season.

Greens speeds have picked up slightly. We are rolling around 9'-9.5' on a daily basis. While not lightning quick, they should be more consistent and smoother than they were a few weeks ago. I understand and share the desire for quicker greens, but understand that speed will come with maturity. The most important thing to remember is in order to ensure consistency between courses, I must maintain all the older greens in the same way as the new ones. This will continue through the grow-in of Gray Hawk. We cannot have a course setup in which our 2-yr old and 3-yr old greens putt differently than our 10-month old greens.

Right now we are mowing greens at a height of .140", which is higher than most courses. We do this to help the younger turf maintain its root mass. Shoot height (grass blade height) and root mass are directly correlated. Once all 30 of the greens have had a year to grow in, I expect to be mowing around .125". I assure you that within that .015",  there is an additional foot of ball roll. This would give us green speeds of 10'-10.5', which is plenty fast for greens with our contour.

With the renovation of 18 holes complete, it is easy to see the finish line. However, we still have nine holes to go so your patience is ever valuable. I cannot stress enough how much we appreciate your understanding. Please remember that the purpose of these renovations is to provide you with the best product in the area. 

To help put things into perspective, I have included the following pictures. The first is of the green on #5 Red Feather during the last week of August 2011. The next two are of #5 Red Feather nine months later when we opened the course. Within those nine months, we had about four actual months of growing weather. These greens are still very young.

August 2011

            

May 2012



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