Spring 2013

Omaha caught a few days of favorable weather in the past week and we were able to get the entire course mowed at least once. For the most part, the course looks like it is in good shape. We experienced a fairly good green up over the weekend and expect this to continue. We still need some warmer days to get the soil temperatures rising before the course really wakes up and we can assess how we overwintered. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like this week's weather will be of much help in that department. The forecasted moisture will be great, but the temperatures will keep the turf in a holding pattern.

As the fairways continue to green up, you will notice some patchy areas of straw-colored turf. This is dead Poa Annua and it's death is by design. The battle with Poa is an ongoing one. Each fall we spray a herbicide to help reduce its population, but the effectiveness of the application cannot be judged until the spring. This year it appears that we had a pretty good kill. As soon as the course dries up next week, will begin to overseed the areas with Ryegrass. The germination rate of Rye is very quick, so the damaged areas should recover quickly

Poa Control In Fairways

As a result of this years normal freeze/thaw cycle, you may notice that some bunker liners and staples have been forced to the surface of the bunkers. Repairing this is a priority and will be taken care of ASAP. Repairing this properly and in a clean fashion is important because we do not want to contaminate any sand during repair. Please keep an eye out for these areas when you are hitting your bunker shots.

Bunker Liner Migration

We recently pulled the covers from the greens on Gray Hawk and were very pleased with what we found. The greens seemed to have continued to fill in late into the fall and started up early this spring. They are on track for an opening day of June 1st. 

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#7 Gray Hawk Green Post Cover Removal

#9 Gray Hawk Green Post Cover Removal

Our main focus going forward will be interseeding fairways, roughs, and tees. We will also dial in our nutritional plan to help the turf recover from last year's stresses and get ready for this years aerification. It is really important that the plant be healthy and full of vigor at the time of aerification to help speed recovery.

As I mentioned above, I think we overwintered well and, with some cooperation from the weather, the course should really come to life in the next 10-14 days.