Course Update

The course seems to be handling the spring fairly well. The putting surfaces were lagging slightly due to the cooler, wet weather, but with the recent warm temperatures and sunshine, they seem to be waking up. Hopefully not too much.

We have dropped the height of cut on Red Feather and Black Bird greens quite a bit and anticipate that, in time, this will result in smoother, quicker greens with a much finer texture. Unfortunately, the greens on Gray Hawk will be maintained at a slightly higher height with higher nutritional inputs to aid them through their first year. This will result in greens that are slightly slower and maybe not quite as smooth. We contemplated leaving the greens on Red Feather and Black Bird a bit taller to provide consistency between courses, but it is time that the older greens are maintained the way they are meant to be.

       

#9 Gray Hawk from the new black tee

The grow-in of the fairways on Gray Hawk has suffered the most from the cool, wet temperatures. The soil temps couldn't seem to maintain adequate levels to promote germination and growth. We will continue to push these fairways, but the heat of the summer is right around the corner, which, for all intents and purposes, will shut down any further improvements in density. Cart path restrictions on Gray Hawk will be lifted this Saturday with the understanding that any indication of major traffic stress throughout the summer, the restrictions can be reimplemented. With as little maturing time as those fairways have had, it will be important that we "baby" them as much as possible. The more turf we can get through this first year, the better they will be entering 2014.

 

#4 Red Feather from the black tee.