I realize that the course updates are starting to be published quite frequently now, and I also realize that this is going to sound like a broken record, but feel it is extremely important to communicate with the membership what is happening on the golf course.
Due to the extreme heat and humidity that we have been receiving for the last week or so, we are starting to see signs of stress caused by heat and disease throughout the golf course. Within the last day we have seen a few different diseases appear on our fairways, tees and intermediate rough. Because of the nature of one of these diseases in particular, we now need to take a more aggressive approach in protecting the turf throughout the golf course. On 7/22 all of the fairways and greens will be sprayed with a fungicide to better protect against further disease development. As of today, we are planning on spraying the tees on 7/23 before play goes off the first tee in the morning.
All of these areas have been sprayed preventatively within the last week or two, but due to the severe conditions some breakthrough in the coverage has occurred. Hence, the need for additional applications.
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| Pythium fungus in Intermediate cut |
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| Close-up of Pythium fungus |
An additional change in our current management practices will be the alternating of mowing and rolling the greens. At least for the next few days, greens will be rolled one day and mown the next. This will allow for some additional leaf growth which will help the plant better defend itself against stressful conditions.
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| Dollar Spot |
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| Brown Patch |
Please keep in mind that these changes are only intended to be temporary and that the ultimate goal is to provide you with a golf course that you can be proud of during the Walter O. Wells Invitational as well as the rest of the year. With that being said, until the heat and humidity begin to drop, we will continue to play defense. As always, I encourage all of you to please contact me with any questions or concerns.
