Welcome everyone to the first newsletter of the 2011 season!
Everyone is wondering what is going on with the golf course. Let’s start with the greens.
The greens were severely damaged last year due to a variety of reasons and were in that condition at the start of the season. We started off the year with a disease called pythium root rot. This disease was present last year and reoccurred this year. We sprayed for this disease, have it under control, and have been on a 2 week preventative chemical program ever since. Another big issue is a faulty irrigation system. We have not had a properly working irrigation system for the last 3+ weeks. With these irrigation problems, we had multiple dry areas on the greens, tees, fairways and rough. Right now, we have approximately 65% use of the irrigation system.
I am confident we will get the system running effectively.
There were several tees that had little to no turf present at the start of the season. With the warm temperatures now with us, we are seeding and applying additional fertilizers to get the turf on these tees back in proper shape.
Most of the fairways also had numerous large bare spots. With the wet spring, a large portion of these areas have filled in. We are now seeding these areas with Bentgrass.
The bunkers were not in the best of shape at the start of the season. There were no edges present and plenty of weeds and grass in the bunkers. The bunkers have all been edged, weeded and smoothed to provide a great bunker experience.
The overwhelming amounts of rain this spring combined with multiple equipment issues prevented us from maintaining the rough at a sufficient height. The rain has stopped and the majority of the equipment problems have been fixed. The rough is currently being maintained at 2”, the lowest the rough has been here in quite sometime.
No winter maintenance was performed on any of the equipment at PNGC. Most of the equipment didn’t run or cut. With the hiring of a “top notch” equipment technician, we are now gaining on all of the equipment problems.
The aforementioned information is not intended to “make excuses,” however it is provided to inform you of the issues we have been dealing with and the mass efforts being made to improve the quality and playing conditions of the course. We realize that there are still imperfections, but as each day passes, we are getting closer to providing you with the best course possible and we will not be satisfied until those results are achieved.
We have heard your suggestions and constructive criticism, and hopefully you will soon see that we are responding accordingly. We appreciate the compliments, your patience and understanding as well as your continued support.
Thank you,
Mark Bucci
Golf Course Superintendent