Well this week officially made it summer on the calendar and with the weather. Last Friday gave us 84° with 36 mph winds that dried the place down to dust. The following days through Wednesday this week were highs of 83°, 91°, 85°, 99° and finally 88° on Wednesday. Tuesday was the most uncomfortable I've ever been on a golf course in 35 years; I think even Satan himself was hot. Kudos to all of the ladies and guests that roughed that weather to play in the member guest.
So much for a wet stretch. This really goes to show that a bunch of rainy days only provide so much to the course and all of that excess water doesn't do much for us when the ponds are full. We haven't had rain since Saturday June 14, and 13 days is a long time to go without it. We've been watering like mad especially with the heat and high evapotranspiration rates but its nearly impossible to keep up with that. I'm hoping for something this weekend to give us some help. You can see the wells are running and we are already pumping down the pond on 1. We lost about 3 inches of moisture to the wind, heat and plants in the last 13 days. In order to replace that we would need to use 4,000,000 gallons of water which is obviously MUCH more that what we even have in our ponds. It would be impossible to keep up with those temperatures regardless of the fact that we had a tournament going on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday this past week. As you can imagine, the turf needs a little drink in the form of at least a syringe and a big drink in spots that heat up to the unsafe temperatures. We will have to stay on them with hoses, rehydrate plants and give them a few days to recover from the stresses of heat, mowing, rolling and of course foot traffic from golfers.
We are, as always, being very stingy with our water as we need to make it through the rest of the season. Each heavy rainstorm is a blessing, especially for us with our limited resources. In the end, we are trying to give you a firm and fast playing golf course so some brown spots where rocks are less than an inch below the surface are going to burn out. If you want lush and green, Bass Rocks isn't the place for you unless its spring or fall. You'll see the maintenance team out with hoses conserving water and handwatering surrounds, fairway spots and obviously green areas trying to add to areas that need extra.
This week is also the optimal time for white grub control applications so if you are doing that at home the time is now through the July15th for preventative applications. The most common product on the market for homeowners and professionals is Merit (imidacloprid) which is also marketed under different branding. Look at the active ingredient on the label if you are buying it as GrubEx or something else; follow the label and put down the correct rate. Also pay attention to the watering requirements after your application and be cognizant of any restrictions like applying near water bodies. The label is the law.
This coming week is the 4th of July; that used to mean the course would be extra busy. These days EVERY day is like the old 4th of July or Memorial Day. The course is full of golfers on a regular basis. This means extra wear, more divots, ballmarks and bunker shots. We fill divots every single day first thing in the morning by a well trained, highly skilled and thorough professional (my son Charlie). Ballmarks that are immediately repaired on the green will heal within 24 hours; an unrepaired ballmark will take 2 weeks to heal especially in the heat of the summer. Please fix your ballmarks, your playing partners ballmarks and remind your fellow members that this is basic golf etiquette. Raking your bunker after play is the same. We all know the old adage of "fix your ballmark and one other". Its all for the benefit of the course and those playing behind you. This is not just here at Bass Rocks, but it is getting worse everywhere and becoming a problem at almost every course. A superintendent's lament is when every golfer tells you they repair ballmarks yet there are 20 per green every single morning. Thanks for your help in this department.
I wish you all a great weekend and upcoming week for the 4th of July holiday. God Bless America
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