Course Update

January 1^st is the unofficial beginning of our peak golfing season, when the course is slammed wall-to-wall with play. It also happens to be the coldest time of year; and warm season grasses on Florida golf courses hibernate as soil temperatures drop below 65^o F.

Our winters are roller coasters with regards to temperature. Turf quality throughout Florida fluctuates up and down, as cold fronts can be followed by weeks of moderate temperatures. Several early frosts in late October/early November were followed by weeks of warm weather in December and early January, as daytime highs reached the lower 80’s. This created healthy green color on golf courses.  A cold front came in this week, and we were covering our plants, as temperatures reached the freezing point in some areas. Lower temperatures will now cause the turf to go off color once again, and, no doubt, there will be some grumbling by golfers over lack of color. Rest assured that the course will green up again as temperatures rise.

Pencil-tine Aerification

We  performed the first of four “pencil-tine” aerifications this Tuesday. Aerification achieves three things. It relieves soil compaction, it provides a method to improve the soil mixture around the highest part of a green’s roots and it reduces or prevents the accumulation of excess thatch. A pencil tine aerification is much different from the aerifications we do over the summer. A pencil aerification is simply more of a maintenance aerification, that punches very small holes to allow more air and water to penetrate the soil. The aerification is followed immediately by our rollers. Once the green is rolled, it is hard to see that anything was done. The disruption to the playability of the golf course is kept to an absolute minimum. The only disruption is that the Golf Shop must run straight tee times for us to accomplish this. This process will be done on the second Tuesday of each month through April.

Golf Cart Traffic

One of the biggest issues here at the club during season is cart traffic. Cart traffic is our biggest challenge in maintaining quality turf. Heavy cart traffic with cooler soil temperatures, shorter days and cool nights and you have a turf that just does not grow and recover from damage. Below is a list of things that can be done to minimize the damage from cart traffic.

1. 90 Degree Rule- This rule has nothing to do with temperature as has been suggested to me once upon a time. For those who are not familiar with this rule, it means to stay on the cart-path from the tee and driving until your cart is nearly perpendicular to where your ball is and then turning 90 degrees and driving to your ball. Once your next shot is hit, you would then return to the cart-path and repeat the process. Most people with take the shortest distance between two points and drive straight off the tee to the ball. Observing the 90 degree rule will eliminate unnecessary traffic.
2. Parking At Tee or Green- When parking your cart near a tee or green complex, make sure ALL FOUR wheels of your cart are on the path. This is one that I see on a daily basis where a cart is half on, half off of the path. Areas next to the greens and tees get especially worn as a result of this.
3. Exit Posts- All fairways except for the par 3′s have two green and gold posts on either side of the fairway. These posts signify the point at which the driver of the cart should exit the fairway to the cart path. No carts should be inside of this point to the green. These posts are moved daily to avoid wear patterns. All carts must remain on the path only on the par 3′s (holes #4, #7, #12 and #15).
4. Handicap Flagged Carts- Carts that are transporting a player with a handicap should always remain at least 30 feet from the edge of any green. All too often I have observed handicap carts either on the actual putting surface or on the collar. I have even seen on several occasions, a cart drive across the green! While your cart may carry a handicap flag, you still must observe these rules near the greens.
5. Cart Signs/Ropes/Posts- Please obey all directional signs, “no cart” signs, and ropes and stakes that you may encounter. These items are there to serve a purpose to eliminate or minimize cart traffic.

You would be surprised what an improvement all of the above rules can make on the golf course if everyone abided by them. The goal is for everyone to enjoy their round here at the club and sometimes it’s the little things that make that possible.

Tip of the Month- Divot Repair

Following last month’s tip regarding ball-mark repair, this month I have chosen a video on divot repair. Please play close attention to repairing the divot with sand/soil mix as it applies mopre to the type of turf that we have here at Naples Heritage. Click the link to view this month’s tip. DIVOT REPAIR

Gone Wild

Several months ago, I had reported that we had planted some wildflowers throughout the golf course in hard-to-maintain areas to add some color and habitat. These areas are now in full bloom and looking quite striking.  Below are some recent photos that I took to illustrate this.

Tip of the month-ball mark repair

I thought that this would be a good forum to post tips for things that you, as golfers could do to assist in the maintenance of the golf course and to maximize everyone’s experience during their round. In this post we will talk about repairing ball marks on the greens. This is consistently the biggest complaint that I get about the greens. It is the responsibility of the golfer to properly repair his or her ball mark and to do it in a way that helps aid the turf’s recovery. By clicking the following link, you can view a short video clip on this very important subject. Properly Repairing Ball Marks

annual flower planting

Is it that time of year already again? Our fall annual flowers have been installed throughout the club. We still have a few small areas to do, but the bulk is in. We have kept the choices pretty much the same for the course and grounds with a few subtle changes. The next couple of weeks are critical to establishing the plants. We tend to chose plants that are drought tolerant and can survive frost without covering. Geraniums, petunias and begonias make up the bulk of the plant material. We will be installing impatiens in the rocks along #14 tee. Normally, the Ladies’ Beautification Committee donates their time to planting these at the 14th tee. Unfortunately, due to a mistake I made on the date, the maintenance staff will be planting these this time within the next few days. My apologies Ladies!! I would like to thank the LBC for donating the funds for these flowers.

widlflowers

Over the last week or so, we have been prepping areas around the golf course for wildflowers. All of the areas that will be done should in no way affect the play of the golf course. There are several bebefits of doing this. This is one step in the certification process for the Audubon Sanctuary Program that we have registered for. You can read more about this project by clicking the tab at the top of the page. The wildflowers will provide not only beauty, but habitat for butterflies, birds and other wildlife. A few of these spots will eventually host bird boxes as well. A second benefit of doing this is to eliminate hard to maintain turf areas. Most of the areas are along the steep-sloped sides of tees where it is difficult to maintain with our equipment. This in turn, will save labor. We plan to start the seeding process within the next couple of days. Below are examples of areas that have been prepped for the seed.

pine-straw installation

Every fall, the golf course gets a blanket of pine-straw in all of the bedded areas on the course. This always provides a nice clean look and color to these areas. Below are a couple of shots at #2.

still planting

We continue to try and improve the aesthetics around the golf course. Most of the areas we have done recently have been done in a natural way using various grasses. The first example provides more than just aesthetics though. Below is at the #6 tee area between the Men’s and Ladies’ tee. this area is commonly used as a shortcut by golf carts and is typically roped off all season to prevent people from driving through it. We have eliminated this shortcut by plant Muhlygrass in this area. It is just now staring to bloom with it’s purple inflorescence.

We have also eliminated an area where it was very difficult to grow healthy turf. Below are photos between the 16th green and the 17th tee. This has always been a difficult area due to the shade that the oaks here provide.