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.

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.

New Grass Plantings

#1 Tee

#5 Tee

9th Tee Re-grassed

Since the season, most all of the golf course has recovered very well. One area that I could not seem to nurse to recovery was the blue/white tee on the 9th hole. We tried a variety of things, but nothing seemed to help. We thought that this would make a good test area for “Celebration” bermuda-grass. Celebration is supposed to be more shade tolerant and hold up better under play with quicker recovery times. We first stipped all of the exsisting sod and then smoothed the surface, prepping it for sod.

Once the surface was prepped,we laid down the sod and watered it liberally.

We have since scalped, rolled and top-dressed the surface. It currently looks somewhat brown, but it will be fine. This always occurs after the first mowing, but will improve with subsequent mowings. I hope to have the tee usable by the end of August if not sooner.