Green Superintendent Update - August

This July at sky has been one of both challenge and excitement. Despite the intense heat and persistent drought conditions, we’ve continued to prioritize course playability to the best of our ability with our current irrigation system failures. Our irrigation system has been tested to its limits and struggles to keep up with the demands of the weather, but our grounds team has worked tirelessly to maintain course standards. A major milestone was also reached with the long-anticipated cart path renovation — nearly 150,000 square feet of path was paved in just under two weeks, a remarkable accomplishment that has already improved course access and enhanced the overall member experience. 

Amidst the summer’s trials, we were thrilled to host one of the year’s most anticipated traditions — the Member-Guest Invitational. This event continues to be a highlight of our calendar, bringing together friends, competition, and camaraderie in a truly special atmosphere. From the spirited matches to the memorable evenings at the clubhouse, the Invitational reminded us all why our club community is so unique. We thank our members for their patience through the heat and renovations, and we look forward to even better conditions ahead as we continue to invest in the course and the experience. 

Cart Path Paving 

This past year, we undertook a major renovation of our cart paths to improve the course and membership experience. For years, the paths were a bumpy and unpleasant ride, but we're thrilled to finally provide a much-needed update to our course. The entire project was a huge success, thanks to the professionalism and hard work of both the Rick Cooper Paving team and the Mystic Paving team. They worked tirelessly to ensure the new paths are smooth, durable, and aesthetically pleasing. 

With these new paths, we're asking for your help to maintain their quality and the overall health of our course. When you're near tee boxes and green complexes, please park on the new path rather than pulling off to the side. This will help prevent erosion and damage to the surrounding turf. Additionally, we ask that you practice the 90-degree rule when using the new paths. This means you should drive on the path until you are parallel to your ball, then turn at a 90-degree angle to drive directly to it. This practice is especially important during these stressful drought times, as it helps reduce wear and tear on our fairways. 

Irrigation/ thatch 

We'd like to apologize for the less than ideal conditions of our fairways. We understand this is not the experience you've come to expect, and we want to be transparent about the challenges we're facing. Our plan was to have our pump station updated to function properly by now, but unfortunately, we've encountered some significant hurdles with the custom-built panel. This is not something that is stocked on a shelf and is taking much longer to arrive than we anticipated. 

The current state of our pump station is a major issue. It constantly trips, requiring it to be repressurized, which has led to numerous leaks and mainline failures. This has severely limited our ability to water the course effectively. We are currently only able to water at 400 gallons per minute (GPM), a significant drop from our usual 1,000 GPM. As a result, a watering program that would normally take three hours to run is now taking over six hours, and even with these restrictions, the pump station still shuts down on us. This, combined with the recent high heat and lack of rain, has unfortunately taken a major toll on our fairways. 

Another issue contributing to the fairways' condition is excessive thatch. Thatch is a layer of dead and living organic matter that accumulates between the soil surface and the green vegetation. While a thin layer is healthy, an excessive amount acts like a sponge, holding water and nutrients away from the turf's root zone. This is particularly problematic during a heat wave, as the roots can't access the water they need to survive, leading to stress, browning, and even death. 

We want to assure you that we have a plan in place to address these issues and grow our fairways back stronger. We have recently purchased a verticutter and a tow-behind aerator, and we will begin aggressively tearing into the fairways after the Club Championship. We will also be "blec seeding" new cultivars of bentgrass. This process involves using a specialized machine to cut grooves into the soil, plant the new seed, and then cover it with a thin layer of sand. This will allow us to introduce more resilient grass varieties that will help us move forward. 

In the meantime, we ask for your help in preserving the health of our fairways. If you see an area that is stressed or brown, please make an effort to drive around it. Cart traffic on already-stressed turf makes a huge impact on whether the grass can recover or if the damage becomes permanent. 

Again, we sincerely apologize for the conditions, but we are confident that our plan will get our course back to the high standards you deserve. 

Golf course superintendent, 

Cogan Register