Week of July 18th

 

Well it seems summer has finally arrived.  It has been a hot and humid week.  The course is holding up well through the first part of this heat wave that is forecast to last through the weekend and into next week.  

The crew did an amazing job this week prepping for the 4-day MSGA Maryland State Women's Amateur that started on Monday.  It has been a battle to stick to our weekly maintenance routine, but the crew knocked it out of the park.  

The rain storm that rolled in Monday evening gave us a break from hoses on Tuesday and we were able to try out this used boom lift to see if we wanted to add it to our equipment fleet.  This boom lift is a tow behind unit that will rotate 360 degrees, has a 2-man basket and will raise up to 38 feet.  This lift will come in handy not only for tree work around the course but also for work around the clubhouse and any other projects that require height.  

It was another week of irrigation repairs.  The crew was able to fit in 6 more repairs between tournament play.  

Work continued on the exterior walls around the patio.  The masonry crew is moving along well.  The side closest to 9 green is completed and reopened for seating.  They will be working on the area above the windows to the grill room the rest of this week.  The clubhouse staff will continue to update patio seating to accommodate these repairs.

Lastly I wanted to talk about the heat wave we are entering.  With daytime temperatures forecasted well above 90 degrees - even soaring into triple digits - and nighttime temperatures in the mid- to upper-70's, if you throw in a couple thunderstorms then things can go south quickly.  The team and I are in full protection mode.  Every day we will be making our decisions based solely on turf health.  Decisions like when to water, how much to water, when to cut certain areas, whether to cut and roll greens - or only cut or only roll - will be made for the benefit of the turf.  The course has come so far in the last couple years and we aim to make the correct daily decisions to keep the course in great shape for the rest of the summer.  Even if we make all the right calls, we may still experience some bumps and bruises but we strive to keep them to a minimum.   

Thanks for reading.