We will hopefully be able to have our irrigation system up and running for the year by the beginning of the third week in April if temperatures allow us to. Once the irrigation system is operating we will overseed #8 fairway where we did the drainage work last season and hopefully have hole #8 back in play by July 1 at the latest. Hole #8 being back in play will allow us a much better routing flow until we have the flooded holes open.
Early in April we will quickly give the pumphouse a bit of a facelift. We will be painting everything on the inside. This includes pumps, platforms, piping, etc and give it a very good clean. The pumphouse is one of the most important areas to care for and maintain so this will be very important.
We had a pretty big battle last season with take-all patch on the greens. We will certainly see it again this season but we will be ready to prevent it from actually causing any damage this year. Early in the year will will be applying a blend of ammonium sulphate and micronutrients to the greens in a liquid spray. This will be very important as it is the most effective way of limiting take-all patch. Take-all patch thrives in higher pH (above 7) conditions and likes alkaline soil conditions. The ammonium sulphate acts as an acidifier in the soil and helps to lessen the strength of the disease. We will also be aerating greens twice this season and verti-cutting frequently to reduce thatch (dead decaying plant matter), which also helps to promote disease if too much thatch is present. We also will be applying an environmental friendly pest product throughout the season to help address disease and promote a healthy plant. This product is called Civitas. Civitas is a mineral oil that works by working with the plant to promote defence proteins quite rapidly that will allow the plant to protect itself whenever a potential threat is present to the plant. It leaves the plant ready to fight and these defence proteins are not consumed by the plant unless a threat is present. We will be applying this product from May until October this season and we are very optimistic about the success we will have with it.
We anticipate the general condition of the playing surfaces to greatly improve this season much like they did last year. We brought the greens back to basically the best condition they have ever been in, and we expect them to be even better this year. The overseed that we did to the tees last season was very successful and we will see the final results of it this season as the grass will finish filling in and leave the tees in very decent condition. The fairways were 100% overseeded last fall and we were seeing very good germination from it before snow coverage this winter. We are anticipating a lot of good moisture this spring so the fairways should continue to fill in very well and be in good condition by the middle of the season.
We will also be continuing with improvements to cart paths, wet areas (drainage) and bunkers this season. We would like to be able to add some sand to the green side bunkers
if funds allow, as most of them are definitely in need of more sand after 20 years of play.
So as you can see we have a very busy season ahead of us but we are very excited for it to begin. We are really looking forward to continuing to greatly improve this great golf course this upcoming season! If you ever have any questions for me or have any concerns about anything please either stop in at the pro shop and leave a message with them for me to contact you or give me a call at the office at (306)458-2352 and I will try to get back to you as soon as possible.
Working up flooded area last fall
