The story for the month of May has been the unseasonably dry conditions that we, for the most part, welcome at Nemadji as it allows the golf course to present better playing conditions for our players and gives us a certain amount of control over things. Too much rain is much worse than not enough and so I cannot really complain. That being said, seeing the huge cracks forming in the clay in certain areas of the rough this early in the season is concerning as it seems that we are on our way to yet another droughty year. This is what happens when rainfall amounts in May are only 25% of historical amounts.
Typical Non-irrigated Area at Nemadji May 30, 2023
When these dry conditions persist, we are increasingly forced to rely on supplemental water in the form of irrigation to keep the golf course from going dormant from drought stress. On a normal golf course, this is optimal as we are able to control the moisture levels of the golf course and thus conditions and playability. At Nemadji, however, when we are forced to rely on a decrepit and poorly designed system, we have to deal with stuff like the following picture:
Massive Leak 18 West 5-30-2023
I like water hazards as much as the next guy (and apparently so does Bentley) but this one resulted from a failed irrigation line behind 18 West green. This is not the first time we have had system failures and will not be the last as long as we are forced to rely on this irrigation system. This leak was promptly fixed as well as several others throughout the golf course and as I write this article, we are currently repairing yet another one. This will be the reality in dry conditions until this system is replaced, hopefully in a few years. It’s a shame we lost this water (which costs money) as we could have used it to help the grow in of the new tee on 9 North.
9N Tee after seeding and fertilizing 5-26-2023
This project is the culmination of the past few years we have spent increasing the size of the tee with drainage spoils from other parts of the golf course while removing a deteriorated wall that was a safety hazard and an eyesore. We took the opportunity to level the tee and make the space we have more usable. While not perfect it will be a vast improvement.
We chose to go with seeding the area as opposed to sodding for a variety of reasons. One is the cost in material and labor. Another is our ability with seed to select superior turf varieties that will result in a much better stand of turf in the future. Not all turfgrasses are the same and the ones we selected for use on the tee are proven sports turf performers unlike the sod we can purchase locally. In addition, sodding turf areas often results in persistent layering issues that can take years to correct through aerifying. A seeded surface, while slower to establish, results in a superior future playing surface and fits better with our goal of ensuring optimal turf long into the future.
Regarding when this tee will be ready for play, we need to understand that there are many variables at play here. If conditions are favorable-warmer temperatures would be helpful here-we hope to have the tee open by mid-August. We will open it when it is ready. Meanwhile, embrace the mat and understand that hitting off a mat for a few months is worth the many years of productive use that this tee should provide in the future.
9N tee after installation of Futerra blanket 5-26-2023
To those that may be interested, we used an anti-erosion/grow in blanket called Futerra blanket over the top of the seeded area in order to assist in the establishment of the tee. This mat helps to reduce the danger of washouts during heavy rain events and speed germination and establishment. I have used this product with great success in the past during golf course grow ins saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in sod costs and ultimately providing a superior playing surface.
Moving on to a final point of interest, mosquitos are starting to make their appearance and we all do what we can to keep them off of us. The go to with this problem is usually some kind of bug spray. All we ask is that you are careful as to where you stand when applying it.
Bug Spray Damage 1N Tee 5-31-2023
Bug spray is often phytotoxic (kills turf) when it is inadvertently sprayed onto grass-especially on warm days. Here we can see the outline of a pair of feet where someone sprayed their legs while standing on the tee. The resulting overspray did some minor damage to the turf. While not a huge deal, it is a good idea to stand on a cart path or some other non-grass surface when performing this action.
See you on the golf course.