September Golf Course Update The Royal course opened and the Sabal course closed today. The Royal is complete with summer cultural programs and back nine renovations. The Sabal course will be closed for the last round of cultural activities and will open on October 15 th. Sabal Course We will begin the final closing by verticutting all greens, tees, approaches, and fairways. The greens will be done in two directions initially, with other verticut applications after aerification. Initial depth of the verticutting of the greens will be 3/16 deep with a gradual decrease in depth with future applications. The tees and fairways will be verticut one direction at 3/4" deep. Verticutting is done to remove thatch and organic material as well as reduce grain. Aerification of greens, tees, and fairways will take place once all verticutting and clean-up is complete. Greens will be aerified with 5/8 coring tines and tees and fairways will use 3/4" coring tines. The greens cores will be removed with sand topdressing following removal. The tees and fairways will be drug with a plastic grid drag mat when the cores dry. The cores break up releasing the soil from the cores leaving thatch and stems. This material is blown into rows and removed with the sweeper-vac. All of the waste material is deposited at the maintenance facility then hauled away to a horticultural waste facility by an outside contractor. Verticut Application #10 Green Sabal Thatch Removal from #10 Green Sabal
Blowing Off Green #2 Sabal Mowing Green after Verticut Application Verticutting #4 Fairway on Sabal #3 Approach after Verticutting As mentioned previously, the greens will be topdressed following aerification. The sand will be worked into the holes where the cores were removed utilizing a coco drag mat. We utilize a greens roller to pull the drag mat aiding in smoothening the greens surface while working the sand into the holes. The rolling process will continue over several weeks to smooth the putting surfaces. Light verticut applications will be applied to the greens prior to opening.
Royal Course We have been extremely busy on the Royal course during the closing. The greens have received four core aerifications, two solid tine aerifications, one deep tine aerification (9 ), and numerous verticutting applications. The tees and fairways have been verticut 6 times in different directions. Tees, fairways, and roughs were aerified twice and traffic areas were done three times. Traffic areas consist of areas where carts enter and exit fairways and walk up areas around greens and tees. As reported last month, the fairways were topdressed with 1/2" of sand. This dilutes organic matter in the soil and aids in water movement and reduces compaction. Sand does not compact nearly as much as organic matter. This will improve condition of the fairways over time. The back nine renovation has gone well opening the course a week earlier than planned. You will notice some areas where new sod has been applied. These are areas where we had some breakthrough with common bermudagrass. These areas will grow in within three to four weeks. Although a high percentage of common bermudagrass and other off type grasses are killed during the process, there are no methods to control these grasses to 100%. The Celebration bermudagrass has much stronger growth habits than the older Tiffway 419 bermudagrass and will compete better against other off types. Celebration also has a wider leaf blade and darker green color than the older 419 bermudagrass which helps mask any other off type grasses. Sod Area #11 Fairway Royal Sod Area off #11 Green Royal
As with the front nine last year, the back nine will take some time to mature and fill in. You will notice quite a difference between the front and back nines especially with playing conditions. The back nine fairways will be a little more firm than the front nine. Increased density of the turf on the front nine is noticed after a growing season as compared to the back nine. A peer of mine said it well that renovations are like plastic surgery, it takes a while for the bruising and swelling to go down, but when it does it is beautiful. The back nine will take a full growing season to mature and fill in. #7 Fairway Royal Maturing Nicely #12 Royal Tee at Eleven Weeks #10 Fairway Royal #13 Fairway Royal
#16 Fairway Royal #17 Fairway Royal Landscape plantings were installed throughout selected areas of the back nine. These areas were done as part of the perimeter landscaping to screen off areas along Winkler and Six Mile Cypress. These areas when mature will provide residents and golfers privacy from the roads and other buildings outside the community. Plantings by #13 Royal Green Plantings on Berm #14 Royal This will be the last golf course update of the summer. I will be doing an update periodically throughout the season to keep everyone informed as to what is going on throughout the courses and common ground areas. We are always making improvements and I feel this is a great way to keep you informed. Greg Kriesch Director of Golf Course Operations