TURF TALK FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT

Coharie CC Members,

I hope this email finds you all doing well! The spring pre-emergent has been applied and spot/broadcast post herbicide applications will be conducted in March in the very few areas that have broken through with broadleaf weeds and POA Trivialis/Rye grass from years of overseeding. Regardless of that overseeding process we will continue to stay on top of the weeds and keep them at bay. Proudly, our course is 99% weed free. The POA outbreak on the greens from years past is currently mitigated with current pre-emergent and post emergent application processes and I intend to keep it that way.

We are moving forward with the purchase of the leaf vacuum that will attach to our zero-turn mower and once we receive it, we will begin to eradicate the pine straw and pinecone build up from the course. It is my hope that we can manage that piece yearly in the wintertime as a project and thus we will not need to do too much about it during the growing season.

Currently, there are plans in place to drain number sixteen green in March/April timeframe so we can continue to ensure its health and playability, as well as use it as a test green to determine if we need to drain all of our greens for their health, but also their puttability, which will naturally allow the ball to roll faster because there will be less surface tension to reduce the ball roll speed.

One of our next purchases will be a sod cutter that we can have on site to start filling in some very longstanding bare areas of the course. I am not sure when this purchase will come but rest assured that once it does, we will begin to piece meal it together.

Spring will be here sooner than later, and we are ready to embrace it. Day by day, week by week, Coharie CC is getting better and better, not only from a playability standpoint but also from an aesthetic standpoint.

Until then…

Fairways and greens

Mike,