Members,

April is finally here, and the course is loving the weather. One of the most important processes that we perform in maintenance are taking soil samples of the greens to determine where they are from a nutrient standpoint, normally, the samples are taken from a few greens but in our case we tested every green to include the putting green to ensure we create a baseline to grow from, I am awaiting the results and once I receive and analyze them, will make the appropriate nutrient applications so we are protected during the hot summer.

April 20th we are scheduled to fertilize the golf course in its entirety and then it is on to manicure the course to it’s fullest playing potential. Until then and after we will also be cleaning the course from broadleaf weeds so we can get a heads up on spreading the grass without weed pressure being involved. Also, we have a small POA Annua breakout on a few greens, but this is normal in the spring and once the greens fully come out of dormancy, I will treat for that so we can stay ahead of the POA curve. Poa is the most invasive grass/weed we will encounter here at Coharie and addressing it ASAP is the only way to get ahead of it. We are 95+% clean which by industry standard is excellent, it will not affect the ball roll but know that it is there, and we will address it when the conditions are right to do so.

We have already begun to top-dress the practice putting green to even out the repaired areas from last June/July, it will take a little while but with consistent fertilization/growth regulator applications we will spread the grass sooner rather than later.

The first week of May we will begin the aggressive verticutting of the greens and topdressing program. It is my intention to verticut aggressively and groom once a month. This will allow us to get the greens in the best condition from a ball roll and consistency standpoint, while simultaneously minimizing the grain on the greens.

All in all, the golf course is shaping up nicely and your maintenance crew is having fun doing it, we can be proud of the collective cooperation from management and members alike who have gone above and beyond to assist us in making your course the best it can be.

Fairways and Greens!

Mike Monk, GCSAA, PGA