Carmel Country Club Agronomy

  After a solid stretch of wind and 90 degree temps through the weekend we have cooled off nicely Wednesday and Thursday, before the blast furnace turns back on this coming weekend. The North greens were ready for a quick breath of oxygen so we ran the needle tines over them quickly on Monday. A light sand topdressing along with some gypsum and potassium were washed into the profile and they were back putting nicely for the week. On July 6th the North will close for 4 days for summer aeration. The greens will be dryjected and then solid tine aerated in order to incorporate sand into the upper profile. All other short grass will receive a vertical mow and adequate topdressing. Plenty more info to come. The North approaches received a light topdressing Monday as well that was brushed into the canopy. These light topdressings help keep the turf tight and prevent scalping during hot and humid periods. The roots over on the South bentgrass greens are hanging on as we trudge through summ...

  Our turf could not be happier to see some natural rain come down from the sky Thursday night. This ends another two week stretch of no precipitation. Temperatures look to get back to normal also, just touching 90 for highs instead of 100 degrees and windy! The bentgrass on the South is surviving another summer blast of heat. We are in full protection mode with fans running as needed to cut humidity and fungicides, wetting agents and nutrients being applied basically twice a week in order to keep the bent putting adequately. The Champion on the North continues to putt nicely as well and will also certainly enjoy some natural moisture. The turf on the South putting green and #1 green where our sprayer malfunctioned a month ago was replaced this past Monday. For #1 green we used good turf from the putting green so that the A1 variety of bentgrass would match up properly. The putting green spots received Pure Eclipse bentgrass from our nursery out on 5 North. The Pure Eclipse is a ne...

  Summer is here are we are ready to go. The South greens were quickly vented this past Monday with 1/4" solid tines. These greens have been draining nicely and with the heat elevated this week we did not see a need to pull cores out. We will evaluate again in late August but for now the bentgrass is enjoying a breath of air as the humidity filters back in. A light sand topdressing was also applied to the bentgrass after the vent. For the summer we will normally limit any more light topdressings to go out in front of a rain event in order to curtail any unnecessary abrasion to the bent leaf blade. A soil spray went out on top of the sand that contained wetting agent, fungicide for root diseases along with some calcium and magnesium. Granular calcium and potassium was applied after the spray and then everything was watered in for the day.  The South tees were topdressed and then brushed in on Monday. The North course also received a light sand topdressing after a verticut Monda...

  We once again had to navigate some rain this past weekend. While our property was fine to take another inch of rain Saturday morning, it was our neighbors to the North that caused us trouble. Close to 4" of rain came down upstream and flushed down through McAlpine Saturday afternoon. Water was into the fairway bunkers on 6 South and 7-12 were eventually shut down until the water receded.  Plenty more debris was deposited into the lake as it came up almost 3 feet. This probably won't be the last time our flood plain becomes visible but the forecast for now looks great for golf. The Green Committee has approved our new Playability and Agronomic Standards and they are available to read on the Club website on our Golf Course Care page . These Standards give an in depth view on how the courses are manicured day in and day out in order to ensure an enjoyable playing experience.  Our warm season is charged with moisture now and the crew has been doing a good job keeping up wit...