Llanerch Golf Course and External Activities

We have a new addition to the green complex on #18. It is a Breezemaster fan. This 7.5 horse powered fan creates a breeze that measures 150 feet. When you play 18 green, you will notice the a light wind blowing across the greens surface. This fan was installed to reduce the temperature on the green. Due to its close proximity to the clubhouse, 18 green has a soil temperature between 3-4 degrees higher than any other green. It might not sound like much but in the agricultural field, it is a huge difference. It can be the difference between a green being in good shape in late August or a green that has a thinning stand of grass. The fan will run 24 hours a day from now until late September. We purchased the "quietest" fan manufactured to keep it from being any kind of distraction. The fan is not a "silver bullet" when it comes to turf health but is another tool to assist us in our pursuit of good turf quality.

With the excessive heat, we have slowed down on our more "aggressive" practices. These practices include brooming, verticutting and topdressing greens, tees and fairways. The "mechanical" abrasion we create with these actions can add unnecessary stress to the grass plant. Also, the night temperatures are staying in the early 70s with humidity between 70-90%. This combination of temperatures and humidity can lead to turf damage if not managed properly. So, we continue to groom the course but in a bit more "defensive" way.  

Well, it has been an interesting and exciting past 10 days. I had both the honor and pleasure of being a volunteer for the United States Open at Merion last week. The week revolved around assisting the Merion and USGA staff setting up the tee and wicker locations. It was a great learning experience to observe how some of the best tournament officials determine how a US Open course should be set up.The course provide to be a true test for the PGA players. The course was nothing less than perfect. I want to personally thank Director of Grounds Matt Shaffer and East Course Superintendent Arron McCurdy for the opportunity to make a small contribution to the US Open. Hats off to them for a job well done!

After another 2.5 inches of rain yesterday on top of the 4 inches we received on Friday, the course is soaked. We are starting to mow as much of the course as possible.The fairways are untouchable. We will not be able to mow them until tomorrow. We are hoping to allow carts Wednesday in the morning. Will keep everyone posted.

After finishing topdressing all the greens and approaches yesterday, we turned our attention to the fairways. We are physically brooming the fairways to have the grass "stand up". Once we complete the brooming, we mow the fairways. This makes for a cleaner cut and smoother surface. We are hoping to broom half the fairways today and the rest tomorrow before the rain. 

We had grand plans to spread as much sand as possible yesterday but Mother Nature had other plans for us! We had over 1.5 inches of rain on Monday that really set us back from topdressing. Instead we spent yesterday and today reworking the sand in the bunkers that was moved by the heavy rains. Today, the sun came out and we started to spread sand. All the greens were verticut and lightly topdressed. We are also todpressing the approaches. This helps in provide a smoother surface and assists in draining the soil.