Punch punch punch....

With our small, early spring staff, we have been hard at work getting the most important tasks finished.  The wonderfully dry weather has enabled us to get a tremendous amount of de-thatching, aerification, deep-tine aerification, fertilizing, and spraying done. 

Today, we went out to finish aerifying the last few fairways.  Now while we usually deep-tine punch the fairways with solid tines, #18 fairway, #7 approach, and the bottom of #9 north fairway must be approached a little differently.  All of these areas sit barely atop solid bedrock.  To improve the turf in these areas, we can only punch very shallow holes to avoid destroying our equipment.  In order to make the holes more meaningful, we pull a plug to get the best bang for our buck.  We remove a little thatch, get some air exchange, and help the soil drain a bit better.  Pulling a core helps the shallow hole remain open a little longer than would a shallow solid-tine punching.  In time, the holes should grow over and fill with roots.

Core-aerifying 18 fairway old-school.

With spring cultivation activities nearing an end, we have finally had time to begin addressing other projects.  The huge mud hole on the right of #6 was the result of a drain tile that had been blocked by tree roots.  We got it dug up, cleaned, and will get the repair finished as soon as the mud hole dries up enough.

The crew getting ready to send water in to test the line.

Two sections were removed that were completely packed with tree roots.

Next week, we will continue knocking out these nagging projects.  Hopefully slightly warmer temperatures will allow us to get our weed control out.  Remember, it's best to wait to spray your spring weeds until you have nighttime temperatures near 50 for a day or two.  Otherwise, the plant may not take the material up as well, making it less effective.