The streak has ended!! We have enjoyed a week without leaks but this morning we had a broken pipe behind #14 green. Luckily the weather is not as warm as last week so the turf can live through a day without water.

Aerification is finally here...

Fall aeration has finally arrived!! During a long year of very difficult weather conditions it’s time to relieve the soil of compaction, create pore spacing for gas exchange, and also add some much needed nutrient to the golf course grounds of Panther Creek. On Wednesday, September 20^th we began our process on Greens and Fairways.

The Greens process starts with the surface being aerified with a .400” by 6.5” coring tine, followed by a heavy topdressing, and then a two to three hour drying process. Once the greens are dry we take a sweep and fill broom in two directions to get all of the holes filled with sand followed by a cocoa mat drag which cleans up any leftover sand on the surface and incorporates it into the green canopy. The process only takes two days to complete on all 18 holes allowing us to keep 9 holes open for play at all times. I expect the greens to be almost completely healed in one weeks’ time.

Fairway aeration will begin the same day as the greens. The difference is the tine size: ¾” x 5.75”, along with the process of trying to redistribute the existing material back into the holes and turf surface. After the units have worked the area there is typically a 3 hour wait until the cores are dry enough to start working with. We start with a Haro rake behind one of our carts breaking and flipping the cores and then follow it with a flail mowing deck which breaks the cores into very small pieces. After the flail we’ll drag the loose material into the holes and then blow the fairway clean of any of the grass tufts that are left over. This process usually takes us three days to complete and the limited cart use on fairways typically lasts a week. We will be working on the tees during the following weeks after greens and fairways are completed. Play will only be minimally affected by the same process we use on fairways.

                We on the Grounds staff appreciate the opportunity to do this type of maintenance on the course knowing full well it takes some of the best time to play golf out of your season. I know moving forward that this work being done on an annual basis will lead us as a club to better turf and also to a better preforming golf course.

As always if you have any questions or concerns please contact me anytime.

Greg Willman

gwillman@panthercreekcc.com

546-1469