PC Conversion Update - 6/30/12

      Water, water, and water some more. That has been the theme at the Players Club over the latter part of the week. We will continue the frequent watering through next week. As the greens become more established, the frequency of watering will decrease and the amounts will increase.
      Along with nursing the greens we were able to accomplish some other goals around the course. Here is a rundown of last week and a look ahead to next.

Last Week 6/24-6/30

• Planted the MiniVerde sprigs. In case you missed it, here is an overview of the process.
• Repaired multiple minor irrigation issues around the course. This is a never ending task with 900+ sprinkler heads.
• Landscaped and sodded the surround of our nursery green. The nursery green is located near our maintenance facility. Here is a picture of that complex.  

• Cut back some overgrown areas around tees and greens.
• Applied fertilizer and wetting agent to the bunker faces.

      
Next Week 7/1-7/7

• Apply fertilizer to the greens. The timing will be based upon their condition. The amount of green tissue at the surface will determine the proper day for fertilization.
• Roll the greens.*
• Lightly verticut the greens.*
• Apply a light topdressing to the greens.*
• Spray growth regulator on the fairways, tees and rough. This will limit the amount of topgrowth, which in turn reduces scalping and improves overall appearance.

* Tentative based on condition of the greens.

      The greens are currently in a day to day stage. As stated, we are watering frequently and constantly observing their progress. Here are a couple photos of the surfaces Friday.

Above is a photo from eye level. Here you can not see much difference from Tuesday. One change is the the topdressing has settled. This settling has exposed more sprigs to the surface. Although subtle while standing, there are many changes happening at ground level.

Here is a picture from the surface. There is a huge difference when you view the green from this level. You can see the new growth emerging from the sprigs. This was very encouraging to us on Friday. Modern Turf (sprig supplier) told us not to expect any green-up for one week.

      The encouraging green-up ensures us that the conversion is right on schedule. With six weeks until opening, we are confident that the greens will be in excellent condition on August 13th. If you haven't already, come out and see the greens next week. And as always, follow the blog for updates on the conversion and other maintenance projects at St. James.

      One more note with concerns to observing the greens. We run our green's irrigation manually everyday from 6:00-10:30 A.M. and 12:30-4:00 P.M. Our computer system runs the irrigation from 10:30 A.M. until 12:30 P.M. and from 4:00 P.M. until dusk. We are not in control of the cycles during these times. We do not recommend checking on the greens at the times in bold. The best times to stop by and see the greens is from 8:00-10:00 A.M. and 1:00-3:00 P.M.