Aeration Dates Changed

The aeration of greens and tees was scheduled to occur next week on April 28^th and 29^th.   After evaluating current conditions and discussing options with Pro Shop staff, Club Management and the Green Committee Chairman the decision was made to hold off on aeration of greens and tees.  Due to the cooler spring, current turf conditions and next week’s colder forecast we are moving the dates to May 7^th and 8^th.  We will be closing the front nine on the 7^th and the back nine on the 8^th. 

Efforts to spur the greens into growing by applying both granular and foliar fertilizers have been met with little to no results.  The greens need to be actively growing in order to recover from the aeration process.  Currently the greens are not growing due to the cooler temperatures and current soil temperatures around 50 degrees.  This is almost 10 degrees lower than our soil temps last year at this time.   

Aerating the greens could actually result in setting them back a few weeks with next week’s lows being in the upper 30”s to low 40”s.  Highs next week after Monday are in the 50”s and mid 60’s.  These temperatures are not conducive to any type of recovery for the A1 and A4 bentgrass on our greens and could potentially lengthen the time required for recovery.  In a year like we are experiencing it has been decided to error on the side of caution.   

As always it is our goal to provide the membership with the best playing conditions possible.  Aeration to the greens is vital in providing healthy playing surfaces through the summer stress period.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and as always we appreciate your understanding and patience with these date changes.
 

For current information regarding the golf course follow the Golf Maintenance Department on twitter at: @amorris_andrew.  If you have any questions feel free to contact me at 309-682-9432.  See you on the course!