Summer 2021: Midseason Course Conditions Update
July 23, 2021 —
Hot and dry.
Great weather to play golf, not necessarily great weather to “grow golf”.
A semi-drought for 50-odd days gave our property only some .30″ of rain. This led to more watering and more care by our team. There has not been much moisture at all.
We’ve watered 90% of days since the “drought” started.
Thankfully, just last week (second week of July) we received a little more than 2.00” inches of rain, which helped immensely.
The course is holding up, but it is definitely firm and a little “crispy” in some spots. From a playability standpoint, it’s almost ideal!
Let’s dive into the rest of the midseason update.
Staff
Things are great. We’re blessed with numbers and with a group that knows what they’re doing.
Our team is doing especially well maintaining the property in these dry conditions.
In August, we’ll be losing a few workers to college and coaching, but this is nothing new for our team and we should maintain solid numbers through the fall.
CapEx Project Updates
Pines 6 tee box: You may remember in May, DJ and his team finalized a project to develop more teeing area on this par-3. We opened it in mid-June.
It came in very nicely — no sod lines, no abnormalities, no nothing. It’s all uniform and looks awesome.
…teeing ground for our two most used tees. Excited to see this addition used this season and in the future. Always a nice bonus to find unused wire in the ground for irrigation. pic.twitter.com/HfxjyuIgCk
— DJ Shallenberger (@huskershally) May 6, 2021
Dunes 11 forward tee: This opened around July 4th. It’s graded well, allowing for a flat teeing surface. Once it grows in around the edges, it will blend in perfectly with the other boxes already on the short par-4. It provides a much better angle and is already receiving rave reviews!
We added a new forward tee on Dunes 11 this spring.
Great angle and vantage point for those looking to attack this short par-4.
Bombs away!#HitBombs💣 pic.twitter.com/NhmXDkmBjp
— The Prairie Club (@theprairieclub) July 23, 2021
We’re continuing to look for other projects that could improve the playability on property.
More updates with our ideas coming later on…
Current Turf
Mowing lengths are a little higher than normal to combat the dry climate and some moss growth.
The turf has taken well to the longer cut lengths. It has greatly suppressed any moss growth and our process rolling the greens have kept green speeds very consistent.
The greens are at a stimp speed between 10.5 and 11. Perfect.
We’re top dressing greens every Wednesday alternating between courses, while doing the tees once per month and fairways when they are punched at the beginning and end of the season. We needle tine, as needed.
First needle tine of 2021 on the Dunes course today pic.twitter.com/lpttly7B9u
— Andrew Getty (@Andrew_Getty) June 10, 2021
Every 30-40 days, we’re also applying wetting agents to conserve irrigation water and/or managing soil water repellency. We’ve done two (2) applications this year.
Overall, the turf is healthy and the extra few inches of rain we got recently helped the course gain some of its “green” back.
Equipment
The course has remained in good shape, even as a handful of mowers have rotated in, then out, of our shop with needed repairs..
Hey, that’s what happens!
Our guys are handling it great and we are going to keep the fleet moving.
In Closing
We wish we could go deeper here, but we should get back to the property.
We have 220 acres of turf to cover, plus some.
All in all, the golf courses look great and we’re in a great place heading into Part II of the 2021 golf season.
Come see it for yourself, soon.
