LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR OF AGRONOMY
Turf Talk It has been a very busy month of June . We have lots of projects going on right now ! We are looking forward to improving the playing experience here at Sun ‘ N Lake .
Greens Progress : We started out the first week of June using the ninja tine on the Deer course , we also groomed the greens .
The Turtle course was cored on June 14 with 5 / 8th of an inch plug pulled . We also double verticutt the greens on June 14 to try and remove the thatch and grain in the greens . We then rolled and smoothed them back out . We again double verticutt them on June 21 and followed up with continued rolling and a heavy top dressing in hopes of firming them up a bit to make them roll smoother .
We also applied a granular fertilizer and potash to improve root growth .
We sprayed out the Kylinga sedge and some juvenile goose grass plants . We will follow up with a second application to make sure that the plants are removed .
In addition , we will be applying a nematicide to combat the high nematode counts we have . Nematodes are round parasitic worms that feed on the roots of the turf . This application will remove them from the soil . We will pull samples again later to make sure the greens are back in check .
General Course Update : During the Deer closure we also aerified the high traffic areas . When we close again on July 5 , we will aerify the tee boxes and the fairways .
Turtle Closure : We aerified the fairways , high traffic areas and tees . We also put down a product called “ Command ” which is a humate and compost product with an inoculate that will make the turf less desirable for nematodes . This also helps build the loam in the soil . The current soil is what most call sugar sand and this has little to no organic matter , which makes growing turf a challenge . This product will also help us maintain moisture in some of the drier areas .
Cart Path Improvement : I would like to thank Mike Hurley and his crew for helping us out with this task . It was a joint effort between the course maintenance staff and the district staff . It was a successful team effort ! Thanks again .
We improved the cart path around 9 green on Deer Run all the way to the snack shack . We also improved the cart path on hole 15 Turtle .
Forward Tee Project : The tee improvement project has begun and is going well despite the weather . They are all roughed in and soil mix has started being added and placed . It will take about four weeks to complete the project . Once complete , we will begin rolling , top dressing and growing them in . Some of the tees will need some additional coquina for cart traffic .
We have lots of other projects going as well . We are fixing the areas around the ponds which have eroded over time . We will be applying a filter fabric and putting down rip rap . This should stop any future erosion .
We have also started spraying out all the weeds on both courses and will continue until we are clean . We applied a pre-emergent to prevent any further germination . We will be on a better pre-emergent program going forward .
So , as you can tell , it has been a busy first month of summer . We look forward to continuing to make Sun ‘ N Lake a place you can be proud of ! We hope you continue to enjoy seeing the progress . Until next time .
Best Regards ,
Jimmie Murphy
Director of Agronomy