LETTER FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT
LETTER FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT
Dear members of St. Johns,
Aerification was a success at the beginning of the month and the greens are just about healed in. We used a 5 / 8” tine on 2” spacing( tine is the implement that punches the hole, holes are spaced every two inches) so we were able to remove quite a bit of old material and replace it with new. Thank you to all for your patience during this process.
This month we will be working on more cultural practices on the greens. We will be verticutting bi-weekly with some brushing and spiking mixed in. Weekly light topdressing will continue. The goal in these processes is to promote a tighter, more uniform putting surface. Some of you may have noticed the greens being off in color recently. This is due to rates of plant growth regulators( PGR) being applied to the plant. I am trying a few different rates to see if we can affect the off-type areas in the greens and achieve more uniformity as well. The off types need much higher rates of PGR to come under regulation than the ultradwarf Bermuda, so we are looking for that happy medium. The rates are not damaging the tifeagle, the PGR at high rates has a bronzing effect on the plant and it eventually grows out of it. We have finally received some much-needed rain and as usual in Florida it all seems to be coming at once. After being through many drought periods I told myself I would never complain about rain, so we are happy to have it and see the water levels in the ponds coming back up. We are working on the bunkers to try and keep them to a playable standard during these consistent heavy downpours.
Thanks,
Mike O’ Malley
Superintendent
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