June / July 2022 Newsletter | Page 6

LETTER FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT DIRECTOR OF AGRONOMY
It has been a very busy spring for us . We had some challenges needless to say . We had a Pythium out break and major hail damage on the greens . We have almost fully recovered and will continue working on the trouble areas that remain .
We are continuing to fertilize the tees . They always get a little less pleasing during the transition from the cool season grass to the warmer season grass .
We have begun our summer mowing . It has been a dry spring and the Bahia rough has not been too much of an issue to date . I assume , we will start getting our summer rains soon . The rain is much needed ! It is so much better for the turf . Our ponds are very low as well and we look forward to the rain starting soon .
Our greens are getting healthier every week . I will share a picture with you that was taken on 5 / 16 / 2022 . This is on the second hole of Deer Run . This is the most root mass we have had in my tenure here . This is the root structure we are looking for . They will get better as we continue to aerify and top dress . All the new roots are in the aerification holes . As we continue to aerify and create the channels the greens will get much healthier . This is very encouraging and why we must continue to aerify and improve the soil in the greens . We will continue to keep you posted on the progress .
We will be going to a new flag system soon . We will not be using the red , white , and gold flags . We will be using a yellow with black checkered flag along with a yellow and black flag pole . We will be providing stickers in the pro shop for pin locations . It will still be a front , middle , and back rotation . We will have a sign at the starting hole of each nine to notify golfers on the day ’ s pin location . This will allow us to handle the flags less and not move them from one green to another . It will help keep the new flags cleaner and they will be more visible to the eye .
We have started monthly verticutting and will continue until the grass slows down in the fall . The verticutting helps us maintain the thatch and keeps the surface smooth for consistent ball roll . Our goal is to be able to keep the greens at 10 ’ on the stimp meter . This allows us the ability to increase speeds quicker for our bigger tournaments and will be easier to achieve with healthier greens .
In addition , we are aerifying and verticutting the fairways . This is something I have been wanting to do since coming to Sun ‘ N Lake . This process will make our fairways healthier and improve the lie of the ball . We will follow up with a wallto-wall granular application of fertilizer with a pre-emergent in it . The pre-emergent will help keep the fairways from invasive weeds and grasses .
The new short game practice area by the cart barn will open on June 1st . You can park in the coquina shelled area there and you may use your own golf balls when practicing . Please be courteous , as always , to other players that may be practicing there as well . We hope you enjoy it .
We hope you have the round of your life next time you tee it up ! Until next time stay hydrated and remember to have fun !
Best Regards ,

Jimmie Murphy

Director of Agronomy