STM 82583 Feb Newsletter DP_STM82583 February Newsletter | Page 7

LETTER FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT
St. Johns Members,
We have been extremely busy combating our severe algae problems stemming from the
ten-day period of inclement weather that occurred during the holidays. First, we amended
our wetting agent program and incorporated a penetrant to help move the water through
the root zone and immediately performed a needle tine aerification to vent the greens. Our
next step was to diligently spike the greens two directions in some areas and continued
this process weekly. Last week we performed a more aggressive aerification using knife
tines to further vent the greens.
We have been spraying fungicides two times a week to help break up the algae and have
increased our fertility to help promote as much growth as possible of the tiff-eagle when
mother nature allows. We will continue this through the spring until we achieve the canopy
that is desired to provide smooth ball roll. Going forward we will continue with a more
aggressive fertility program to help mask the off type grasses in the greens in conjunction
with more frequent mowing and grooming and verticutting.
Thank you,
Andy Maguire
Superintendent
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