Bobcat summer cultural expectations

As we prepare for our summer closures we want to communicate our expectations of how conditions will improve upon completion of our summer cultural practices on your new Bobcat golf course.  On May 16, 2016 we will close the Bobcat for 3 weeks to begin our summer cultural work.  This will include aerifying, verticutting and topdressing our greens, tees, fairways and rough.  Since the Bobcat is a new course and many of the areas have never seen the practices mentioned above, there will be huge benefits next season once the course has begun to mature and experienced these turf-health enhancing processes. 

-Aerification:  "Poking holes" helps alleviate compaction (which is a prevalent problem on new courses) and will allow water to soak into the root zone as opposed to running off the surface to a drain.  This will reduce the drought stress we are currently witnessing and also improve the playability by making the greens more receptive.  Aerification in conjunction with rolling will also help to smooth some of the bumpiness in fairways.  In the photograph below it is easy to see where our sub-surface drain lines are located.  The compacted soil around the drain lines is causing water to flow to the drains, which is why those spots are green and not impacted as much by drought.

 
-Verticutting:  Verticutting or vertical mowing is the process we use to thin out the grass and allow it to rejuvenate.  It removes the detrimental thatch layer and helps to smooth and firm the playing surfaces.  In the video below you will notice the massive amount of thatch, stem and runner mass that is removed.

-Topdressing:  Once holes are open we will topdress greens and tees.  This will help to perfect the smoothness of the Bobcat greens and aid in providing sand drainage channels and smoothing tees.