July 2017

I hope everyone enjoyed the wonderful 4th of July festivities here at FCC!  Once the rain ceased, we were left with a beautiful evening to celebrate with family and fireworks.   The show was great and it was amazing to see what happens behind the scenes!




We are continuing to focus on the little things that make our course great.  Tree maintenance is ongoing and Eric is doing a great job of keeping the willows trimmed up.  This allows us to mow underneath them without damaging our mowers.  It also allows golfers a great opportunity for a clear shot if their golf ball ends up underneath one.


Here is a nice before and after shot.






We are also sowing seed underneath our trees as well.  Here is a shot of one of our trees on #16.



Unfortunately, mother nature sometimes does a little tree work as well.


Within the last two weeks we have received nearly 5.5" of rain and the river has been rising.



The heavy rains have washed out many bunkers throughout the course.



When this happens, we need to shovel the sand back up to the edges and then use a garden rake to level it out.  Sammie and Josh are working hard to make the bunkers look good again!



When the water recedes we are left with a fine layer of silt at the bottom of the bunkers.  This contamination needs to be removed to keep our sand pure and clean.  Here we are raking out the silt layer. 


After this is complete we then proceed with raking the bunker.  Here is the final product.


Fortunately we have new sand ready to spread in the bunkers that need it.


Our greens also need a little extra attention with all the moisture.  Wetting agents can only pull so much moisture through the profile.  To help keep the surface dry, we can "vent" our greens and allow oxygen to get into the root zone.  Notice the little channels made by our spiking units.  This allows for improved gas exchange and a place for surface moisture to go.  The result is a firmer putting surface.  


The weather pattern we are in now is ideal for the development of fungal turf diseases.  We are protecting ourselves with the proper use of turf fungicides.  Eric takes great pride in his applications and keeps the turf healthy.



There have been some great photo opportunities despite the rainy weather.





I hope everyone enjoys the club championships this week and look forward to seeing you all on the course!




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