Planned course maintenance:
Week 38 (14-18/9): General maintenance. Prelude to club championship
Week 39 (21-25/9): Work on greens, foregreens and fairways. Reseeding
Week 40 (28/9-2/10): Topdressing of paths, around tees, around greens
Late summer is the greenkeeper's favorite time of year when work is done on dotting, reseeding, and top dressing the grass surfaces. We will really get started with this important part of the season right after the club championship. Fairways are reseeded twice, greens and foregreens once. You should expect a little waiting time and slightly abnormal playing surfaces.
Late September marks the beginning of a top dressing program for a number of areas. Fairways have benefited from the annual dressing sand, but the transport areas around the tees and greens, as well as the paths, suffer from wear and tear and become very muddy and poor in the off-season. This top dressing program should begin to remedy this.
The hunting season for deer at the Deer Park started on September 1. Until mid-February, approximately 700 animals will be shot as part of the population control. The hunt also takes place on the golf course grounds, so you will have a good opportunity to see the top professional hunters in action. The photo of the deceased deer on the 18th tee was not taken by a bullet, but by a fight on the driving range. A punctured lung was the cause of death. Golf is not boring.
The deer hunt is also felt on the turf. The deer are significantly more nervous, so there is more damage to, for example, greens at this time. The season for crows, who search for larvae in the ground, has also begun. This year, it is especially fairways and semirough that are being hacked. We are crossing our fingers that they do not move onto the greens. It is allowed to drop free from these holes without penalty.
Both bags and tubes filled with sand and grass seed help on the fairways. It is clear that your diligent efforts are helping to repair these areas quickly. Remember, you are welcome to keep the bags hanging ready in the starter's house.
Finally: Align your tee shot and dig into bunkers. It's good golf etiquette.
Enjoy.