Irving Park Sprigs 6-29-15 (Day 10)

We are now 10 days into the sprigging process and here is what we are seeing.  For the most part the first seven days were as good as we could have expected.  We got good quality sprigs and put them down in timely fashion.  Soil conditions were very good at planting time due to two days of heavy aerification prior to planting.  Softened soils made it easier for the sprigs to be cut into the ground and easier to water to penetrate the soil once the sprigs were cut into the ground.  The final day of planting we received .7 inches of rain and have received an addition 1.6 inches of rain since then.

Day 6 #15

Today we are beginning the drying out process ahead of schedule.  With a slightly dryer surface we are beginning to roll all the sprigged areas in an effort to improve the quality of our first mowing, which we expect to take place towards the middle part of the week.  We will begin mowing at a height of 1 inch and will lower that slightly every  3-4 days.

Day 10 #15 Being Rolled

Once the fairways are all mown we will then begin to fertilize everything with a quick release Nitrogen source, which will be thoroughly watered in immediately following the application.  This process of reducing mowing heights and weekly fertilization will continue until we are down to our standard mowing height and all the areas are fully covered.

Some areas will naturally grow-in quicker than others.  Some areas that take poorly will eventually be sodded once we determine whether or not they will fill in on their own.  We are seeing some areas that were either to thinly planted, washed during recent rains or have been too droughty to establish that will require small amounts of sod.

The simple fact we have had a good take on the sprigs thus far leads me to believe we will be able to get at least part of the course open in the three week period discussed prior to closing the course and we should have a fairly good playing surface after six weeks, which is a pretty good turn around for our region.