Farm Course Closed for Aerification Week of July 12-16 

Irving Park Course Closed July 19 - 21 for Fairway Verticutting

As with any large scale aerification procedure our objective next week will be to remove and manage excess organic matter. Organic matter is a combination of living and dead plant material found in soil – e.g., roots and stems. While some organic matter is good, especially living organic matter, high levels of dead organic matter can cause problems. The water-holding capacity of organic matter in most mature turf is almost five times more than the water-holding capacity of sand. When heavy or prolonged rain events occur, soils with high levels of organic matter will hold water longer and are slower to drain. This in turn makes for softer greens, fairways, tees and roughs. Wet areas that are slow to drain will restrict cart traffic and impede maintenance activities like mowing. Wet areas are also much more prone to diseases that can lead to turfgrass thinning or loss. When the pore space of soil is filled with water instead of air, roots will suffer. Roots need oxygen and if they die, the turfgrass will die. So, continued removal of organic matter is necessary. When we aerify the greens sand topdressing helps to dilute what is not removed while facilitating drainage and delivery of oxygen to roots. Balancing the water-holding capacity of a soil by incorporating sand gives the grass access to both water and air within the soil, and creates a firmer playing surface. Sand enhances playability in addition to diluting organic matter.

New Forward Tee Constructed on Farm #7

A new forward tee was recently constructed and sodded on the 7th hole on the Farm course.  The new tee will measure approximately 340 yards.  The 9th and 12th holes are the only remaining holes where the tees are in place but a teeing area has not been constructed.

Drainage

The staff on both courses have been busy installing new drainage this year.  The farm course has added drainage on holes #2, #5, #6, #13 and are currently working on a small spot on #4.  The Irving Park staff re-did an extensive amount of drainage on the #7 fairway and added additional drainage to the upper end of the fairway.

Sod Work

The staff has finished with the bulk of the sod work required for the year  on both courses.  in regards to early summer turf repairs this year's quantity was very average with no winter kill related repairs.  This year was a little unique in that we lost a measurable amount of Zoysia sod this year due to a very wet 2020 fall and 2020-2021 winter.  One of Zoysia's biggest weaknesses is that it has a very low tolerance to prolonged saturated conditions, especially during the winter months.  2020 was the second wettest year on record for our area, so some of the larger areas of dead turf we witnessed this spring in our low lying Zoysia areas was not unexpected.  Another thing that was unique was the cooler spring and early summer lead to a big delay in when the Zoysia was made available from our suppliers and that is why some areas didn't get sodded until July this year.