Irrigation is nice, but....

Irrigation systems are really only design to supplement rainfall, not replace it.  Over the past two months, our irrigation system has been required to replace rainfall which brings about a few issues.  The biggest issue that we are facing right now is that no matter how good an irrigation system is, there are going to be inconsistencies in water distribution.  Fortunately, it takes a pretty long stretch of dry weather for these to show up.  Unfortunately, we are seeing them right now.

In the morning before the dew on the fairways is burned off by the sun or mowed off, is when these dry areas really show themselves.  It's a little difficult to see in the picture, but if you click on it to enlarge it, you will see alternating dark and light areas.  The light areas are where the dew is heavier and the soil moisture is good, the dark areas are where the sprinklers don't put down a consistent amount of water and the soil is dry.

This picture shows the same thing just closer up.  

When we see dew patterns like these, we know that they are caused by irrigation because they are consistent.  There are other things that can cause dry areas though, they will show up with more inconsistent dew patterns.  They can be caused by soil conditions, or in our case, they are usually caused by tree roots.

Tree roots on the right side of #4 Fairway are out competing the turf for soil moisture.

The problem with inconsistent soil moisture is that it becomes difficult to manage playing conditions.  Theoretically we could use the sprinklers to water heavily and eliminate these dry spots, but then the areas that already have good soil moisture will become very soft and wet, not exactly the playing conditions you would expect during a long dry spell.  This week we will be doing our best to even out these dry spots by applying wetting agent to those areas and then handwatering them,  a very labor intensive process that we try to minimize on fairways.  We will also be temporarily trading out some full circle sprinklers with part circle sprinklers that only water the dry outside of the fairway.  Hopefully, we can get some of these dry areas evened out, maybe with a little help from mother nature.  

We have begun construction on a new yellow/forward tee on #14 so that it will no longer be a temporary tee on uneven ground.  This tee will be a great addition for any player who is not able to hit the ball as far as some others, or for if you are just looking to get a different perspective on this challenging hole.  The new tee is small enough that we have been able to build it with materials that were leftover from building the new blue tee on number six.  This new tee will require one additional sprinkler head to provide it with adequate irrigation coverage.  The plan is to have the tee completed by the end of next week, and open for play a few weeks after that.

It's hard to believe what I'm about to say, but it's time to start marking your calendars for our fall aerification schedule.  Fairway aerification will take place beginning on September 3rd, while the club is closed after labor day, and if weather and equipment cooperates, will be completed by Thursday, September 5th.  Greens aerification is scheduled for Monday, September 16th, and will probably carry over into the 17th.  Tees will be fit into the schedule whenever possible.  Please remember that during fairway and green aerification there may be nine holes closed to help expedite this critical process.  Thanks for your patience and understanding.