Superintendent's Update: Vistas Transition
The Vistas GC is transitioning very nicely.
What does this mean?
It means we have more Bermuda grass in May than we have had in previous years. Don’t let the off color fool you. The Manuscript herbicide that forced out the winter rye grass did exactly what it was supposed to do. We are now doing our part by de-thatching, aerifying, and fertilizing, as well as adding extra water. With temperatures warming up the Bermuda grass should grow aggressively and fill in. I understand this process does not excite golfers but not doing these cultural practices can really hinder the summer transition to a point where we could have areas with no grass. Think of this as the summer version of overseeding. Going from summer to winter grass is a very difficult process which requires a complete reseeding. Going from winter to summer grass is also very difficult as it requires terminating the winter grass so the dormant summer grass can thrive. The only differences are that we do not close the golf courses or seed in the summer for the transition.
With the extra golf cart traffic the Vistas has seen this year, soil compaction is another issue we are addressing by aerifying, dethatching and fertilizing. We aerified holes 1-9 at the Vistas this week and will do holes 10-18 next week (Wednesday). The great news is that we do not have to replicate this process at the Lakes GC because the fairways were not overseeded this winter due to the well.
Sincerely
David Escobedo GCS
David Escobedo GCS
