With the arrival of the summer months we have kicked off our summer maintenance program. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays when one of both courses are closed we have begun an aggressive vertical mowing and top dressing program on the greens at both courses but more so at the Vistas than the Lakes. Why the Vistas more than the Lakes? Because of the type of grass each course has on their greens. The Tifgreen Bermuda on the Vistas greens is a far greater thatch producer than the Tifdwarf Bermuda variety at the Lakes GC. Staying on top of the thatch production keeps the greens rolling smooth and quick. Now that the Sapphire herbicide has been applied we are beginning to see the Bermuda grass in the fairways and aprons begin to overtake the winter rye grass. As temperatures continue to warm up this process will continue. Forecasters are saying the monsoon will be very active this year. If so this will speed up the transition process. In the meantime we are continuing to fertilize and aerify the transition areas while making sure they have adequate water.

 One other summer issue we are addressing is the arrival of Goosegrass. Goosegrass makes its annual appearance in late May and early June. This year we applied a pre emergent herbicide in April on both courses and it appears that it has helped significantly in reducing the amount of Goosegrass we have compared to other years. We have begun spot treating the existing  Goosegrass with a post emergent herbicide. Unfortunately the spot treatments create some discoloring but the discoloring only lasts around a week or so while the herbicide destroys the Goosegrass.

The xeriscape project at both courses is well underway. I’m sure you have seen the changes on hole #16 at the Vistas GC and the work on Lakes #18 along the pond. So far with what we have accomplished we are seeing a savings of approximately 25,000 gallons of water per night. This will eventually lead to a significant savings in expenses with less area to mow, fertilize, and water which reduces electricity use for the pumps and water wells. We have begun xeriscaping the right side of hole #17 at the Vistas and will begin xeriscaping on holes#3 &#4 at the Lakes GC next week. We will be adding desert friendly trees and a few shrubs in certain areas to compliment the new landscaping.

Lastly we have added approximately 37,000 fingerlings (size of your thumbnail) of Tilapia to the pond on Lakes #17. Tilapia are very aggressive algae eaters. These fingerlings will consume 12% of their body weight of algae a day. They will also grow an inch or so every week. Tilapia are originally from Africa and are used around the world in warm climates including the southern states for algae control. The Central Arizona Project began using them in the canals throughout Arizona in the late 90’s when chemical treatments for algae were no longer effective. We have been adding Tilapia to our ponds every other year or so for the last ten years and have seen very good results.

With all that being said I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable summer.

David Escobedo GCS