Greens Keeper
TURF TALK
Good morning! As we cruise through the month of May, the days become a bit longer. Longer days mean the greens staff can get out earlier and get the morning jobs done before play lets out. More importantly, there is more time in the day to golf! We are on the tail end of wrapping up our spring jobs, one in particular, the crabgrass and weed control. In last week’s newsletter, I mentioned possibly applying the last bit of product by this week. Unfortunately, the rain caused us to postpone our spray. The window for pre-emergence control is closing, but we will have it out before it’s too late!
As you may have already noticed, we are beginning to add a pop of color as you make your way into Oakhurst. The front sign bed, along with the pillar beds, have already gotten some new plants added. As the year goes on, we will start to see some flowers and color. Near the end of this week and throughout next week, the red bud bed will start to see a lot of changes. This bed is also on this year’s list of makeovers. We are very excited to get these plants in, as it will be a beautiful welcoming to not only our members, but our guests as well!
The natural area conversion to Ohio prairie flowers will be, for the most part, postponed until this fall. Jordan has been in contact with multiple prairie seed providers and we have been informed that everyone is out of seed. This is due to the high demand of metro parks and homeowners. Even though we won’t be getting enough seed to do all of the areas that we planned, we are able to do a strip or two at the front entrance. We will be receiving the seed this fall, so our efforts in maintaining these strips will not stop. This just goes to show that converting these natural areas into pollinator areas will bring a lot of outside attention to Oakhurst. The more attention we get, the more golf rounds we get!
On next week’s agenda, we have #12 bunkers on the list. We will begin cleaning out the left hand side, add drainage, and begin building the bunkers. This is another project that we are very excited to get underway! The plan is to have most of it done in a two week period and have it playable by member/guest.
Last, but not least, Jordan and I have been very busy with our staff. We have a lot of new faces back here, and that means training every day. Training takes a lot of time because not only do we have to teach them how we would like things done, they first have to know the course! This not only includes where all 18 holes are, but also what to do in case of emergencies, where to find bathrooms, safety equipment, and so on, just to name a few! We have a great greens staff, and in a month or two we will really be in the swing of things!
If you have questions, concerns, or even ideas, feel free to email me and I will get back with you as soon as possible. Have a great week!
Brian Readout
Oakhurst Country Club Superintendent
breadout@oakhurstgc.com
Twitter: @OakhurstCCGriz