Over the past week we have been utilizing a new paint for the hole on greens. This new paint was not selected by choice. Unfortunately the manufacturer of the paint that we were using stopped with production early this season. The paint that we are currently left to use takes significantly longer to dry. It also takes a heavier application with the new paint to get a nice white appearance which adds to the dry time. Dependent on weather which can either accelerate or slow the dry time of the paint, the golfers playing early in the day may experience some wet paint transfer to their hands while retrieving the ball from the hole. Please take extra caution while removing the ball from the hole to prevent your hand from touching the lip and preventing this paint transfer. The paint is a water based product that will wash off if it does happen to transfer. We will look into other paint options for next season to try and improve this important daily detail.

High humidity and moisture continue to create challenges as it relates to greens.  We are seeing lots of scalping of turf each morning with our greens mow.  This is due to moisture levels being locked in from the humidity creating soft greens conditions.  This scalping is magnified by the fact we have gone two consecutive Monday’s without the ability to lightly topdress.  The light sand plays a key role in supporting the plants when they are succulent and smoothing the surface to aid in preventing scalping. We are hopeful to see a break in humidity or get some cooperation from Mother Nature which will allow us to return to light sanding on the Monday ahead.  To note as well with respect to greens we will be backing off the 4^th greens maintenance practices this week. On Monday this week we vented this green to provide it with air and assist in drying out.  The stagnant air from lack of wind and the high humidity are the reasons for this green needing to be managed independently for the time being.  Even with the tree removal done to support this greens health we still have a challenging environment for this green through periods of difficult weather.  

This past week the Turfcare team was able to complete spray programs on the large acreage being fairways and tee boxes.  This application will aid us in managing heat stresses as we enter into a stretch of 30 plus degree temperatures for the next while.  We are hopeful this product will minimize traffic damage to the poa fairways during this period of high heat.

After a great week of dry weather for the Manitoba Junior Championship, the rain unfortunately returned on the weekend and into the start of this week.  We were in position to handle some rainfall after some significantly warm days.  This has helped the turf across the property.  The unfortunate part of the rain is we lost control of moisture on the greens.  Greens are soft and running a little slower than we would like.  With the forecast we should be in good position for ball roll by weeks end. We are still experiencing large flushes of growth on greens and a regulator application took place on Wednesday to assist in controlling growth to hopefully provide the later day golfer with better conditions.

The large flushes of growth continue across all areas of the property.  We are challenged currently with controlling and maintaining clippings.  We are currently having some equipment challenges with our blowers so for the next little while the course may not present as well as we hope while we wait on parts for repairs. Please be patient while we do what we can to keep the course neat and tidy.