Maxwell Week

Hello friends, it is Masters Week. Meanwhile the grounds staff here at the club is mastering the Maxwell Course. Some much needed snow has tried to slow us down but it has been a productive week already.

Monday was a great first day for aerification. All tees and approaches were cored and cleaned. All 19 Maxwell greens were deep tine cored and cleaned. Nine of those greens were top dressed as well.

Fairways 1-6 were cored and mostly cleaned. Then it snowed.

Aerification to playing surfaces is critical to season long success. Pulling cores out of the ground relieves compaction, removes thatch and increases oxygen into the root zone. Sand topdressing allows us to dilute thatch and clay, provides more water and air pore spaces in the soil and creates a smoother putting surface.

Deep tine aerification on greens is a process we have been doing for a few years now. This machine allows us to go 8-10 inches deep with a 3/4" diameter core. These cores remove old clay native soils that are slow to drain and prohibit root growth. Each year we only disturb about 1% of the root zone by doing this, so it is a slow process.

On another note, the Warrior Ditch (ditch on 9 & 10) was started up yesterday. The recent moisture has been very well received and the golf courses have taken it very well. Flows in Bear Creek are up now and we hope this leads to a fruitful spring.