Venetian Golf Club Newsletter December 2018 | Page 9

G o l f C o u r s e M a i n t e n a n c e Sc h e d u l e s
Weekly Mowing Schedule
• Greens are mowed daily except on Mondays when the
course is closed.
• Greens are rolled three times per week, weather permitting.
• Tees are mowed on Tuesday and Thursday.
• Fairways are mowed on Mondays and Thursdays. If there are
events that conflict with schedule, we mow the front nine on
Wednesdays and the back nine on Thursdays.
• Green slopes are mowed on Tuesdays and Fridays.
• Tee slopes are mowed starting on Mondays and finished
on Thursdays.
• Roughs are mowed Monday – Thursday. It is our goal to mow
all rough areas twice weekly during the growing season,
unless weather or play interferes.
• The perimeter of the golf course is mowed during the week,
usually on Monday through the week until finished.
Bunker Maintenance
• Bunkers are raked every day unless too wet after a heavy
rain event.
• Bunkers are edged monthly.
• New sand is scheduled to be added to bunkers after rainy
season is over, weather permitting.
Fertilizer Schedule
• Greens are sprayed every Monday with liquid fertilizer.
If needed, fungicides and insecticides can be added when
needed.
• Granular applications are used on an as-needed basis. After
aerification of greens in June and September, we apply
39-0-0, UF and drag in aerification holes to improve recovery.
• Tees are fertilized monthly.
• Green slopes are fertilized bimonthly.
• A bulk granular application is applied to the entire golf
course, except for the greens, four times per year. This is
done in February, June, October and January.
The winter application includes a herbicide which is
“sparged” on the fertilizer to control grassy weeds. The
tradename of this product is Ronstar, a pre-emerge that
controls weeds before they sprout.
Chemical Applications
• Herbicide applications are done on an as-needed basis.
These post-emerge applications are usually done to control
grassy weeds that include Goose grass, Tropical Signal grass,
Crabgrass and Sedge. During the winter months the target is
usually various broadleaf weeds.
• In the months of September and December we apply a
pre-merge to the entire course to prevent the emergence of
PoaAnnua, which is annual bluegrass.
• When the golf course is closed in June, we apply a product,
tradename Chipco Choice. This is slit-injected into the soil
as a granular material to control Mole Crickets and also has
some activity on ants.
• During the month of June, we treat the ninth fairway and
other areas, if necessary, for nematodes. Nematodes are
microscopic in size and attach themselves to the roots of
the grass plant and feed off of the vascular system, which
causes diminished roots and sometimes kills the host plant.
A typical sign of this damage is shallow roots and thin turf.
The tradename of the product applied this year is Indemnify,
two applications were made with great success, the
treatment will be repeated in the spring of 2018.
Aerification
In 2018, we’ve added a third greens aerifications, instead of the
usual two aerifications, to remove as much organic matter as
possible, which exists in the top 6 in. of the soil profile on our
greens.
• The golf course will be closed the week of June 4. Greens
will be aerified with 5/8 in. x 8 in. hollow tines, cores removed
and backfilled with sand.
• On July 31, the greens will be aerified with 3/8 in. x 6 in.
hollow tines, cores removed and backfilled with sand.
The golf course will reopen August 2.
• The golf course will be closed the week of September 17.
This will be core aerification and core removal.
Aerification of tees, fairways and roughs are usually completed
during the weeks that the Club is closed for seasonal
maintenance. If during the week of the closure we are unable to
aerify due to adverse weather conditions, we will schedule
to aerify on Mondays when the course is closed.
The primary purpose of aerification is to relieve compaction
and remove organic matter from the upper several inches of
the soil profile. This is important because it creates “air space,”
which is necessary for healthy root growth.