Dear Member / Property Owner,
Following on from the Golf Course Superintendent’s News Letter sent to you in May, which was designed to keep you up to date with all of the important maintenance procedures which were scheduled to take place on The Indiana Course, we are pleased to be able to give you an update on the works carried out and to inform you of the schedule of works which shall take place in June 2020.
MAY COURSE MAINTENANCE UPDATE
Verticut and Topdressing Greens
The greens have been verticut in two directions and then lightly topdressed twice to promote a more vertical growth and remove the grain from the greens.
Calcium Sulphate applied to Fairways
Calcium sulphate (gypsum) has been applied to the fairways then heavily irrigated. Due to the nature of the irrigation water and the elevated salt levels that it contains, the salt levels in the soil have accumulated over the years. Applying Gypsum to the soil will help wash the salts down from the root zone creating a healthier plant and soil profile.
Hydrogen Peroxide application to Greens
Hydrogen Peroxide is a safe disinfectant that has recently been introduced into golf course maintenance programmes. The use of hydrogen peroxide in the greens provides numerous benefits; it is ecological and environmentally friendly; it helps in the control of thatch that can cause greens to become soft and spongy, and it is highly effective against the majority of diseases that can occur. This means less use of fungicides and a more sustainable maintenance programme.
Vertidrain Fairways.
The fairways have been aerated with deep tines to help reduce soil compaction, remove excess salts from the soil profile and improve drainage.
Fairway Sand Topdressing
The fairways and roughs have been topdressed with a sand and soil amendment mix to improve the quality of the root zone both from a drainage and growing environment perspective.
JUNE COURSE MAINTENANCE PROGRAMME
Tee 1 Landscaping
The golf maintenance team will clean and introduce new plant material and decorative gravel to improve the appearance of the first tee area.
Clearing & Cleaning of Desert Areas
Designated large areas of desert will be cleared and cleaned utilising a tractor and implements. This will assist in the control of the rabbit damage caused to the fairways, of which we have already seen a notable improvement to.
Verticut and Aerate Tees
The tees will be verticut, scarified and aerated to assist in encouraging the paspalum turfgrass to cover the entire tee.
Verticut and Topdress Greens
Greens will be lightly verticut weekly and topdressed every two weeks. This will help improve ball roll, speed and firmness of the greens.
Bunker Face Renovation
As detailed in the May edition of the Newsletter, many of the bunker faces/slopes on the golf course need to be renovated to improve grass density. Due to the current situation with the Covid -19 virus and limited staff, the programme of bunker face renovation will commence when we are able to dedicate enough resources to complete it.
2020 Greens Hollow Coring Dates
In the knowledge that all Property Owners and Members need to have as much notice as possible concerning particular aspects of the golf course maintenance schedule that may temporarily affect the playing conditions of the green’s surface, thus enabling them to plan particular holidays accordingly, please see below the hollow coring dates in 2020.
Tuesday 15th and Wednesday 16th September
You will be able to keep up to date with the full tournament and social calendar, format and any additions, information of how to enter, and much more, by visiting either our official website www.desertspringsresort.es or by contacting the golf reception at Desert Springs.
We and the staff at Desert Springs are looking forward to seeing you on The Indiana course in the near future.
Kind regards
Zachary LaPorte
Golf Course Superintendent
