Recovery from weather damaged areas

As many of you already know 2010 has been a year of constant recovery for those of us on the golf course. Here at Kenosha CC we started in March and April trying to recover numerous greens that had sustained anywhere from 50% to 80% weather damage from a harsh winter. We worked diligently getting new seed into those greens and without ever closing a green to play we were able to have pretty good recovery, until the middle part of July when sustained heat and humidity once again set us backward.

It is due to the weather in the 3rd week of July that our 10th green suffered the worst damage and why we ultimately decided to remove both 10 and 12 from play temporarily and give new seed the best opportunity to survive going into the winter. Our process included creating slits in the greens with a Mataway seeder, applying seed with a fertilizer carrier, spiking the seed into holes, topdressing with sand, rolling the greens with a small drum roller, and finally keeping the seedbed damp. The final step was made more difficult from an 8" mainline leak going over the #16 bridge and during this time we kept the seed damp with an old sprayer with a hose fitted to it.

Now we are 8 days removed from the seeding date and the recovery is going very well as seen in the photos below.