With overnight lows going well below the 32 degree mark we really start to worry about putting greenscovers on with 6" staples. We will review the temperatures next Monday, but we truly believe we are close to the end of a great season.
The season started this year on March 7th, one of the earliest openings that we have had here at Des Moines Golf and Country Club. If we do close next week we will have been open for almost 9 straight months!
Before we can cover greens, we apply our snow mold fungicide to all bentgrass areas on the golf course. We completed this process yesterday. Today we are starting to apply our dormant application of fertilizer and Barricade. The fertilizer will be there in the spring of the year for the Kentucky bluegrass plants to use for growth, the Barricade is our pre-emergent application for crabgrass. Timing it this late in the year works very well for us, however it has to be applied before covers can go down.
This shows our North Course 1st assistant Shane and one of our full time men, Jeff making the application around greens.
The next step in the process is installing the greenscovers. These are a great tool for us to use. If we do have an open winter like last year, the covers really protect the turf from the harsh winter winds that can dry out and dessicate the turf plant. To help us get a little jump on covering all 41 greens we decided to take the 5 practice greens out of play today and get them covered up. This photo shows the guys installing the cover on the chipping green.
I want to personally thank all the members of DMGCC for the fine golf season that we have had this year. It was trying at times but it has been a very successful one for us all. We hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving and you can enjoy your Holiday.