There is quite a bit of work to do to ensure that the golf course is put to bed properly.  Tasks include a variety of things such as blowing out the irrigation system, spraying greens, tees, and fairways with a preventative fungicide for snow mold, extensive leaf cleanup, green and tee extensions, and even removing a few trees. We have been very busy this Fall as we underwent a hurricane and snow storm in back to back weeks. Fortunately, both courses escaped unscathed for the most part even aiding in leaf drop which allows us to clean more sooner. This week we will begin by treating the greens with a nutrient spray and continuing the leaf cleanup effort. We will also blow out the irrigation system on Thursday and Friday. The week of Thanksgiving we will begin spraying fairways and tees with our annual snow mold preventative. This can be a pesky disease that can leave a majority of our turf looking dismal if it is left untreated. The final weeks of preparation will take place in early December with snow mold and anti-desiccant treatment to all 39 greens. In order to protect the greens for the winter, we apply an anti-desiccant with green coloring.  This product helps the turf from losing too much moisture during periods of strong, cold wind.  We also apply a snow mold protectant.  Snow mold is a fungal pathogen that mainly attacks the leaf blade of just about every variety of cool season grasses. This is a liquid product and it is applied using our spray rig. The two practice greens and 9 North typically have seen the most amount of winter damage.  This cover is a permeable, tarp-like cover that allows air exchange and moisture to pass through, but still keep the turf insulated and protected from the elements. 

Thanks for your tremendous support this season.  It has definitely been a memorable one.  I will leave you with a video that was just published to GCSAA.tv thanks to the guys at EPIC Creative. They visited Stow in July to shoot a commercial on the use of wetting agents and surfactants. Once our turf has been properly put to bed, we will commence winter projects. Please check back soon to read about some of the events in maintenance.

-Jason VanBuskirk, Superintendent