Dear Spring Run Members,

Everyone is aware we have had issues with some of our greens this past year. We have been working diligently to ascertain the reasons as to why theses areas are not performing as well as the rest of the greens. Through our investigation and discovery, we found several issues. One was nematodes and disease which we remedied very quickly with some chemical applications. While we saw some improvement in the areas these areas continued to struggle. Through our continued investigation we discovered that the topography around some of the greens was causing collection areas on the greens. These collection areas are not allowing water to properly drain off the greens. These thin and struggling areas are right where water seems to be collecting and are drowning the turf. With this new knowledge we have implemented several remedies to help correct the problem. One remedy we have implemented is constant aerifications to these areas. The aerifications will not be big holes not will they impede playability. By aerifying these areas, it will allow these areas to dry out and remain drier more consistently. When these remain wet for so long it not only drowns the roots but it can also cause excessive harmful gas build ups in the soil. When we try to fix the areas by plugging and re-sodding, the gasses in the soil prevent the new plugs and sod from rooting and the turf eventually stresses out again and dies. Along with the aerifications we will be correcting the topography issues so that water drains properly around the greens. We will also be installing these vents in the drains on the fall out on some of the greens.

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These vents are designed to give the gasses in the soils another route to escape from the ground so they do not build up in the soil. This will also help us when we plug the back pack blowers into the flush outs on the greens as we will be installing a slide valve in front of the vent that we can close when the back pack blowers are pushing air through the drain lines.

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This will allow us to push more oxygen up and through the soil and hopefully aid in the gas exchange and get the gasses out of the soil. With all of these remedies we are confident that we will see a much healthier and improved putting surface for next season and many seasons to come. Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to seeing everyone next season.

Sincerely,

Benjamin S. Hanshew

Superintendent